Sonic and Naruto on Vacation

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters except my ideas and OCs.

Chapter 5: Reunited at last! But…

Gaara Sabaku's POV

At first, I had no idea about that strange floating object…but upon closer inspection, I could see familiar-looking figures on it. I immediately recognized them: the rest of our group. Using my abilities (even though I didn't bring my gourd with me), I used the beach sand to pull the raft towards the shore. Since they're still asleep, I built a sand hut over them – just in case it might rain. Then I headed back to our campsite to find something to amuse myself (I shouldn't be too loud though – Rouge, Naruto and Hinata are sleeping themselves).

DAY 5, early morning…Itachi's the first to wake up, smiling to himself as he remembers the countless challenges and fights Ina would always come up with. Rubbing away the sleep from his eyes, he slowly gets up (being very careful not to wake the others)…and bumps his head on a ceiling. Wait…ceiling? "Where the hell did that come from?" asked Itachi as he looked up and rubbed his head. "Something wrong, Itachi?" mumbled Sasuke as he woke up, seeing a wall and ceiling made of sand above him. "Okay, whose idea was it to build a sandcastle over us while sleepwalking?" shouted Sasuke, and Sonic complained, "Keep it down, Sasuke!" and shifted his position, causing Amy to wake up. "Sonic, what the hell was that for?" groaned Amy, and in no time at all, everyone else woke up. "Ow! Who stepped on me?" shouted Knuckles. "Chocolate ice cream!" giggled Cream. "Sorry, Knuckles," apologized Tails. What the (beep) is going on now? thought Shadow. Unable to bear the noise, Sakura shouted, "Everyone shut the (beep) up! It's still (beep) early in the morning!" She then noticed that everyone was silently staring at her; Sasuke sweatdropped. "Sorry…I usually get cranky when I wake up," giggled Sakura nervously.

Stepping out of the sand hut, they found themselves standing on the most beautiful island they've ever seen. The sun had just risen, shining its light on the beautiful landscape before their eyes: hundreds of colourful birds flying above the trees (or perching on them), small animals darting around flowering plants, a glittering waterfall on their left, and a huge mountain on their right. All in all, this island is HUGE! "Now this is what I'm talking about!" whistled Sonic. "You said it, Sonic," agreed a smiling Knuckles, "The perfect place for a real vacation!" Sakura pointed at a trail of smoke going upwards into the sky, and asked, "You know what I'm thinking?" and Shadow replied, "Let's go," and they all started heading towards it. "Hey, wait up!" said Tails as he picked up a seashell and gave it to Cream, earning a kiss from the rabbit and making him blush.

Meanwhile…Rouge woke up, due to being disturbed. "What on earth…?" she asked. Hinata mumbled, "Is something wrong, Rouge?" and the bat replied, "I dunno about you, but this racket is disturbing my beauty sleep." Naruto, who's barely awake at this time, mumbled, "I don't hear anything. Now get back to sleep," and secretly thought, 'Beauty sleep'…yeah right, dattebayo. Rouge immediately got up and said, "No way, kid. I'm gonna find out what's making this noise." Gaara, who's standing nearby, said to the bat, "Don't bother. They're already heading this way." Rouge suddenly became confused. "What do you mean 'they'? We're the only ones here," said Rouge. "Take a look," said Gaara, pushing some leaves apart, "Recognize them?" Rouge looked…and gasped! "He's alive!" she exclaimed, running towards the black hedgehog.

Rouge the Bat's POV

All this time, I though Shadow was either completely lost or (worse) got himself drowned in the ocean that night. I hate to admit this but, I was crying my eyes out for several hours! And to make matters worse, no one could calm me down; I was so upset. So far, staying on this island isn't so bad…as long as someone (either Naruto, Gaara, Hinata or Ina) is around. At least all 14 of us have finally regrouped! However, I'm kinda worried about Itachi. It's not that I like him or something…it's because his girlfriend left our camp 2 days ago and still hasn't returned. I hope he wouldn't take this situation too hard…

And so, everyone's happy to see each other again! However…"You gotta be kidding me. She's gone missing?" whispered Shadow. Rouge nodded and replied, "And we haven't heard from or found her yet." Knuckles approached them and asked, "What are you guys talking about?" and Shadow told him the current situation. Knuckles exclaimed, "No way!" which caught Sasuke's attention. "What's wrong? I heard you talking about Ina," said the young Uchiha, and Shadow scratched behind his ear while Rouge bit her lip; both showing a sign of nervousness. Knuckles sighed and answered, "I'll tell…Rouge said that Ina was here with them since the 1st day on this island. Here's the bad news: she left their camp 2 days ago and hasn't returned yet." Sasuke looked shocked. "They've also tried looking for her. No luck from that either," added Shadow. Sasuke frowned and said, "(Beep)...he's definitely not going to like this." Rouge, looking at Itachi, said, "But she's his girl. He deserves to know what happened to her." Sasuke replied, "I'll tell him myself, but not right now. He kinda seems occupied at the moment," secretly thinking, It doesn't matter if I tell him now or later…he'll freak out anyway.

Itachi's flashback: The day Ina left the Hidden Leaf Village

Itachi was 12 years old...Ina was 10 years old…Sasuke was 7 years old. "But you can't just leave!" shouted Itachi. "I don't have a choice…but I really don't want to go," sobbed Ina. "There must be some other way!" said Sasuke, looking at them, "Is there?" A ninja comes in and answered, "I'm afraid there isn't. The Third Hokage insists that she leaves the village immediately," and placed his hand on Ina's shoulder. "You'll be staying with your grandmother, Ling," he added. Ina asks, "Grandma? But I thought –" began the Black Dragon girl, but was interrupted by the ninja saying, "The Third Hokage is a friend of hers long ago. It was upon her request that her identity is to be kept a secret from everyone, even from you." Itachi asked, "Where is she staying?" The ninja shrugged and answered, "I don't know. He wouldn't tell either, for her safety." Itachi asked, "Can't she stay with us instead? She's the best Chunin after all," and secretly added, And my best friend. Sasuke agreed, telling the ninja that Ina could be taken care of as though she was their own sister. Ina looked at the ninja pleadingly. "If she stays, there's a high probability that she may be killed by the same people who killed Shang and Mai," replied the ninja, earning a frown from the Black Dragon girl. "Therefore, she must leave," he continued. Ina wiped away her tears, telling them that she really doesn't want to go along with that choice. "I'm sorry, but it has already been decided," said the ninja. Just then, they heard someone knocking the door, and see an old lady standing there. "Ling of the Black Dragon clan, I presume?" asked the ninja, and the lady nodded and entered the house. "My, my…you've grown so much!" exclaimed Ling as she looked at Ina, and then hugged her tenderly. "You know me, Grandma?" asked her granddaughter, and she replied, "Of course! You were just a baby when I last saw you." Itachi frowned and muttered, "Looks like this is 'goodbye' then," earning a hug from his 10-year-old girlfriend. He hugged her back, with Sasuke joining them saying, "I'm gonna miss you so much, Ina-chan!" Ina replied, "Me too, Sasuke…" and sobbed quietly as Itachi comforts her, knowing that this may be the last time she would ever see them again.

A few minutes later, at the village gates…"Just be a good girl, and you'll be okay," advised Fugaku. Mikoto hugged and kissed Ina, then said, "You were such a good Chunin…I'll never forget that." Ina wiped away her tears, and then tells them, "I'll try to come and visit sometime." Sasuke walked up to her. "Um…Ina?" started the little Uchiha, "I wanna give this to you last year on your birthday, but I kinda forgot," and gave her a small teddy bear. "Like it?" ha asked, and Ina replied, "Oh Sasuke, you're so sweet…" and kissed him lightly on the forehead. She then asked him where his older brother was, and was immediately answered by Itachi shouting, "Ina, wait!" as he ran towards her, panting as he arrived. "Before you go, there's one last thing I want you to have," he said.

Before she could even ask, he quickly wraps his arms around her and kisses her right on the lips! "Take care of yourself, Little Angel. I love you…" said Itachi. Ina replied, "I love you too, Itachi…!" and they kissed one last time.

Itachi sighs, remembering the sad look on her face as she left the hidden leaf village 8 years ago. Then, snapping out of his trance, he looks at his little brother sitting beside him…and notices a nervous look in Sasuke's eyes. "What's wrong, Sasuke?" asked Itachi, but his brother stayed silent. "Are you even listening?" he asked, and Sasuke replied, "I heard you. It's just that…" but he hesitated to continue his answer. Itachi's starting to get a little impatient, and was about to force the answer out of his little brother when he suddenly replied, very quickly, "Ina's been missing for 2 days and hasn't returned yet." Itachi looked shocked! "Missing? What the (beep) is that supposed to mean?" exclaimed his older brother. "Calm down, Itachi!" shouted Knuckles as he, Shadow and Rouge walked over to the Uchiha brothers. "You don't understand. Little Angel's all alone out there and –" started Itachi, but was immediately interrupted by Rouge saying, "We knew you'd say that. But think about it," and Shadow added, "Besides, she's not a little girl anymore. She'll be alright." Itachi slowly calms down, just as Sonic went up to them. "What's with you today?" asked the blue hedgehog. Shadow glared at him and answered, "Back off, blue hedgehog. You have no right to interfere," and Sonic backed away, saying, "Okay, okay…I'm leaving!" He turned away, mumbling, "I was just asking, (beep)." Shadow heard him, and Sonic yelped and started running as the black hedgehog started chasing him around. Knuckles, ignoring the two hedgehogs for a while, tells Itachi that they're gonna dispatch another search party after lunch…but he should stay in their camp. "After all, maybe she'll come back herself," said Rouge. "I understand," sighs Itachi.

That night, Itachi has trouble sleeping. Their little search party returned with the same result: no sign of Ina. As a result, he's getting nightmares about losing her in countless situation…from being caught cheating on some (random) girl to being killed before his eyes.