Finally managed to finish this chapter! Enjoy

Chapter 8

Early morning mist gave the forest surrounding Konoha an ethereal look. It was quiet, except for the occasional bird chirping, breaking the morning silence. As the gates of Konoha grew closer, Sakura's pace slowed down, eventually coming to a halt several yards outside the village. The emotional pain that she had kept bottled up threatened to escape her. Her own arms hugged her as she fought against her own feelings. Part of her really wanted to see Naruto, to stay close to him, to protect him. But now that she was back here again the memories of that day took hold of her. No matter who she had come here to protect, the love she lost overruled those feelings.

Kazuya looked over his shoulder at Sakura. He too had experienced the inner turmoil she was going through, but he couldn't make himself walk over to comfort her. As if he had felt it coming, Ryoga nodded at Kazuya. Kazuya nodded back and gestured Lucy to come with him. It had been too soon, but maybe being here was the next step in healing her.

Upon entering the village, the two ninja were escorted to the Hokage tower. Tsunade sat behind her desk and looked at the two evenly before anger took over. "Is this some kind of joke?" she asked no one in particular. "I asked for a a team to look after Naruto and Ranmaru sends me two ninja. What was he thinking? Answer!"

"The other two are still making their approach," Kazuya answered calmly. "Sakura needed a little time. I didn't think it would be a good idea to leave her there by herself, so Ryoga stayed with her."

Tsunade's look softened. When she had put in the request with Ranmaru he had simply replied that he would send a team, but he couldn't guarantee that Sakura would come since she hadn't been on any missions since losing Kenji. He would have to test her, to see if she was ready to go on missions again. Seemed like he had send her along after all, but she was experiencing the emotional turmoil that was to be expected when visiting the place where you lost the man you loved.

Outside the village, Sakura stared at the big green gates that marked the entrance of the hidden leaf. Many emotions filled her. Mostly she felt all the grief of the past months wash over her again. She distinctively remembered the way Kenji's lifeless body had looked when she had asked Kazuya to leave her alone in the examination room where they had laid him. How cold his skin had felt to her touch, and how soft his unruly red hair had felt when she caressed it with her fingers. Her lower lips started to tremble as grief filled her up. Her knees felt weak and before she could sink to the ground, she was caught by a pair of strong arms, allowing her to bury her face in the shoulders that came with those arms. "I miss him too," Ryoga whispered as he held Sakura.

In the meantime Naruto, Sai and Kakashi had arrived in Tsunade's office. Tsunade carefully explained to the ninja gathered in her office what their jobs entitled and that she expected them all to cooperate. Naruto pouted. "I don't need a babysit."

"Trust me," Kazuya's gravelly deep voice instantly drew Naruto's attention. "If I were the one calling the shots… I'd simply kill you and call it a day."

Naruto swallowed loudly. Tension filled the room, until the door opened. Naruto quickly looked to the door, just to free himself of Kazuya's intense gaze. His mouth dropped open a little and, in a soft whisper, he said: "Sakura."

She stared at Naruto for a moment. Her eyes stayed on him, as she closed the distance between them. Her arms arms closed around him. It took Naruto a few moments to react to seeing Sakura again. Instinctively, his arms came up and rested on her back, his nose buried in her long pink hair. Sakura took a deep breath, breathing in the comfort that only Naruto could give her. A soft smile spread on her face, making the waterfall ninja step back a little. "I'll always come for you," Sakura whispered.

Naruto nodded.

Tsunade cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the ninja in the room. "And you are?" she asked, her eyes resting on the dark red haired man standing near Sakura.

Ryoga shot Tsunade a wide toothy grin. "Where are my manners?" he said, pushing past the other ninja to extend his hand to Tsunade. "I'm Ryoga Uzumaki."

Kakashi was instantly reminded of Naruto and he shook his head in unison with Kazuya. That was definitely an Uzumaki. Tsunade stared at the hand extended to her and shook it as she remembered that the Uzumaki were the largest clan in Waterfall. Inwardly she smiled at the bashful, yet kind Uzumaki family trait. There was no mistaking it that this was an Uzumaki. Kindhearted and sweet.

Ryoga turned around. "So where's the Uzumaki I'm supposed to protect?"

Sakura nodded her head in Naruto's direction, causing Ryoga to furrow his brow. "An Uzumaki without red hair," he mused out loud. "That's a first. Who're your parents?"

"Uhm," Naruto responded.

"Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze," Kakashi answered for Naruto.

"No shit!" Ryoga exclaimed happily. "You're Kushina's kid?"

"You knew my mom?" Naruto asked.

"I met her once when I was little," Ryoga said. "Damn she was scary, I swear… Lord Fourth nearly shit himself when she got angry."

Kazuya nodded. "That was that visit when she was pregnant. I think Lady Mei wasn't too happy about it."

"So you're like me?" Naruto asked Ryoga.

Ryoga nodded and shrugged. "Except that I'm considered a genius and you're considered the class clown."

Naruto laughed. "I was working on something big back then." He looked at Sakura. "Please tell that you told them good things about me too."

"I did," Sakura said. "Like that you saved the village from Gaara. And then that you saved Gaara after he became Kazekage. Not to mention that you saved us from Pain."

"Sounds like he doesn't need our protection," Ryoga said to Kazuya.

Naruto stood straight and nodded. He was pretty damn strong. Hell, he was probably the strongest ninja in the room. At the time he had fought for the people he loved, but to hear someone actually say out loud all the things he had accomplished made his ego soar to unknown heights.

Kazuya shrugged. "I hear he's not too bright and we're protecting him from himself."

Naruto's ego plummeted right back to earth. There was no telling what kind of info these ninja had received about him. So he wasn't smart like Sakura, or knew tons of jutsu like Kakashi, but he had managed to defeat some pretty badd-ass ninja. All he really needed was his friends.

Ryoga laughed loudly. "Like we Uzumaki are known for our intelligence." He shook his head. "Seriously," he continued, speaking in between laughing. "They called me and Kenji the geniuses of the clan… Now what does that tell you?"

"That we're doomed if one of you Uzumaki ever gets to lead a village?" Kazuya remarked dryly.

Ryoga nodded again, not really caring about Kazuya's remark. Sure no one could call the Uzumaki very smart, but most of them weren't stupid either. They were mostly pretty average when it came to their level of intelligence. What they did have was powerful chakra that ran within most members of the clan.

Tsunade cleared her throat again, just to draw attention. "I leave the making arrangements to whoever is in charge." Tsunami's eyes travelled over the shinobi in the room. "Just know that I won't tolerate any unnecessary fighting, or destruction of property."

"Don't worry," Kazya said. "The only one getting their ass kicked is the poor fool who attacks us."

Sakura chuckled at Kazuya's blunt answer. That man didn't seem to lack in confidence. "He means we'll do our job."

"That, yes," Kazuya said, nodding his head at Sakura. "I will need to know about any arrangements made on living quarters."

"I still have my old apartment," Sakura said hesitantly. "I never sold it after…"

"Perfect!" Ryoga said. "Dips on sharing the big bed."

"With Kazuya-sensei?" Lucy asked, turning her face away to hide her smile, yet showing it to Sakura.

"What?! Hell no!"

"Ryoga," Kazuya said dead serious, making everyone in the room look at the two longtime friends. "You're hurting my feelings," Kazuya finished in the most girl-like voice he could manage.

Tsunade shook her head. She wondered what kind of nut-jobs Ranmaru had send here to guard Naruto. Sure she had heard of Lightning bolt Kazuya, and Ryoga the Weatherman, but this seemed more like he had send a bunch of genin fresh out the academy. "You're dismissed," Tsunade said, before her impression of the group plummeted even further into the ground, if that was at all possible.

The group exited the office in silence. Outside Kazuya stopped. "We need to make some sort of schedule," he said. "I doubt there's a ninja stupid enough to attack him inside the village, but still."

"And I doubt my apartment is livable after being uninhabited for years," Sakura added.

Kazuya shook his head. "Me and Lucy will start with guarding Naruto," Kazuya said. "Meanwhile I'll make some sort of schedule and you two can clean out the apartment."

Ryoga shook his head while he smiled. Figures that he'd be stuck with cleaning stuff. He silently followed Sakura to her old apartment. The entire walk there, she didn't say a word. It made Ryoga wonder if being here wasn't too much for her, and maybe this was all too much, too soon. Sakura eventually stopped infront of a building and pulled some keys from her bag. "Lead the way," Ryoga said, when Sakura made no move to open the door.

Sakura nodded, and opened the door, letting them both into the building. "Through here," Sakura said softly, leading the way into the back of the building into the staircase. Her old apartment lay on the top floor. Finally she stopped in front of the a door, the nameplate next to it read "6" and a line lower it said "Sakura Haruno". She touched the nameplate with the fingertips of her right hand. So many happy memories had been made while she had lived here. She smiled slightly, a warm fuzzy feeling filling her for the first time in months. She opened the door and stepped inside, smelling dust, but also her home. This is what home felt like, or was it something else?

Ryoga saw the tension leave her the moment they had reached the front door. He really had to give Ranmaru more credit. Sending them here may be just what Sakura needed.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Kazuya first followed Naruto and Kakashi around for a while before he stopped them. "I'm hungry," he stated. "Can we stop somewhere?"

Kakashi narrowed his eye. What is he up to?

"I wanted to get back to training," Naruto muttered.

"It's my treat," Kazuya added.

"To Ichiraku then!"

Naruto walked as fast he could without running. A couple of times he looked over his shoulder to see if his protectors were still following him. Being treated to ramen was one of the few times he could actually eat until he was full. Being a genin was a pain. His pay was a laugh, so having a jonin treat him to ramen was an oppertunity he couldn't pass on. Eventually he reached Ichiraku and waited inpaciently for the others to arrive.

Kazuya arrived along with Lucy and Kakashi tagging along a little to the back. "Have anything you like."

Kakashi nudged Kazuya. "You know he eats for 10 people, right?"

Kazuya nodded. "So does Ryoga," he answered calmly before taking a stool next to Naruto. "Well, what are you waiting for? Order whatever you like."

Naruto instantly ordered his usual with extra pork. Not waiting for the others to receive their food, he thanked Kazuya for the ramen and started his eating marathon.

Lucy and Kazuya both ordered, only Kakashi didn't order anything, making Kazuya look at him funny. "You know it's my treat, order something."

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm fine."

Kazuya shrugged and quietly ate his ramen, while listenening to Lucy ask tons of questions. She asked about Naruto being a hero, Kakashi's mask and the Hokage. Saying she thought it was awesome that they had such a strong female leader. Naruto boosted that he was the one who convinced Tsunade to take the job as Hokage. Eventually after eight large portions of ramen, Naruto finally said that he was full.

"Now that you've eaten," Kazuya said, turning on his stool so he could face Naruto directly. "I want to discuss a few things."

Naruto felt a chill run up and down his spine. Kazuya's cold, penetrating gaze froze Naruto on his stool.

"I read up on you," Kazuya said. "You're a hero, I'll say that much… But you're also stupid."

"Hey," Kakashi interrupted.

"Shut it," Kazuya snapped at Kakashi, before turning back to Naruto. "I'm going to explain my mission to you. First off, I'm not here to protect you, or babysit you. My orders are to keep you out of Akatsuki hands by any means necessary. This means that if things go smoothly I will simply kill a few Akatsuki members trying to capture you… Should the worst case scenario occur, I will kill you."

Naruto's eyes widened at the last thing Kazuya said. He would really kill him if that was the only way to keep the Akatsuki from laying hands on him. Naruro could see it in Kazuya's eyes, he wouldn't hesitate.

"So I'm going to lay down a few rules. First, you will never go anywhere alone. Not even to take a piss."

"I can't go to the bathroom with a girl watching," Naruto blurted out while pointing at Lucy.

"That's why I split my team in two, each duo having a man in it," Kazuya answered calmly. "Second rule. My orders were given by all Kage. They always take priority over any order you may have been given. In short, what I say goes. And third rule. In my absense any order given by a member of my team will count as an order given by myself. So if I'm not here, Ryoga takes charge, followed by Lucy and then Sakura. When no member of my team is near, the copy cat's orders will be followed and so on until there is no living soul left to give you an order. Failing in following these instructions will lead to harsh measures from my side. Understand?"

For a moment Kakashi felt like asking what harsh measures meant, but he could guess the answer. In the past he had heard of this man. During the war between the Leaf and Suna, they had called in the help of Waterfall at some point and Kazuya was one of the ninja they had send. Without a second thought he had decemated a batalion of enemy ninja, leaving only the ninja in charge alive for questioning. He and Ryoga were famous for their combined attacks. Their combined power was strong enough to influence the weather and change the landscape. There was a reason why Waterfall had send this team and Kakashi was certain it was because they could kill Naruto if push came to shove.

After regaining his senses and letting Kazuya's words sink in, Naruto nodded. He wasn't a sensory type but he felt a darkness in Kazuya that was unfamiliar to him. Was this really one of the good-guys?

XOXOXO

Ryoga sighed at the amount of work he found at Sakura's apartment. This would take awhile and he really didn't feel like being stuck cleaning all day. He quickly made some handsigns and summoned five clones. "You guys do the cleaning," he said to the clones. "Come on."

Sakura looked at the red-headed ninja that reminded her so much of Kenji. She liked being near Ryoga. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel Kenji's presence. But whenever she opened her eyes again, she was reminded of the cold hard truth. Kenji was dead and Ryoga could never take his place. Even though he was trying so very hard to make her feel better all the time. Sometimes he made things worse with that wide grin of his. But she knew that this man would die for her, because she was family. He was that last glimmer of hope in her hopeless life. A final burning candle before the darkness would get to her. Friends was all she had, but none made her want to stay alive. Only the near-mirror image of her dead lover. His face a reminder of happier days.

With a shake of her head and a slight smile on her face, she followed Ryoga outside. "Let's go sightseeing," Ryoga said happily. "Never been to this village."

"You've been to the other great ninja villages?"

Ryoga nodded. "As a spy," He said. "Don't tell anyone I said that. It's supposed to be a secret."

"Promise," Sakura said. "Let's start with the Hokage building."

On the way to the Hokage building Sakura met several people she knew, but hardly anyone spoke to her. They had all heard the story of her last visit to this village. Maybe ot was for the best that they didn't talk to her. She didn't know what she'd tell them. She wasn't the same Sakura they knew.

Ryoga came to a sudden stop. "I knew it," he said, pointing towards the ramen stand. "They went out for ramen without asking me!"

Sakura shook her head. She never did understand why certain people loved ramen as much as they did. Occasionally she would enjoy ramen, but she couldn't stomach eating it every day of the year, like some people she knew. Silently she followed Ryoga as he hurried to the others.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw a red blur in the corner of his left eye. "I'll,have what he's having," Ryoga said pleasantly to the daughter of the ramen stand owner.

"I thought I told you to do some cleaning," Kazuya said, his gravelly deep voice still having the same serious tone it had held when he explained his rules to Naruto.

"We are cleaning," Ryoga answered, taking a good long sniff of his ramen. "I made some clones…. Now don't give me that look. It was you who failed to specify what you meant by Sakura and I cleaning the apartment."

Why am I stuck with the only Uzumaki with half a brain, instead of no brain?

"Plus," Ryoga continued. "You specifically asked me to come along on this mission, so…."

That's right, I invited him along. Should've known this would come to bite me in the ass at some point.

Sakura finally got to the ramen stand and took the only seat left, to the far right. Kazuya looked past Lucy and Kakashi, his gaze softening. "You hungry?"

Sakura nodded. "A little."

"Have anything you like."

"Just regular ramen," Sakura said softly, slipping back into her monotonous voice. It felt wrong sitting here. Her safety net so far away. She almost felt cold, not noticing Kakashi looking at her.

She looked wrong somehow. Like she wasn't eating properly. His suspision was confirmed when she stopped eating after having only eaten half of her ramen. Her skin was pale and the color gone from her cheeks. Why wasn't anyone doing anything? They were stitting here having ramen, talking and laughing like nothing was wrong!

Kakashi waited until the group was finished eating, and Kazuya was left behind for a moment to pay for everyone's meal. "What's wrong with you?" Kakashi asked quietly.

Kazuya turned around. "A lot of things I suppose," he answered dryly. "You'll have to be more precise."

"Have you noticed how Sakura looks?" Kakashi asked. "She looks like a walking corpse."

Kazuya nodded. "I noticed."

"And you're not doing anything!?"

Kazuya rubbed his forehead a couple of times. He knew this man had once been Sakura's teacher, and sure maybe he cared a little for her. But who was he to butt in on his team? "Sakura needs more time to grieve," Kazuya said. "I can't make her be happy. All I can do is be there if she needs me. I don't feel like forcing myself on her. She'll grieve on her own terms. And in the meantime, I'm having Ryoga look after her. He seems to have a positive effect on her. She even smiles when he's arround."

"Is that why you coupled them together?"

Kazuya nodded. "Yeah. I'm hoping he'll help her get through this and maybe one day be herself again."

Kakashi was remembered of his long journey towards living a relatively normal life. It had been team 7 that had healed him.

"Maybe you could talk to her," Kazuya suggested. "You've known her a long time. May do some good."

Kazuya brushed past Kakashi to catch up with the others. Leaving Kakashi to look at his back. He narrowed his one eye, wondering what Kazuya's agenda in this all was. On one side he just told Naruto he would kill him if that was needed to keep him out of Akatsuki hands. And on the other side he just told Kakashi to talk to Sakura to help her. He would have to keep a close eye on Kazuya for now.

Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets and slowly followed behind Kazuya towards the others. He instantly noticed that Sakura had left them, not even taking Ryoga with her. She was alone somewhere and again no one seemed to find this strange. Lucy was still listening to Naruto tell the story of how he saved the village from Gaara, while Kazuya and Ryoga were whispering something to each other. And Sai stood a little bit away from the group, smiling pleasantly for no reason at all. Maybe this was a good time to disappear as well. No one seemed to take notice of him, so he vanished like he had done a million times before. Maybe he would go see Sakura. What if he could help her? It was worth a shot. Finding her had been easier than he had thought.

Near the memorial stone, Sakura was sitting against the middle pole that Kakashi had once tied Naruto too, back when they were genin. Her knees were bend and drawn up against her chest, her arms hugging her legs, and her head resting on her knees. Kakashi approached and stopped when the sound of her tired voice reached his ears. Her voice held an almost angry edge to it. "What do you want?"

Like himself back then, she could feel it when people came to talk to her. She was obviously not happy about him coming to see her.

"I came to see my old friend," Kakashi lied, pointing to the memorial stone.

Sakura looked up, her eyes filled with sympathy. "I'm sorry…."

Kakashi moved to the stone. He couldn't say how long he stood there, when he heard Sakura get up from her spot and walk towards him.

"Who're you here to see?" Sakura asked softly.

"Obito," Kakashi answered. "He was my friend."

"I see."

"And you?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura took a deep breath. "I know it's stupid," she said. "His name isn't even on the stone but….. I don't know. It felt right." Sakura moved closer to the stone and gently touched her hand to the cool, smooth surface. She took one last deep breath, closing her eyes. She turned to walk away, stopping only when she heard her name.

"Sakura. You don't have to go through this alone."

Even though she felt a warmth spread through her, it wasn't something she was ready to accept. "I know, but I want to…"

Thanks for reading!