Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did, than Madara would have died fighting Hashirama Senju
Chapter 6: The Day They Went Back Home
Over the course of the year, Sakura and Gaara grew closer together. And every time that Gaara said something insensitive, if Sakura wasn't prepared for it, Hiranor would step in and force him (One time literally) to make up for it. They eventually got to the point where they would walk in public holding hands, it was quite a sight, and, it also drew the ire of many males and females alike that had set their eyes on the opposite gender. And when they kissed in front of the ramen shop (it wouldn't be Naruto without one) they went crazy. But even then Hiranor was able to keep them under control which drew the females that were stalking Gaara back to stalking him, much to his disappointment.
The year was coming to a close and the preparations were in the final stage of having everything checked to make sure it was all there. Many of the old timers chose to stay in the village, feeling that the
trip was for the younger generation and they didn't want to slow them down.
Over the course of a week everything was checked seven times, one for each day to make sure nothing was out of place or had gone bad. When Hiranor was confident that nothing could go wrong he called Sakura and Gaara to the dining hall for the last meal before they set out. Hiranor sat at the head of the table as he always did, and as had become usual, Sakura and Gaara sat next to each other.
Hiranor looked up from his plate and couldn't help but smile. His plan to get them together had gotten off (mostly) without a hitch. And he was quite proud of that fact. The only problem being that after he helped them out, they set out to do the same for him, setting him up on blind dates with rabid fan-girls that kept trying to get in his pants. A Kage's life is filled with peril. Everyone wants to have a relation with one, even if it was illegitimately. Fortunately for him they had both agreed that the 'dates' were causing more harm than good, and stopped doing it.
He turned his head toward the pink-haired kunoichi, "So Sakura, when we set out our first destination is Konoha, and since none of us, I think, knows where it is I would like you to lead the way. Gaara and I will be right there with you in case anything happens. Gaara," He moved his head slightly, "I will be returning your gourd to you before we set out. I realize that as soon as we leave here that Shukaku will have a lot more power over you, but I would like to think that you can handle him better now, and with that I would like to thank you two for putting up with us for this long year."
Sakura smiled, "No, I want to thank you Hiranor, because if we hadn't been brought here then Gaara and I would never have been together and I can't begin to express how happy it has made me." She blushed looking at Gaara. He simply hn'd. He still didn't talk much, except when he was alone with Sakura that is. But his mouth did curl slightly at the ends, which showed if you were actually looking, that he was happy as well.
Hiranor couldn't help but smile at the happy couple. "Well, we set out as soon as we are done eating, so please, enjoy." A thought suddenly crossed his mind that he hadn't thought about. "Gaara, Sakura," their heads turned back toward him, "It has just occurred to me that you two have been missing from the outside world for roughly a year, won't your villages have sent out search parties?"
Sakura thought about it for a moment, and then shook her head, "Not for this long. They probably called off the search after a couple of months and proclaimed me MIA."
Gaara simply shrugged, "My village wouldn't have even bothered with one. They are busy seeing me as the demon incarnate then as a human being to care what happens to me."
Hiranor folded his hands under his chin, "I see, well in that case we shouldn't worry about running into wandering Shinobi on our journey. That will certainly make things easier. But enough of such talks, please, dig in."
They finished eating and gathered their belongings and went outside. The villagers making the journey were all assembled as well as the ninja that would be escorting them. Hiranor looked out at the mass of people and smiled.
He cleared his throat, "Alright everyone, it is time for us to venture out into an unknown world, where no one knows who we are, or where we come from. For the time being, I would like you all t refrain from mentioning anything about the location of our beloved village, as some might take the opportunity to attack it in out absence. Now that that is done, let's head out." A cheer went up from the crowd as he walked past everyone and they made their way to the gates of the village. As they walked outside Hiranor looked to his side at the pink-haired ninja and cleared his throat to get her attention. "Sakura, if the worst happens and we are attacked, I want you to use your medical skills to help (Note: Sakura was kept occupied over the course of the year by reading medical texts)," but I do not under any circumstances want you join the fighting. That is what we are for. Do you understand what I am trying to say? It is not that we think you are weak, it's just that Gaara and I are more combat-oriented than you are."
The kunoichi in question frowned, but nodded that she understood. The Kazankage smiled. With that done he turned back to the front as they slowly made their way down the volcano's exterior.
_A Fiery Passion_
In Konoha
2 months after the invasion (Sakura and Gaara were still in Kazan)
In Konoha, Naruto was quiet, which was a feat in and of itself, except for the fact that it was brought on by the news that the search for Sakura had gone on too long and that they were calling it off, much to the chagrin of the parents, her relatives, and her friends. He sulked off to the training grounds to get some time in as a way to help cope with the loss of a friend. He knew that Sakura was never really nice to him, but he still considered her his friend, one of his precious people.
He was practicing alone when all of a sudden he sensed someone coming. He recognized the chakra signature right away.
"Jiraiya-sensei!" He yelled.
The Sannin in question covered his ears. "Naruto you idiot I am right here. You don't have to yell." He said annoyed.
"But I am happy to see you!" he whined loudly.
"Yeah? Well, I want to be able to use my ears. I can't do my research without them."
Naruto rolled his eyes, "Don't you mean spy on naked women?"
As soon as the words left his mouth Jiraiya rushed forward and covered it, and looked around to make sure no one heard him. Once he was assured of that, he looked back down at Naruto. "Listen squirt. I have come to train you. But if you don't want me to teach you then that's your choice."
Naruto looked up at him in disdain, "You train me? Hah! All you'd is ogle women while I sit around doing nothing."
Jiraiya sighed and started to walk away. With his back to him he said, "Oh well, and I was going to teach you one of the Fourth Hokage's personal Jutsus." Naruto's ears perked up at that, "But I guess you aren't interested. Maybe I should ask someone else to let me teach them it." Just as the words left his mouth Naruto zipped in front of him with a bag on his back ready for a trip. How did he do that so fast?
He smiled, "Well, alright then, let's go."
They left the village later that day. But unbeknownst to them, two shadowy figures wearing black cloaks with red clouds and bamboo hats appeared after they were long gone.
"Hey Itachi," The taller of the two asked.
"Hn?" Was all he got in reply from the ex-Konoha nin.
"Do you really think that we'll find the Kyuubi brat here?"
A slight shrug of the shoulder, "I don't know Kisame, but whether he is here or not he was here recently, and as such there will be people who know where he went."
The ex-Kiri nin smiled widely beneath his hat. With Samehada on his back he marched forward toward the gates, fog rolling in as they made their entrance to the village. The guards were dispatched easily as they walked into Konoha.
They were walking the river in town when Asuma and Kurenai appeared and a battle ensued. Kakashi joined the fight and then just as things were looking bad Might Guy appeared with his signature "Dynamic Entry" which saved Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai and forced Itachi and Kisame to retreat from the village. But not before they met a civilian that told them, under the influence of the Sharingan, that Naruto had left the village with the Toad sage, and forced them to rethink their approach to the matter of Naruto's capture.
_A Fiery Passion_
Temari was worried. Which was something she simply didn't do and it was scaring her. She was not used to the emotion. And to make matters worse she was scared for Gaara of all people. It had been 2 months since his disappearance during the attack on Konoha, and there had still been no sign of him turning up. It was like he had dropped off the face of the earth. She knew that she hadn't been the best sister, but that was because her father had ordered her not to be friendly to him, and because she feared her father more than Gaara, she obeyed. Kankuro had also been bullied into ignoring him, and because of that their relationship had been little better than acquaintances.
After his disappearance was announced, the villagers cheered loudly. And not a single squad was sent out to find him, despite the insistence of Lord Ebizu and Lady Chiyo. They knew that it would be unwise to leave a Jinjuriki as powerful as he on the loose, and a couple others agreed with them, however they were outnumbered and their request to send out a party was denied. Temari wished she hadn't been ordered to retreat; otherwise she would have gone back for him.
And of course to add to the problem the Yondaime Kazekage had vanished during the invasion as well. They had no leader, and there was no viable replacement. Sure there were people that wanted the job, but they hadn't the slightest clue as to what it would really require of them and so all of their applications were thrown out the window. They only used applications for the preliminaries so-to-speak. They helped them narrow down the choices. Naturally Gaara would have passed this part as he was the son of the previous Kage, however Gaara wasn't here now and things weren't looking good.
Temari looked up at the sky and cried, "What am I going to do now? At this rate I will never be able to apologize to him. Never be able to tell him I am sorry about everything I did and didn't do. Where are you Gaara?"
_A Fiery Passion_
Present time
The red-head in question was walking at the head of the column of the, for lack of a better word, tourists. When he had been running from Sakura (which is something he swore he would never do again) he hadn't really been paying attention to which way he was going, and as such ended up in the most dangerous country, if one can call it that, in the world, even worse than Bear country and its poison-gas crevice. The volcanoes in the region were known for being active eighty percent of the year, and that it was impossible to predict when they would go active, or so they thought. After years of living in the harsh environment they had figured out the cycle and as such they could to come and go as they pleased. Too bad they never did.
The village hidden in the volcano was located at the heart of the Land of Ashes, or Volcano Country as some like to call it. And because of that no one enters the fiery deathtrap for fear of being burned alive by all the magma flowing down those slopes. Luckily for them, when Gaara and Sakura first arrived in Ash Country it was during that twenty percent lull.
The party made its way thru by avoiding all the active volcanoes. They knew which ones were because during the year of preparation that was one of the things they had to check to ensure the safety of the villagers.
After a few hours of walking, they finally came to a sea of trees, a sight that left many awestruck. From there Sakura and Gaara took the lead, as they were more familiar with the surroundings. She led them thru the woods for another few hours until they decided to call it for the day. When they went back home they wanted to have lots of energy to keep up with everything they guessed would happen.
That night, while Gaara and Sakura were in their sleeping bag (they had been sharing the same bed for most of the year), Gaara thought of something, "Sakura-chan?"
"Yes, cherry blossom?"
"What do you think will happen when we get home? I mean, we were enemies when we left so…"
"You're concerned that they might attack me, right?" she nodded, her eyes showed her fear for him. He chuckled, and then nipped at her neck, earning a gasp from his favorite pink-haired ninja. "Well, if they do, I won't let them take me from you, and I am sure that Hiranor would do everything in his power to make it possible for us to be together. And they wouldn't want to upset a possible ally." He said and smiled. "But let's not talk about that now, let's just go sleep and worry about that tomorrow okay?"
Sakura nodded her agreement, and yawned after that proving their need for sleep.
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