And here's Chapter 15. I hope you guys like this one. It can get a little angsty but I tried to work things out in the end. Readers, Reviewers, thank you...Black Betty by Spiderbait.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Naruto ushered the two older folks out of his room so that he could get dressed and yawned once they'd left. Getting sat on by that toad was a definite blast to the past and although it had been annoying, it did bring back memories of his road trip with Jiraiya. He shrugged his clothing on and left his bedroom, Sanzoku draped around his neck.
"You know, you have got to be the laziest summon I've ever met. You didn't even warn me that those two were in my bedroom."
The one you call Baa-chan threatened to neuter me if I told you, so bite me. Besides, watching you get sat on was entertaining.
"I'll remember that."
You do that. Lay out something for me to eat when you're in the kitchen ok?
"Lazy ass."
Sanzoku snorted and went back to sleep. Naruto rolled his eyes and continued on down the stairs. If it weren't for the fact that the red panda was a fearsome warrior (as TenTen could attest to) and was useful in a pinch, he'd have sent his ass back to the summons realm so fast…
He rounded the corner of the hallway and stretched again once he was in the kitchen. Tsunade and Jiraiya sat at the table, sipping coffee and chatting with each other. Tsunade smiled when she saw her favorite blonde come in.
"Good morning Naruto. Hope you don't mind us making some coffee."
"Nah, I don't mind. It's Temari's coffee anyway. I don't usually drink the stuff. I prefer tea. Want something to eat?"
Jiraiya swallowed the last of his cup and poured some more.
"What do you have?"
Naruto flipped through the cupboards and fridge.
"Well, we got fruit, bread, bacon, eggs, you know, breakfast stuff."
"Bacon and eggs sounds delicious. And heat up that bread with some honey."
Tsunade stood up and walked around the counter before spinning Naruto around and holding him by the shoulders.
"Before you start cooking though…"
She wrapped him in an enormous hug, nearly crushing his spine.
"…it's so good to see you again brat. I've missed you."
Naruto smiled and hugged her back, squeezing slightly to show her that his strength had improved as well.
"I've missed you too Baa-chan. It hasn't been the same without you."
Jiraiya coughed into his hand and the two blondes looked over at him.
"What about me? I don't get a hug or at least a handshake?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes and released Tsunade.
"You tried to crush my head with one of your toads this morning. You're lucky I don't castrate you. Be glad I'm making you breakfast."
"Ungrateful brat."
Naruto smiled and pulled out a pan from under the counter to fry the bacon and eggs.
"There's the Ero-Sennin I remember. Now, what did you two want to talk about?"
Tsunade reached out to where Sanzoku was chomping away happily on some fruit and tried to pet him when he growled at her.
Don't touch me. You threatened to take away my nuts earlier.
Tsunade frowned and turned back to Naruto.
"Well, we want to hear what you've been up to and to discuss some things about Konoha with you. But that's business. Let's hear about your life up till now."
Naruto nodded as he cracked the eggs on the side of the pan and listened to them sizzle in the heat.
"Well, when I first arrived here…"
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Tsunade and Jiraiya smiled as they listened to Naruto's story. It made them both happy he had found some form of acceptance among the people of Sunagakure. That's what made the next thing they had to discuss so…uncomfortable. Tsunade shifted in her seat and held out her cup for more tea. They'd been sitting at the table for a couple of hours now and she was beginning to feel a little numb in her buttocks.
"Can we move this to somewhere a bit more comfortable? My butt is falling asleep."
Naruto and Jiraiya laughed at her and Tsunade growled. It wasn't her fault the wooden chairs were so unforgiving. The three stood and Naruto lead the way to the living room, clearing some of Kankurou's puppets out of the way. Once they were settled in, Naruto looked from one to the other.
"So…what's this all about?"
Tsunade took a deep breath and looked at Jiraiya, who motioned for her to go ahead. He was only here to offer support. This was village business and not his ground to cover. She closed her eyes and slowly opened them, locking his bright blue eyes with her chocolate brown.
"We've already talked to Gaara about what we'll discuss here and he said no. I agree with him reluctantly, but unfortunately, the issue just will not go away because we said so."
Naruto frowned and leaned back in his chair as Sanzoku padded in and leapt up beside him on the couch, curling up.
"Why does it feel like I'm only getting half a story here? What are you talking about?"
"The Konoha Council wants you back Naruto. They don't want the last Namikaze, the son of the Yondaime, living in another village, allied or not. They want you to return with us."
Naruto set his face in a grimace.
"The answer is no of course. I'm not going back to a village that never wanted me until I could be used for political purposes. It's not happening."
Tsunade nodded and took a sip of tea. It wasn't as calming as sake, but Naruto made some damn good tea.
"That's what I told them, but they keep pressing the issue. I'm going to need you to come back to Konoha to settle this yourself."
"And what guarantee do I have that I won't be imprisoned and kept against my will?"
Jiraiya leaned forward and rested his one arm on his legs.
"Because that would be tantamount to declaring war with Suna. They'd be holding a very important friend of the Kazekage hostage and a very important person to us hostage. The political fallout would not be pretty."
Naruto nodded and Tsunade decided to continue.
"You won't be held against your will. We just need you to come with us and talk to the council, tell them that you don't wish to return to Konoha and that you are happy here."
The blonde schoolteacher folded his arms and sighed.
"I thought I made that all clear over a year ago when I burned my father's and mother's scrolls. I thought it was clear when I requested transfer to Suna. I thought I made it clear when I told them all this to their faces."
The two older ninjas nodded.
"You did Naruto, but they aren't politicians for nothing. Everyone in Konoha knows who you are now and everyone wants you back. They want Uzumaki Naruto to come back home and take up the name of Namikaze."
Naruto's frown deepened significantly.
"No, they want the son of Namikaze Minato to come back so they can suck up to him. Uzumaki Naruto isn't on their radar. They aren't sorry for treating me like shit. They just want to kiss my ass for political favors."
Jiraiya straightened up a bit, his sensei side coming back out.
"Look here Naruto. You may be a Suna shinobi now, but Tsunade is only asking you to come and settle this once and for all. You owe her at least that much."
Naruto's eyes narrowed even more, his obstinate side coming back out.
"And why exactly do I owe her?"
Jiraiya's face twisted up in outrage.
"Because she's the one who's been keeping the council off your back for the past year you little shit!"
"Jiraiya, calm down! Naruto…I'm hurt that you're acting like this. I hope you set a better example than this for your students."
"Don't bring my students into this. As for my attitude, how do you expect me to react? 'Oh sure. I'll happily go back to Konoha with you and receive the stares of awe, forced respect, disgust, and hatred.' I don't think so."
Tsunade straightened her backbone and glared at him. They'd been having such a wonderful time earlier and now, here was the council of Konoha coming between them once again.
"We've already cleared this with Gaara, Naruto. You're coming with us to settle this and that's final."
He looked aghast that they would do something like this without his knowledge. Even Gaara was doing things behind his back. Naruto quickly schooled his face back into an indifferent look, something that looked out of place on him.
"Fine, since everyone seems to think this will be in my best interests, despite my say so, I'll go as soon as Temari gets back. I want to get this over with so I never have to step foot in Konoha again."
He rose to stand and was about to leave when his arm was caught by Tsunade. He turned to say something but stopped when he saw the tears welling up in her eyes.
"Please Naruto, don't act like this. We don't want this any more than you do, but it's necessary. Don't be angry with us just because we're doing our jobs."
He swung his head from one to the other, looking for any sign of deception and found none. They were just doing what they had to. Naruto sighed and let his body relax, but Tsunade didn't let go of his arm.
"Naruto, we care about you. We don't want you unhappy. That's why I let you leave. I wanted you to stay, but your happiness means a lot to me since you haven't had much of it. Jiraiya didn't want you to go. He lost someone else important to him that day. You haven't visited either."
Naruto hung his head slightly and turned away.
"Gaara's kept me busy."
Jiraiya snorted and clapped him on the shoulder.
"You're full of shit. You were afraid to come back home because you thought you would stay there. You can't lie to me brat."
Naruto gave them a small, sad smile.
"Yeah, I was afraid to go back. I didn't want to go back to Konoha and think it was home. I have a new life here and I don't want to ruin that."
Tsunade and Jiraiya nodded and Naruto walked toward the door, opened it, and turned to them.
"I'm going to go do the most difficult thing of this whole visit. I'm going to talk to Kakashi and Sakura and try to resolve the whole thing with them. This might take a while, so can you tell me where they are?"
Tsunade winced when he mentioned Sakura and Kakashi. Those two were especially resentful of Naruto's decision and hadn't wanted to come. Tsunade had strongarmed the two because she knew it needed to come to a conclusion, one way or the other.
"Do what you have to do Naruto. They're at the hotel and haven't left except to eat. I just hope you know what you're doing."
Naruto smiled at the two as he got walked out the door.
"Me too."
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Kakashi and Sakura had been in their hotel room since they'd last seen Naruto, not really wanting to go out. When they weren't chatting together, Kakashi was reading his book and Sakura was keeping herself occupied by reading a book as well or by flipping through the channels on the TV. Both were bored out of their minds.
Sakura heard a knock at the door and moved to answer. She looked over to Kakashi, who shrugged since they weren't expecting any visitors.
"Maybe they're all ready to go home and have come to tell us we're leaving tomorrow."
Kakashi shrugged and went back to reading his book as he heard the door creak open…and dropped it just as suddenly when he heard Sakura's icy voice.
"Naruto."
Kakashi was immediately on his feet and quickly crossed the room to the door. The person standing before him was an immediate reminder of the sensei he'd lost…and the student he had lost as well. Naruto looked just like his father, right down to the look in his eyes. It was the look Minato had every time he had to say something he didn't really want to.
"May I come in?"
Sakura stormed away from the door, but Kakashi stayed, the small smile under his mask evident.
"Of course Naruto. What are you doing here?"
Naruto listened to the door close behind him and closed his eyes, breathing in slowly. Once the latch clicked, he knew there was no going back.
"I'd like the two of you to accompany me to my property so we can talk…and work out any frustrations that we might have. Afterward, if we're all still talking to one another, I'd like you to come back to the compound and I'll make lunch."
Naruto had a strained smile on his face as he spoke. He noticed Kakashi's introspective look and Sakura's look of disdain. He half-wished they'd accept and half-wished they would decline. Kakashi's voice broke the silence.
"We'll go with you Naruto. We'll be there shortly."
Naruto nodded and walked out the door, closing it behind him and ran for the property. His heart was pounding more than when he'd spoken to Temari the first time on their first real date and he settled under his favorite shade tree to meditate until they arrived. He would need his nerves to be calm since he knew that Sakura had a volatile temper, much like his girlfriend.
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Sakura turned to Kakashi once she was sure that Naruto was gone, her face twisted in anger.
"What the hell Kakashi? I don't want to talk to him!"
Kakashi turned slowly, his one visible eye showing his trademark boredom.
"Sakura, we've both been stewing over this for over a year now. It's time to try to mend the fences or at least talk and leave on amicable terms. Jiraiya talked to me the other day and said we need to leave the past behind. I'm willing to do that. It isn't healthy to hold a grudge like this. Now get ready to go."
She snorted loudly and stomped around the room, grabbing her kunai pouch and pulling her shoes on, growling the whole time. Kakashi sighed and pulled his sandals on, before slipping his book into his gear pouch and opened the door, ushering her out. He could only hope this would go well for all three of them.
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Naruto had slowed his breathing to acceptable levels. His meditation had calmed him much and it was a good thing since what was to come would probably be very, very stressful. He had sent Sanzoku off to do something else, away from what might be a very emotional and very physical battleground. If Sakura used to pound him into the dirt for annoying her, he didn't want to think about what she might attempt for truly upsetting her.
Not that he would let her hit him. That was Temari's sole privilege.
With his eyes closed, his other senses were incredibly acute and he heard the sound of the ground crunching under sandals before they were even in sight. His eyes opened slowly and he smiled slightly at the sight of Kakashi and Sakura approaching.
Kakashi gave him his traditional lazy wave while Sakura just stared at him, barely containing her ire. Naruto stood and brushed his pants off.
"Look, I know neither of you are happy with my decision so I'm going to give you the opportunity to get all your frustrations out in any way you deem appropriate. Sakura, we can start with you."
Her response was to slap him as hard as she could on the cheek. Naruto simply stood there, his head turned to the side, his eyes never leaving her. The tears began to well up in her eyes as she glared at him.
"Start with me? Start with me! How dare you! You left us and now you act like it doesn't matter, like it never happened! You think you can just talk to us and everything will be ok? It won't! I hate you Naruto!"
He slowly turned his head back towards her, the bruise on his face already healing.
"You don't mean that Sakura. I know you don't."
She snarled and thrust her fist forward, catching him in the gut. Naruto grunted and sank to his knees. He didn't like being a punching bag, but he'd let her have a few shots before he retaliated. He wasn't the Naruto she used to know, and she'd have to realize that.
"I do mean it! You left me, just like Sasuke did. You left me all alone. You didn't once think about my feelings, you selfish bastard! You didn't think about how I'd feel!"
Naruto could feel his ire growing with every word. He'd planned to let her work out her frustrations but that plan was quickly falling apart. Plus, he was beginning to get irritated with her increasingly painful blows. Sakura would rain down a blow on him after every sentence.
"You never stopped to think about me. You never thought how it would affect Kakashi and me. You never visited, never wrote, never let us know if you were alive or dead. You never kept your promise!"
The sound of the dull thumps of her fist hitting him was broken by the sound of flesh smacking flesh as Naruto caught her hand, his face set into a grimace. It frightened her to see him like that.
"Now let me tell you something Sakura. I've always cared about Team 7. I've always cared about you. I've always tried to go out of my way to make others happy. Was it so wrong to want happiness for myself? WAS IT?!"
Sakura gaped at him before her anger came back and she swung at him with her free hand.
"Why didn't you think of me?"
Naruto ducked her punch and lashed out at her with a kick.
"Why didn't you think of me?"
Kakashi watched as the two traded blow after blow and knew he had to step in soon. They weren't being productive in this. Hell, the two of them were actually backsliding! They were supposed to come here to fix their broken relationship, not disintegrate it. He stepped between the two and caught their arms, wincing at the pressure.
"Stop it! You're both acting like children. Both of you sit down now!"
Naruto walked over to his tree and flopped down with his arms crossed. Sakura sat down in the shade of another tree, her knuckles cracking under pressure. Kakashi sighed and looked from one to the other.
"Sakura, we came here to make peace, not pound Naruto into the ground. Naruto, I'm disappointed that you would strike Sakura."
Naruto glared at the man and Kakashi shivered slightly, reminding himself that Naruto was a teacher now as well and that he had a certain presence about him.
"So what? I'm supposed to let her pound me into the ground while I stand there?"
"No dammit! You're both supposed to talk it out like adults! We aren't enemies, we're allies. We're comrades. We used to be a team! Let's talk about this."
"You don't really seem like the talking type Kakashi. You never were. Why the interest now?"
Kakashi sent a little killing intent Naruto's way.
"Do you want to mend the fences or not? I've done a little soul searching as of late Naruto and I don't want to be bitter about your leaving anymore. I don't think Sakura does either, she's just too stubborn to admit it."
Sakura mumbled something unintelligible and Kakashi turned his glare to her.
"And as for you…don't start fistfights here. Naruto isn't the same person you used to push around Sakura. And I don't think Temari would appreciate you beating up her man."
"I don't want to be here in the first place."
Kakashi sighed and sat down.
"That's perfectly fine Sakura. You can sit there and watch as Naruto and I talk and try to reestablish our rapport with one another while you sit there and sulk and miss your chance."
A small whisper that sounded like 'fine' was heard as Sakura slowly crawled over to where the two were sitting, before sitting with her legs crossed. Naruto kept a neutral look on his face as he spoke.
"I just want you two to know I didn't want to leave. I just saw no other alternative to anything at the time. I was tired of hatred from my own village. When I found out who my parents were I thought for a single moment, hoped against hope, that everything would get better. But it didn't. My heritage was denied because of who I was.'
Sakura shook her head.
"But they found out who you actually were Naruto. There was no reason to leave. Everything was going to get better."
Naruto sighed and looked Sakura in her eyes, making her squirm somewhat.
"Sakura…I don't want my ass kissed because of who my parents were. I lived my whole life as a nobody, dirt in the eyes of everyone, including you, because I had no parents to call my own. I never knew my parents or who they were, and God rest their souls, I have no idea who they truly were. Kakashi knew my father but I don't know anything about them except what I've been told by Tsunade and Jiraiya."
He refused to tell them about the scrolls he had copied. They may be 'comrades' but they were still loyal Leaf ninjas…
"Your parents were good people Naruto. I'm sure they'd be proud of you."
Naruto turned to Kakashi and smiled sadly.
"Would they Kakashi? Or would they be ashamed that I took the easy way out and left the village? Gave up on my dream and ran away? I don't know what they'd think. The point is…if I had stayed, things would have only got better on the surface. I still would have been resented and hated."
Sakura tried to come up with a convincing argument but she just couldn't. The longer she talked, the more she realized that she had missed Naruto terribly. Her misguided animosity toward him was being washed away by the fact that he had never been wanted in Konoha. Kakashi didn't know what to say to any of it.
"Naruto…we would have stood beside you no matter what."
"And I appreciate that. But you have to realize that I'm happy here. You two have to go on with your lives without me there. I can't be your sounding board Sakura. I can't be your tie to the past Kakashi. You have to start living for tomorrow. Move on. Think about it. What tied us together in the first place?"
Kakashi smiled under his mask and looked to Sakura.
"Teamwork…"
"Wrong."
The pinkhaired girl and the silverhaired man whipped their heads around to Naruto.
"We weren't truly a team until after Sasuke left. The three of us were the true team. Sasuke was the thing that brought us together and united us. Up until he left, Sakura could have cared less if I dropped dead and you could have cared less if I just disappeared."
Both denied the charge at the same time with an emphatic 'That's not true!' Naruto shook his head, but Kakashi persisted.
"No, listen to me Naruto. You were always important to me as a student. I cared for your development just as much as Sasuke or Sakura."
"Pffft. Yeah right. The only thing you ever did was bring me vegetables when I was younger and show me how to train using Kage Bunshin after I came back. Other than that, you didn't do much."
Kakashi's frown could be felt through his mask.
"I was trying to make up for lost time until someone ran away."
Naruto set his face in a grimace and leaned forward slightly. This whole situation had been a long time coming and old wounds were seeing light for the first time in years now.
"There should never have been any lost time to make up."
"Well what about me? I always cared about you."
Naruto stared at the girl incredulously, glad that no one was there to see this whole fiasco.
"I believe you said one time that I always got in the way of you and Sasuke. You didn't ask if I was all right on the bridge during our first real mission after fighting Haku. You begged me to bring Sasuke back to you when he left the village. When I came back from my training journey, all you ever did was cry when things became too harsh. Hell, you never thanked me for saving you from Gaara!"
"That's not true Naruto! How can you say those things when you know they're not true?"
"Easy. Because I do know they're true. Neither of you cared about me leaving until you realized how much easier I made your lives. Without me around to ridicule or boss around or use as fodder for jokes, your lives became less fun and meaningful. That key component to get Sasuke back was gone as well."
The whole time Naruto was speaking his voice was growing in volume and the ferocity with which he was delivering his diatribe was making Kakashi and Sakura wince, despite their growing anger.
"Without the Kyuubi brat around I bet everyone's lives have been better in Konoha. I bet the two of you didn't think I was serious at first did you? It's just Naruto pouting. He'll be back in a couple of days. He has to bring back Sasuke after all. Well fuck that! My life has meaning too you know! I've lived my whole life so others could be safe and happy. All I wanted from you two was the knowledge that you were happy if I was happy but you couldn't even give me that. You stewed over it for over a year."
His teeth were now visible, the slightly longer-than-average fangs bared.
"I'm truly happy for the first time in my life and the first thing you two do when you see me after a year is snub me. No hello, no how you doing, you turned your nose up at me like I was trash."
Sakura grit her teeth, her knuckles cracking from pressure.
"Well I didn't see you making any effort to speak to us! We had every right to be upset. You abandoned us!"
"I didn't abandon shit! There was never a team dynamic with us. Kakashi spewed all that bull about teamwork but when it came down to the wire, he was just like the rest of you, casting me aside for something better. And you were no fucking better. If Sasuke would never have left, you would have continued to be his little bitch!"
Her retort was to put her fist into his jaw as hard as she could, sending him careening across the ground to stop up against a tree. Before she or Kakashi could move, he was back beside them his fist planted in her gut. The speed with which he moved was astounding.
"You wanna get physical? Fine! Let's get physical!"
He lashed a kick at Kakashi's head only to have the jounin dodge and try to backhand him. Naruto leapt back and squared off with the two.
"This has been a long time coming. We have issues to settle and as ninjas, the only way to settle them is with our fists. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."
Over a hundred clones poofed into existence and Kakashi and Sakura paled slightly. Naruto wasn't messing around with them. He had past grievances and he wanted a measure of payback. The clones charged them and they began a frantic melee to disperse as many as possible.
Naruto never moved from his spot, absorbing all the information that his clones gave him when they were dispelled. He retained the knowledge of Kakashi's cold stare in battle and the way Sakura grit her teeth as she destroyed one of his doppelgangers. Throughout it all, one thing became certain to him.
They weren't enjoying the fight…and neither was he. It shouldn't have happened this way.
Kakashi and Sakura finally rid themselves of the last clone and settled into guarded positions as they looked at the original Naruto. They immediately noticed the tears in the corner of his eyes and the crack in his voice as he spoke.
"You think I want to hurt people I considered family? I thought of Sasuke as my brother, even though he wanted to kill me. I tried and tried to bring him home, but he didn't want to come home. I thought of you as my sister and you as that crazy uncle you're ashamed of. Iruka was like a father to me. Baa-chan and Ero-Sennin may be the closest thing to grandparents I'll ever have. I don't want to fight any of you."
Kakashi dropped his guard and Sakura did the same. They were soon back on guard as Naruto himself rushed forward, driven by his pain, his face set into a look of sorrow as he began to rain blow after blow upon them.
"Why can't you see things my way? I hurt all the time back then but no one stepped up to help. All I wanted was a little love, someone who cared, but I couldn't have that. I got a team but none of you wanted me. You only used me."
Naruto landed a blow on Sakura's cheek and clubbed Kakashi in the head with the back of his hand. Both were amazed at his speed but they weren't slouches either. They also had an advantage. Naruto had been teaching for the better part of a year and while his skills weren't rusty, he was facing two extremely dangerous foes in tandem.
Sakura landed a kick on his thigh while Kakashi punched him in the shoulder. The blows rocked him hard and Naruto began to stumble. On his way back, he hit Kakashi in the hitai-ate, nearly giving him a black eye, and kicked Sakura in the gut. They were all fighting on empty, the emotional turmoil beginning to take its toll on them as their blows became weaker and weaker from lack of trying.
Naruto began to tear up as he fought, not from physical pain but from not wanting to fight them. Kakashi wasn't looking too hot either. That's when they decided jutsus would be appropriate.
Naruto was bound and determined to show that he didn't need a teacher to learn anything. He wouldn't do anything too threatening to them but unleashed his tornado jutsu and rushed at them. They both leapt away as he impacted the ground and left wide craters. Their eyes bulged. If he had connected with that…
Sakura charged her fist with chakra and punched the ground hard, splitting it and barely missed Naruto as he ran toward Kakashi. The one eyed ninja formed his seals and summoned a water dragon to hit Naruto in the chest. The boy disappeared with a puff and Kakashi found the back of his head assaulted by a fist before he Kawarimied out of danger.
Naruto pulled another jutsu out of his hat and blew them both away with a Futon: Daitoppa. Sakura was bowled into the creek while Kakashi hit a tree, nearly breaking it in half. Sakura came back with a punch to Naruto's jaw and Kakashi hit him with a low powered Raiton jutsu.
None of them were really trying to injure the others but the fight wasn't serving its purpose. It was supposed to make them feel better. Instead, it was making them feel worse. Naruto was now wiping full-fledged tears away as he ran and Kakashi looked ashamed.
Sakura had begun to tear up as well and got behind the blonde, wrapping his arms in an armlock. Her anger at him was all but gone as the fight was leaving them physically and emotionally drained.
"We didn't mean to use you. We're sorry ok? Just…let us fix it."
Naruto knocked her away and lashed out at Kakashi, putting the man on defensive.
"There's nothing left to fix. We can't even talk to each other any more without fighting. That's how bad it's gotten."
Kakashi knocked him onto his back with a well-timed punch and quickly wrapped his arms behind him; much in the way he had done Sasuke all those years ago.
"Let us apologize Naruto. Stop fighting us. We get it ok? We know we were wrong. Let us try to fix it."
Naruto threw Kakashi off of him and rose to his knees but didn't move. He was exhausted from all this, moreso than any fight he'd ever had. They'd apologized so…
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I've said and done here today. Forgive me."
Sakura knelt beside him and drew him into a hug, the feeling of his warmth automatically familiar and comforting even after a year. She cried lightly into his shoulder and squeezed a little more.
"I'm sorry too for anything hurtful I might have said. Let's forgive but not forget though ok? Everything we said today was true and needed to be let out."
Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Kakashi's smiling eye. That was probably as close as he'd ever get to a hug from Kakashi.
"I'm willing to start with a clean slate if you are Naruto. We know you won't come back to Konoha and we're ok with that now. We just needed some form of closure."
Naruto chuckled lightly and finally got Sakura to release him.
"I guess we just needed to beat the crap out of each other huh? That was always the way we settled anything on Team 7."
The other two laughed lightly and they all enjoyed the silence, their bruises reminders of what had been said and done. They might not be a team anymore, hell, they still weren't totally comfortable with each other, but wounds were beginning to heal. Naruto finally stood with a groan and reached both his hands out to the reclining Konoha ninjas.
"Let me show you something I haven't shown anyone but Temari."
They took his hands and followed closely behind him.
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Naruto turned to them as they neared the caves and spoke with authority.
"You must understand that this is holy ground. Don't take anything from here and don't try to harm any of the inhabitants. Understood?"
Kakashi and Sakura nodded and Naruto ushered them inside. What they saw was astounding.
All around them were crystals of all different sizes and colors, throwing prisms of light onto each other in a never-ending river of colors. Kakashi and Sakura spun round and round taking in the visage.
"Beautiful isn't it? This is one of my new burdens. I am the guardian of these caves. The raccoon tribe has asked me to ensure their safety."
Sakura turned to him in awe.
"Is that why there are so many raccoons running around here?"
"Of course. This is their holy ground. I'm just a guardian. But this is where I connect to nature. These caves are host to many spirits and they help guide me in my meditation."
"You mean there are ghosts here?"
"No, I mean the spirits of the earth. It is from here that I can control the green most effectively and where my wind manipulation is the strongest. But it is in poor taste to do such things here and I have found that the spirits grow angry if I try jutsus here. The only thing safe to try is the green and I think that's because I'm helping the earth."
Kakashi stared at him and blinked.
"So…why did you bring us here?"
Naruto shrugged and grinned.
"I thought after our little tiff that we could all use some spiritual healing. Don't you feel it? Like you spirit is lifted, that it is lighter, that your soul feels freer? Here, I am more in touch with my spiritual side, allowing me empathy and insight into your viewpoint of our argument. And I can see your points quite clearly. Can you see mine?"
Kakashi and Sakura closed their eyes and opened their minds. Now they could see Naruto's point of view, feel the stares and glares of hatred, feel his feelings toward them, what he felt for Sasuke, how he loved his new home and Temari. They could feel it all and it was…enlightening. Sakura opened her eyes and embraced him again.
"I'm sorry Naruto. I'm sorry for everything. I want things to go back to how they used to be, like after you came back from your trip. I want us to be able to talk again."
"Yes Naruto. I want to be a proper friend since I'm no longer your sensei. Let's put all this behind us and try to be amicable at the very least."
Naruto smiled and nodded. This is what he had wanted since he had heard of how the two had treated Temari after he had moved to Suna. His stomach growled all of a sudden and he remembered his offer.
"Who's up for lunch? I'm starving."
Sakura and Kakashi laughed and followed him out and back to the compound. Naruto called over his shoulder as they walked.
"I want you two to apologize to Temari as well for how you treated her."
The two paled. Temari was a lot less likely to be forgiving than Naruto was…
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Temari practically flew over the sand on her way back. She'd been running for hours and when she saw the walls of Suna she put on a final burst of speed, rocketing past the guards and blowing by everyone on her way to the Tower. She forsook the door and climbed the side of the building, going all the way to Gaara's office.
The Kazekage took one look at his distraught sister and knew something was up.
Something big.
Temari tried to catch her breath and talk at the same time.
"Ran all…the way…here…Akatsuki…where's Naruto?"
Gaara tried to calm her down and sat her down in his chair.
"Talk normally. Catch your breath."
Temari took great gulps of breath and finally got her heartbeat back under control.
"I saw Akatsuki in that town you sent me to. I don't know if they're heading this way, but I need to find Naruto. Where is he?"
"He's with Kakashi and Sakura today."
Temari paled and bolted out of the room to find her boyfriend. Gaara called for Kankurou immediately. If Akatsuki was on the move again, they'd best be prepared.
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Temari had run for the property as fast as she could and was somewhat happy and irritated at the same time that they weren't there. Signs of their having been there were everywhere however. Uprooted trees, skidmarks, potholes…they had had quite a talk. She turned on her heel and ran for the compound. Hopefully he'd be there.
As she entered the house she heard the sound of Naruto's laughter and rushed in, nearly bowling him over with a bearhug. Whatever he'd been holding went flying but Kakashi skillfully caught the pan and it's contents and sat it back on the stove. Temari looked up at the two coldly and dragged Naruto to his feet.
"Hatake. Haruno."
The two flinched at the cold address but responded by bowing low.
"We apologize for the way we treated you Temari-san. Please forgive us."
Temari blinked and turned to a grinning Naruto.
"I guess your talks worked huh?"
He nodded vigorously. She smiled but immediately shook her head. She had to tell him.
"Naruto, I saw some Akatsuki as I was coming back. They were in a village a day away from here. I don't know if they're headed this way or not."
Everyone present froze at that and Naruto closed his eyes.
"Peace couldn't last forever. I had a year without them, but I guess forever was too much to ask."
He turned to the Konoha nins.
"I think your stay may be extended a tad. Just in case you understand."
Sakura and Kakashi nodded. They understood completely.
"Good. We'd better go find Baa-chan and Ero-Sennin. They'll want to hear this too."
The other three nodded and they set off to find the rest of their group.
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Trouble was coming to Suna in the form of two groups. They traveled from different directions but their goals were the same. To find and eventually kill a certain jinchuuriki, the last jinchuuriki.
The groups' goal was to find Uzumaki Naruto and take his life. One through extraction, the other through extermination.
The desert would play host to a fierce battle soon. A battle where all sides were enemies and things would come to a head. One way or another.
And at the middle of it all was someone who wanted nothing to do with any of it.
Let me know what you think. Hopefully everything will tie together soon.