A/N: Naruto and Hinata's adventure really starts now. Remember to review. Also vote on my poll on my profile, 'cause it's really close! Do you want me to make a Sound version?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 2 Across the Desert, Meeting it's Monster

"So… Hot!" Naruto complained. He knew the desert would be hot, but he didn't know it would be this hot! He and Hinata wore their jackets around their waists. Hinata's black shirt and Naruto's white shirt were soaked in sweat. "I'm melting!"

He and Hinata had recently arrived at the Land of Wind, though sometimes Naruto wondered why it wasn't called the Land of Fire, cause it's hotter here. Hinata explained that the five major nations were named for the abundance of natural elemental affinities in them. For example, most people in the Land of Fire have a natural affinity for fire style jutsu, and in the Land of Wind, wind style users are more common than anywhere else.

They had stopped at a store near the border, where Hinata suggested they stock up on water, due to the fact that they would be traveling in the desert. Naruto paid since Hinata forgot her wallet at home. She apologised and promised to pay him back, but Naruto told her not to worry about it, her company was payment enough. Unaware of the effect his words had on her, (basically he was just glad he wasn't alone anymore, not flirting or anything like that) Naruto didn't notice her intense blush as she struggled to stay conscious.

Now they were traversing the desert, looking for the Village Hidden in the Sand, where no one knew them and they could complete their ninja training without the hostilities they faced in the Leaf. In fact, Naruto had already decided he was gonna be the Kazekage, since that's the Sand's version of the Hokage. Hinata planned to support him and make his dream come true, though she was too shy to tell him this.

As they walked through the desert, Naruto spotted something on the horizen. It was an oasis! With palm trees and water!

"Look Hinata! Water!" Naruto shouted excitedly, pointing at the oasis. "We can take a refill our water and take a dip!"

Hinata looked where he was pointing. "Um, N-Naruto, I don't s-see…"

"Last one in's a rotten egg!" Naruto rushed toward it, dropping his pack.

"Wait, Naruto!" She picked up his pack and tried to get his attention. Naruto wasn't listening. He closed his eyes, jumped into the air and landed in the water.

Only it didn't feel cool at all, or even wet. In fact, it didn't feel like water at all! Naruto opened his eyes to find only sand. The trees, the vegetation, the water, all gone! "Where did…"

"Um, N-Naruto," Naruto looked at the shy girl as she handed him his pack. "T-there was n-no oasis."

"Huh? But I saw…"

"I-it was an i-illusion c-created by the h-heat. A-a mirage."

"A mirage." Naruto repeated as he looked around. Hinata knew if she had done that in front of him, she would have died of embarrassment, so she figured that must be what he's feeling. But instead, Naruto just got up and flashed her one of his goofy smiles. "Eh hee hee. I must have looked pretty silly there, huh?" He just let out a little laughter.

Hinata covered her mouth as she quietly giggled. It was one of the things she admired about him, he never let anything get him down if he could help it. If something had him down, he'd just flash a smile and moved forward.

"Okay, if I remember that map the old man showed me, the village should be somewhere to the west, the same direction we were heading in." Naruto thought for a moment. "Um, Hinata? Do you remember which way we were going?"

"Um…" Hinata realised in the commotion, they had lost their sense of direction and couldn't check which way they came since the wind covered their tracks like they hoped it would in order to keep any pursuers off their trail. "N-no, s-sorry Naruto."

"Hmmm. Okay, new plan. We wander the desert until we run into any Sand shinobi and ask them to take us to their village."

"B-but, w-who knows how long t-that'll take." Hinata worried that it would take too long time for them to run into a Sand shinobi. Their supplies would only last them another 2 or 3 days.

"We'll be alright. Come on, let's go!"
-

Iruka sat on his desk, grading papers while his students were out for lunch. But his thoughts were elsewhere, on his two missing students, Hinata Hyūga and Naruto Uzumaki.

Hiashi told him and everyone else that Hinata was out of the village on a special training expedition. Iruka had accepted the explanation, but could help but worry for her as her teacher.

But right now he was worried about the young jinchūriki. Everyone knew of Naruto's departure from the village, another thing about the boy the Hokage couldn't keep secret. When news reached the villagers, cheers could be heard all around the village. It made Iruka sick to see these people had driven the poor child away and were now celebrating.

Not that he was blameless himself. When the Third Hokage asked him to be the teacher for Naruto class, he had a hard time dealing with the boy. Naruto was loud, barely paid attention, and would pull stupid pranks. When he asked the other instructors for advice, one suggested he not make a big deal of it whenever Naruto acts up and that would make the problem go away.

So that's what Iruka did. He ignored Naruto and told the class to do the same, all of which would do so. Well, all but one, but she watched him secretly. Anyway, it didn't work. Naruto continued to cause trouble, so Iruka spent more time either mildly scolding or ignoring him, never realising how this truly affected Naruto or seeing the familiar pain, until one day. He was walking home one day three kids ran past him screaming about a fox monster in the cemetery. Kunai in hand, Iruka rushed to the scene, only to find Naruto on the ground laughing with a white and red fox mask next to him and wearing a cape. Memories of that terrible day when Iruka lost his parents the Nine-Tailed Fox, the very demon that Naruto contained, resurfaced and Iruka unknowingly gave Naruto the same look the villagers gave him everyday, and though not as hateful, it still hurt the young boy to see. So Naruto shouted, asking why he and everyone else gave him that dreadful look. He ranted about how he wasn't just some nuisance or germ but a person with feelings of his own. Then Naruto said he was done, done with the academy and done with the village and ran home. Iruka's eyes widened when he heard the hurt in his voice and the look on Naruto's face. The shock wore off and he yelled at Naruto to wait, but Naruto just kept running, trying to hold in the tears.

Iruka stayed up all night, the look on Naruto's face haunting him. As the night drew on, memories of attack 7 years ago enter his head again. But soon they were replaced by memories of afterwards, when Iruka was alone and became the class clown to get attention. His thoughts drifted to all of Naruto's antics and realised he acted just like Iruka use to. In fact, if it wasn't for the Hokage preaching to him about the Will of Fire, Iruka may not have changed or even graduated from the academy. 'That's why Lord Hokage asked me to be his teacher,' Iruka had thought. 'I'm the only one who could understand his pain, if only a little.'

The next day there was no school, so Iruka would have to wait until tomorrow to apologise to him. The whole day, he heard people speak ill about Naruto, which not only angered him but also increased his own guilt. He tried to speak to the Hokage, but he was in an important meeting. He couldn't even have a bowl of his favorite ramen from Ichiraku because they closed early that day.

The day afterwards, Naruto wasn't at school, and neither was Hinata. However, it wasn't the first time she had to skip school for clan business so Iruka wasn't as concerned. But he remembered Naruto's words at the cemetery and grew worried. He asked the class if anyone had seen him, but no one had, and what's more, most verbally expressed that they didn't care. He was missing the next day too, though he had been informed that Hinata was undergoing special training outside the village, and the day after that, Naruto was still missing. It was on the fourth day of school for the week that news had spread that Naruto had fled the village. As expected, many students took it as good news, though some like Choji and Shikamaru seemed a little saddened by the news. Even Sasuke looked like he was curious as to what could have happened to the blond knucklehead, though he quickly buried the thought. Iruka's guilt was at an all time high, knowing he was partially responsible for driving Naruto away.

'Guess the problem did go away, and now I want it back.'

"Hey Iruka, you alright?" Iruka was snapped out of his thoughts by his long time friend Mizuki.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine," he lied.

Mizuki looked at him in disbelief. "I can tell you're lying. We've been friends for years. Is this about Naruto?"

Iruka sighed. "I just wish I had been a better teacher to him. Maybe then, he wouldn't have left."

Mizuki put his hand on his shoulder. "You can't change the past, but you can affect the future. Don't worry, I'm sure he's alright." Iruka thanked him and continued to grade papers. 'Damn, as glad as I am that the demon is gone, I sure he would have had uses that benefited me,' Mizuki thought as he supervised the children for the remainder of lunch.
-

"N-Naruto, I t-think I see s-someone."

"Finally!" Two days have passed and they were nearly out of water and food. "Where are they?"

"O-over their." Hinata pointed to their left as the veins disappeared around her eyes and sure enough, Naruto saw four figures in the distance.

"Alright, let's go introduce ourselves." Naruto started running toward the figures, Hinata following close behind. Both of them were nervous, Hinata more so than Naruto. After all, there was no guarantee these people would take them. And Naruto knew better than most how cruel people can be, even to a child. But they had come too far neither was willing to give up because of what ifs. They chose the Hidden Sand for a reason. They were allies of the Leaf Village, which meant that they were least likely to attack their old home in the future, which was a good thing since neither of them held any grudges, despite what they went through. All they had to do was keep their identities a secret, and the could become shinobi. Naruto was gonna be Kazekage one day, and Hinata would become a powerful kunoichi and stand by Naruto's side as a close friend. 'Or maybe I'll become more,' she hoped.

The closer they got, the clearer the figures became. It was three kids and one adult, and they looked like they were taking a jogging. The adult was a man who wore a white turban-like headgear with a sheet covering the left side of his face. Two red, curved, triangular markings on the right side of his face and wore his protector with the Sand Village symbol on his forehead. In fact, he was the only one with a forehead protector He wore a beige flak jacket with shoulder padding.

Behind him was a blond girl with teal eyes. Her hair was in four spiky ponytails. She wore a light purple, long-sleeve garment that reached halfway to her thighs and showed her shoulders, which were covered in a fishnet, a scarlet sash around her waist and a closed metal fan on her back. She looked like she was the eldest of the children and was probably about three years older that the two runaways.

The second child was a boy in what looked like a black cat suit or something, since his headgear had what looked like cat ears. On the center of the suit was a circle, half red half yellow, outlined with white. His hair wasn't visible, and he had purple face paint in a triangular design. He had something wrapped on his back and looked a little younger than the girl, probably by a year or two.

The last and youngest of the group was a boy with short, spiky red hair who looked about the same age as Naruto. He had green eyes that had black rings around him, like he didn't get much sleep. The kanji for love was located above his left eye. He wore a short-sleeved black bodysuit, with mesh armor underneath, with a white cloth that goes over his right shoulder and down and around his left hip. He has a wide leather band from his left shoulder to his right hip that holds a gourd on his back.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled as he ran toward them. The group stopped jogging and turned. They were surprised to see two children running toward them.

"Hm? What are a bunch of brats doing alone in the middle of the desert?" the boy with the face paint said.

"I'll take care of them." the redhead said, his voice void of emotion. The cork in the gourd popped out and sand started to poured.

"Gaara, no." the shinobi said, calm, but firm. "We should find out what they're doing here. Besides, you already killed that group of bandits we came across earlier." the shinobi said.

"Their blood disgusted mother."

"And what makes you think theirs is any better," he argued.

Gaara thought for a moment, as Naruto and Hinata arrived at their location. "Alright, they live, for now." The sand returned to his gourd.

The two runaways heard Gaara's last comment. Hinata instantly decided not to get on his bad side and Naruto looked at him in confusion, wondering who was this guy and why would he say something like that. He did decide to be wary of the redhead, in case he was serious, but would withhold judgement until later. "Um, okay?" Turning his attention to the only adult of the group, Naruto asked, "Hey, you guys from the Hidden Sand?"

"Why do you ask?" the blond girl asked.

"We're looking for the village, to enroll in the academy."

"And where exactly are you from?" the shinobi asked. They didn't look like they were from the desert, so he assumed they weren't from one of the desert villages that dotted the Land of Wind. "And your parents? Where are they?

Hinata spoke this time. "W-we're from a v-village that's on t-the b-border."

"We, never knew our parents," Naruto said with genuine sadness, since he truly never met his mom and dad and had no idea who they were, not even their names, other than Uzumaki. "Um, anyway, I'm Kono," Naruto said, using a fake name.

"Um, a-and I'm K-Kurenai," Hinata choose her name while thinking about one of her mother's friends. She hadn't had many interactions with the real Kurenai, but she was always very nice to Hinata, even after the death of Hitomi. 'Wonder how she's doing.'
-

"Ah-Choo!"

"You alright Kurenai?" Asuma asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said as she continued her date.
-

"Alright we told you our names, now what's yours," Naruto demanded.

The three children look at the shinobi, who nodded at them. The blond girl introduced herself as Temari, the cat boy said he was Kankuro, and the redhead was Gaara. Apparently, they were siblings. The shinobi introduced himself as Baki, their sensei. The two runaways asked about enrolling to be shinobi of the Sand. "I'll need to take you to the Kazekage, since you're outsiders," Baki explained. "If he approves, then you may enroll."

"Alright! Then what are we waiting for?" Naruto was practically jumping up and down.

'This guys has way too much energy,' the Sand residents thought. Baki lead the way and Naruto and Hinata followed. He motioned Temari toward him and whispered in her ear, "Make sure you and your brothers keep an eye on those two." Temari nodded.

Meanwhile, Gaara looked at the blond boy. Something about him had 'mother' riled up and it was giving him a major headache. He held his head and suppressed his cries of pain. 'Mother, please! Calm down, it hurts!' It went on for about 3 more seconds before it stopped. The runaways didn't notice, but Temari did and Gaara could make out the fear in her eyes. Fear that the monster within him was coming out. 'Who are you, Kono, to elicit such a reaction. Not that it matters. If mother wants his blood, I'll abilge and prove my existence once more.'

"Come in," spoke Fourth Kazekage Rasa. He had dark eyes and spiky auburn hair, similar to Gaara's red hair. He wore the standard loose fitting kimono of the Kage. His was white and green. On his desk was his green hat with the kanji for wind on it. Baki walk in with Naruto and Hinata in tow. The Sand Siblings had returned home upon entering the village. "Ah Baki, I trust the training outside the village went well, though I'm curious to see who these children you've brought with you are."

"Yes, Lord Kazekage." Baki said with a small bow. "Your children performed within expectations. As for these two, we found them wandering the desert. They say they're orphans from a village on the border between our land and the Land of Fire. They wish to enroll at the academy so they can join our ranks as shinobi."

"I see." The Kazekage looked at the two children. "And what are your names?"

"My name is Kurenai, Lord Kazekage." Hinata bowed as she spoke. Rasa nodded in approval then turned toward the boy.

"I'm Kono the Unpredictable, believe it!" Naruto said with a smile. Baki frowned at the lack of respect he showed, but Rasa didn't seem too bothered by it. Hinata kept her composure, but inside, she was giggling at Naruto's declaration, know it to be true with all his unique pranks that always seemed to catch people off guard.

"And what are your reasons for becoming shinobi?" the Kazekage asked.

"Simple, I'm gonna become the greatest ninja and protect everyone I care about, and my village! Um, this village I mean. Not that I don't care about my old village, but what I means is…"

"I got it," the Kazekage interrupted. "And you, young Kurenai?"

"I want to b-become a s-strong kunoichi and p-protect my h-home," Hinata stuttered.

"I see." The Kazekage examined the them for a few minutes. The silence was unnerving until he finally spoke. "If you will wait outside while I speak to Baki, I'll have my answer then." He motioned to the door. Once the two exited, the Kage activated privacy seals. "And what do you think?"

"That they're now who they claim to be."

The Kazekage nodded, indicating that he was thinking the same. "Yes though I doubt they're spies. Still, I'd like to keep an eye on them. Especially the girl."

"Who do you think they are?" Baki asked.

"The girl, though shy, seems to be well acquainted with the mannerisms expected from one of nobility. Add her desire to become a ninja, it's most likely she's from a ninja clan. And from her physical features, I'd say the Hyūga."

"Are you sure?" Baki questioned. "Her eyes don't look like the byakugan." He'd met a few Hyūga and knew what their Byakugan looked like.

"A disguise. She's wearing colored contact lenses." Baki nodded. It made sense. "Why she left, I've no idea. She lacks the curse mark of the branch family, so she must be from the main family."

"And what of Kono, if that's his real name? I got the impression he really is an orphan."

"Same here, but since he came with 'Kurenai', it stands to reason he came from the Leaf Village too."

"Should we alert them of their presence? After all, the Leaf are our allies."

"Yes, allies who have stolen all our business!" he said angrily. "Our feudal lord has given most of the missions he'd normally entrust to us to the Leaf. We're barely scraping by, and what have our so called allies done to help us? Nothing!" Regaining his composure, he continued. "Besides, this is a chance for the Sand to acquire a powerful kekkei genkai. If the Leaf was foolish to lose her, its their loss. And since neither of them are eager to return, we can keep this a secret, until it's too late. For now, though, we'll pretend not to know anything."

"Alright, so we'll accept them into the academy." Rasa nodded. "And where will they stay?"

"With my children. That way they and I can keep an eye on them, just in case. Inform them of the situation and make sure to tell Temari and Kankuro keep Gaara in line. I don't want him killing the girl."

"As you wish, Lord Kazekage." With a bow, Baki walked out the door. He told the two runaways that the Kazekage had reached a decision and wished to speak to them.

"I have come to a decision. You will be accepted into the academy." Naruto started celebrating. "However," the Kazekage added, causing Naruto to stop, "you will be kept under observation. This is standard for all outsiders who wish to join our village. You've already met your housemates. They were the three you met along with Baki."

"Oh yeah, those three. We'll be staying with them?" Receiving a nod, he smiled and said, "Cool."

The Kazekage continued to explain what would happen, and as he looked at the two children, he couldn't help but think that their presence will change the Village Hidden in the Sand, hopefully for the better.
-

Alpha: Hope people like this. Don't expect Naruto and Gaara to be fast friends. I'm not making it that easy. That would be way too boring.

Naruto: HA! TAKE THAT SASUKE!

Sasuke: Hm, you got lucky.

Naruto: Luck had nothing to do with it. I kicked your ass!

Alpha: What are you two doing?

Sasuke: Playing Ninja Storm 2.

Naruto: And I just beat Sasuke!

Sasuke: Again, luck. This time, I'll definitely win.

Alpha: Later, it's my turn now! (Takes the controller from Sasuke)

Guy: Yosh! Kakashi, my eternal rival, let us duke it out on the screen! Loser does 500 laps around the neighborhood on their hands!

Kakashi: There's no getting out of this, is there?

Alpha: Nope.

Sasuke: 'fraid not.

Naruto: Negatory.

Kakashi: sighs Ok Guy, we'll play next match.

Naruto: Alright, I pick me, pervy sage, and dad.

Alpha: And I'll be Itachi, Kiba, and Hinata. Get ready to lose!

Naruto: You're on!