I don't own Naruto!

'He had no idea'

Chapter 6

Now that she's back in the atmosphere
with drops of Jupiter in her hair
she acts like summer and walks like rain
reminds me that there's a time to change
since the return from her stay on the moon
she listens like spring and she talks like June

But tell me did you sail across the sun did you make it to the milky way
to see the lights all fading and that heaven is overrated
tell me did you fall for a shooting star one without a permanent scar
and did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there

- 'Drops of Jupiter' by Train

"Show it to me!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you can't do it!"

"Of course I can, believe it! Just show it to me!"

"No!"

"Come on, Sasuke! Show me!"

"No!"

Two children were arguing loudly. A six-year old blonde girl was begging her raven-haired rival to teach her the technique he had been practising, until said girl had interrupted him. It just looked too cool, she needed to learn it! Sasuke was spitting fire! From his mouth!

The young raven was practising Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu (1). His father had shown the technique to him and Sasuke was very determined to get it down. He wanted to make his father proud and prove that he could be just as good as Itachi. But the annoying blonde girl had somehow found him training at the lake. And she now demanded of him to teach the technique to her. But there was just no way that the dead-last would manage a technique of this level. And besides, it was a family jutsu, so he wouldn't reveal it to her. She was not an Uchiha, after all.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

The two had begun shoving each other; Sasuke trying to get rid of the girl and Naruto trying her best to convince the boy to teach her.

Sasuke, being a boy and a little older and taller, was stronger than the blonde. With a final push, the raven was able to get the girl off of him. Losing her balance, the blonde fell backwards and, with a surprised squeak, fell off the small wooden footbridge, landing in the water with a loud splash.

Smirking satisfied, Sasuke watched the small blonde. She was wildly waving her arms. Her head sunk under the water. Sputtering, she surfaced.

"Sasu –", she sunk again, cutting her off. "Can't –"

Sasuke watched her curiously. Why wasn't she just swimming to the shore?

"Swim!" Gasping for air, she sunk under again, splashing wildly. He caught a look of her wide, frightened eyes, before the water swallowed her again.

Can't... swim...? Can't swim! Naruto couldn't swim, he realized!

Without a second thought, Sasuke jumped into the water. With quick, skillful motions, he reached the panicking girl. He grabbed her around the tiny waist, trying to pull at least her head atop the water. It was difficult to hold onto the violently thrashing girl, but he eventually managed. He was rewarded with the sound of Naruto's coughing, as she drew in the desperately needed air. He hooked his arms and hers and manoeuvred both of them to the sandy shore of the small lake.

Naruto lay next to him, coughing and spitting water.

Sasuke sat up and watched her, feeling a little guilty now for pushing her into the lake. But how could he have known that the girl didn't know how to swim? She was six years old! Sasuke had learned swimming two years ago!

Eventually, Naruto's strained coughing subsided and she pulled herself into a sitting position next to the raven.

"Why can't you swim?", Sasuke blurted out. It must've come out harsher, than he intended to, because the girl next to him flinched and looked to the ground, avoiding his scrutinizing eyes.

Her voice was uncharacteristically subdued, when she answered. "No one taught me", she whispered.

Sasuke wasn't sure, whether he had heard correctly. "What? Speak up!"

The girl's head snapped up, blue eyes focusing angrily on him. How dare he mock her about this? After all, it was his fault she had nearly drowned.

"No one taught me!", she burst out, glaring at him defensively.

Sasuke was confused. "Why wouldn't your parents – " He stopped abruptly, as he saw the pained look on Naruto's face, before she turned her head away from him. He remembered. Naruto was an orphan. She had no parents. No one, who would show her how to swim. But surely there was someone who took care of her. He had known her for barely a year now, since the beginning of the academy. He head never heard her talking about anyone resembling some kind of parental figure. And if he remembered correctly, she was also living on her own.

Sasuke thought about his own family. About how his father had taught him swimming when he was four years old in this very lake. His mother had been very proud of him and Itachi had congratulated him, too, which had made Sasuke beam with pride. Incapable of imagining being all alone, having no one to care about, he felt pity swell up in him.

Naruto was visibly sad and maybe even ashamed to have to admit that there was no one, who cared about her enough to teach her something as simple as this.

Before he knew what he was doing, he saw his hand nudge the girl in the shoulder. "I could teach you", he murmured. His voice sounded strange to his ears and he felt a small blush appear on his cheeks.

Naruto slowly looked back at him. Her blue eyes searched his face for any sign of mockery. Did he really mean it? Why would he take the time? After all, they had just been arguing, because he had not been willing to teach her the fire jutsu. Then why teach her how to swim?

She suspiciously squinted her eyes at him. "Why would you do that?"

Sasuke was shyly fumbling with his hands in his lap. They were still wet and his clothes were soaked. He didn't know exactly where this generous offer was coming from, but he wouldn't take it back. Not after seeing the hopeful shimmer in Naruto's eyes.

"All shinobi must know how to swim", Sasuke replied, actually finding truth in his small evasive lie.

A very hesitant smile formed on the blonde's lips. "Really, would you teach me?" The tone in her voice was so hopeful and genuinely grateful, that Sasuke felt himself nod at her.

"Yes, I promise." He looked into her blue eyes. They were filled with joy and sparkling from the last light of the setting sun.

He promised!, Naruto thought, dumbfounded. Unable to express her appreciation in any other way, she threw herself at the boy next to her, hugging him around the waist, throwing him over in the process.

Sasuke suddenly looked up at the darkening sky, the blonde girl clinging to him. His cheeks were still red and he was glad that it was already too dark to make it out. Returning slowly to his usual composed self – how was it that around Naruto he always acted so unlike him, anyway? – he peeled Naruto's arms off of him, sitting up again. The smaller child happily grinned at him, forgotten that not half an hour ago, she had been very angry with him.

"Will you teach me now?", she asked eagerly, slightly bouncing on her knees.

Sasuke had to smirk at her eagerness, somehow feeling good for being the reason for her happiness. "No, not today. It's already getting dark."

Her smile weakened a little at his words. "Another time, dobe." And with that her face lit up again.

"Teme", she grinned at him, returning their usual insults.

Sasuke had no idea that he would never keep the promise to his blonde rival. And he had no idea that he would come to regret it deeply.

One and a half years after Sasuke left Konoha:

Sasuke awoke, feeling disoriented. His head was throbbing and he was oddly aware of the dull ache in his chest. He had come to live with it, pushing it back, not letting it consume him. Today though, it felt fresh, almost like the day of the Uchiha massacre, almost like after the fight in the Valley of the End, after he had abandoned Naruto. Naruto... His memories came back to him. He had killed Naruto! He had stabbed her in the chest with a kunai! She had stopped breathing in his arms! Sasuke's fist gripped the fabric over his aching heart. No, he silently pleaded.

/I hate you, Sasuke!/

It couldn't be true. Naruto's last words. Did the dobe really hate him? But how could she not. Sasuke had killed her. Unintentionally, though. He thought back. He had come from a mission for Orochimaru – and suddenly Itachi had appeared! Itachi... Sasuke wondered. What had his brother wanted? And why had Naruto been with him? He thought about how he hadn't seen Itachi after he had stabbed Naruto. And he had turned around, ready to kill Itachi. But in Itachi's stead, there was Naruto. The blonde idiot... Could it be...?

His agonizing musings were interrupted, when a door opened.

A door? Where exactly was he, anyway? The last thing he remembered was a dying, bleeding Naruto in his arms... He now realized that he seemed to be back in Orochimaru's hide-out. There was no mistaking this strange wall design.

Sasuke looked up and saw Kabuto standing in the room. "Ah, Sasuke-kun, I see you are awake."

The medic nin walked over to Sasuke's bed. He professionally checked his vital status. Deeming everything to be fine, he coolly regarded the Uchiha.

Wanting some insight to how he had ended up back with Orochimaru, Sasuke asked, "What happened?"

Kabuto kept silent for a moment, then replied, "I felt a strange spike in your chakra signature. You can be glad that you weren't too far from the base or I wouldn't have felt it. You were unconscious, when I found you." He watched the raven closely. "Do you remember anything?"

Sasuke hesitated. He didn't want the medic nin to know that he had met Itachi. And he wasn't yet sure of what had happened exactly. "No."

The grey-haired shinobi looked at him quizzically, obviously not believing him. "I felt the remains of a genjutsu around you", he revealed.

At his words, Sasuke felt relief wash over him. A genjutsu! Itachi had tricked him into seeing Naruto's death! He hadn't actually killed her! His heart rate increased as confusing emotions filled him. For the second time, he had somehow not ended up killing the girl! His relief was so strong that he had to look away from Kabuto, to hide the emotions crossing over his face. The relief was so strong, that he forgot to notice how easily his brother had still caught him in his genjutus, failing to see that he still lacked power.

Just to be sure, Sasuke asked another question. "Was there any blood when you found me?"

"No", Kabuto squinted his eyes at him doubtfully, "Was there supposed to be blood?"

"No, never mind", Sasuke answered quickly. He had his answers. It had really been a genjutsu.

Why would Itachi seek me out only to cast a genjutsu on me? Sasuke couldn't find a plausible reason to justify his brother's actions. Itachi had left him behind. He could have killed him effortlessly. Why didn't he? And why would Itachi show him a genjutsu with Naruto in it? Maybe Itachi had hoped that Sasuke knew where Naruto was? After all, the last time they had met, Itachi had wanted to kidnap Naruto; though Sasuke still didn't know why Itachi and his blue-skinned partner had been after the girl.

There were too many open questions for his liking. He carefully swung his legs over the bed and stood. He felt a little shaky, but was fine otherwise. He would go train, maybe that would ease his mind.

Two years and eleven months after Naruto left Konoha, six months since she parted with Jiraiya:

Naruto exasperatedly threw the cards on the table. She had lost – again. She pushed the chair back from the table, ignoring the lecherous grins directed at her. The five man at the table stared longingly after her, calling after her to come back, keeping them entertained.

Naruto didn't turn back. She left the shady casino, grudgingly paying her debts.

She had just found out something else about herself. She sucked at gambling. As lucky as she usually was, luck eluded her, when it came to card games such as poker.

The girl sighed and walked along the dark streets of the dubious town she was in. She had arrived here two days ago. Alone. She had been on her own for little over five months now and it had been interesting five months so far.

As she had no idea what she wanted in the future, Naruto had thrown herself into whatever came her way. She had started meaningless fights in bars with dangerous looking guys. She had beaten up bandits, who tried to rob her one night. She had kissed a young man she had met in a bar; but it had not gone beyond kissing. She had tried fishing in wave country, finding it rather boring. She had tried playing an instrument, but found out that she had no musical talent. She had tried drawing, too, and thanks to her lessons in sealing, she found her sketches to be rather good. She had climbed the highest mountain she could find – without using chakra; it had been very exhausting, but arriving on the peak, overlooking the small world to her feet, a sense of accomplishment had filled her. She had drunk sake until the world had been spinning around her and in the process had also found out that she could drink a lot before puking her guts out, thanks to Kyuubi.

Concerning Kyuubi, she had also gotten new information. Jiraiya had always suggested to talk to her tenant, but so far, Naruto had been somehow reluctant to do so. One night, when sleep wouldn't come, she had finally tried to meditate. And indeed, she had entered her mind scape, meeting the fox demon. The chakra creature had been as hostile as she had expected. She was very apprehensive of the things the demon had told her, but some of it, she did believe. She had asked the Kyuubi why he would no longer heal her wounds, leaving her scarred for the rest of her life. By now her body was littered with scars of every form and size. Jiraiya did not go easy on her and she always pushed herself as much as possible, often ending in her passing out. Kyuubi had told her that the scars served as a reminder of her own vulnerability. She was a demon container, which gained her more than one useful advantage, such as the incredible healing. But still, she was only human and she could still die. And the demon would die together with her. Naruto knew that he would do everything in his power to not let her die, though. However, she could somehow understand his reasoning. The demon had started leaving her scarred after the almost-fatal wound caused by Sasuke's chidori. If not for Kyuubi, she would doubtlessly have died. Naruto swore, she saw the huge fox's eyes widen slightly in surprise, as she had sincerely thanked him for not letting her die that day. Nonetheless, she made sure to keep in mind that it had by no means been a selfless act. It was only thanks to the demon's own survival instinct that she was still alive.

Maybe Naruto only imagined it, but after the talk with Kyuubi, she felt as if it had become slightly easier to access his chakra.

Naruto made a mental note to avoid gambling in the future. It had cost her her last money. She had taken to doing all kinds of jobs in order to get money. Jiraiya hadn't left her very much and thanks to her experiments, she was pretty much broke by now.

But had she found any answers yet? No. She still didn't know what to do. She had no purpose; no idea what she wanted to achieve, no aims for the future.

She arrived in the small hotel room she had rented, grabbed her few things and left the town. She liked travelling during the night, when the world was sleeping. It was relaxing. It also helped training her senses, always staying alert.

Her feet carried her down a dusty road. She followed them willingly, wondering where they would lead her this time.

Six months before:

Tsunade sat at her desk. Her chin rested on her hands and she was silently cursing the stupid paperwork. Her eyes fluttered, she was tired. It was already dark outside and she felt like she was the only person left in Konoha up and working.

Fighting against sleep, she straightened up, grabbing the next report. It contained the progress of the latest ANBU recruits. She stopped for a second at the names of Hyuuga Neji and Inuzuka Kiba. She still remembered the two boys from when they had asked about Naruto after she had told them that the girl had left to train. Pleased about their progress after one year in ANBU, she was about to reach for the next report, when she heard the clanking of wooden sandals on the floor of her office. Could it be...?

The blonde Hokage turned towards her window. Her face lit up at the sight of her white-haired team mate.

"Ne, Tsunade-hime, still working?", the tall man greeted her, flashing her a grin.

Tsunade returned it and allowed Jiraiya to kiss her on the cheek. She felt the skin where his lips had touched her grow hot. She suppressed a blush. Looking around his broad figure, expecting to find Naruto, she frowned.

"Where is she, Jiraiya?"

The taller man squirmed a little. "You know", he began, "she told me to tell you, that she'll return soon."

"What? She didn't return with you? Where is she? You left her alone?" Her voice was loud and Jiraiya flinched.

He repeated the conversation between him and Naruto to Tsunade. About how the girl didn't know what to do, having no aim, trying to find herself.

Jiraiya finished and Tsunade sighed. She had hoped that her favourite gaki would be able to mend while travelling with Jiraiya. But it seemed as if she still needed some time. And she wouldn't take it from her. Whenever the girl returnerd, she would support her in whatever decisions and aims she came back with. She just wished she'd come back today.

With Naruto again: (Two years and eleven months after Naruto left Konoha, six months since she parted with Jiraiya)

Naruto regarded the huge sandy walls of Sunagakure. Her feet had taken her all the way through the desert to the huge gates of the Village hidden in the Sand. She smiled. Her feet had taken her to the one person, who would maybe understand her.

She greeted the guards at the gates. As she was still not wearing her Konoha forehead protector, she was not recognized as a shinobi immediately. Although the katana on her back spoke volumes and also her attire was rather unusual for a civilian. She gave her name and said she was hear to see Sabaku no Gaara. The two guards shared a quick glance, making Naruto wonder what it was about. Nonetheless, they told her she could see him – if he approved. She wondered why Gaara had to give his approval, but followed one of the guards nonetheless.

They were making their way through the village and Naruto took in the sight of the funny round houses that looked so much different than Konoha. Eventually, she realized that they were headed in the direction of the Kazekage tower. They entered the building and climbed several stairs to stop in front of a door, which said 'Kazekage's Office'. Her guard motioned Naruto to wait and sit on the bench in the hallway. She did as she was told, still not sure why they would see the Kazekage when she wanted to visit Gaara. The guard entered the office after a polite knock. He emerged a minute later, holding the door open for Naruto. "Kazekage-sama will see you now." He bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Confused, Naruto looked around in the office. It looked a lot like Tsunade's office in Konoha, with a large desk and a windowed wall. A slender figure wearing the white and green robe of the Kazekage was standing behind the desk, facing the windows.

"Um, hello", Naruto started intelligently. Why was she here?

A deep, calm voice answered her. "Uzumaki Naruto." The way the Kazekage said her name sounded familiar to the confused girl.

The figure turned around, taking off his hat in the process, revealing a mob of messy red hair, beautiful, wise teal eyes and the handsome features of Gaara.

"Gaara?", Naruto said stupidly.

The young man placed his hat on the desk and walked around the desk to stand in front of her. He placed his right hand on her shoulder and smiled a wonderfully gentle smile at her. "Naruto."

Finally realizing that it was really Gaara in front of her, Naruto felt herself grin at him warmly. "Gaara!", she repeated and despite her newest apprehension around other people, she closed the distance between them and hugged him.

Surprised, Gaara tensed a little, but quickly returned the hug.

Naruto stepped back and looked up at him. "Huh, you're actually taller than me now, Gaara!"

Gaara chuckled softly. He was hardly four inches taller than the girl in front of him. And with Naruto being only 5'4'', it was rather short for a sixteen-year old teenager.

"You are Kazekage now!", Naruto stated the obvious, not quite believing it yet.

"Yes", Gaara replied calmly, "thanks to you, Naruto."

"Huh, thanks to me?" She was irritated at how dumb she was currently sounding.

Gaara returned her questioning eyes. "If it wasn't for you, Naruto, I wouldn't be where I am today." His voice was so solemn and grateful that Naruto felt herself blush and she quickly averted her gaze.

Gaara placed a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him again. "I mean it, Naruto. You helped me overcome my hatred towards life. You showed me that there is more to life than that and that proving my existence by killing others was wrong." He frowned sadly. "Thanks to you, I was finally able to form bonds of love and friendship."

Naruto suddenly felt sick. He believed in bonds now? Well, she could tell him now that believing in something like that would only end up in him getting hurt. "You should be very careful in whom you put your trust, Gaara", she said bitterly, turning her head away.

"This coming from you, Naruto?" Gaara knew she had been hurt by Sasuke. He had been there with his siblings to help the Sasuke retrieval team, but he had not yet seen what effect Sasuke's defection had on the cheery blonde. Apparently, the Uchiha had thoroughly crushed her beliefs.

"It is better not to have any bonds. Being alone hurts less than losing a precious person." Even to her own ears, Naruto's voice sounded empty and utterly defeated.

Gaara wouldn't believe his ears. "Did Sasuke tell you that?", he almost spat. Such a strong show of emotion from the otherwise calm person; but he had never liked the Uchiha. "You are a fool, if you truly believe that, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto looked up at his angry tone.

"You have been hurt, I can understand that. But I cannot – and will not – accept you talking like that, Naruto." He took her hand and pulled her along.

They left the Kazekage tower and stepped into the busy streets of Suna's market district. "Watch closely, Naruto", Gaara ordered and Naruto complied.

The civilians of Suna greeted Gaara. They smiled, when they saw him. Some waved at him, shouting a blessing.

They walked down the road and at every corner, people stopped their conversations to greet and look at the Kazekage. The fact that Gaara was still holding Naruto's hand in his own, was also drawing curious glances.

"Do you see?", Gaara asked.

Naruto watched the people more closely. There was genuine joy in their eyes when they saw the leader of their village. Friendly smiles. Open stares, yes, but no hatred was directed at him. No one called him a 'demon' under his breath when they walked by.

Naruto was fascinated. What had changed? How did Gaara get everyone to acknowledge him – to love him? He was their leader now, recognized as the strongest person in the village. The person, everyone put their trust in.

Envy coursed through her, making her feel both guilty and sick. She shouldn't be jealous of Gaara. He had finally achieved what she had always dreamed of. She understood him better than anyone else. How much this must mean to him.

"How did you do it?", she heard herself asking, a pleading tone in her voice.

Gaara stopped in the middle of the street and turned to her. "I earned their trust, Naruto."

"But how? What is the key, Gaara?" She was desperate to get an answer to that question.

The redhead regarded her intently, sad about how the blonde had lost her course. "It's trust, Naruto." He smiled at her. "You used to call it a bond. Either way, the foundation is trust. I never trusted anyone but myself. I was suspicious of everyone. They all hated me and wanted me dead. Even my father wanted me assassinated." He swallowed at the painful memory.

"But then I met you. You were the first person to trust me. You treated me differently. You weren't afraid of me and I felt that I could relate to you. When I found out that we were both Jinchuuriki, that we carried the same burden, I wanted to kill you. To prove my existence; like I used to. But you defeated me and yet you didn't kill me."

He smiled, but the look on his handsome face was a mix of sadness and seriousness. "You trusted me and wouldn't stop talking about bonds. So I tried it, you know. I put my trust in my siblings. And I was rewarded with their trust in return. We formed a bond; first it was friendship and now it's love. I finally had a family. So I started to open up to other people. I trusted them, and they started trusting me. They started to see behind my sand and saw how I had changed."

His eyes were still fixed on Naruto, who absorbed his words like they held the answer to all the questions of the universe. "It's a give and take, Naruto. You gave me your trust, and I gave you mine. We formed a bond. The first I ever had. It was a gift. You ended my loneliness."

Gaara tucked on her arm and they started walking again. After a few moments of silence, Gaara pointed to a scene to their right. A mother was comforting her crying daughter. She had obviously fallen, her left knee was bleeding. The woman hugged the girl, rocking her and whispered to her soothingly. She spotted Naruto and Gaara watching them.

"Look, Hami", she turned her daughter around, "it's Kazekage-sama."

The small girl, who was called Hami, quickly stopped crying. "Hello, Kazekage-sama!", she said in a high voice; she was not older than five.

Naruto watched as Gaara walked over to the child and knelt down on one knee in front of her. He gently wiped away her tears. The girl smiled at the gesture. Gaara took a fist full of the sand on the ground. Naruto felt him channel some chakra into it and watched how the sand transformed into a beautiful desert rose. He handed the hard flower to the child. Delighted, Hami laughed and forgotten was her bleeding knee.

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama!", she said with a wide smile.

"You're welcome, Hami-chan", Gaara replied in his calm voice and smiled back at the child and her mother. He stood back up and walked over to Naruto.

The blonde girl was astounded at the display. Adoration shone on the child's face, who was now happily chattering to his mother about how much she loved Kazekage-sama.

Gaara looked at her. "Do you see it?"

"Yes."

They continued their walk, but Naruto's question broke the pondering silence between them. "How did you do it? I mean, how did you overcome their hatred?"

"You mean how I can trust these people, although they hated me and wanted me dead? How they deserve my care and trust?"

Naruto just nodded.

"It was not easy to overlook what they had done to me. They made my life a living hell, but you know that." Gaara sighed. "But I imagined what I would have done in their stead. Imagine it, Naruto. A boy – or a girl in your case – who has a demon sealed inside of him, her. The Kyuubi attacked Konoha and you know that many people died. Their grief blinded them and they were incapable of seeing the child you were. But what would you have done? Would you have seen the demon or the child? I am not defending their actions, Naruto, don't get me wrong. But I don't think you can fully blame them. The memory of the Kyuubi was too fresh in their minds."

The stopped walking in front of what looked like a training ground, but Gaara continued talking. "Grief and the pain of loss causes people to do things they would never think about under different circumstanced. And they will eventually regret what they did. Just look at Sasuke." Her face didn't betray any emotion at the mention of the Uchiha's name. "He lost his whole clan. I can't imagine how painful it still is for him. But he is a very good example of how people can change when confronted with grief and losing your precious people. Just look at yourself. I think you felt the same pain when Sasuke betrayed you."

Naruto listened to the redhead. His words were true and he didn't mean to hurt her, so she didn't feel angry about him mentioning Sasuke. The boy was a sore spot.

"You made me believe in the good of people. You showed me that people can change. So I believed, too. And now I have proof. My village loves me, I know it, because I can feel it everyday. They made me their Kazekage and I will do everything in my power to keep these people save."

He smiled at her once more and spoke his final words on the topic. "I hated these people probably as much as they hated me. The way they treated me, I couldn't help but silently hate them. And I don't believe you, if you tell me that deep within yourself, you never felt the tiniest amount of hatred towards the people of Konoha. We are only humans, Naruto. I have learned that and accepted it. I forgave them for what they did to me, I started trusting them, forming bonds."

He put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. "Forgive Konoha for what it did to you. It may seem easier said than done, but you will be rewarded, Naruto."

Naruto swallowed against the lump in her throat. Gaara was right. She had felt hatred towards the villagers. Every time they had beaten her, she hated them for it. She hated them when they didn't allow her to step into their store. She hated them when they called her names and when their cold eyes followed her. But she had been a child and they were adults. How could anyone treat a child like that. Grief? Pain of loss? She had felt it, when Sasuke had severed their bond. Would she start believing in bonds again after Gaara's words? It seemed too naïve to just go back to that.

She sighed and swallowed again. She had a lot to think about.

Gaara watched the different emotions run over her beautiful face.

"Come, Naruto." He led her onto the training ground. "It is time to spar now. I have been waiting for a worthy opponent for some time now." He spread his legs hips-wide and summoned his sand from the gourd. Naruto watched with wide eyes as the sand formed a sharp-edged katana.

"I saw that you now have a katana, let's see if you know how to use it." He gave her a seldom smirk, eager to fight the other Jinchuuriki.

Naruto shook off the depressing thoughts. She would have enough time ponder on things later. Right now she was facing an opponent of the likes she had not fought with since she had parted with Jiraiya. This was going to be good. She unsheathed her katana, widening her stance.

Gaara attacked and her sword came up to parry his blow. Her arms shook from the force behind it. She was suddenly very grateful to Jiraiya that he had organized a kenjutsu master for her. The middle-aged man from Lightning Country had trained her in the art of the sword where Jiraiya's knowledge on the topic had ended.

Attacking Gaara and defending herself from his skillful motions, she quickly forgot about the earlier conversation and tuned everything else out, concentrating on the fight.

Two weeks later:

Naruto was slowly walking through the desert of the Land of Wind. The sun was mercilessly grilling her, but it affected her less than it should have. Another benefit of being a Jinchuuriki.

She had left Suna in the early morning. Saying good-bye to Gaara had been hard, but Suna and Konoha were only a three-day distance from each other. They had sparred daily and Naruto felt better than ever. Gaara's calm demeanour had soothed her confused mind. Their feral fights had revived her. They eventually had to leave the training ground they had first sparred in. It had taken too much damage. In order to keep Suna safe, the two Jinchuuriki had taken their sessions outside of the Suna fortifications. There was not much they could damage in a desert.

The blonde demon-vessel had thought about Gaara's words and taken them to heart. She would return to Konoha. She was still not too sure, whether it was the right decision. She had a vague idea of what she wanted from the future. She wanted what Gaara had. She was sure about it. A village filled with caring and loving people, no hate directed at her. It had seemed like a dream to her. But maybe she could achieve it, too? She just didn't know how. Forgive the villagers for their hatred? It sounded so easy. She would see, if she could actually go through with it. But for that, she had to go back to Konoha.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt an only vaguely familiar chakra signature getting closer. She stopped walking. Who would approach her in the middle of the desert? She couldn't place the signature, but was sure she had felt it before. Only where?

The person was getting closer. She waited in silence, awaiting whoever it might be.

The figure stopped several feet away. Naruto stared. A figure in a cloak – with red clouds on it. Raven hair, long, in a ponytail. Behind the high collar, she could hardly make out the face, but she knew who she was facing.

"Uchiha Itachi."

Itachi had found the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Finally. It had taken longer than he had thought. After all, she was supposed to be travelling with the quite flamboyant Jiraiya. He had not known that she had been on her own for half a year now. But pure chance had directed him to her. He had been assigned a mission in Wind Country and to his surprise he had felt the two Jinchuuriki's chakra. There had been no mistaking the evil chakra of the fox demon and its intense killing intent. It had not been too difficult for him to convince Kisame to leave him alone for a few hours. After all, his fishy partner could use some alone time, too.

Itachi regarded the girl. She was giving off a confident aura. Had he intended on fighting her, he would've been very apprehensive. Uzumaki Naruto was clearly not the child she had been three years ago. In front of him stood a young woman, who knew her power.

"Uzumaki Naruto." He greeted her, inclining his head.

"What do you want, Uchiha?", she snarled.

He would better convince her that he meant no harm or she would attack him. "I don't want to harm you, Naruto-san. Please hear me out."

She barked a mirthless laugh. "Any why would I believe you, traitor?"

He flinched at the insult. Of course, she didn't know any better. In her eyes, he was a traitor. He had killed his entire clan. Except for Sasuke. "I need your help."

What? Her eyes widened at the incredulity of his words. This was clearly some kind of trap. Maybe his partner was hiding somewhere? But she didn't feel his chakra. And she could neither smell nor hear him. And by now she could easily rely on her heightened senses.

"Why would you need my help?"

"I need you to help me get Sasuke back to Konoha."

"What?", she couldn't help but blurt out.

"I want to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. He is not safe with Orochimaru."

"Oh, how long did it take you to figure that out?", she asked sarcastically.

Itachi stared at her, emotionless.

Naruto thought about his words. "Why would you need me to rescue Sasuke?" She couldn't see her role in this. "And why would you want to rescue him in the first place?", she added as an afterthought.

"I made a huge mistake, Naruto-san. I never planned for this to happen. I need your help. Please."

Maybe it was his sincere tone of voice or the fact that the word 'please' left his mouth, but Naruto didn't stop Itachi as he took a few steps closer. He was less than ten feet away now.

"So maybe I believe that you want me to help you. But what makes you believe that I can be of use to you in regards to Sasuke?", she asked.

Itachi was surprised at how calm her voice was. She was still apprehensive and suspicious, but maybe she would hear him out? "My little brother is consumed with hatred – and it's my fault. But I know that he still cares about you deeply. In fact, you're his most precious person, Naruto-san."

He saw how her lips curled up into a snarl. "Why would you say that? Don't lie to me, Itachi!", she spat at him. "I know for a fact that Sasuke does not care about me! He never did! He proved that when he shoved his chidori through my chest!" She hit her chest with a clenched fist, right over her heart.

Oh. Itachi had not known until now what hat happened between the two young shinobi back then, but now he saw that Sasuke had truly tried to kill her. That explains the vision of the genjutsu, Itachi deduced. Obviously, his little brother was regretting his actions. Even if he didn't admit it, the genjutsu had revealed it.

He quickly tried to appease the furious girl in front of him. She could attack him any second, but he needed her to help him. His plans depended on her cooperation.

"I'm not lying to you, Naruto-san. But I can't prove it. You would have to trust me on this."

"Trust you?", she mimicked incredulously.

"Please, Naruto", he begged. His pride was taking damage here, but where had his pride ever gotten him?

"Assuming I believed you, what makes you think I wantto help Sasuke?"

That made Itachi pause. Why wouldn't Naruto want to rescue Sasuke? "He is your closest friend."

The blonde chuckled mirthlessly. "Wrong." Her cold eyes fixed on him. "Sasuke is not my closest friend. Maybe he was at some point. But that became meaningless the moment he abandoned me." She shook her head. "I can't help you, Itachi."

Itachi silently cursed. This was not going the way he had planned. His onyx eyes returned her cold stare. "I have something to offer in return."

"I don't think you have anything I want", misinterpreting his words.

Very slowly, so not to appear suspicious, he pulled out a scroll from the depth of his cloak. He held it up, showing it to Naruto. "This scroll contains information on the Akatsuki. It's yours. If you help me."

Naruto looked at the scroll. Insider information on the Akatsuki... Why would he give this up? Wasn't he part of the criminal organization? "And what if I still don't want to help you?"

Itachi sighed. He needed to convince her. "I'll still give it to you. In fact, I'll give it to you now and you can check it."

"Wait!", Naruto ordered him. She crossed her hands in the familiar hand seal for the Kage Bunshin no jutsu (2) and a copy of her appeared to her right. "Toss the scroll to my clone."

Very clever and very careful, Itachi thought and tossed the scroll. The clone caught it.

Nothing happened. No trap so far. "Open it", Naruto told the clone.

The Naruto-clone inspected the scroll. She found no seals or anything that stopped her from opening it. She unrolled the paper. It was written in a very neat kanji. Probably Itachi's, the Naruto-clone thought and read the information. There was a list of all the members of Akatsuki. Next to the names were some facts like specialization, partner and former village affiliation. The clone finished reading and tossed the scroll to the original Naruto. She caught it and the clone dispelled, which caused Naruto to receive the information.

"I see", she said. "But tell me, why do you betray the Akatsuki?"

"I only joined them in order to spy on them."

The girl frowned. She didn't believe him.

"Not everything is as it seems, Naruto. When you are back in Konoha, ask your Hokage for the file on the Uchiha massacre. It will reveal everything." His voice was sober and void of any emotion. Naruto saw his eyes shining sadly, though.

"Before I agree to anything, tell me, Itachi. Why is it so important to you that Sasuke returns to Konoha?", the Jinchuuriki inquired.

Itachi felt hopeful and decided to give her a very honest answer. "You will come to know that the Uchiha clan was not as grand as everyone is made to believe. I am ashamed of what I had to do, but it had to be done. But I couldn't make myself kill Sasuke. My otouto, he was innocent. In order to keep him safe, I took all the blame and left Konoha as a traitor. You won't understand my words until you know the whole truth, but explaining in detail now takes too long."

He ran a hand over his eyes, a very human gesture from an Uchiha. "I thought that I could keep Sasuke safe and make him strong, if I told him that he had to take revenge. But I now realize that I pushed him into darkness and made him lead a life of hatred. Avenging our clan by killing me should have made him a hero. But I miscalculated. I pushed him too far. I took his life away from him."

He paused, his sad, onyx eyes watched Naruto's reaction. She was frowning, thoughtful.

"I was a fool to not see this coming." He shook his head in regret. "I want to correct my past mistakes. You're my last hope, Uzumaki Naruto. Please, help me save my beloved otouto."

The obvious pain on his face finally swayed Naruto. She looked at the scroll, away from his pleading eyes.

"Saying I helped you. How would you provide me with further information?"

Itachi allowed himself a second of pure hope. Had he convinced her? "The information will reach you. I have my ways, but you can trust me on it. I hope to be able to send a scroll at least once a month. I give you my word", he promised. "Besides, it will not be until several months from now that I actually require your aid."

"Why not now?"

"There are things in Akatsuki I have to take care of. And the time for Orochimaru to switch bodies draws closer. He must already be very weak. I trust my brother enough to not let Orochimaru take over his body. After all, he desires to get revenge on me. He won't give up his body."

"Are you sure about this?", questioned Naruto.

"Yes, absolutely."

The blonde girl nodded. She was going over his words. Could she trust Itachi? He had said that the circumstances behind the Uchiha massacre were not as they seemed. Maybe he was not at fault? But he had confessed to murdering everyone. Well, she would find out when she read the mission report Itachi had mentioned; assuming it really existed.

But was she willing to help him? She was thinking about the information he could provide. It would be more than useful. Already the scroll he had given her would prove very useful. They would have a huge advantage, knowing the organization's strategies, strengths and weaknesses. Akatsuki was going after the Bijuus. And that was unfortunately pretty much everything they knew about them. Itachi's information could change everything. Instead of waiting for Akatsuki to make their moves, they could move first and have the upper hand.

Naruto's decision was made. She stored the scroll in her pocket. "I will help you in exchange for information. If I find it to be not enough or incorrect, I won't help you."

Itachi admired how much the girl had changed. He clearly remembered the loud-mouthed, clumsy thirteen-year old brat she had been. But Naruto had grown up. He nodded his head, agreeing to her terms.

"Fine", she said and closed the distance between them. She lifted her right hand, holding it out, waiting for Itachi to take it.

He took it. They stared into each other's eyes, shaking hands, both squeezing lightly, showing that neither of them would back down.

"We have a deal, Uchiha Itachi. But let me remind you that I don't do this for Sasuke. I only do this for the information." Her intense blue eyes were cold and hard.

Itachi forced himself to let emotion show in his gaze, as he returned the stare. "Deal", he said. Then he smiled at her. "Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto."

She nodded and released his hand.

Itachi nodded to her once more in good-bye and jumped away, leaving her alone again in the hot desert.

Naruto shook her head. Had this really just happened? Had she really just agreed to aiding Uchiha Itachi in retrieving Sasuke?

Her feet started walking again, carrying her closer to Konoha with every step. Just half an hour ago, she had still not been sure whether returning to Konoha was the right decision. But now, a man she had considered one of her greatest enemies, had unknowingly given her a new purpose.

And suddenly, Naruto knew what she wanted to do in the future. With her new goal in mind and newly-found vigour, she quickened her steps.

She was going back to Konoha. Home? Maybe. Time would show.

(1) Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

(2) Kage Bunshin no jutsu: Shadow Clone Technique. (I think we all know that one)