Futago-za07: Yep, I know. Naruto's gonna get a huge family. Considering the Hyuga Clan, Karin and the sand siblings are involved. ... if everything works out of course. Thanks for reviewing.

no-maybee-okay: Thank you. I was worried it was too boring, but I wanted to paint a picture of the current relationships with this and the last chapter.

Chewie Cookies: That was the plan. To give every couple a little happy time. Thanks for reviewing.

chrysant: Thank you very much. No Shikatema in this one, but something's gonna happen. But if you have a special wish for a moment between them, let me know.

Ayrmed: Thank you so much. That was what I wanted and that's how I would see them as well. It makes me happy that you think I managed to do it in the real way.

Just one quick information on my part. I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with the once in a week updates, but I'll still try. In the least twice a month I'll post a new chapter.

Also no Naruhina in this one, fyi.

I don't own Naruto.

-15-

„You can give me the report and I'll deliver it to the Kazekage's bureau later." Hanabi told the young brunette woman in the door. "Thank you very much, Shana-san."

Hanabi had long since realized that it was mostly little things that helped smooth things along faster. Things like remembering names, likes and dislikes or personal information. People felt taken seriously and flattered if one remembered such things, and Hanabi was great at remembering information. And she was good at using it to get what she wanted.

Matsuri, Gaara's assistant for example, liked white chocolate and fruit tea. Whenever Hanabi backed cookies, she made sure to make a bunch with white chocolate for his assistant. With such simple gestures she could ensure that the young girl was partial to her. Sometimes she even got some interesting information when having a small talk with her. Nothing indecent of course, otherwise she would have let Gaara known that his assistant could not be trusted. Nevertheless she did gain some interesting information. Hanabi doubted Gaara was aware of how much she knew or how easy it had been. She was also sure none of the other ambassadors possessed the same amount of information. Not that she'd use it against any of the nations. Keeping peace was Hinata's first and foremost order, even if that meant that not everything was only in favor of the Leaf.

The brunette picked up another heavy document and started to read with a sigh. Perhaps she would ask someone to train with her later on, she was probably getting rusty. Or perhaps make a nice green tea and watch some brainless TV-show that would help her empty her brain from all the heavy words.

All those thoughts flew out of the window when Gaara entered her office after a short knock.

"Kazekage-sama, it's good to see you back." She kept herself from jumping in his embrace. Office was professional space and Hanabi was keen to keep it that way. There might be a loophole for office-sex, but that was probably not an option for now. "Did you have a good journey?"

"I did, indeed, thank you, Hyuga-san. The Hokage sends his regards." Gaara closed the door and gave her a small smile.

"Please take a seat. Would you like some tea?"

"Green tea please."

His fingers brushed hers softly as he took the cup from her and the twinkle in his eyes told her that he did it on purpose.

"I assume the meeting went as planned?" She sat back down at the other side of her desk.

"Indeed it did. We have established to send out scouting teams to find Orochimaru." Gaara kept his emotions perfectly under control, but the thought of the Snake Sanin made something inside him churn with disgust and anger. "He's posing a huge threat to us and the peace between the nations."

Hanabi nodded. She did not like to think about Orochimaru. During his attack she had believed that she would die and they all would have if it wasn't for Bee. She watched a muscle in Gaara's jaw clench and diverted her eyes to the ground. It was irrational to feel guilty but Hanabi couldn't help the way she felt. She and Hinata were the reason things had gotten that dangerous for everyone.

"I have heard that the negotiations for the 'Cross-border-relationship-agreement' are going well. If everything goes as planned the other Kages are confident that we can finalize the 'cross-border-relationship-contract' within three months."

"Mmhh." Hanabi sipped her tea carefully and leaned back.

Gaara let his eyes wander over her. She liked it comfortable it would appear. The giant brown wingback chair almost swallowed her petite form. Her red tunic flowed around her gracefully and contrasted with the black padding of the furniture. Gaara fought the urge to reach out to her and put the silken strand of hair that fell across her face back behind her ear. Then again it was endearing to watch as she puffed her cheeks up and attempted to blow the hazel wisp of hair back futilely.

"Something's amusing you, Kazekage-sama?" Hanabi asked slightly sour. How she loathed that damn part of her head. She had lost count of the times, she had wanted to chop it off. Maybe she really should consider a short haircut.

"How would you like short hair?"

Surprised Gaara looked at her. If was unusual for Hanabi to mix official business with private affairs.

"Hyuga-san?"

"Oh, right, sorry." Bashfully she put the cup to her lips and looked up at him sheepishly.

Somehow he wondered if she knew about the effect she had on him. Especially when she looked at him like that.

"I don't think there's much left to discuss." He pointed out.

"…oh…good."

Faster than he had anticipated she had flung herself at him.

"I missed you, Gaara."

He nodded and smiled against her warm skin, as he took in her intense smell of chocolate. Surely she had backed last night or this morning. Softly he placed her in his lap and allowed her head to rest on his chest.

"Three months, huh?" She exhaled slowly. "Even after its finalized we'll have to wait a while before we can make our relationship official. I mean otherwise it would appear as if we only wanted to contract for ourselves… which is kind of the truth."

A low chuckle resonated in her body and she relaxed into him. "And you want to make it official because…"

Hanabi grimaced, "Why shouldn't I? I don't see a point in hiding our relationship further than necessary. Besides, you're the Kazekage and in marriageable age." She shrugged.

He raised an eyebrow, "So?"

"I simply don't think other women should waste their time." She said shortly. The point was that Gaara was in a powerful position and a man with influence was always popular. And that he was easy on the eyes didn't exactly help either.

"I see. How considerate of you."

"Aren't I always?" She smiled.

"So what was that about your hair?"

…

"Igi, stop that!" Karui chased after the dog who had stolen her bra.

The young dog ran happily around the house thinking it was some kind of new game. In the process of retrieving her undergarment Karui knocked over several items of furniture, including a vase from Kiba's mother. Why wouldn't that dog listen to her? Igi always obeyed Kiba.

She cursed loudly as she hit her knee on a table. "Igi, get here!"

A chirpy bark was her answer.

"Where did you put my bra, you monster from hell?" Karui groaned, it was her favorite golden one. It was also Kiba's favorite.

Finally the red head gave up and flopped down on the couch. So what if she didn't wear a bra, she had no plans of going out anyway and the bedroom where she kept her other – quiet considerate amount – of bras was too far away. Maybe she could get Kiba to fetch her one, when he returned from training with Hanta.

"Good boy." Kiba petted the gray dog after a successful training session. If they kept up their pace, they could start doing missions in a few months.

Hanta wiggled his tail and barked once.

"You miss your master, huh?" Kiba stroke his fur. "I get that."

The giant dog winced and prodded his heavy head against Kiba's knee. "Yeah, Hanta, we'll make it through together. – Now let's get back home. I'm sure Igi is driving Karui crazy."

Along the way Kiba couldn't help but think back to the times he walked these streets with Akamaru. There was the stone where the pup had once ran against and in turn barked at the offensive object for minutes. On this street they had picked up a nice lady with a nice bitch. A nice day for both of them, Kiba smiled.

Every corner held another memory and unconsciously Kiba slowed down. Hanta nudged him after having realized that his new master was getting left behind.

"Sorry boy." Kiba gave him a big pat on the head. "Let's get going."

Soon their little house almost outside Konoha came into view. It was important for the Inuzuka Clan to allow their dogs as much space as possible. The forest was bordering the compound and most of the dogs roamed free whenever they could. Which was why a lot of people didn't dare to come close, an Inuzuka dog would protect his home at all costs.

"Come in, Hanta. Let's go pick up Igi and then you can go in the garden." Kiba almost tumbled over a chair when he entered the door.

"What the..?" For a split of a second Kiba felt everything inside of him turn cold. The mess could have been caused by a fight and Karui could be hurt, but then he remembered that they would have heard the dogs from miles away if something happened.

"Karui?" He called out.

"Kiba, finally you're here. Tell that little monster that she has to return my bra and listen to me from now on!" He heard a muffled voice from the direction of the living room.

Kiba followed her voice carefully to avoid any knocked over furniture. He was met with the rather pleasant sight of intense red hair spilling over a nicely shaped back, Karui laid prone on the couch. Her hair was still damp so he concluded that Igi had refused to give Karui her bra after she had taken a shower. Smart dog, he had to give Igi a treat later.

His eyes followed the cape of her neck over her shoulders where the few drops of water shined on her chocolate skin. Sadly for him she had already put on her sweat pants, but he could still make out the soft curve of her behind.

She shivered when she felt his fingers brushing away the strands from her back.

"Not now. Not ever until she learns to listen to me as well as she does to you!" Karui's resolve was made. She would no longer tolerate Igi to act up with her.

Kiba gaped, she could not be serious. "But…"

She turned her head and glared at her boyfriend. "No but. You will help me, got it?"

"Sure but before that, can we just…"

"No! You're going to help me train her and we'll start now. Right after you got Igi to give me my bra back." Karui demanded.

The man groaned, "Fine. Igi! Come here and bring what you stole from Karui."

Much to his girlfriend's dismay the pup ran around the corner almost slipping in the desperate process of obeying Kiba as soon as possible. She dropped the golden garment in front of Kiba wagging her tail happily.

"Don't you dare praise her for it." Karui hissed and snatched her bra from him.

"Sorry girl, but it looks like things are about to change." He looked at the dog apologetically.

Not even a minute later she stood in front of him, akimbo like she was ready for battle. Karui sported a dark shirt and her still wet hair was pulled up in a high pig tail.

"Now, let's get started."

Kiba got up with a sigh and both dogs followed after his whistle. "Then let's get started. I'll make sure the dogs listen to you as well as they do to me."

…

The Jinchurriki would be a problem. He'd had to be taken care off.

The warm crackling sound of the fire resonated through the bare dark stone cave. Orochimaru leaned back in his armchair. Everything was going according to plan. The five Kages would meet to sing the final agreement in mere weeks and then it would be time to make his move.

Still Naruto-kun was a problem. Orochimaru had seen what he was able to accomplish with his own eyes, he had beaten Madara Uchia. Given, he didn't do it alone, but his strength was undeniable. There weren't a lot of Shinobi out there who Orochimaru thought able to take him down, Jiraya had been one of them, the third Hokage had failed to do so, but the Jinchurriki were a force to be reckoned with. At least the ones able to control their demonic tenant.

When Bee from Kumo had saved the Leaf Shinobi, Orochimaru had decided it was better not to take chances, the current Kazekage, though no longer a Jinchurriki would be another one he'd be careful to avoid, and of course Naruto. With the current plan there would be no reason to worry about the other nations interfering. But the only Kage other than Gaara and Naruto that was worth a thought, was A. But none of them would want to aid Konoha in their time of need. Orochimaru would make sure of it.

It would be considerably harder to overtake Konoha with Naruto there. They needed to lure him away, make him concentrate on something else. However his position as Hokage made Konoha's safety his first and foremost goal. The only thing that Orochimaru deemed able to distract Naruto from his task would have been Sasuke, but that was no longer an option.

Perhaps with a good Genjutsu… but that would only serve its purpose for a short time. They needed to keep him away for longer.

He held his friends in great regard possibly if one of them were in grave danger…

Another thing was his affinity for shadow clones. His army would be swapped with them. They dispelled with a solid hit, but it would be hard enough to land one. And even then, Naruto would have information about every battlefield within seconds. He probably had Hiraishin seals scattered all over Konoha and would be able to come back right after one of the Clones popped..

It would be best if he wouldn't be in Konoha at the time of the attack and if possible not leave a Clone. But after the Kage's meeting every country would be alarmed and keep security at the highest possible standard. And it had to be something that would require for him to attend in person.

He rested his head on white interlaced fingers. Slowly a smirk stretched across his thin lips. There was still some time to find his weak spot.

"Kokkaku." Orochimaru summoned one of his underlings. "Contact our Konoha spy network. They are to look for his weakness."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." The kneeling shinobi disappeared in front of him, leaving nothing behind.

…

"So? When did that happen?" Hanabi stopped at the door and almost doubled back at the sight. "And could you maybe not have sex on the table. I tend to eat there."

Sakura flushed a deep red and shoved Kankuro down from her with quite the force.

"He…I…" The pinkette spluttered. "We were just…"

"Sakura, I don't actually care what the two of you do, just don't make me witness it." Hanabi rounded them and started to prepare tea. "And please don't do it on the kitchen table, or the counter or…. You know what please don't do it in the kitchen at all. As a matter of fact, I'd very much appreciate it if you could keep it in the bedroom."

She hadn't been in the ambassador house much, since she and Gaara had spent every possible minute together. It was a wonder no one had figured them out yet. Then again, considering the situation Sakura was in, it wasn't surprising her absence went almost unnoticed. Even her staff was used to her long working hours, so none of them realized that she wasn't spending her nights in the office. And she and Gaara weren't the most likely pair anyway, so really who would guess?

"Back to my initial question. When did that happen?"

Sakura blushed and looked away sheepishly, Kankuro seemed less embarrassed. "The night I came back from the mission."

"Two weeks? And you didn't tell me?" Hanabi was shocked. She prided herself in her perception, but apparently it left much to be desired.

"Well, we barely talked. I mean you were so busy to work in with what Shikamaru left you." Sakura defended.

Hanabi grumbled under her breath but accepted the explanation.

"Kankuro, those are not for you!" She scolded the man whose hand was sneaking up on the muffins she had baked yesterday evening.

"Ah, come on, Hanabi. Don't be cruel."

"Sorry, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to gain weight. I mean Sakura sure has a lot of other options." She snatched the box of muffins from the counter and left the kitchen satisfied with the horror she had inflicted on his face.

Suspiciously Kankuro eyes his girlfriend, "What other options is she talking about?"

Sakura hid her smirk behind her cup of coffee, "Lots of them, loads of options." She grinned and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

"I need to start my shift at the hospital." She set her cup aside to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey. You don't plan to fob me off with just a kiss to the cheek now, do you?" He complained and caught her by the waist to pull her into a 'real kiss'.

"Now let those 'other options' come." He said smugly and left her smiling after him. "Oh, I'll pick you up for lunch." He stuck his head back in the door and smiled arrogantly at her dazed eyes.

For the rest of the morning Sakura had trouble to keep the smile from her face or stop her eyes from wandering to the clock.

"Sakura-san, is everything alright with you?" Shen's voice interrupted her next glance at the clock. "Do you need to go somewhere?"

Her eyes met warm brown ones and she smiled at one of her disciplines. Shen was always nice and polite to everyone and she genuinely enjoyed teaching him the basics of healing, since he was a fast and motivated learner. They weren't much of acquaintances but talked from time to time.

"Ah, no. Everything's fine. I have a date for lunch, so…"

The young man laughed, "I see. You know there's not much to do here. You can go ahead if you want to and use the next fifteen minutes to make yourself even more irresistible than you already are."

Sakura laughed flattered, "I wish there were more men like you, Shen-san."

"I do too, then I could finally get myself a boyfriend." He complained and she laughed again.

"I wish you the best of luck. And thank you Shen-san." Sakura hurried away to get ready for her date with Kankuro. She did look horrible after a shift usually, so the woman was glad for the extra time.

One pair of narrowed brown eyes watched as she disappeared out of sight with a spring in her step. Kankuro clenched his fingers into tight fists – that guy again. He recalled seeing the 'male nurse' before he left for Kumo, and just like back then Kankuro didn't like the way they looked at each other one bit.

He stopped one of the nurses with his most attractive smile, intending to find out more about this shabby character. Sadly the girl he chatted up didn't know much about the 'male nurse' and she seemed more interested in finding out more about Kankuro. The man enjoyed the attention he was getting from her and considering that Sakura could apparently flirt with whoever she wanted, well so could he.

The girl blushed at something he said and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. She was about to say something, when she got interrupted.

"Kankuro, I didn't know you were already here." Sakura's voice was icy. "But luckily I see, you were able to sweeten your waiting time."

She tried not to show her hurt, but it was considerably harder, seeing as the woman was largely gifted with curves and had a cute face to go with it.

"I managed." He bit out, not willing to allow her to get the better of him.

With one last glare at the poor confused nurse Sakura turned to leave followed by her lover.

"What the heck is your problem?" Two streets away from the hospital he caught up with her hasting feet. He grabbed her arm and forced her to face him.

She slapped his hand off of her, "Don't touch me."

"What is wrong with you?" He asked angrily.

"Absolutely nothing, I'm just mad at myself for thinking for one moment that this could actually work out."

"What are you talking about?" He asked as he dragged her into a side street, because they were beginning to attract attention from pedestrians.

"Just forget it, Kankuro. I'm hungry so I'll get myself something. I don't care what you do." She attempted to get past him, but he blocked her way. Sakura was more than ready to punch him but held herself back.

"What are you talking about? I thought we wanted to go to lunch." He crossed his arms and challenged her gaze to meet his.

She laughed bitterly, "Ah, and here I thought you'd rather go with your newest conquest."

He blinked at her and it actually took him a few seconds to understand what she was referring to. "We were just talking. What can I expect? That you'll make a scene every time I talk to a woman?"

"You know very well, that you were not 'just talking'!"

He blocked her again in her attempt to get passed him and she took a swing at him which he caught without a problem. His own anger flared up at her punch.

"And what about you?" He got closer and forced her against the wall. "You can just go around and flirt with every guy you see? I think the same rules should go for both of us."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Kankuro." She said coldly and forced some distance between them.

"And what was that about that ridiculous 'male nurse' person you keep flirting with. You seemed very interested and you had such a good time with him." His brown eyes blazed with fury.

Sakura was rendered speechless. Luckily she was blessed with intelligence and therefore able to put two and two together. Was it really possible that he had flirted with the girl to make her jealous because he'd been jealous at Shen and it was some kind of payback? Her green eyes narrowed.

"You know what, you're right. I was having a very good time with him and he is very nice." She spat at him and hid her glee at the next sentence. "And he's also very gay."

She waited for the impact of her words and noted his open mouth with smug. Then she took the opportunity to hit him on the head, tough she kept most of her monster-like strength out of it.

Briskly she walked past him, "So can we go for lunch now? And you can be sure that I'll order the most expensive item on the menu for flirting with another woman."

Annoyed the man rubbed his head but grinned after her. His heart considerably lighter, he caught up with her quickly.

"And, Sakura? Would you please stop to question everything every time we have a fight? Scared the crap out of me." He mumbled the last part more to him than to her.

"Of course. As long as you don't overreact to me talking to another man by flirting with another woman, and instead take the mature way and talk to me."

"And hitting me upside the head is mature?" He grumbled but was pacified when she interlaced their fingers.

Tell me what you think.

And let me know if you found mistakes.

Thank you very much.