Naruto and Sasuke walked into the meeting room a few minutes before nine and took their seats. The room was full. Including them there were 13 people total. Shizune, Kakashi, Yamato, Koharu, Homura, Guy, Shikaku, Sai and Suigetsu were all seated around the table. Tsunade had yet to arrive; an additional empty seat was beside hers.
"Where's granny?" Naruto asked as he plopped down into his chair.
"She's coming; she went down to the front gate to welcome our guest." Shizune gave Naruto a knowing smile.
"Guest?" Before Naruto had a chance to push Shizune for more information the door swung open. Tsunade walked in, everyone was surprised by who came in behind her.
"Gaara!" Naruto yelled his name excitedly.
"Hello Naruto, good to see you again." He took his seat beside Tsunade.
"Everyone, please welcome the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand." Everyone bowed their heads in a respectful greeting. "Let's begin." Tsunade put her elbows on the table intertwining her fingers, her signature move, well, other than punching her desks into splinters. "I'm sure some of you are surprised by Gaara's presence here. I requested that he come today. We are facing a threat bigger than our village alone, if Madara has his way he will destroy the entire world. For Gaara's safety we told no one of our plan to have him attend this meeting. The Sand is our ally. We will have a better chance of capturing and defeating Madara if we work together." Everyone nodded their agreement. "Our first order of business, Naruto…" Naruto looked over at Tsunade. "The elders and I have decided that you will go and train with the eight tails in The Village Hidden in the Clouds. He will teach you how to control the nine tails. Additionally, the Leaf is the first place Madara will look for you. He won't expect the two of you to be together. We have already confirmed with the Raikage. He has promised his full cooperation in this matter. Yamato."
"Yes, my lady."
"You will take a team of your choosing to escort and protect Naruto."
"I volunteer." Sasuke raised his hand.
"I'm sorry Sasuke, we need you here. Your input as well as Suigetsu's will be invaluable. Also, you are one of our strongest ninjas, not to mention the only person with eyes that can even begin to compare with Madara's. If he attacks the village, we will need you if we are going to have any chance of defending against his attacks." Sasuke was about to protest when he felt Naruto's foot kick his under the table. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the chair, his face stone cold. Once Tsunade was satisfied that Sasuke wasn't going to object to her decision she continued. "Yamato, once we are finished here gather your team quickly. You leave tonight." Despite his best effort to maintain his cold emotionless expression Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise, his mouth opening slightly. He was once again brought back by Naruto nudging his foot under the table; it was a little gentler this time. As if he was trying to say I don't like it any more than you do but keep it together. Sasuke quickly regained his composure. "Sai has been temporarily instated as Captain of the Anbu. Sasuke, I want you to work closely with him to help strengthen our defenses, help prepare the Anbu for whatever Madara may throw at us. I would also like you to work with our other ranks of shinobi. Suigetsu will continue to assist with the advisory board. We are depending on you both." Sasuke and Suigetsu nodded. "Excellent. Gaara?"
"I have been in contact with the Mizukage as well as the Tsuchikage, they have agreed to provide aid if the need should arise. They recognize that this is bigger than individual villages. They also granted safe passage through their lands. Should the need arise there is no need to be concerned for your safety in their territories. The Sand will of course be assisting in the search for Madara. This is now a joint effort."
xxx
The meeting went until late afternoon, leaving Naruto and Sasuke very little time to discuss what happened. They had walked home in silence. Sasuke had barely paid attention to the rest of the meeting. It had just been planning and reports, he would zone in if he heard his or Naruto's name mentioned and then zone back out. He was sitting on the bed watching Naruto pack. He sighed loudly, Naruto stopped packing and leaned against the kitchen counter crossing his arms. His tan skin and blond hair stood out against the light blue walls and white cabinets. They stared at each other.
"If you have something you want to say, just get on with it already." Naruto's fitted undershirt outlined his muscles. "You've been quiet all night, talk to me." Sasuke got up and started pacing. Naruto watched unmoving.
"I just don't like this. We need you to defeat Madara."
"Learning how to control the nine tails is only going to help. I don't like the idea of leaving the village when you are the only person even close to powerful enough to stand against Madara and hold your ground. We already established that the only way to win is to fight him together, but if he can do what Danzo did, loosening the seal on the nine tails, and I am assuming he can, until I gain more control I'm only a danger." Sasuke let out a frustrated growl.
"I can help you keep the nine tails in check, and I don't like not being able to go with you."
"I know you could, but if you are having to worry about me, you won't be able to fully focus on Madara, like Tsunade said you are the only..."
"I don't care what Tsunade says!" Sasuke's voice was raised. He marched over to Naruto and grabbed the front of his t-shirt. "Don't you get it? I don't care about the village!" He shouted. "I care about you, I'm loyal to you, not Tsunade, not the village, not to defeating evil, you!" Naruto watched him silently, letting him work through his emotions. "I have to keep you safe, I can't..." Sasuke's voice caught in his throat. "I can't lose you." Naruto pulled himself up to sit on the countertop and tugged on Sasuke's shirt drawing him into his arms.
"Shh, it's okay." Naruto cooed gently. Sasuke embraced him tightly and buried his face in Naruto's chest. Naruto ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair. "I don't want to leave you either, but I can't pass up this opportunity." He cupped Sasuke's face in his hands and made him look into his eyes. "I'll be okay, Yamato will put a good team together, and no one will know where I am. Just think of the chance you have to bring down the elders. With Sai head of the Anbu and you working closely with him, you will be in the perfect position to gather information on them. Also, you can put back all the Uchiha files I stole." He snickered. "I'm sure someone will want those in the near future. Take advantage of this, don't look at all the negatives." Their lips connected. It was a gentle, comforting kiss. Full of love and desire, they reluctantly separated. They stared into one another's eyes, Naruto clasped his ankles behind Sasuke's back and let his arms rest on Sasuke's shoulders. "Damn I'm crazy about you." They kissed again.
"Promise me you will be careful."
"As careful as I always am!" Naruto said confidently. Sasuke frowned.
"That doesn't make me feel better."
"Sasuke..."
"Hn."
"Please protect the village. Do everything you can to keep it safe. I realize I may be the only thing that you care about here, but I care, so please do this for me." Sasuke nodded.
"I will do everything in my power to let no harm come to the village." Naruto smiled.
"Thank you, my love." They locked lips again and continued to enjoy the taste of each other until they heard a gentle knock at the door. The both sighed with disappointment. They knew who was at the door and they weren't ready. "Just a minute!" Naruto yelled as he slid down off the counter. He tried to walk over to the door but Sasuke pinned him against the counter. "Sasuke...what are you..." Sasuke gently lifted Naruto's shirt and caressed the seal marks that covered his stomach. Sasuke knelt down on the floor in front of Naruto making him tense.
"I'm giving you something to remember me by." He kissed along the top of Naruto's pants and started kissing up his body. Naruto's breathing quickened. Sasuke started to suck forcefully on the spots he kissed leaving little purple/red marks all over Naruto where his clothes would cover. Naruto chewed on his bottom lip to keep himself quiet. Once Sasuke was satisfied with the number of markings he gently kissed Naruto's neck and chin ending on his lips. They kissed passionately. Another knock at the door reminded them that they didn't have time to do anything further.
"I'm coming!" Naruto did his best to disguise how worked up he was. He took a few moments to breathe deeply and relax. The bulge in his pants finally subsiding. He quickly packed the last of his things and threw his pack over his shoulder. Sasuke walked with him over to the door. They embraced one last time and kissed one another intensely, knowing that it would be the last one for a while they made it count. When they finally separated, they both had to take a few moments to regain their composure. They opened the door to find Kakashi leaning against the railing, arms crossed.
"About time."
"What the hell are you doing here Kakashi? Where's Yamato?" Naruto huffed.
"He sent me to come get you and then meet him at the front gate. He wanted to gather a few more supplies." The three of them started making their way to the gate. Naruto and Sasuke trailed a few steps behind Kakashi.
"So how long will we be gone?" Kakashi answered Naruto's question without turning around.
"As long as it takes. We are having to take a pretty obscure route in order to stay off of commonly traveled paths. The last thing we want is for Madara to discover that you and the eight tails are in the same place, so we are being extremely cautious. Once we get there it just depends how long your training takes, that's on you."
"So, who is on the team?"
"Yamato, Guy and yours truly of course." Kakashi chuckled a little bit. "You didn't think I would let you go without me, did you? Yamato and Guy certainly don't have the skills required to keep you out of trouble." As they approached the gate Yamato and Guy were waiting.
"Why hello Kakashi, care to join me in doing some pre-trip pushups?" Guy's voice was full of enthusiasm.
"No thanks Guy."
"Suit yourself!" He dropped to the ground and started powering out pushups.
"Well, I guess we are good to go. Is everyone ready to head out?" Everyone gave Yamato a nod when he looked at them. "Sasuke, please report to Lady Tsunade that we have set out."
"Well, I will see you when I get back, try not to miss me too much." Naruto gave Sasuke that special smile. He wanted nothing more than to pull his lover into his arms, hold onto him one last time. He hadn't expected it to be this hard to walk away from him, even though it was only temporary. They had been inseparable over the last few months.
"Don't do anything stupid."
"If you promise to try and play nice." They smirked at each other. "See ya." Naruto turned and the four of them started on their journey. Sasuke stood with his arms crossed watching. He felt like his heart was being pulled from his chest with every step Naruto took, he hated it. He could feel anxiety building in his chest and all he wanted to do was run and pull Naruto into his arms and kiss him. He wanted to hike up to their secret water fall oasis and stay there forever. He watched as Naruto clenched his fists, he was clearly trying to not turn back around for fear of what he might do. Sasuke couldn't help but think that this was the way the rest of their lives was going to be, one of them always having to leave for the sake of the village or someone else's happiness. He would give anything to look into those sparkling blue eyes every day, to see that special smile. ...Damn...he really is my weakness... Sasuke thought to himself. The sun was just beginning to lower in the sky encircling Naruto in light. In Sasuke's eyes even the sun paled in comparison to Naruto. Both his hands were in tight fists, he clenched his teeth.
"Fuck it." In seconds he closed the distance between him and Naruto, he grabbed him by the wrist and in one swift graceful movement whipped Naruto around. Kakashi, Yamato, and Guy all turned in surprise. It took a few seconds for the scene in front of them to fully register. Yamato's mouth dropped open, Guy gasped, and Kakashi's one visible eye widened. Sasuke had his arms wrapped tightly around Naruto's waist and kissed him without reserve. At first Naruto had been so surprised he had just looked at Sasuke wide eyed, but it only lasted an instant before Naruto returned his lovers kiss with equal passion. He firmly held Sasuke's face in his hands. "I love you." Sasuke looked deep into Naruto's eyes when he said it, letting his forehead rest gently against Naruto's. "Come back to me in one piece."
"I love you too Sasuke, and I promise I will." With that Sasuke was gone as quickly as he had appeared. Naruto turned around to his three shocked teammates, his face turning crimson. They started out once more in silence. Things had just gotten more interesting.