Chapter Twenty Nine:
Romance Swirling In the Leaves ….
The Silent Declaration!
The group of teens had arrived at the makeshift office of the fifth Hokage. Konoha Hospital was currently the busiest place in the entire village. Even though Pein had revived the dead, the injured still remained in need of care, so as the teens had made their way through the hospital toward Tsunade's temporary office, they save doctors and nurses and medical-nin running all throughout the hospital.
"Naruto, I'm glad to see that you're alright, Gaara however, you shouldn't be running around even if you do heal fast," Tsunade said to the teens. "Now I take it these are the two other Jinchuuriki that Jiraiya had arranged to have come here?"
"Yes, this is Yukika, she's from Snow Country and she holds the seven tails…" Naruto stated introducing the timid girl. "This is Azalea, she's from the Hidden Grass Village, and she has the four tails…"
"I see… Well it'll take me a little time to get everything sorted out and get them properly instated as Konoha Shinobi so for now, they'll need a place to stay and must remain in the village," Tsunade told the group.
"Don't worry, they'll stay at my place," Naruto told the woman.
"Very good then Naruto, I suggest you take them to your place for now and let them get settled in, I'll send someone by within the next few days to get everything sorted out," Tsunade told the group. 'You're dismissed,"
Naruto and his fellow Jinchuuriki and surprisingly Kiba and Lee all headed over to the Namikaze House so that the two girls could pick their own rooms and get settled in.
"Hey Kiba, bushy-brows, why are you two following us?" Naruto asked.
"You never said we couldn't, besides I was hoping I could get to know our new friends, especially Azalea," Kiba replied.
"Oh Aza-chan you already have an admirer," Naruto said to the girl getting a light blush.
"S-Shut up Naruto!" Azalea shouted back at the blond.
The group arrived and Naruto led them into the home and gave the group the quick tour.
"This is the dining room and back through there is the kitchen," Naruto explained.
"There you are Gaara-kun! You shouldn't be running around with your injuries," Akina said to the teen interrupting the group. Akina got up from the dining room table where she was sitting at and ran over to the red head.
"Gaara, you shouldn't go out without letting people know, especially when you're injured. Somebody got really worried about you," Temari told her brother giving him a wink from her seat at the table. Kankurou who was sitting beside her let out a chuckle at the comment.
"S-Sorry… I needed to move around, and besides I was able to meet up with someone at the gates," Gaara replied.
"Still that is no excuse," Akina scolded the teen. "You should go back to bed and rest a while longer,"
"Very well then…" The teen replied. "Naruto, I'll catch up with you guys later," The teen told Naruto getting a nod from the blond and then left the room and was quickly followed by Naruto's sister.
"Ahh those two are cute together…" Temari said aloud.
"Hehe…. Anyway let's continue with the tour," Naruto stated and took the group through the rest of the house and then back out in the main entrance.
"Okay Aza-chan, Yukika-chan, go ahead and pick out a room, you'll already know which ones are in use, so pick any one of the free rooms you like," Naruto told the two girls.
The two girls separated from the group and selected their rooms and then after a few minutes, they rejoined the others.
"Alright, now that you've got your rooms picked out I guess we can go and show you around the village," Naruto said to the girls.
"Hey Naruto…. If she doesn't mind, I don't suppose I could take Azalea and show her around personally," Kiba asked the teen and then turned and looked at the emerald haired girl.
"That be cool," Azalea replied.
"Alright then have fun you two," Naruto replied as the two teens left the house.
"Naruto-kun, I am sure there are other things you would like to do as well, please allow me to take Yukika-san around, I promise you I'll take good care of her and since it seems she is rather timid around people, I will do my best to support her," Lee said to the teen.
"Um… Yukika-chan, are you alright with that? Bushy-brows might be a little strange, but he's a really good and honorable guy," Naruto told the girl.
"I… Yes, that's fine Naruto-sama. I-I need to get u-use to the village and its p-people. A-And Lee-san seems t-to be a very n-nice person," The girl replied.
"Okay then, take it easy and feel free to stick close to Bushy-brows should anything start to bother you," Naruto told the girl and then watched the two leave. "Kiba and Aza-chan and Bushy-brows and Yukika… I guess Kiba and Aza-chan could make a good couple since they're both outdoor types…. But Bushy-brows and Yukika… He's so loud and outgoing and she's so timid and frail…"
"You know you and Hinata-nee-san could be looked at as a weird couple too Naruto-nii-san," Hanabi said to the teen getting his attention.
"I guess you're right," Naruto replied rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "You headed to the academy now?"
"Yes, Iruka-sensei will probably end up having us help around the village with cleanup and other odd jobs," Hanabi told the teen.
"Well then do a good job," Naruto replied with a smile.
"I will Naruto-nii-san," Hanabi replied as she left the home and headed off to the academy.
"I think I'll head back out and try and get some ramen," Naruto stated as he turned toward the door.
"Naruto, are you headed out too?" Ino asked her fellow blond.
"Yeah, I was about to go grab some ramen," Naruto replied. "What about you?"
"I'm heading over to Chouji's place and then we're going to go see if we can help out around the village," Ino told her former teammate.
"Ahh, well hope you have better luck then I did. Nobody would let me help out earlier… I ended up going out and doing some training," Naruto told the girl.
"Well that's probably because people were afraid you'd end up breaking things instead of fixing them," Temari added as she approached her fellow blond shinobi.
"Haha… very funny Temari-chan," Naruto replied looking annoyed.
"I'm kidding Naruto-kun, the village probably all thought you had done enough for them simply defeating Pein," Temari reassured the blond boy.
"I guess… but I don't need to be treated differently. I'm happy the village acknowledges me but I'd still like to be able to help out," Naruto told the girl.
"Just think of it like this… you got to train some more and with you especially the more you train, the more you improve and get stronger, thus you're helping the village out by getting even stronger," The older teen added.
"That's a good way of putting it," Ino said happily.
"I guess you're right… so you going out to Temari-chan?" Naruto asked the girl.
"I sure am, Shika-kun and I have some stuff to attend to," Temari replied.
"Well then, tell Shika-kun I said hello," Naruto said with a smirk as the three had exited the home and were walking down the street.
"I will, see you guys later," Temari said giving the two blonds a goodbye wave and as she took to the rooftops and ran off.
"Tell Chouji if he needs any help I'll be glad to come and help him," Naruto said to Ino as the two parted ways.
"I will," Ino replied and walked off.
Naruto walked back through the village stopping every once and a while to see if he could assist any of the villagers who were busy cleaning up some of the debris from the Pein attack. The villagers would once again kindly refuse and send Naruto on his way. The teen had finally made it to Ichiraku's and sat down to eat when his meal was interrupted by a familiar face who took a seat beside him.
"I thought I'd find you here Naruto," Kakashi said smiling through his mask.
"Sensei! How you doing after yesterday?" Naruto asked his former teacher.
"I'm fine Naruto. I'm a little banged up as to be expected, but otherwise I'm fine," Kakashi replied. "I heard you were walking around the village looking to help out today,"
"Yes… but nobody wanted my help," Naruto stated sadly.
"Don't let it worry you Naruto, the villagers probably want to handle the repairs themselves and not get you involved. After all, you were the great hero that defeated Pein. They probably all felt you deserved a rest," Kakashi told his former pupil.
"I know that… Temari-chan even said as much… I don't know I guess it's odd to suddenly be seen as a hero…" Naruto told the man.
"Now you sound like Minato-sensei," Kakashi said with a smile.
"Y-You mean my father?" Naruto asked looking rather shocked that Kakashi had so openly mentioned his dad, something he hardly ever did.
"But of course… Minato-sensei was always a great ninja but he really stood out and was recognized as a great hero after the third shinobi war… to say that he was a little overwhelmed was an understatement…" Kakashi told the teen.
"How'd dad deal with it?" Naruto asked.
"Minato-sensei just accepted it… He felt there was no point in dwelling about it or thinking too much about it, the village recognized him as hero even though he didn't feel like he should be recognized with such honors as a reward for simply protecting his home. Your father hated war… probably more than anyone else. He hated having to kill simply because his foes were from another village, but your father would do anything to protect his comrades and friends and of course his village. Those qualities are the very things that made him Hokage… and Naruto I must say this… Just like your father, you're a great man and one day you'll make a great Hokage…" Kakashi told the teen as he stood up to leave. Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and smiled at the teen. "Naruto, I want you to know that it has been my honor to call you my student…"
"Kakashi-sensei… thanks," Naruto said with a smile as the older man walked off.
The rest of the day went by rather fast for the village as most of the villagers worked well into the late afternoon hours. Naruto had spent the rest of the day training out in the woods before finally calling it quits. The blond teen decided to head over to the hospital in hopes of meeting up with Hinata so that the two could head home together. It was upon entering the hospital that Naruto ran into Neji and Tenten as well as Sasuke who was with Sakura. Both of his fellow Jounin Candidates were sporting bandages on several areas of their body. Sasuke was especially looking rather rough.
"Hey guys…" Naruto said calling out to the little group.
"Hey Naruto-kun!" Tenten replied cheerfully.
"What bring you here? Are you waiting for Hinata to get off?" Sakura asked the blond who nodded in response. "She should be getting off in a few minutes,"
"You guys heading out?" Naruto asked.
"Yes I just came to give Neji-kun a hand. Tsunade-sama made him stay last night after our little party ended just to be thorough since he was pretty banged up," Tenten told the teen.
"Tenten, I wasn't that bad, our whole team got slightly injured I just ended up slightly worse than rest of you guys," Neji added.
"I see… but you're alright now right Neji?" Naruto asked.
"I am. Tsunade-sama wants me to take it easy for a day or two but that's all," Neji replied.
"That's good…" Naruto said looking relieved.
"Well, we're heading out now, talk to you later Naruto," Neji said heading toward the door.
"Bye Naruto-kun!" Tenten said following behind her boyfriend.
"I'm glad there were no casualties from the attack, but I'm a little sad that a lot of you guys got hurt," Naruto said turning to look at his former teammates. "Man Sasuke… you're a mess,"
"It looks worse than it is…" Sasuke replied.
"Sasuke-kun has to take the next week or so to fully recover but considering where his injuries were, it's a miracle he wasn't far worse off," Sakura told the teen not noticing the wince from Sasuke.
"I suppose I shouldn't tell her I was pretty much dead…" Sasuke thought.
"I guess Sasuke hasn't told Sakura about what happened to him… I sure as hell am not telling her…" Naruto thought as he stared at the bandages covering Sasuke's body.
"N-Naruto-kun you came to pick me up?" Hinata said approaching the group.
"Why of course, your knight has arrived," Naruto replied giving his lover a bow.
"Knight huh?" Sasuke muttered with a smirk.
"Bite me jackass," Naruto replied.
"Well I'm sure you two want to get home and I've got to get Sasuke-kun home and make sure he doesn't overdo it," Sakura stated.
"If anyone can keep Sasuke in check it's you Sakura-chan," Naruto said with a smile as the group exited the hospital and then parted ways.
"Later Naruto," Sasuke said to his former teammate as he and Sakura headed off toward the Uchiha Estate.
"Later Sasuke," Naruto replied.
It was now late into the evening and most of the village had settled in for the night. A certain red headed teen sat on the roof of his new home watching the village settle. He was left alone for long however, as he was soon joined by a certain blond haired young lady.
"You know you're a stubborn one. You should still be resting," The blond told the red haired Jinchuuriki. The girl calmly took a seat beside the boy.
"You're one to talk about being stubborn. Just like your brother, I too am a Jinchuuriki. I heal after a good night sleep most of the time. I'll probably be completely healed by morning," Gaara told the girl.
"I know but still… I wish you and my brother both would take it easier sometimes… You too might not be alike personality wise but you're exactly alike when it comes to not letting yourself rely on others and taking too much on your own shoulders," Akina replied.
"I guess it comes from our years of solitude…" Gaara told the girl.
"… I'm sorry…" The girl said sadly.
"For what? You haven't done anything wrong…" Gaara told the girl.
"I shouldn't be so pushy, you like my brother have your own way of doing things," Akina replied.
"I don't mind it… It shows that you care… about me…" Gaara stated calmly. "Since I joined the leaf village I've had so many new experiences and I've made so many friends… but it's different with you…"
"It's different? How so?" Akina asked the red head.
"The way I feel about you… is different than the way I feel about Naruto… or the way I feel about my siblings…" Gaara told the girl causing her to blush lightly. "When I'm around you… I feel much calmer… when you're in pain I feel helpless… like when Jiraiya-sensei died…"
"Well… I can tell you… that I feel a lot of the same when I'm with you. Being around you… I feel so much happier than when I am with anyone else. The only person I feel even remotely as strong about is of course Naruto-nii…" The girl told Gaara, the blush now prominent on her face.
"Your face is red… are you feeling well?" Gaara asked noticing the blush.
"I'm blushing; you idiot…" Akina replied with a light chuckle.
"I see…" Gaara said calmly as if trying to process what exactly a blush is.
"Gaara-kun, have you ever wondered what the future holds for you? Like what you want to do in the future? Do you want to have a family, get married, or have children?" Akina asked her blush slightly intensifying.
"I… would… one day," Gaara replied after taking a moment to think.
"W-What kind of girl… could you see yourself marrying?" Akina asked nervously.
"I.." Gaara stopped to think and the gazed up at the moonlight. "There is only one person in this world I could see myself with… and she's sitting right next to me…" Those words caused tears of joy to flow from Akina's eyes. Gaara who was still rather unsure of how to handle the situation did the only thing he thought felt right. He slowly and nervous held the woman against him.
Sasuke lied in bed awake as watched the sleeping form of Sakura breath slowly and calmly beside him. The teen smiled as he watched her. Sasuke slowly pulled himself up and turned his attention to the nightstand beside him. He opened the drawer and retrieved a later and reread it for the second time. The teen slowly walked over to a desk that he kept in his room and sat down and began to write. After several minutes the raven haired teen finished and placed his newly written letter in an envelope along with the one he had just reread. Sasuke sealed the envelope and wrote the name of his lover on the front and slowly and quietly placed it on the nightstand beside her. Sasuke then dressed himself and prepared his weapons pouch. After taking care of a few more things the teen stopped at the door and took one more look at Sakura's sleeping form.
"Sakura… I'm sorry… But this is the absolute last time I will ever make you worry about me… If you can ever forgive me after this is all over I swear upon my honor as an Uchiha clan that I will make you my wife and we will revive the clan together…" Sasuke slowly closed the door and soon after that he exited the estate and finally the teen vanished into the night. The teen had carefully left the village and was now walking quietly through the forest toward his next destination.
"Itachi… now we will end this… I'm going to close the final chapter of my past and from then on after, I will only look toward the future. I will kill you… my brother!" Sasuke said quietly as his Sharingan activated, a fierce determination now on his face as heads for one final showdown with the person who has been the cause of his nightmares for several years, he heads off to face his brother, Uchiha Itachi.