♥︎|𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖘𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖆𝖋𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖞𝖔𝖚|♥︎𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮|𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝

第1章

chapter 1: Were both looking for something

Uzumaki Naruto was exhausted.

Her back felt like she'd been doing Kaka-sensei's boulder exercises for weeks and she actually had been on her feet for weeks. The damage from Akatsuki's attack had been extensive and all of the hidden villages were relying heavily on each other to recuperate their losses.

Naruto's missions had been endless, she'd get back from one and immediately embark on another, stopping only for a change of clothes and to replenish her supplies. It was enough to drain even her endless stamina and Tsunade had had to force bed rest on some of the more stubborn shinobi who were not blessed with a jinchūriki's endurance.

"Naruto," a familiar voice called, soft but indisputably authoritative and no matter how tired Naruto was, it was a voice she would always be glad to hear.

"Gaara," Naruto greeted, her lips curving into a grin. "What are you doing here? I thought your meetings with Tsunade weren't until next week?"

"We pushed them forward," Gaara's eyes narrowed as they raked over her and Naruto was suddenly very conscious of her rumpled hair and stained jumpsuit.

"You look tired."

"Ne, everyone's tired," Naruto snorted. "But I was just about to go get some ramen. You hungry?"

"Yes," Gaara said and followed Naruto as she led the way out of the Hokage tower and, not to be deterred, carried on his line of questioning.

"You are not everybody, Naruto," the Kazekage said. "Was your mission that difficult?"

"No," Naruto smiled at his fussing. Over the years Gaara had grown from a psychotic, nightmarish reminder of what she could become, to a good friend and then, eventually, he'd become something akin to a brother. Or what she imagined a brother might be like.

"It's not that my last mission was difficult," Naruto explained. "It's just that there's so much to do. I'm sure things will get better soon though. Everyone's been working so hard!"

"Yes they have," Gaara agreed. His own shinobi were similarly exhausted but Gaara knew that there was little time for rest. Even if hard-work and dedication were already Naruto's middle names, she was an asset that Tsunade had to utilise to the best of her potential. It made sense then that Naruto was so run down.

Gaara listened as Naruto kept up a steady stream of chatter as they walked through the village but he didn't miss the way people called out to Naruto in greeting and the way the populace of Konoha, ninja and civilian alike, seemed to draw strength from the sight of Naruto, cheerful and in good health despite all that she had faced. Something in Gaara lightened at such obvious proof that Naruto had gone from being the village pariah to its good luck talisman.

Ichiraku greeted Naruto with his customary enthusiasm and his smile didn't dim when it landed on Gaara. Since Suna and Konoha had joined forces against Akatsuki, the Kazekage had become a familiar face around the village and his help during the final battle against Obito and his allies had not gone unnoticed. All the hidden villages had banded together in the end and the battlefield had sparked some truly revealing partnerships. Speaking of which…

"Has there been any news on Uchiha Itachi?" Gaara asked as Naruto started on her second bowl of noodles.

The last time Gaara had seen him had been when Itachi, Sasuke and Kakashi had been facing off against Obito. Gaara himself had been aiding Naruto in her fight against Kabuto and his army of resurrected nin. When the battle was over Gaara had learnt that Itachi and Kakashi were both suffering from extremely nasty cases of chakra exhaustion along with injuries sustained in battle. Sasuke had not escaped unscathed either.