Kaze no koibitō

10

Naruto hummed happily as he walked to his class. Yesterday had been, without a doubt, one of the best days of his life. He had a beautiful new girlfriend, the most gorgeous land in Suna, and a class full of spirited, willing young minds to mold. Not much could ruin his mood right now.

He waved merrily to Kari as he walked by and ignored the look of want in her eyes. He liked the woman, but she just didn't have what he wanted in a girl. She'd make some other man happy though...perhaps he should introduce her to Kankurou, with instructions to the man to not be himself.

No one seemed to notice the red wrap on his shoulders, but then again, the Suna citizens seemed to tune out things about him that were abnormal. It was quickly made plain to them how eccentric he was when he arrived over a year ago and they'd taken that with a grain of salt.

He looked around the room and found it empty, no students had arrived yet. He was early this morning, but that gave him a chance to read the letter from Tsunade that Gaara gave to him last night. He hopped on top of the desk and crossed his legs as he tore open the envelope. A pile of letters came out and he smiled. His hand would be sore from writing to his friends tonight, but that small amount of discomfort would be worth it. He pulled a letter with somewhat sloppy writing out and read through it quickly. It was filled with well wishes and spoutings of youth from Team Gai. Neji and TenTen had each scrawled that they wished him the best of luck and hoped to see him again someday.

Lee and Gai had drawn a picture of the two standing with their arms around each other's shoulders, giving the 'good guy' pose in front of a sunset. Naruto smiled and sat the letter down. Those two were too much.

Hinata had written him a very nice letter, filled with well wishes and saying how badly she missed him. Naruto sighed and looked up at the ceiling. If he had stayed in Konoha, Hinata would have been a good girl to pursue. She was kind and giving, and most importantly, tolerant of his foolishness to the point of sainthood. He truly missed her and hoped to see her again one day, if only to talk to her for a while.

Her letters, besides Tsunade's, were always the most descriptive and detailed. He was happy that she was looking for love elsewhere, though she hadn't found it yet. Shino and Kiba were doing great and Kurenai-sensei was struggling to raise her child, although all the students helped her out, particularly Shikamaru. He felt it was his duty to Asuma-sensei...

Ino and Chouji helped where they could, but sometimes they faltered and Ino was easily led to depression. Hinata took it upon herself to help others and Naruto knew that his friends would all be fine under her watchful eyes.

His last letter was from Tsunade and he wondered how everything was going. With great curiosity, he whipped the paper open and began to scan the parchment.

Dear Naruto,

I hope that you are doing well in Suna. Gaara has said that you are turning into one of his finest academy teachers and, though I am loath to admit it, you probably keep the little brats in line. Imagine if your parents could see you now...Uzumaki Naruto, the teacher. Jiraiya nearly had a heart attack when he heard that and I couldn't stop laughing for a week. You were always such a handful growing up...

The council is still adamant about you coming home, but I refuse to give in. I won't let them ruin your happiness. I won't let anything else happen to you if I can stop it.

Your family's home was sold off to the Hyuuga's in the auction and they have since converted it into a historical landmark. Despite initial misgivings, Hinata herself has moved in and acts as the caretaker of the property, with Hiashi's blessings. I swear, that girl developed a backbone overnight after you left...

Jiraiya is getting along splendidly and, although he can't write without aid anymore, he still manages to adapt. He has developed his summoning to the point of one handed seals and gets those damned toads to write what he thinks while he peeps. I'll catch him one day.