𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐤𝐢 | ɴᴀʀᴜᴛᴏ ꨄ︎ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘᴜᴅᴇɴ

Errands

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✧˖*°࿐

The night's cool air is not enough to chill my pale skin as I sit on top of the cave and look out toward the light's of the village not far from where we took rest. The rain's settled down to a light shower, and I'm writing away carelessly into a messenger scroll.

Sasuke's inside the cave below me, his arms crossed and his back against the wall. Both of his eyes are closed, but I know he's partly conscious. I'd be jealous if a prick like him could sleep like a baby under our circumstances.

Gaara...

I feel my face being scrunched into confliction as I roll up the letter and raise my arm into the air. Called upon chakra, a large bird swoops down and snatches it away to be sent directly to Konohagakure.

When I woke up a while ago, that same bird came to drop a message from Tsunade. It had contents of Akatsuki terrorism in Sunagakure. I honestly thought I was going to wreck the cave with my ninjutsu when reading the bone-chilling words of Gaara's death. But for both Sasuke and I's sake, Tsunade wrote of Gaara's resurrection and safety immediately after the sudden news.

This night feels especially silent as I hunch over and cup my face with my hand. My thumb and middle finger rub at both ends of my temples.

Akatsuki. I cannot count anymore fingers on my hands the amount of times Orochimaru obsessively puts me in a mission involving that group. Strangely enough, it was solely missions that focused on finding intel over killing them.

This same group that was after Naruto, first. It's not hard to piece together why. The one thing those two shared were their monstrous tailed-beasts.

The shinobi world I live in is too vast for my liking.

I lean back and use my elbows to prop my upper-weight up, staring at the slow rising sun ahead of me. The rain feels even thinner as the time went on, and I'm pulled into a fond memory of my first, secret trip to Sunagakure.

.
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.
.

The hazy smile of Gaara floods my senses. "Is it too hot?" He calmly asked, helping me hide my face with the hood of a lent cloak. It's hard to make out a lot of features and words since I find the longer I spend in Otogakure, the more I feel disorientated.

But I subconsciously knew this memory more well compared to all others. It had only been a year into my new life as a traitor/ANBU. Despite the blurry focus, I could tell Gaara's gotten slightly taller than I last saw.

"No." I replied, walking through the bustling streets of Suna. Just as Gaara mentioned in a messenger scroll, there was currently a festival in his home. "Why are you covered, too? You don't need to follow in suit."

Gaara leans away to keep in perfect stride beside me. "I'm Kazekage. I need to." His tone is cheery, overly happy over something I don't pick up.

Was it the festival? The light's were bright and warm, so maybe.

"Excuse me." Gaara suddenly said before carefully grabbing my hand and pulling me toward a direction.