The Lost Ninja

Home Away From Home

Neji, Shika, and Uncle Shi meet me at the gates noticing that my headband is no longer on my forehead like it normally is. It's in my pouch for now because it is not necessary to wear it where I will be going, and I have official permission to leave the village for as long as I need. Once I make it close enough to them Uncle Shi pulls me into a hug startling me before I hug him back tightly knowing I won't be able to stay away for that long. He ruffles my hair when we pull back making me grin before I hug Shika who lets out a sigh, but I see the small smile on his face saying otherwise. I give Neji a hug before poking his forehead making his nose crinkle which leads me to giggle before I turn around to walk backwards as I speak to them.

"I'll be back in the blink of an eye before you even have a chance to miss me. Tell everyone I said bye okay?"

They nod before I grin and walk over to Izumo and Kotetsu whose eyes widen seeing me ready for leaving without my headband. I grin before handing over the paperwork they need, and they nod before I begin walking away from the Leaf Village. For many days I end up walking and only sleep for a few hours so that I can appear at my destination faster which makes me give a small smile every time I think about it. I can't wait to get to my destination and that spurs me to walk faster which means I see the village not long after. I squint and see three figures waiting at the edge of the village causing me to take off running with a huge grin. Once I stop I'm immediately pulled into a tight hug making me laugh shocking all three of the ninja, but two of them smile seeing my more open self.

"Temari-chan! It's been so long since I last saw all of you. What did the village Elders say regarding my message?" I question making her smirk before putting a hand out.

"They agreed? I was expecting a bit more resistance from them on the subject."

"Well, they said you have to be on our team so Baki can keep an eye on you while we are on missions. They already trust you a bit because they heard how you defended your leader which shows them that you can be trusted. The team thing is just so that the villagers feel more at ease with your presence in the village."

I grin before tying the headband against my forehead much like my leaf headband making me give a bittersweet smile. It's only a matter of time before the letters begin flooding in from everyone back in the village who didn't get a chance to say goodbye to me. However, I truly believe this will be a good step in the right direction for me and perhaps when I go back my mental walls will be better than ever. I've already vowed to myself the moment Sauske left to find a way to prevent the fight between him and Itachi that is coming or to intervene if one or the other attempts to kill the other. I know Itachi will put up a good fight just to see how strong Sauske is which means Sauske will go full out, but Itachi can't kill Sauske because he loves him that much. I'm broken out of my thoughts when Gaara's sand wraps around my wrist making me look to him with a smile as they bring me to where I'll be staying for the time that I'll be in the Sand Village.

"What happened back at the Leaf Village? You're spacey in an unusual way almost as if you have a lot on your mind. Like Temari gets when she begins strategising things for a battle."

"I imagine word has already reached this far that Sauske Uchiha is a missing-nin from Konoha which is why I am here. I was the last one to see Sauske and I allowed him to leave the village without any kind of physical fight. Naruto and Sakura were hurt when they found out, but what they said to me hit too far home for my taste. I decided that it was a good idea to leave the village since I've been on edge ever since I came back from finding my godmother who is now the Hokage and it's been one thing right after another that's piled up lately."

"What did they say to you, Yuki? You're normally unaffected by any insult that is thrown your way so, why was this time different?"

"It wasn't me that they insulted, but someone I care very deeply for and they think they know everything about Konoha. Only they don't know everything and if word were to get out about what I know then the villagers of Konoha would be horrified. Anyways it regards a criminal I grew up with and is like an older sibling to me and they basically said he deserves to be killed which made me upset. I figured leaving to cool off would be the best thing for everyone."

They look shocked making me give a small smile as we make it to a large building making me raise my eyebrow at Temari who grins before opening the door and leading me to the room that I will be using for now. Looking around at the place I see little things that tell me that Temari and Kankuro live here which means all three of them live here all alone now that their father is gone. I slip up to the roof where Gaara is sitting staring at the darkening sky and I sit next to him to watch the sunset in such a beautiful manner that I am unused to.

*1 Month Later*

I wake up before pulling my outfit on with a small smile knowing that I must read all the letters that have been sent to me since I left the village, but I've been building my courage to read what everyone back home has to say. I open the first letter to see it's from Anko making me smile as I read over the letter and begin the one written by Ibiki which has a grin on my face before I open Asuma's. At some point tears begin falling onto the letters as I read through them all and I don't hear someone open my door engrossed in reading the letters. A gasp has me looking up to see Temari standing there looking concerned causing me to smile even though there are tears streaming down my face. I swipe the tears away and place the letters in a pouch to carry with me as Temari comes to sit next to me on the bed I have been using during my stay.

"You miss all of them terribly, yet you stay here in the Sand Village with us despite knowing Naruto has left for training with a Sanin. Don't you think it's time for you to at least visit them for a time? There are not many missions here so you would be okay to go visit them and come back if you so choose."

"I might go visit Uncle Shi, Shika, and Neji for a bit. No one else just yet because I must allow myself to trust them again which may take a bit of work. Tell the boys I'll be back soon."

She nods with a proud grin before I teleport back home where I land on the couch and give a groan from the impact on the couch. I can hear footsteps coming my way and turn around before standing up to see Uncle Shi standing in the doorway looking shocked before I run over to him. I hug him tightly shocking him before he hugs me back realising that I am real and am home for the first time in a month allowing him to relax slightly. He ruffles my hair when we pull back and I grin before he checks me over to make sure I'm completely fine and there is nothing wrong with me making me give a soft giggle.

"How's the Sand Village? The others were upset when we told them you had already left the village without saying goodbye to any of them."

"That sounds like everyone we know. Suna is the opposite of Konoha, but I still love it there even if it is considerably hotter than Konoha and there's nothing but sand for miles which is different compared to all the green of Konoha. It's much quieter in Suna than it is here in Konoha because the villagers there don't speak to much, but they've warmed up to me despite my hanging around Gaara. How have things been here?"

"As you probably already know Naruto has left with Jiraya to train as well as keep Naruto safe from the Akatsuki. Plus, Jiraya is going to help train him how to use and suppress the nine-tails chakra so that there are never any accidents because he can't control the nine-tails. Lady Tsunade has taken it upon herself to train Sakura in Medical Jutsu and I've been doing any of the missions she assigns to me since we still need ninja to work."

"Sounds like normal then which is good for the sake of the village because it keeps the villagers safe from outside forces while also making it appear that despite being infiltrated the village is just as strong which is key right now. The village doesn't need anyone attacking from the outside with us down on ninja numbers."

"You aren't staying, are you?"

"I'm only visiting for now because I miss everyone, but I'm not ready to come back for an indefinite time just yet. I don't know when I will be, but I'm working towards coming back home for a long time and it just takes a bit of strength that I don't have yet. I'll be here for a week though."

He nods, and we spend the day reading next to each other on the couch which helps the both of us relax immensely. Once it begins getting late the both of us go to our room to sleep for the night.