One More Light

Chapter 19

Temari was the first to pipe up. She told the group of her plan; head for the leaf, send a message ahead and lay traps on their way. "Based on the usual patterns of the leaf, we should run into at least one team from the leaf before they enter the village. We will need to act fast; we have already lost time and we are not at our fighting best. Everyone take a soldier pill and we will start moving. Lay whichever trap is fastest and keep moving. Gaara, plant some pit falls, Naruto explosive tags, Kunkuro poisons. I'll leave trip wires. If we travel at max speed, we should be in the leaf by sunrise tomorrow. Any questions?"

The boys shook their heads, ate their soldier pills and started moving. Traps were set, trees were jumped off and all was well until the group triggered a trap left by Sasuke. They were attacked by a hoard of snakes that launched from every direction. They fought of the assault but knew their location was now compromised. They needed to move faster otherwise they would be found. They couldn't sense anyone in the area so they must still be ahead of Sasuke, but they had no time to waste. They still had a while to go but they knew it was going to be close.

As Gaara set more pitfalls, he noticed a change in the landscape, they were nearing a destructive crater from Naruto's fight with Pain. It was only now that he realised the extent of that fight and the wounds it left on the landscape as well as the ninja travelling with him. He decided a five-minute break to have a drink and check their supplies was pertinent when he saw a small cave concealed behind a wine wall. He activated his jutsu that communicated with sand in the soil to keep watch. If anyone set foot within his radius he would know.

"We need to take a moment. It's about 10 miles to the village wall. Have some water and gather your energy. Naruto, it would be best of you entered sage mode, give us every advantage we can. If Temari is right, we should find a team shortly. We leave in two minutes." Gaara finished as he drank from his water skin.

Naruto began to meditate, gathering his energy. Kurama did his best to sync his energy with him but the seal was still preventing a full connection. He debated asking his vessel to remove the seal but decided against it right now. He was finally feeling in control, any shift in that might disrupt his work. He decided instead to keep amassing chakra should an extra burst be needed. 'You good Kit?' Kurama asked, sensing a different kind of despair. 'I don't know Kurama. I don't feel right. I'm better than I have been since I was 6 but I feel so sad. Not for myself but for Sasuke. I know I can't save him. I think I'm also scared to go back to the village.' Naruto finally started to figure his feelings out. He was getting much better at expressing his pain. 'You can do this Kit. He's with you.' Naruto knew he was talking about Gaara and felt a smile cross his face. He could do anything as long as he knew he was loved. Not only by Gaara but by Kurama as well.

Naruto achieved sage mode and was ready to go. Kunkuro and Temari left the cave and continued the journey. Gaara stayed behind for a moment with Naruto. He was hesitant but Naruto reached out and held Gaara in an embrace. "Thank you for everything Gaara. I know without your help; I would not still be here. I can't thank you enough." Finding his strength in the warm embrace of his friend, he placed a feather light kiss on his friends lips. Gaara was a little surprised but felt his smile, a real, full smile, reach his face. "You have nothing to thank me for Naruto. You saved me; I will always try to save you. I am so grateful that you were willing to try. Let's go save your village. Our journey isn't over yet." Gaara squeezed his hand and refused to let his hand go as they continued running through the trees.

About 4 miles out of the village, Temari and Kunkuro ran into team Gai. Naruto and Gaara were a couple of minutes behind. When they arrived, Neji and Rock Lee noticed how pale and thin Naruto looked. They were about to ask questions when Gai interrupted and reminded them of the impending threat. The teams continued the rest of the journey in silence. Gaara and Naruto did not let go of each other and Gaara found it comforting that he didn't snatch his hand away when others were around. He had expected Naruto to be fearful of this bond between them and not want anyone to know about it. Naruto felt he had nothing to hide about his relationship with the man who had saved him from himself.