A Quick Arrival
Naruto turned towards the horizon in front of him as the sun hit him once again. Constantly out on missions had allowed the blonde to keep his tanned skin that permitted his blue eyes to stand out like a mirage of water in a sea of sand. But at this moment the young man had wished he could see a place to drink some real water. Traveling for days within a dessert could drain anyone’s energy, even the Naruto’s supposed indispensable source. But as soon as the figure of the Sand Country came into view it seemed as if the boy regained all his vitality and sprinted towards the idea of some shade and cool drinks.
Naruto entered the Sand Country with little problems from the security. He didn’t have to arrive until next week but the boy didn’t feel like hanging around in the Hidden Mist Country. He decided that he would spend his free days within the hot region to relax a bit before his duties as a ninja would once again take him away to other corners of the earth.
It was only recently when he began taking orders as an Anbu since he had spent most of his time training with Jiraiya.
“Pfft. Stupid pervert.” Naruto muttered remembering having to put up with his teacher’s schemes to raid the women’s bathhouses, of course the blonde then had to watch over his beaten form for a number of days bored to death.
His under breath muttering was interrupted when a certain building came into view. Grinning Naruto wondered how long it had been since he had been able to fight with Gaara. The once opposing enemies now kept in contact but their separate schedules barely allowed them to meet leisurely. No one would have expected a moody dark person such as Gaara call a loudmouth ball of energy called Naruto a friend. But those with monsters inside them had to stick together right? Using a second to straighten his pack the Anbu ninja sped full speed towards an old friend.
Gaara looked unto the city that once cursed his existence and presently kept under his guard. But being Kazekage was more than helping his country in battle. No, paperwork was more bothersome. That was why the redhead boy escaped his unending foe by hiding on his roof for fresh air. Being able to see the village from above and look onwards to the sea of sand beyond was calming to his restless nerves. But it seemed that he wasn’t allowed his rest from his duties when he sensed an incredible force racing towards his office. With a silent command he shifted his sand to confront the moving figure that now was speeding up the wall towards him. Swiftly a small ball of sand collided with the unknown object exploding then morphing around the figure trapping him in a ball. The prison then flew up to the roof and floated in front of Gaara. With a wave of a hand the sand melted to show the unidentified speeding object.
It took a lot to make a character like Gaara show emotions but it seemed to come naturally for Naruto to make the Kazekage’s eye twitch in surprise and annoyance. That same expression crossed Gaara’s face when a knapsack fell to the ground when the sand dispersed. Without hesitation Gaara turned around above him just in time to watch his defensive sand deflect two kunai aimed for him. He turned once again to block Naruto’s leg that swung at full force. A smirk fell on Naruto’s lips as he flipped back barely missing the wave of sand crashing down. Still smiling the blonde boy readied himself in the fighting stance; he gathered his hands around an invisible ball. Holding it back the ball of chakra now forming within his hand he kept his eyes locked with the green orbs of his opponent. With his naturally loud voice he shouted his incantation.
“KaMeHaMeHaa!”
Gaara rolled his eyes cursing his opponent’s obsession with manga before the pathetic ball of chakra was swiped away into an oblivion of sand. The green-eyed boy then went to look at the blonde only to notice the space vacant. Without warning a weight fell onto Gaara’s back and in a humiliating act knuckles rubbed against head. “Long time no see lover boy!” Completely mortified by the nickname given to him because of the character on his forehead Gaara quickly enveloped the two into a ball of sand in which screams and cries similar to “I was just kidding!” and “That doesn’t bend that way!” could be heard if one listened. When the sand separated a crumpled, beaten form once known as Naruto lay on the floor as the small nerves on Gaara’s forehead began to fade.
******
Moments later after bandaging his arm and the cuts on his face, Naruto faced the Kazekage once again in his office with a desk between them. After one more glare Gaara broke the silence, “You weren’t supposed to be here until next week.”
With a grin the blue eyed boy replied, “Yeah but I couldn’t wait that long to kick your ass again.” Another glare from Gaara didn’t stop the smile growing on Naruto’s face. “Besides it’s much more fun here than that damn Mist place. But it was good to see some old friends again.” The smile turned a bit sad for a second before returning to its own brightness again.
“We might as well get down to business then.” With a small shift he turned to open a drawer and took out a map and laid it on his desk waiting for Naruto to come closer before he began. “Gradually our routes to any region are becoming dangerous to travel. Scouts are being found massacred and few are able to reach their destination, even fewer coming back.” He pointed to a line on the map. “Only a few routes including one to the Hidden Leaf have been left untouched. Our imports and exports from the other villages are being either suspended or delayed and my region is suffering for that. Not only that, but the village’s security has steeply decreased because of the ninja’s needed to guard the messengers and imports every trip.” Gaara looked up to see Naruto’ face mold into an unrecognized serious look. It was rare to see such a look on Naruto without him yelling god knows what at the top of his lungs. A glance more the twenty-two-year old Gaara returned to explain his request. “Since we have gained strong ties with Konoha I’m requesting some of you’re best ninja’s to assist in this situation to help in security of the village and to dispel the unknown attackers.”
“Why did you call just for me then?” Naruto asked.
“It was planned that you would return to Konoha and then come here with the group of the selected ninjas. But you obviously didn’t completely read you’re mission did you?” Naruto flinch as the hammer hit the nail on the head. It was Gaara’s turn to smirk as he continued, “I didn’t think you’d go all the way back to Konoha either and it was a miracle itself that you weren’t attacked. The Hokage has already accepted the request, so they should be here within three to four days should they be intercepted.”
With a nod Naruto stood up. “Ok then, so what should I do until they get here?”
“You can have the graveyard shift for guard duty.”
“Aaaahh. I thought I could relax for a bit.”
“This isn’t a vacation resort Uzumaki, this could turn out to be a real threat…”
Without speaking the two understood the potential enemy. It had been a while either had encountered Akatsuki but it didn’t mean that attempts on their lives hadn’t been made.
The sudden tension was blown away with a scoff escaping Naruto’s lips. “Graveyard shift huh? I guess that means I’ll have the day to explore the village Kazekage-sama.”
“You can stay at this inn. It’s not to far from here. The owners have allowed free lodgings for you and the others when they arrived.” Handing him a paper with an address he put the map away and took out a pile of documents that waited to be signed. “Check in with Kankurou by the main gate for your shift.”
“Always something to do at the Sandy Love Resort.” With a snicker Naruto ran out of the office chased by waves of sand.
The Kazekage sighed as he leaned back in his seat. He’d almost forgotten Naruto’s extreme personality but anyone would agree that it felt good to be around him.
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