After the pain

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Naruto, Only the original ones are mine.

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The Great Kakashi: Yes Naruto can be too much of a gentelmen at times.

Ian: Yes the blood lust is still there, just focused. I will make it up to Ino, Promise.

Cherry bomb 0388: Thank you, and actually I am working on a book right now. (Part of the reason for the long wait, sorry)

Josh: Temari's child is a mystery at this point in time.

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TO EVERYONE ELSE: Thank you all so much for your reviews they really help me keep writing. (when I have the time)

And thank you to everyone who voted for this story in the Naruto fan fiction awards thanks to you all I came in second and was only 3 votes out of first place.


Chapter twenty

AN: Please remember what happened to Temari she is in no condition mentally to be
intimate with anyone, I am attempting to make this as realistic as possible so there
wont be any lemons for a while, sorry.

Maybe this will help,
as of this chapter it has been 15 days since Naruto found Temari in the woods and only 8 since they arrived in Konoha.

Any way please enjoy this chapter.

* * * * * * * *

Shizune carefully balanced a covered breakfast tray in her left hand while she used the other to open the door to the Hokage’s home. She knew it was early but also knew that Tsunade needed something in her stomach after a night out drinking to avoid a major hang over, it was just the way the female sannin’s system worked.

Slipping inside the young assistant closed the door softly behind her before heading for the kitchen area. Setting the tray down on the table she went about putting coffee in the coffeemaker and turning it on before opening the fridge to pull out some orange juice.

Shizune really wondered how her good friend could stand to go out drinking all the time, the queasy stomach and pounding headache in the morning just didn’t seem worth it.
The young medic sometimes felt guilty that she no longer accompanied Tsunade to the bars very often, but then she had better things to do with her time and had never really enjoyed the bar scene in the first place.

Sighing she filled a glass with juice then moved to the table where she uncovered the tray and set the glass beside a bowl of fruit. As far as she was concerned Tsunade really needed to find something else to do in the evenings. Shizune grinned to herself as she tried to imagine the Hokage’s face if she informed her that she really needed to find a man.

Shizune had loved her Uncle Dan very much, but had learned over the years that there was more to life then living in the past, if only her mentor would see it that way.

Picking up the tray she headed for the bedroom, knocking lightly several times before opening the door. As expected the room was pitch black, with the heavy dark curtains covering the windows.

“Tsunade its time to get up.” She called cheerfully; having been through this routine so many times Shizune had no trouble making it to the bedside table in the dark room. Carefully setting her tray down she moved to the window where she flung open the drapes.

When the expected moan of protest didn’t sound she cast a worried glance over her shoulder at the bed only to find it empty. The blankets lay in a tangled mess on the floor so she was pretty certain that the Hokage was somewhere in the house.

After first checking to see it the blond had simply fallen out of bed, she headed for the bathroom. There she found the Hokage draped over the toilet bowl, her long golden hair fell in disarray around her shoulders.

A gasp escaped Shizune’s throat and she rushed to the side of her friend and mentor.

“Tsunade, are you alright?” She asked worriedly as she knelt down beside her.

“Just kill me now.” Came the muffled reply.

Shizune frowned and reached forward to test the blonde’s forehead to see if she had a fever. Tsunade almost never got sick from a night out drinking. In fact the last time the brown haired assistant had seen her boss like this was right after the party to celebrate the arrival of Uchiha Sasuke’s first born son.

Shizune smirked at the memory; a lot of people had taken almost a week to recover from that party, including the blond beside her. Hatake Kakashi knew how to throw one hell of a party.

Once Shizune had determined that Tsunade did not have a temperature she was a little less worried and moved to one of the bathroom cabinets to retrieve some pain killers. Opening the bottle she shook out several pills and returned to the ailing woman’s side.

“Here Tsunade, take these while I get you some water.”

She had to nudge the blonde’s shoulder to get her to respond.
Moving slowly and painfully she accepted the pills and pitifully swallowed them while Shizune quickly headed for the kitchen for a glass of water. When she returned she carefully handed the glass to Tsunade who was now propped up against the tub.

“So what’s the occasion?” The brunet asked as she watched her friend drain the water in on go.

“Wasn’t any.” Tsunade growled her eyes still tightly shut as she tried to ignore the pounding in her head. “Did I mention that I hate men?” She mumbled, causing Shizune’s brows to lift.

“All men or one in particular?” She asked as she moved to help Tsunade to her feet.

It took a few moments to get the blond all the way up and Shizune was forced to pull an arm over her shoulder and help her across the room and back to her bed.

“Just a silver haired moron with a gorgeous smile and a killer bod.” The blond finally muttered as she climbed back onto her mattress.

Shizune’s brows went skyward once again. Surly her friend couldn’t mean Jiraiya; the hair was right but not the rest of the description. She tried not to let a smile show as she moved to shake out Tsunade’s blankets.

“You’re not talking about Kakashi by chance are you?” She asked figuring the copy-nin was the only logical suspect, especially considering how much he had been bugging Tsunade lately. Shizune had a pretty good idea of what was going on with the Scarecrow, but wasn’t about to say anything.

“Remind me to kill him once I’m feeling better.” Was Tsunade’s reply once she had settled back into her pillows and had draped an arm over her eyes to block out the dawning day outside her window.

“What did he do this time?” The younger woman inquired as she forced her mentor back into a sitting position so that she could prop several pillows behind her before retrieving the breakfast tray she had brought along and set it in front of the suffering blond.

“He invited himself to drink with me and he talked about Naruto, and he was flirting with me…. The bastard……” Tsunade groaned. “Did I mention that he could kill a woman with his smile?”

Shizune lifted a brow as she tried to keep from laughing, it wasn’t often that the female Hokage babbled and on top of that she was starting to sound like a school girl who didn’t want to admit a crush.

“Are you telling me that you actually got to see the man’s face?” She asked rather curious at the prospect. She didn’t think there was a woman in Konoha who didn’t want to know what was under that infamous piece of cloth.

“He was drinking, of course I saw his face!” Tsunade snapped, causing her to wince and grab her head in her hands.

Shizune did chuckle then. “So I take it that you’ve never gone drinking with Kakashi before?”

The blond only managed a negative sound as she was still nursing her aching head.

“Well from what I’ve heard, he always has his mask up or a jutsu in place, so he never shows any skin, even when he’s plastered.” The brunet informed her. “You lucky thing you!” She teased. Maybe he’s interested in you.

Tsunade growled low so as not to aggravate her headache. “Not possible, the man’s taken.” She muttered reaching for the orange juice sitting on the tray in front of her.

“He is?” Shizune asked in surprise. “Since when?”

Tsunade rolled her eyes. “Please Shizune; I know you pay more attention to gossip then that. Everyone knows the man is gay and has been attached for years.”

The brunet smirked at that. “So you’re on that side of the bet are you?” She asked fighting off the urge to laugh outright at the thought of the Copy-nin with another man.

“What bet?” Tsunade asked giving the younger woman a funny look.

“The one that’s going around town about whether or not Hatake Kakashi and Umino Iruka are an item, Just how much sake did you drink last night to come up with that conclusion?”

I was only on my second bottle when he arrived, I don’t know how many I had after that.” Tsunade carefully shook her head as she picked up a piece of toast. “But we’re getting off topic, what do you mean there is a BET going on?” She demanded and she suddenly looked like she wasn’t hung over at all with the way her eyes flashed.

Shizune really couldn’t hide the smirk on her lips any longer.

“Now you aren’t paying attention to gossip Tsunade, the village is practically divided over whether or not Kakashi and Iruka are an item or merely very close friends.” She informed her friend. “So unless he admitted something to you last night, no one is admitting to knowing for sure.”

Tsunade frowned as she thoughtfully chewed her toast, try as she might she couldn’t remember much after the conversation about Naruto. It was all a little blurry and she couldn’t say for sure what was real and what was her alcohol soaked imagination.
She was still having trouble believing that she had drank enough to make herself sick in the first place.

Shizune meanwhile was thinking that there was someone who would love to hear about last nights events.
“Well I should get going Tsunade.” She informed the blond as she smoothed down a corner of her quilt. “The coffee is on and should be ready soon.”

Tsunade thanked her as she headed for the bedroom door.

“You know,’ the younger medic mused as she paused at the opening. ‘Considering your track record, I wouldn’t bet on Kakashi being unavailable if I were you.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The early morning light filtered through the leaves to dance across the forest floor where it seemed to play tag with the shadows.

The sound of the soft summer breeze rustling the branches was the first sound the red haired Kazekage heard as he slowly regained consciousness. He didn’t immediately open his eyes, but allowed his other senses to take in his surroundings first.

He was leaning up against a tree, he could feel the rough bark against his back and he found it quite comfortable. It had been so long since he had allowed himself to sleep that he wasn’t really ready to give up the relaxed feeling it gave him.

Taking a deep breath an all too familiar scent touched his nose and he jerked upright, his eyes going wide.

BLOOD! He nearly panicked when he saw his hands were covered in the dried red substance.

‘It was four legged, I swear!’ Shukaku quickly assured him. ‘Sorry about the mess, I didn’t get the chance to clean up before your body started shutting down again.’ The demon apologized.
He knew how paranoid his host could be about hurting others. Case in point, even in the middle of his rage, not a single creature was harmed do to their sand storm, well none after the first ten minutes anyway.

Gaara took several deep breaths to calm himself before he took a good look at their surroundings. “Where are we?” Ha asked, the trees indicating that they had moved quite a distance.

‘We are near the boarder; we shouldn’t be far from where we sensed the item.’ The Tanuki replied.

At the reminder Gaara rolled to his feet. Reaching into his ever present pouch he pulled out a small water flask. After taking a drink he used the rest to clean off his hands.

“God, what is this stuff from Shukaku? It stinks.” He wrinkled his nose as he was unfamiliar with this type of blood.

‘Primate.’ The demon replied.

Gaara paused in scrubbing his hands. “As in a monkey?” He asked in disbelief, being alone he had no reason to school his face or voice to its usual calm mask.

‘Yes, it was being rather annoying and while they are rather bland, this one was a perfect size for one meal.’ Was the explanation.

The red head groaned. “I can’t believe you fed me a monkey.” His stomach suddenly felt a little queasy at the thought.

‘Why? ‘The Tanuki asked. ‘Despite what you humans believe you are not descended from the creatures, it is no different the consuming a bird or a hare. With the exception of the taste of course.’

Gaara groaned he should know better then to give his tenant something to drone on about. “Never mind Shukaku, jus tell me it was cooked.”

There was a slight pause. ‘Okay it was cooked.’

“SHUKAKU!”

“Don’t blame me! We used up too much chakra in getting here, there wasn’t enough left to perform a fire jutsu.’

The Kazekage sighed as he realized that they were having a pointless argument.
“My apologies Shukaku, I shouldn’t be reprimanding you for doing what was necessary.”

‘Accepted, you are not your self at this time, I understand.’

Gaara glanced around the area as his worry for his older sister’s safety returned. Flicking the excess water from his hands he asked.
“Do you remember the location?”

The demon took a moment to check their position.
‘I believe it is west of us, perhaps a quarter of a mile.’

Without another word the sand master headed off at a slow run, his long legs quickly eating up the ground. He only stopped once he had traveled the appointed distance.
They were once again on the edge of the tree line, looking out over the sand dunes.

‘It should be close.’ Shukaku commented.

Gaara nodded, sending his chakra into the ground, sending out feelers to locate the item they were looking for. His rage from finding his sisters weapon had taken on a more controlled aspect, not long after the sand storm had been formed the red haired young man had quite literally moved every grain of sand in his country, looking for some clue as to his sister’s whereabouts.

No body was located, only an item that bore her essence. He wasn’t even sure what it was just yet. He was also not yet completely sure if she had perished, his vision had only seen her being attacked and he had not yet found any evidence of her remains, even her ashes would have been detected during his search. And so he dared to hope that she was still alive.

A few moments later his sand had found what he was looking for and so he followed the connection to a large bush. Separating the thick branches he spotted it.
Temari’s Hitai-ate.

Reaching down he picked it up, it looked to have been ripped from her body the cloth edges were raggedly torn. As he brought the item to his nose to test for the presence of blood his sight blurred.

‘Not again.’ Shukaku moaned when the vision was that which both of them had seen many times before.

Temari sat in a field of daisies, cradling a fox kit in her arms. Curled around her with his head on her lap way Kyubi, one of his tails was waving in front of the kit who was trying to capture it with his tiny paws.

The scene was one of pure serenity.

‘Its so sweet it makes me sick!’ Shukaku complained. ‘When are you going to learn to turn it off on command?’

Gaara ignored his tenant, he always found solace in the knowledge that his sister would find the happiness she deserved. And with someone who would have no problems protecting her. She deserved better then what their home town had to offer.

A bright flash of light suddenly blocked out the image which puzzled Gaara, the vision had never ended in that manner before.

A moment later the image was back, only this time it appeared as a framed photograph.

‘What the hell?!’ Shukaku yelped.

‘I have…. No idea.’ Gaara returned as he tried to focus on what was happening.

He frowned when the baby fox turned into a human child whose face kept changing, after a few moments there was another, smaller flash of light and the child was suddenly engulfed in white flames. And then its image seemed to melt, as if it was made of wax, until it was completely gone leaving Temari’s arms empty.

‘I don’t like the looks of this.’
Shukaku whined as the Kyubi raised his head and seemed to scan the area around him. His nine tails began whipping back and forth behind him as Temari got to her feet. She reached out a hand as if to touch his head but before she could make contact her image disappeared without a trace.

As the kitsune sprang to his feet the rest of the picture disappeared as well, leaving the demon standing in a black void. A howl of rage and anguish issued from his throat as the landscape around him burst into flame and then in the middle of the ragging inferno his image was gone as well.

Gaara gasped, trying to drag oxygen back into his lungs as his normal eyesight returned. His body trembled as he clutched his sisters Hitai-ate tightly in his hands.

Shukaku whimpered as he felt his host’s heart breaking.

“She’s dead Shukaku, I failed her.” He hung his head as he was filled with unfamiliar emotions. The rage he had released before wasn’t nearly enough to express what he was now feeling.

‘WE failed.’ Shukaku corrected him.

Gaara’s legs gave out on him and he collapsed on the ground in shock. He had dealt with death almost his entire life, had in fact been its instrument more times then he could even remember. But he had never lost someone that was close to him.
And now a member of his family was gone, and the Sand user had no idea how to deal with it. Although he was unable to show his siblings what they meant to him, they were all he had in this world.

‘He’s going to kill us!’ Shukaku’s voice trembled in fear, effectively bringing Gaara back to himself.

“I think you are over reacting.” He quietly informed his tenant even as his mind started planning how he was going to find the ones responsible for taking Temari from him.

‘I am NOT over reacting!’ The Tanuki stated almost hysterically. ‘You don’t know him like I do; Master Kyubi does not forgive easily. He’s going to rip us to pieces!’

“Perhaps so.” Gaara agreed calmly as he slowly got back to his feet. “Although I doubt Naruto will allow it to go that far, even if it would be well within his rights to do so. The Master did leave her in our care after all.”

‘What are we going to do?’ Shukaku sniveled. ‘I don’t want to die!’

“Focus Shukaku, what happens to us is irrelevant.” The red head snapped, it still amazed his how his demon companion could be so blood thirsty and yet so cowardly at the same time. “We have hunting to do.”

He once again brought the Hatai-ate up to his nose, but there were no other scents present to give him a clue as to who he was going after.

‘Are we going back to the village?’ Shukaku asked, finally calming down enough to focus on the task at hand.

“No, that would only cause more of a gap between us and our prey.”

‘But wouldn’t it be easier if we had more help?’ The demon asked.

“What would be the point? We have only one description, and the scent of another of the culprits, a team would only slow down our search.” Gaara informed the Tanuki.

“Do you know were to start?’ Was the next question.

“Your guess is as good as mine, but I will not rest until I have found them.” Gaara vowed.

A growl rumbled through his chest as he scanned his surroundings. Spotting a mountain range southwest of his position he decided that it was a logical direction because of where he had found the head band and the higher ground would give him a vantage point to plan out his next move.

Without a second thought he put the metal village insignia into his pouch and took off at a run.

‘I will avenge you Temari.’ He vowed with only his demon as witness.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

AN: Just to clarify a few things about Shukaku and Kyubi’s relationship, From what I’ve found on information of the nine great demons Kyubi is the king as he is the most powerful with unlimited chakra at his disposal.

Shukaku on the other hand is ranked the lowest and was known to flee battles in order to survive. So although he is rather blood thirsty when it comes to standing up to someone more powerful then him, he is a complete woos.

More of this will be explained in the sequel. Hope that helped you. :)

* * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * **

It was nearly noon when Kakashi was rudely awakened by someone pounding on his door. Rolling over her threw an arm over his eyes, determined to ignore whoever it was until they gave up and went away. He was off duty and he had no intention in getting out of bed before he absolutely had too.

He sighed in relief when the noise stopped, he wasn’t experiencing the worst hang over of his life, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be sociable.

The sound of feet stomping down his hallway made him groan. An assassin wouldn’t be making that much noise and only one person had a key to his apartment and knew how to disable the traps he always set for extra security without making a huge racket.

“Kakashi, I think its time you got out of bed.” Came Iruka’s calm voice.

Moving his arm enough to allow him to crack open one eye and spot the teacher leaning against his door jam.

“Go away Scar face, I don’t feel like getting up yet.” He growled.

“Too bad, I just had some interesting news from a very reliable source and I want to know what the hell you were doing last night.” Iruka snapped in return.

Sighing heavily Kakashi slowly rolled into a sitting position keeping his eyes closed until his feet were firmly planted on the floor and he kept them that way until he was sure that his head wouldn’t start spinning.

“So what do you want to yell at me about this time?” He asked not bothering to reach for his mask which hung loosely around his neck.

“I want to know what the hell happened last night.” Iruka repeated flatly.

“I went out drinking, what does it look like I did?” The Copy-nin snapped before he thought better of it, and his head immediately made him regret it.

“It looks like you had one of your usual nights out on the town.” Iruka replied. “But that doesn’t explain why you were seen entering the Hokage tower in the middle of the night with said female Hokage draped over your shoulder like a sack of rice.”

Kakashi scratched the back of his head as he chuckled.
“Ya I guess that would raise a few eyebrows now wouldn’t it.”

“Care to explain?”

“Nothing much to explain really, I ran into Tsunade at the Hell Hole. We talked, drank.” He paused to grin suddenly. “Damn that woman can drink; she polished off six bottles of sake while I was there and then helped me finish off my vodka.”

(AN: For those of you who are wondering she had a total of seven bottles of sake.)

Iruka’s eyes widened.
“She was still upright after that much sake?!”

Kakashi nodded.
“Yup, she didn’t keel over until we were half way back to the tower.”

“And then what happened?” The teacher inquired.

“What do you mean ‘and then what’?” Kakashi growled. “I took her home and tucked her into bed like a perfect gentleman.”

Iruka moved from his place by the door to sit on the bed beside the silver haired man.
“So that was it? Nothing else happened?”

“Nothing.” Kakashi confirmed before scrubbing his hands over his face, he was relieved that his head seemed to be feeling much better.

“Sounds like an interesting evening then.” Iruka commented quietly.

“You can say that again.” Kakashi grumbled. “She asked me if I was Bi.”

Iruka’s eyes grew wide. “She asked you what?”

“You heard me!”

Iruka snickered. “She asked you if…..?”

Kakashi nodded with a frown, which sent the dark haired teacher into peals of laughter.
The Copy-nin glared at his companion as the scar faced teacher fell over backwards on the bed and continued to laugh uncontrollably.

“It’s not that funny.” Kakashi growled as he swiveled his position so that he could give the teacher a kick in the side.

Iruka merely grunted at the half hearted contact but he did try to gain control of his mirth.
“What are you talking about? It’s funny as hell!” He managed between breathless chuckles.

Kakashi glared and proceeded to kick the still chuckling man off the end of his bed. He refused to say anything more on the subject and he had to question what he had been thinking to divulge the information in the first place.

“Since you insist on being such an ass after waking me up, the least you can do is go make me some breakfast.” He snapped in irritation.

Iruka got easily to his feet, not the least bit phased from having been shoved off the bed. He didn’t say anything else but his laughter could be heard as he made his way down the hall.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Temari sat curled up on one end of Naruto’s couch with one of the books Hinata had given her resting open on her lap.
Naruto came over and handed her a cup of tea.

“Feeling better.” He asked as he settled down beside her.

She nodded. “Yes, I’m still not sure why I would be feeling queasy, I didn’t eat anything weird yesterday and I haven’t been around anyone with the flue.” She stated with a frown.

She had slept well but upon waking she had felt a little off, not enough to actually be physically sick but she hadn’t dared eat anything for breakfast.

Naruto was leaning back with his arms stretched across the top of the couch with a thoughtful look on his face.
“You know, I bet it’s probably morning sickness.” He finally concluded aloud

Temari glanced at him over the rim of her cup as she took a sip of tea.
“What’s morning sickness?” She was trying to remember where she had heard that term before but was coming up with a blank.

“Its something that happens to pregnant women, they get sick first thing in that morning for a while. So I’ve heard anyway.” He replied.

“Why’s that?” She was a little confused.

Naruto shrugged his big shoulders. “I haven’t the foggiest clue. I just heard the guys talking about it, apparently its hell.”

Temari frowned at that. “I’m not sure I like the sounds of that.”

Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?” He asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t really feel that bad; I’m just a little off is all.”

“I could always go get Hinata for you.” He offered.

She smiled but shook her head again and took another sip of tea.

“If that’s one of the books from Hinata it might say something about it in there.” He mused nodding towards the hard cover sitting in her lap.

Temari picked up said manuscript to look at the back again. “So far it seems to just be about nutrition.” She informed him as she reread the back.
“Yup that’s it according to this.” She held the back up for him to see.

“Is this all she brought?” He inquired after scanning the cover.

“There are a couple more but I haven’t looked at them yet.” She leaned over the arm of the couch to retrieve the package the books were wrapped in. Earlier she had simply grabbed the one on the top and not bothered to read all the titles.

Naruto took her teacup while she emptied the package on her lap. Two more books fell out. The first had her raising her eyebrows, it was obviously for kunoichi’s the title read ‘Training while pregnant’ with a foot note about dealing with the loss of usable chakra.

“Can I read that one?” Naruto asked, having read the cover over her shoulder.

“No, these ones are mine, you read the nutrition one.” She told him handing over the first book as she tried not to smirk at his strange request.

“Party pooper.” He pouted but accepted the one she gave him.

The final book was called ‘What to expect when you’re expecting’ and it immediately caught Temari’s attention.

(AN: It is a great book, I highly recommend it)

Opening up the thick manuscript she skimmed over the index and gave a low whistle at the amount of information it contained.

“What?” Naruto asked.

“I think this is the book I was looking for.” She replied. “It looks like it has everything in it.”

“Cool.” Naruto grinned at her. “Do you want your tea back now?” He asked.

“Oh ya, sorry.” Quickly placing the extra book and the now empty package on the floor she took back her cup and set it on her lap as she started thumbing through the last book.

Naruto also settled back to read and for several hours the two sat in companionable silence until Naruto declared it was time to make lunch. Since Temari’s stomach felt much better they ate in the living room with books in hand and Naruto pointing out some recipes he thought she might be interested in.
On the same token she read several snippets of information aloud to him, including the explanation for morning sickness. And so it continued on into the afternoon until Naruto announced that he had finished his book and sprawled out against the arm of the couch opposite from Temari.

“How can you be done already?” She asked. “I’m not even half way through mine.”

“Well yours is thicker then mine was.” He informed her. “And besides, recipes don’t take as long to read.”

Temari shrugged having not thought of it that way.
As she went back to reading Naruto started twiddling his thumbs, he really didn’t feel like reading any more at that moment in time and cleaning up their lunch dishes from the coffee table meant getting up.

He suddenly got and idea. “Hey Temari, do you want a foot rub?” He asked.

Temari had to think about that for a minute. She had never had anyone else massage her feet before and she wasn’t sure she felt comfortable allowing it.

‘But Uta did say that he was really good at it.’ She reminded herself.

So she decided to take a chance, after all this was Naruto.
“Sure why not.” It took her a minute to reposition herself while not letting her house kimono ride up past her knees.

In the end she sat against the arm of the couch with her legs stretched out in front of her and draped over Naruto’s legs while her feet rested in his lap.
As the big shinobi went to work on her feet Temari returned to reading, she was really enjoying herself, she had not known just how many changes a woman’s body went through when having a baby.

Time slipped away quickly as the pair lounged on the couch; Temari continued to read interesting passages aloud to Naruto which he would sometimes comment on or ask a further question. It never occurred to either of them that what they were doing might be considered odd because they were not a couple.

It was nearly six o’clock and the two were still sharing the couch, Temari’s legs still stretched out over top of Naruto’s. Only Naruto had taken over reading the book aloud since Temari had wanted to give her eyes a break when a knock sounded on the apartment door.

Grudgingly Naruto got to his feet to go investigate.
Upon opening the door he found a female chunin on the other side.
She quickly bowed. “Pardon me Uzumaki-Sama but the Hokage requires your immediate presence at the tower.”

Biting back an annoyed sigh Naruto nodded and thanked the woman before closing the door.

“What’s up?” Temari asked as she sat up on the couch.

“Something’s going on at the office, I have to go find out what’s happening.” He informed her as he slid on his sandals and grabbed his coat, just in case.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be so don’t wait for me to eat if you get hungry.” He told her.

Temari smiled at him reassuringly. “I’ll be fine, go ahead.”

Naruto grinned at her in return before heading out of the apartment.
After he was gone Temari got to her feet and stretched. After a quick trip to the bathroom she decided to clean up the lunch leftovers and tidy up the kitchen.

* ** * ** *

“Are you sure there is no one else who can go?” Naruto asked Tsunade as he rubbed the back of his neck.

The Hokage shook her head. “The elder asked for you specifically since you have been to his village before. And he says that their trade negotiations with the village closest to them, which happens to be just over the boarder in the Land of Mist are not going well and he is afraid that things might get hostile.” She pointed out even though she had already briefed him on the situation once.

“But I promised Temari I’d be around until her brothers showed up or we escorted her back to Sana.” He protested.

Tsunade sighed, she wasn’t to happy about separating the potential couple herself, but for very different reasons then the young man in front of her had voiced. She just wanted to give them as much time together as she could.
Mental she shook her head such was the life of a ninja, missions always came first.

“I’m sorry Naruto, but we really need you to go for this one.” She apologized. “Do you think we need to find someone to stay with Temari while you’re gone?”
After what the younger woman had gone through it wouldn’t surprise Tsunade in the least if she still didn’t want to be left alone.

“I’m sure she will be fine.” Naruto replied quietly as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “She’s been doing a lot better, but I still don’t want to leave her alone, I promised.” He finished with a heavy sigh.

Tsunade nodded as she got up from her desk and walked towards him. “I know you did but my hands are tied, I really need you to go on this mission.”

Naruto nodded. “I’ll go.”

He wasn’t happy about, but at least he was going on his own which meant that he should be able to make the nearly four day trip in half the time.

“I’ll leave first thing in the morning.”

Tsunade smiled and patted him on the arm. “Thank you Naruto. Now tell Temari that if she needs anything to just let me know.”

He nodded. “I will.”

With that he turned to leave having already gotten all the information he needed. Opening the office door he was met with the sound of laughter.
He smiled as he saw Iruka talking to Shizune. The two of them always seemed to make each other laugh.

“Hey Iruka, what are you doing here on a Sunday?” He asked by way of greeting.

The teacher pointed at a large file box sitting on Shizune’s desk. “I just finished updating the files on this years graduate’s, so I thought I would drop it off so that I didn’t have to look at it any more.”

Naruto chuckled. “Why were you working on that on the weekend in the first place?”

The older man grinned. “I only have a couple weeks before the whole thing starts over again, I wanted to at least have some of that time to myself, so what about you?”

Naruto’s sudden frown wasn’t lost on the scar faced man. “A diplomatic mission came up that I have to go on.”

Shizune couldn’t help but smile at his downcast demeanor. “I’m sure it wont take you too long to get everything straightened out Naruto.” She encouraged him before excusing herself to go into Tsunade’s office.

The two men then left the building together. Before they went their separate ways Naruto stopped his father figure to make a request of him.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, could you check in on Temari for me and make sure that she’s okay.”

Iruka nodded solemnly as he tried to hide his disappointment that the couple was being separated so soon.

“I’m sure Gaara will be here for her any day but you know, just in case.”

“Its no problem Naruto, don’t worry about a thing.” Iruka assured him.

Naruto thanked his former teacher and the two men said their goodbyes before each of them headed in their own direction.
With Naruto making a slight detour before going home.

* * * * * **

Kyubi growled long and low as he watched what was going on around him, He had a bad feeling about the way things were unfolding.
He wasn’t sure yet if it was about the mission or something else, but he was definitely not happy with the prospect of Naruto leaving his female alone.

He glared at the tiny crack in his prison that had for some reason become visible the day before, but was still no bigger then it had been.

No the kitsune was not happy.

* * * * *** *

Naruto and Temari ate a late dinner in near silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Naruto was feeling guilty as hell that he had to leave her, while Temari was busy telling herself that most diplomatic missions such as trade relations on such a small scale shouldn’t take very long at all so Naruto’s hopes of being back within a week was very possible.

‘Gaara and Kankuro should also be here any day so this is no big deal’

It wasn’t until the two were cleaning off the table that Naruto finally broke the silence.
“Temari, would you mind taking a walk with me?”

The kunoichi gave him a questioning look. “What about dishes?”

“We can do them when we get back.” He assured her.

“Temari smiled, a walk sounded much better then cleaning. “That sounds good to me.”

For some reason she just wanted to stay close to him, like they had been all day.
Abandoning cleanup duty the couple was soon walking down the street side by side.

“Where are we going?” Temari asked when Naruto turned down an unfamiliar street.

“It’s kind of for a surprise.” He told her with a grin.

She blinked. “A surprise?”

“Yup.” His grin widened.

“For who?” She frowned slightly.

The big shinobi laughed. “For you silly.”

Temari was momentarily struck speechless.

“What for?” She finally managed to ask after swallowing several times.

“You’ll see.”

He guided her down a narrow side street and within a few minutes they arrived at the gates of a compound. Naruto pushed open one of the doors before grabbing Temari’s hand to pull her inside with him.

The Sand-nin was too shocked by his actions to protest. She couldn’t fathom what it was Naruto might have planned.
He kept a hold of her as they crossed a small courtyard which held an elaborate water garden off to the left.

Before they reached the steps leading up to the house the door opened and a young man dressed in a traditional kimono and hakama stepped out and bowed in greeting.

“Welcome Uzumaki-Sama, my master is expecting you.”

Naruto nodded his understanding as they mounted the stairs and followed the young man inside.

“Hold onto your sandals.” He told Temari as they both stepped out of their foot wear. “You’ll be needing them in a little bit.”

Even more baffled then she was before the kunoichi did as she was told and carried her sandals in one hand as she followed after him. Their greeter led them down several long corridors towards what she assumed was the back part of the house. When he finally came to a stop and opened a door for them the first thing she noticed was the smell of coal and metal.

Growing more curious by the second she followed closely behind Naruto as he stepped through the door. The room was much warmer then the rest of the house had been.

“Ha ha! Naruto my boy!” Welcome, welcome!” A boisterous voice boomed across the large room that Temari realized was a work studio.

On closer inspection of what the four young men sitting at various tables were doing she discovered that they were all working on different types of weapons. Her inspection was cut short however when the owner of the voice appeared seemingly out of nowhere and pulled Naruto into a big hug.

“Master Seisakusha it is good to see you.” The blond wheezed as the breath was nearly crushed out of his lungs by the shorter man.

Temari wasn’t quite sure what she thought of this older man just yet. Although he was actually slightly shorter then she was, he was at least as broad in the chest as Naruto and sported arms like a gorilla.

Once he had been released from the bear hug Naruto turned. “Temari this is Seisakusha Buki.” He held out a hand to bring her forward for the introduction. “Master Seisakusha, this is Temari.”

The kunoichi felt much better when she stepped forward and his arm moved around her waist. She bowed her head politely.

“So this is the young lady you were telling me about.” Seisakusha chuckled, the laugh lines around his eyes crinkled as he smiled, showing off even white teeth. “It is a pleasure to meet you my Dear; I enjoyed your performance at the chunin exams against the Nara boy. I’ve never seen a style quite like yours before.”

At Temari’s stunned look Naruto chuckled. “Master Seisakusha is the best weapons maker in the Land of Fire. He goes to every chunin exam to get ideas for improving his weapons or creating new ones.”

“But that was at least twelve years ago.” Temari protested. She couldn’t believe that she had made that much of an impression on a complete stranger.

Master Seisakusha chuckled. “Twelve years is not so long when you’re my age my Dear, and a beautiful young woman with impressive skill and an unusual weapon is easy to remember.”

Temari was sure she was blushing from his words.

“Well Naruto my boy, you’re early as usual. I had hoped for at least another day or two to finish.” The weapons master shook a finger at him.

The big blond looked sheepish as he shrugged. “I wasn’t planning on rushing you Master Buki, but I got called out on a mission for tomorrow and I don’t know how long I will be gone.”

The older man nodded and stroked his well trimmed mustache and beard. “Ah I see, well then let us get to the fun part then shall we?” With that he turned and led the way through his workshop to a door at the back.

Naruto kept his hand on Temari’s back as he ushered her forward.
“Naruto, what exactly are we doing here?” She was still unsure as to why this was supposed to be some kind of surprise for her.

“You’ll see when we get through that door.” He informed her with a smile.

Chewing nervously on her bottom lip she took a deep breath as she was ushered through the door and into a dark room. Her body stiffened when she realized that she couldn’t see anything.

“We barely had time to get this set up for you Naruto, be glad that I like you so much.” The Masters voice echoed through the darkness just a moment before lights flickered to life, one at a time all the way around the room.

Temari gasped in shock when she saw that each light illuminated a different display, Set around the entire room including a line down the center were more kinds of combat fans then Temari had seen in her life.

Gaping at the fabulous display of weapons she could only stare in wonder.

“So what do you think?” Naruto asked as he moved up behind her and leaned over her shoulder in an effort to see her reaction to his surprise.

Swallowing several times she struggled to find her voice. “I’m not sure I understand…..” Her voice trailed off as she frowned in confusion. Why was she here?

“Take you’re pick, whichever one you want.” He told her with a grin.

“W…What?” She sputtered, she couldn’t believe her ears.

“I don’t know what happened to your fan but I thought you might like a replacement.” His hands moved to rest lightly on her hips. “Master Seisukusha Buki makes the best weapons I have ever seen, fans aren’t a common fighting tool around here but when I talked to him the other day he told me that he’s been experimenting with different styles the last couple of years and he would love to get your opinion on them.”

Temari felt close to tears. How had he known that she felt lost without her signature weapon when she was out in public? She was sure she hadn’t said a thing as she had been trying to ignore the fact herself.

“This is for me?” Her eyes skimmed over the closest fans in awe.

She felt him nod behind her as his chin brushed against her hair.
“Why don’t you take a closer look and see if anything suits you.” He suggested as he gently squeezed her hips before nudging her forward and releasing his hold.

Tentatively she stepped forward, focusing on the first display. She was so overwhelmed by the whole situation that at first she didn’t allow herself to touch any of the beautiful creations before her. Instead she slowly made her way down the row, inspecting each one carefully.

The fans were quite varied in size design and material, ranging from a pair of small metal hand held with razor edges to one large wooden fan that was almost the picture of the one she had used as a genin.
Some were quite elaborately decorated while others were plain. The wind summoner was in heaven.

* *

“She is a fine woman.” Master Seisakusha remarked as he rejoined Naruto.

The big blond nodded as he watched Temari move slowly from one display to the next. “That she is.”

“You know, in my day a gift to a young lady consisted of flowers or candy.” The weapons Master folded his thick arms across his chest. “Your generation seems to be set on weapons.” He chuckled. “Not that I mind of course.”

Naruto turned his head to give him a questioning look. “What do you mean by that?” He asked, not exactly sure if the old man was hinting at something or not.

“Well first it was that Tai-jutsu specialist…. Lee was it? He got specially made gauntlets for your teammate when he married her, and just a couple months ago the Hyuga commissioned colored kunai for a second anniversary gift.” The crafter shook his head as he chuckled again.

“Colored kunai?” Naruto asked in disbelief, Buki had to be referring to Neji, as Tenten was a great lover of weapons, as her style showed. And their anniversary was coming up in about a week.

“Yes, I never thought I would see the day I was casting pink kunai.” Seisakusha replied with a broad grin.

Naruto couldn’t help but chuckle as well. “At least it’s original.”

The old man nodded in agreement.
“And now you’re buying your woman a battle fan, quite the odd generation.”

Naruto felt himself blushing and he hoped that Temari wasn’t close enough to hear the last comment. “She’s not mine, we’re just friends.” He spoke quietly so as not to be over heard. But he had to correct the misconception before it was mentioned to the flaxen haired kunoichi, he was afraid that it might upset her.

“Why ever not?” The weapons master demanded, his voice almost echoing off the walls of the enclosed room.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment as Temari sent him a questioning look from the other side of the room.

“It’s a long story.” He muttered, not meeting the older mans eyes.

“That’s no excuse boy.” Buki stated flatly before striding off towards the young woman, he knew from the boy’s reaction that now was not a good time to discuss the matter further and so he focused on showing off his masterpieces.

Naruto slowly trailed after Temari and the weapons maker as they tested some of the fans and discussed the details of design and material.
It was the second time that someone had assumed that he and Temari were a couple. The first had been Sasuke but that was only because the Uchiha had found out that Temari was staying with him.
Naruto was sure that he hadn’t made any mention of that to Master Buki. So why had the older man come to that conclusion? It couldn’t be that strange that he was buying her a new weapon could it?
He had bought things for his other female friends before, so what was the big deal?

Shrugging to himself he decided to disregard the incident, it wasn’t as if it was a big deal that they had been mistaken for a couple by someone who had only seen them together once. Mistakes happened.

Pushing all thoughts of it aside he focused his attention on Temari who was expertly twirling a fan around her body, it was half the size of the one she normally sported but she handled it like it was an extension of her arm.
Seeing her pleased smile as she concentrated on her movements he felt confidant that he had made the right choice in bringing her here.

* * *

Temari brought the small metal fan up in front of her face before flicking it shut with a smooth jerk of her wrist.

“This is a fabulous weapon Master Buki, the balance is perfect.” She told him running her nail appreciatively down the razor sharp edges.

“Coming from you my Dear that is high praise indeed.” The old master beamed at her praise.

Temari found that she liked this weathered weapon maker, she didn’t even mind when he called her ‘Dear’ it made her feel like a granddaughter of sorts, and she liked that.

“This is truly a work of art.” She murmured, slowly opening the fan and once again running a longing finger over the intricately tooled designs covering every section of it. “I wish it was of a size closer to what I usually use.”

Wistfully she set it back on its stand and trailed her fingers over the blue and gold ribbons that hung from its base.
“It’s almost too beautiful to use for more then dancing with.”

Master Seisakusha chuckled making her realize that she has spoken her thoughts out loud.

“A woman who dances with her weapons.” The creases deepened around his eyes as he grinned at her. “A true master of her craft.”

Temari felt herself blushing, she had never told anyone abut her secret pass time.

“Master Seisakusha.” A voice from the doorway interrupted any further comments on the subject and for that the Sand-nin was grateful as the older man trotted off to see what his apprentice wanted.

“So what do you think Temari?” Naruto asked as he moved with her to look at the next fan in the lineup.

“They are all amazing weapons.” She frowned slightly as she looked up at him. “But Naruto, I can’t let you buy me something like this.”

“Why not?” He cocked his head curiously.

“Well it’s just too much, I mean you’ve already done so much for me and something of this quality can’t be cheap.” She gestured at the room at large.

Naruto shrugged. “The price doesn’t matter, and if it makes you feel better think of it as a birthday present.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “My birthday isn’t for nearly six months and you have never gotten me anything before, so why start now?” She was genuinely curious as to why he or anyone else for that matter would even consider getting her such an extravagant gift.

“Well then think of it as a gift to make up for all the birthdays I’ve missed since I’ve known you.” He quickly replied.

Turning to fully face him she placed a hand on her hip. “Naruto.”
“And Christmas, combine Christmas in there too.” He added with a lopsided grin.

“Naruto.” Her tone turned exasperated. “This is really too much, I can’t ask you to spend so much of your pay on me.” She knew that ninja’s didn’t usually have the best paying jobs in the world and Naruto rarely went on missions anymore so he wouldn’t get the bonuses others of his rank did.

Naruto waved away her concerns with one hand. “Money isn’t a problem so don’t worry about it, I have over six years of danger pay from running ‘S’ class missions as an ANBU and nothing to spend it on but me.”

Temari released an exasperated groan.
“Naruto, that is not the point……”

He interrupted “Temari look, I’m leaving tomorrow and I have no idea how long I’ll be gone.” Placing his left hand on the display standing beside them he leaned towards her, his voice lowering. “I won’t be here to watch over you like I promised I would and we haven’t heard back from Sana yet.”

As he looked deeply into her eyes she saw the concern for her in his beautiful blue ones.

“I know you can take care of your self but I would feel a lot better if I knew you had everything you need, just in case.”

She saw his logic and felt herself starting to waver in her decision not to accept his gift.

“And besides.” He added softly. “You have more to protect now then just yourself.”

Temari’s eyes widened at the reminder while one hand moved reflexively over her stomach.

Cocking her head to the left she gave him a mock glare. “You play dirty Mister.” She accused lightly.

When he simply shrugged with no remorse for his words and continued to regard her seriously she felt her resistance crumble.

Finally she nodded. “Alright, but you have to let me pay you back for all the other things you’ve already gotten for me.”

The big blond gave her a triumphant grin. “Deal!”

She shook her head at him even though she was more then grateful for his thoughtfulness.
Although there was little chance of anything happening to her while she was in Konoha, as a ninja there was still a chance.

“Thank you Naruto.” She looked him straight in the eye so that he could see how much she meant those words.

“You’re very welcome Temari.” He whispered as he straightened and took a step away from her.

The flaxen haired kunoichi tried to hide the disappointment, for some reason she really preferred to have him close to her.

“I believe I may have what you have been looking for right here young lady.” Master Buki’s return broke off Temari’s internal analysis.

In his hands the weapons maker held a folded fan that looked to be about the same size as the one she had lost.

Naruto stepped out of the way as the weapon was placed in her palms. The kunoichi was surprised by the light weight of the fan; it was at least a pound lighter then her last one, nearly the same as the wood and paper fan she had started her training with.

Carefully she opened the weapon and was astonished to find that not only did it have only the two outer sections of metal rather then four as her last one did, but the body of the fan was not made from paper.

It was light silver in color and she pressed several fingers against it in an effort to discern what type of material it was. It felt cool to the touch like metal and yet it had give to it, almost like silk. Lowering it she gave the crafter a questioning look.

“What is this material? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Seisakusha grinned. “I haven’t named it yet, it’s actually a woven metal, trade secret on what kind don’t you know.” He gave her a wink as she stared at him in shock.

“Woven….. But it’s so light, its much lighter then my last fan and that was a mixture of steel and paper.” She gave it an experimental half swing and found it glided through the air fairly easily.

“It’s a little something I’ve been developing, with this weapon in mind actually. Would you like to test it for me? My apprentice just finished piecing it together for you.”

She blinked at him. “For me?”

“When Naruto told me who his gift was for I decided it was time to finish assembling it, its something I’ve been working on and off on for the last couple years.”

Temari was speechless.

“I was planning on making a trip to Sunagakure once it was completed, to get your opinion on its design.” He clapped his hands together happily. “But it seems you have saved me the trip.”

Not bothering to wait for her to say anything the pleased weapons crafter ushered her to the back of the room where part of the wall turned out to be a sliding door which opened into a good sized training yard.

A still shocked kunoichi was prodded out of her silent and ridged state when Naruto tapped her on the shoulder and held up her sandals which she didn’t even remember setting down anywhere.

“Go ahead and give it a try.” He urged.

Silently nodding she accepted her foot wear and stepped into them before descending into the yard.
Folding the fan she started with setting it upright on the ground with only her right hand on the closed end. Taking a moment to focus herself she took a deep breath and then using both hands swung it up and open, then quickly preformed several blocking and evading maneuvers before planting her feet and swinging it from hand to hand as she whirled it around her body in several circles then some intricate figure eights which brought the weapon under and then over each arm.

The wind generated by her movements kicked up a small dust storm around her while the giant fan made a light humming sound as it sliced through the air. Just as quickly as it was opened it was once again folded and standing on end with her one hand resting on top.

Temari laughed breathlessly as she tried to catch her wind. That had felt amazing. She turned back to her two man audience with a huge grin on her face and her silver eyes sparkling. Using her foot to flip up the end she tipped it over her shoulder before returning to the men.

Naruto immediately noticed that her step had regained its almost arrogant sway and he was glad.

“Master Seisakusha.” She bowed to him. “You have made the most perfect weapon in the world, and I thank you for the privilege of allowing me to test it for you.”
Hefting it off her shoulder she held it in both palms and made to hand it back to him.

Seisakusha raised his hands, signaling her to wait. “There is one thing I would like you to try before I take it back.”

Walking around her he moved to the fence surrounding the training yard and retrieved a large wooden beam. The post was about two feet square and had to weigh at least a couple hundred pounds, but the stocky little man easily carried it on one shoulder to the center of the training yard where he dropped one end into a hole, making the beam stand upright.

Temari immediately complied when he waved her over.
Naruto followed along curiously.

“Now Temari my Dear, I would like you to test the strength of the material.”

The blond kunoichi tipped her head slightly as he continued.

“Keep the fan folded and strike this target as hard as you are able to.” He explained as he patted the solid wood with one hand. “I would like to see how it stands up.”

“I understand.” She nodded as she moved back a ways to set herself while the two men moved out of her way.

Temari felt a flash of excitement run through her body, it had been so long since she had tested any new weapons, and the fact that this one could possibly stand up better then her previous fan, even when used to hit something solid gave her the shivers.

Taking a deep breath she realized it slowly as she grasped the base in her left hand while her right supported the rest of it.
It took her a moment to decide how to put the most power behind the blow.
In the end she backed up several more feet before taking a run at it.

At ten feet she launched herself into the air and spun to the left, with a resounding battle cry issuing unnoticed from her throat her weapon was swung in a wide arch, gaining speed and power before she brought it around to collide with the side of the target.

With a resounding *BANG* wood and metal met with such force that the folded fan imbedded itself three inches into the solid fiber.

Temari grinned as she felt the impact reverberate through her arms and upper body.

“Now I REALLY like this girl.” Master Buki chuckled as he clapped a hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “Well done boy.” With that the weapons master trotted forward to inspect the results of the test.

The meaning of the older mans words didn’t completely sink into Naruto’s head; he was too busy staring at the radiant creature standing before him. Her silver eyes sparkled with joy she was rolling her right shoulder as it must have taken the brunt of the impact.
The grin on her face reminded him of how she had always been when he sparred with her during his few visits to Sana.

Naruto suddenly realized that he was staring and had to give himself a mental shake before moving to join in on seeing the results of the test.

“I felt it give a little.” Temari informed Seisakusha as she removed the fan from where it was lodged into the wood.

The older man gave a low whistle as he inspected the indent left behind.
“Well you certainly had enough power behind it to make this an excellent trial run.”

Turning to Temari her held out his hands. “Now let me take a look at it young lady.”

She immediately placed the fan in his hands and watched closely as he inspected it for any bends or other damage to the shape. He even opened it to check the inside material.

“Well I’m proud to say that it passed with flying colors.” He finally announced with a grin. “Now there is just one more thing to try.” He handed the large silver fan back to Temari. “Open it up.”

Once she had complied he grew serious. “Now channel your chakra into it.”

Temari gave him a questioning look but did as she was told.
Within moments the two main edges started to glow a light blue.

Master Seisakusha took a step back, indicating for Naruto to do the same.
“Now with the fan open try to cut into the wood.”

Temari raised a skeptical brow but did as she was told, spreading her stance wide she raised the giant weapon over her left shoulder before swinging it down in a long smooth motion.
Her eyes widened as she brought it to a halt over her right shoulder, she had barely felt and resistance in the motion, and she had to wonder how she could have missed at such a close range.

A fraction of a second later the top of the beam before her toppled to the ground.

“Whoa.” She breathed.

“Shit! That was sweet!” Naruto exclaimed.

Master Buki beamed as he stepped forward to inspect the damage done to the target.
“So how did it feel?” He asked as he eyed the perfectly smooth wood.”

I didn’t feel a thing; it was like the post wasn’t even there.” She stared at the weapon in wonder. “How can it cut like that? The edges aren’t even sharpened.

The old man chuckled. “Its something else I’ve been working on, the metal conducts chakra into the edges, turning it razor sharp.”

“That’s amazing.” Even as she said the words she frowned thoughtfully. “But won’t that limit how the wielder handles the weapon? The sharp edges could pose a problem with maneuverability when it’s this size.”

Seisakusha’s grin widened. “That’s the beauty of this material, because it’s the wielders chakra, it will not cut them. You should be able to grab it anywhere and not even feel it.”

“How did you manage that?” Naruto asked curiously.

“Trade secrete my boy.” Buki laughed.

Wanting to test the theory Temari once again channeled chakra into the weapon as the top half rested on the ground. She frowned when she felt the pull strongly in her belly; it wasn’t painful, just stronger then usual. A moment later she dismissed it as a side effect of being pregnant.

The edges of the metal fan started to glow brightly so she tentatively touched first a finger and then her palm against the edge. With the exception of the chakra humming along the surface it felt the same as it had before.

“Very interesting, it doesn’t feel and different then it did before.” She informed the fan’s maker.

“Good, good.” Reaching out the weapons master moved to touch the side of his forearm to the edge beside her hand.
He didn’t even have to come into contact with the metal to receive a thin cut.

“Perfect!” He announced and if possible his grin got even bigger.

Temari cut off the chakra flow as the pull of it was getting stronger and slightly uncomfortable.

“That is amazing; I’ve never seen anything like it.” Folding the fan she rested one end on the ground and tried to resist the urge to lean on it, she was suddenly feeling very drained.

‘Obviously I’m still not back to a hundred percent yet.’ She mused to herself.

“So are you going to be using this material in other weapons?” Naruto asked Seisakusha.

The old master nodded. “I may, but only in select ones, it wouldn’t do to have too may floating around, someone else might be able to figure out the formula.”

Temari sighed as she felt herself starting to get more tired by the moment.
“I want to thank you again for letting me test this for you.” As she spoke she passed the weapon back to its maker.

Seisakusha accepted it and cradled it in his left arm. “Well I should be thanking you; it is very satisfying to finally know that my goal was achieved.” He smiled warmly at Temari. “Now before you go you best come into the shop so we can discus how you want this beauty decorated.”

Temari gaped at him. “What?”
‘He can’t seriously be considering letting her have this one of a kind creation.’

Seisakusha seemed to realize what she was thinking.
“Well I did forge this weapon specifically for you in the first place my Dear, it is only fitting that we add which ever touches you want before you take it with you.”

“But… but I can’t possibly accept this.” Temari stammered. “It’s… I mean, you worked so hard on it and you said it the first thing you have made with this new material.”

“My dear girl, nothing would please me more then to see the person I designed this fan for wielding it. I can always make others.”

Seeing the resolve on his face she turned to Naruto. “This is too much, I really couldn’t….”

“Sure you can, it suits you.”

“But….”

“Stop arguing Temari.” The big blond told her with a laugh. “You can’t win against both of us.”

The kunoichi’s shoulders sagged slightly as she glanced helplessly between the two men.
“But… It’s just too much.” She protested again, her eyes dropping to the ground, she wasn’t sure what to do she felt as if she was taking advantage of their kindness.

No one had ever given her a gift this elaborate; she didn’t even want to know what kind of a price tag this one of a kind weapon had.

The two men passed a triumphant look between them.

“Well let’s get into the workshop and finish up the details.” Master Buki suggested.

Before Temari could think of a different argument to dissuade them Naruto grasped her elbow and ushered her back into the building with the weapons maker following behind them with the item of debate.
It didn’t take long for the trio to arrive in the workshop where Buki opened the fan and laid it gently on one of the work tables. Seeing that Temari still looked hesitant he decided to reassure her.

“If you are worrying about the price my Dear don’t, I consider it an honor that you will be taking this weapon and I am confidant that you will care for it well.” He grinned at her yet again. “Besides Naruto goes through kunai and shuriken so fast that I’ve made a small fortune off of him over the years so I wouldn’t dream of charging him very much for something he is giving as a gift.”

Temari released an exasperated breath. “You’re just not going to let me say no are you?”

“No.” Both men answered in unison.

The Sand kunoichi knew when she was beat and finally gave up the struggle.

“Fine.” She huffed. “But I’m going to need a new harness for carrying it as well.”

Seisakusha laughed with delight. “Anything my lady wishes.”

It took half an hour for the fan wielder and the weapons maker to agree on the final touches to be added to the fan which included a braided cord handle on the base, as well as take the measurements and designing the harness for carrying it.

Temari was so engrossed in the details that she didn’t notice Naruto had disappeared from her side for a time.
Finally Seisakusha announced that he had everything he needed to finish the fan.

“Come back the day after tomorrow and it will be ready for you.” He informed Temari as he escorted the couple to the front door.

“Thank you Master Buki, it has been an honor meeting you.” Temari bowed politely.

The old man smiled fondly at her. “You as well my Dear now don’t be a stranger, and I will see you when you pick up the fan.”

She nodded and returned his smile.

“And Naruto.” He turned to they younger man. “May your journey be swift and uneventful, Come back soon.”

Naruto bowed as well. “I will, and thank you for everything.”

“Yes, yes, now off with you both, its getting late.” Seisakusha waved them off before turning to go back into his house.

Once the couple was outside of the compound Naruto handed Temari a wrapped bundle.

“What’s this?” She asked eyeing the package, it was quite heavy.

“Just a weapons pouch and some small weaponry, I’ll be taking all my stuff with me in the morning so I wanted to make sure you had your own.”

Not knowing what else to say and being too grateful for his thoughtfulness to protest she thanked him. His actions made her all too aware of the fact that he was going to be leaving her and she cast about desperately for something to distract her from wondering if she was going to be able to handle being alone.

“So how do you think this mission is going to go?”

Naruto shrugged. “It’s probably going to be boring as hell, just me and a bunch of old men sitting around arguing about beans and rice.”

Temari chuckled at the mental picture which prompted Naruto into a preformed rendition of what he was going to have to sit through, complete with different voices ranging from sniveling to booming.

By the time they made it to the stairs of Naruto’s apartment building Temari was laughing so hard she was having trouble walking straight.

“You’re evil Naruto, now stop or I’m libel to fall down the stairs from laughing.” She chided between chuckles.

“Well we can’t have that now can we?” He remarked.

Then without warning he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder like a bag of rice. Temari gave a startled shriek which quickly dissolved into more laughter as Naruto took the stairs three at a time.

In mere minutes they were on the top floor and near his door.

“Naruto you can put me down now.” She informed him with a giggle. “I’m perfectly capable of walking on flat ground you know.”

“Ya, but your likely to stumble around so much that if anyone saw you they could think you were drunk, and that would reflect badly on me.” He teased back.

Temari continued to laugh so hard that her stomach was starting to hurt.
It wasn’t until they passed the door before his that she suddenly realized how loud she was being. Clapping a hand over her mouth she quickly tamped down on her uncharacteristic mirth.

Once she had calmed down she tapped Naruto on the shoulder and without her saying anything he lowered her carefully to the ground.

“I was being terribly loud; do you think it disturbed your neighbors?” She asked worriedly glancing down the hall.

“I don’t have any neighbors, so you aren’t disturbing anyone.” He assured her.

“What do you mean no neighbors? This is an apartment building.”

Naruto pulled out his key to unlock his door.
“And the closest person to my place is one floor down and at the end.” He pointed further down the hallway.

Temari frowned. “Is something wrong with the apartments, or the building?” She was confused. Naruto’s place was quite nice and she figured that there had to be something going on for the building to be partly empty.

“Ya there’s a problem.” Naruto muttered, his mood suddenly turning sober. “I live here.”

Temari couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You have got to be kidding!”

He pushed open the door and ushered her through it.

“There has to be a better explanation then that.” She protested.

The big man shrugged. “All I know is that within three years of me moving in the two top floors were empty.” He closed the door a little harder then he needed too but that was the only outward sign that he was bothered by the fact.

“Oh Naruto.” Temari suddenly felt like crying as she stepped forward and rested her hands on his chest. All other words failed her.

Naruto managed a half smile as he gave her waist a squeeze.
“So I have to leave first thing.” He reminded her, changing the subject completely. “I’ll try not to wake you up.”

Temari let the former subject slide without a word; she didn’t know what else to say about it anyway.

“I would prefer if you woke me up before you left, I would like to see you off.”

Not feeling up to arguing and actually feeling pleased with the thought that she wanted to say goodbye to him Naruto nodded.

“Well it is getting late; we better get things cleaned up so you don’t have to deal with it in the morning.” He reasoned, stepping away from her reluctantly.

“I guess your right.” Temari agreed as she slipped off her foot wear.
She tried not to be disappointed that he had moved away from her. She sighed mentally; she had no idea what she was going to do without him.

* * ** * ** * * *

It was getting late and Kankuro was starting to get a bad feeling.
Gaara had yet to show up, even though the puppet master had sent out several teams to try to find him and notify the Kazekage that there was word from Konoha about their sister.

The painted man stood on top of the Kazekage office building, looking over the now dark desert. Despite the fact that it was too early for the moon to come up he had no problems seeing the sand dunes outside the city, Kankuro had always had amazing night vision.

A frown marred his face as he scanned the empty expanse. He knew Temari was safe so he assumed that his feeling of ill tidings had to have something to do with Gaara. He was sure that his brother must be recovered from his outburst of rage and was puzzled as to why he had yet to return.

‘Perhaps he is still mourning Temari.’ He decided, knowing just how much the younger man adored their sister.

The demon vessel didn’t show it much, but there were times that Kankuro had seen the emotions in his eyes, he was convinced that his brother simply didn’t know how to express what he felt.

“Gaara come back, for your own sake you need to know that Temari is safe.” His Quiet words were carried off by the ever present wind.

Sighing heavily he turned away from his vigil. If there was still no sign of Gaara by morning he would have to start a full blown search party.

* * * ** * * * *

‘There it is.’ Shukaku indicated a dense thicket. ‘That’s where it’s coming from.’

Gaara slowly crept towards the area, testing the air again. The pair had nearly been to the foot of the mountains they were headed for when the scent of decaying flesh had been carried to them on the breeze.

Because of erratic air currents it had taken them nearly half an hour to positively identify it as human. The rest of the day was spent trying to track it down. Shukaku did not have the same tracking abilities as Kyubi and so they had lost the trail several times.

It was now dark, the thick woods around them blocked out even the meager light from the stars so at ground level it was black as pitch.
Due to Shukaku’s influence Gaara’s eyes glowed a deep golden color, using the Tanuki’s night vision to find their way. Now that they had finally found the location of their target, sand was released to creep into the thicket to pin point its exact location.

Golden eyes fell shut as the red head concentrated on feeling out the bodies form with his sand. Once it was established he covered the remains in a sand coffin while he used the rest of the slithering earth to destroy the thicket, completely leveling it and turning the thin trees and shrubs into mulch under his feet.

‘Impatient much?’ Shukaku asked sarcastically.

“We wasted an entire day getting here; I am in no mood for patience.” The Kazekage snapped as he moved towards the coffin.

At his approach the sand dome receded, revealing the grotesque remains of a human body, mostly devoured by birds and small animals.

Kneeling down beside it Gaara reached down to move aside what had obviously once been a hooded cloak. Ignoring the sounds of partly dried skin and blood being ripped from the bone, he moved it back far enough to get a clear view of what was left of the skull.

‘This is not her.’ Shukaku announced almost immediately.

“How can you be certain? The stench of death is so strong.”

‘The scent left behind is male and the skull is too big.’ The Tanuki pointed out. ‘Your sibling has much more delicate features.’

Still not completely convinced Gaara grabbed the skull in his right hand and lifted it out of the debris, completely unfazed by the squish of rotting flesh beneath his fingers and the cracking sound of the spine being disconnected.

As the decomposed head was lifted from its resting place it revealed a thin strip of black hair still attached to the skull where the rodents hadn’t been able to reach.

“It appears that you are correct Shukaku, this is not Temari.”

‘Told you so.’ The demon huffed as the skull was returned to its spot in the grave.

“How long do you think this had been here?” The red head asked as he gave his hand a flick in order to remove the residue left behind from the skull.

‘Difficult to say for sure, the weather has a lot to do with it.’ The demon mused. ‘I would say that it has been here at least one full moon cycle.’

“Four weeks?” Gaara did not like the sounds of that.

His eyes quickly started to scan what remained of the corpse’s clothing in an effort to discover his identity. There appeared to be no personal effects or tools of any kind left on the body, only the plain clothing was left. It looked like the cloak might have had a design on it but due to the darkness and the damage done to it by decomposing body fluids and scavenging creatures it was impossible to make out.

Gaara’s fingertips brushed over pieces of what was once a shirt when a single image flashed through his head.

“Shit!”

‘What was that?’ Shukaku inquired, having missed it.

“This is the one that Temari injured, obviously fatally. He was also the only one we had a visual of.” He growled in frustration as he stood.

‘They had to be in a great hurry or very sloppy ninja to have left the body intact like that instead of burning it.’ The Tanuki remarked.

“So it would seem. Not that it matters they will all die regardless.”

‘So now what?’

“Now we find a place for me to bath the stench of this creature off of my body.”
He closed his sand back over the body cocooning it in a granite like substance before leaving.

If he ran out of leads he would return and take the body to Sana and have the medics see if they could determine where the man had come from.

But for right now he still had the scent of one other male.

‘So we are down to hunting four.’ Shukaku murmured thoughtfully.

“So it would seem.” Gaara replied as he walked away.

He tried to suppress his anger as he cast about with his sand controlling abilities in search of a water source. The distinct smell of decaying flesh now clung to his cloths and body and he wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

He engulfed his right hand in a swirling ball of the course particles which effectively removed all the residue left behind by his handling of the corps, but it did nothing for the stench.

‘South of us there appears to be a spring of some kind.’ Shukaku informed him.

Excellent, we will rest for the night and then continue our hunt in the morning.” Gaara informed his tenant as he headed for the water source.

‘Of course.’ The Tanuki agreed.

* ** ** * ** *

Thank you all for your patience in waiting for this chapter, I have been crazy busy.
I hope it was worth the wait.

For those of you who didn’t read through my blurbs at the top I tried to answer almost everyone’s questions so if you left a review before you might want to check it out.

Let me know your thoughts on how this is going.
Until next time, Legilmyth


P.S. Any one who wants to know when I update leave your e-mail adresss or drop me a line and I will.