Reaching for Love.

It was hard, really it was. Getting up the following morning for Naruto was very hard as he stretched out happily, leaning back on the bed, looking at his ceiling.



He hadn't felt this good since he and Sasuke had... met up in the woods last year...even though Sasuke had left, he had found him in the woods and taken him from the camp site, and then took him in the woods... It felt so good...



But it was only a dream, as he stretched and got up, but then frowned. A few scraps of fabric that did not belong to him were in his bed, just a few scraps....



Naruto's eyes widened greatly as he realized what he had done, and to who...



In an instant he was out of bed, and fully dressed as he headed to get to Sai. He had to find a way to make that right, he'd been drunk and dreaming of Sasuke...and..he'd taken Sai..



It took him less time then usual to get to Sai's place as he knocked on the door heavily. When he got no reply, he started to talk to the door...



Then it opened.



Inside, the house was still the same bare empty thing it was, but Sai and his book were both gone... a mission maybe... He swallowed as he looked around, then paused when he saw a paper barely sticking out from under Sai's table...



He pulled it out after kneeling down, and he could see himself and Sakura in the back ground. Sakura was knelt down slightly ready to defend herself, and Naruto was grinning ear to ear at someone, but they had been torn out of the picture.



For a few minuets he looked for it, until he found the lost bit to the painting, it was Sai with Kakashi leaning back against a tree, his nose in a book with a random shadow that had been lunging for him knocked aside...



Sai had torn it in half...and gone off onto a mission..



"Sai... I'm so sorry..." Naruto held the picture close to his heart, and then headed for the Hokage's office, maybe...just maybe he could find Sai there, or find where he had gone...They were a team after all.



-

Sai's bird flew him effortlessly towards the Sand village, a creation of ink and paper and chakra... his ability at it's finest.



He had a message to deliver, and already he had covered 90% of the distance he had to travel to get to where he needed to be...most ninja would have covered...30% or so by then..



Naruto... why would... He shook his head, he would not react! His mind was to remain clear, clean, and perfectly focused...



He landed outside the gate and waited for the usual inspection to happen from the careful guards of the Sand Village, but when he felt a wrong movement, he suddenly turned, shoving that one back a fair distance as he clung to the wall watching them and waiting on the next attack to come..



None of them moved, they were all looking at the entrance to the desert village..



As Sai looked across the entrance to the desert village, he couldn't help himself as he looked into the emotion filled eyes that had obviously once been as diluted as his own. Friends... maybe they were real.



Of course, the kunai that nearly broke the skin on his back made him think twice about that...



"Gaara...there's another one from Konoha..." Konkuro drawled out as he lazily sat behind Sai from out of no where, well not really from no where, it was Konkuro, he had some skills...



"I see..." Sai jumped down and held out the scroll from Tsunade to Gaara. "From the Hokage to the leader of this village...you, Gaara of the Desert." He said as Gaara took it and opened it.



"The next round of Chunnin Exams are coming up quickly.." He nodded and closed the scroll. "Temari, go back with this ninja with our list of entries.."



The tall blonde haired girl nodded as she walked out, they'd been waiting on this ninja, but a junior inspector was...well, a bit of an idiot.



The Chunnin Exams... what fun...right?

--

A/N: I hope you all liked it... xD Naruto's feeling like......shit?



Tell me what you all think of my longest chapter yet!