Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Between A Rock And A Hard Place ❯ On The Trail We Blaze ( Chapter 18 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The news of Naruto and Gaara's new distant relationship of course had brought several controversial arguments. Naruto, who had saw no reason for their separation, insisted the rule be lifted. He was sure Tsunade was just making all this up because she found out about the two of them and simply didn't want them to be together. But much to Naruto's surprise, Gaara had constantly insisted that they follow Tsunade's direction. He did not want to play any part in hurting another innocent life, especially if it was the life of someone he held most dear.

Still not having accepted the terms of the agreement, Tsunade called for Sasuke to retrieve Naruto and take him out. But this was the least of Naruto's worries. It was then that Tsunade gave them the command to return back to Konoha, where they would be safe and could stay out of the way. Naruto was absolutely heart broken to hear he would be forced to leave the village entirely before even finding out if someone would be able to save Suna. And was no telling when he would ever be allowed to see Gaara again. He didn't think he could wait years, and without knowing a thing.

"Naruto, cheer up." Sasuke encouraged, escorting the blond boy back to his room where they could begin packing for home. Sasuke of course couldn't be more happier about the rule and the fact he was going to be taking Naruto back home. They would finally be able to put all this stupidity behind them. "Don't you miss everyone in Konoha?" Sasuke asked, hoping to convince Naruto it was for the best. "And just think, you will finally be able to eat all that ramen again."

"Are you crazy?!" Naruto exclaimed hysterically. He looked terrified and panicked at the thought of leaving with his mission unfulfilled. "How could you possibly be so selfish Sasuke? People are dying and more will die if we don't help them. There's no telling what will happen to Gaara while we're gone either." The blond explained. He threw himself hopelessly on the bed, his face smothered in a comforting pillow. "It just isn't fair! I hate not being able to help those I care about."

Sasuke understood Naruto perfectly. He was unable to save any of his clan when they were mercilessly slaughtered by his older brother. He hated knowing he had always been so weak compared to Itachi. So he knew how it felt to be trapped in a cage while you watched others you had sworn to protect die. The emotion didn't feel good at all. "Try to understand Naruto. So many people care about you and we just don't want to lose you. Gaara has a long while before any serious becomes of him, so there is still time to get help." Despite how much Sasuke didn't want that to be true, if it would make Naruto happy then he would say it.

Nothing Sasuke said seemed to make the difference, but Naruto had at least stopped complaining about his punishment. He just laid there, allowing Sasuke to pack for him, which wasn't much since he hadn’t worn much of anything since he got in Suna. But seeing as how Naruto was still grumpy, Sasuke informed the blond he was going to get him something to eat before leaving the room. Naruto sighed meekly once he was left alone again. He knew he should be grateful for Sasuke's comfort, but he was still unsatisfied.

"No one is more skilled in the art of medicine than Tsunade." Naruto told himself. There was no chance of them ever finding a better candidate for healing the village. "The only person who has ever been a real challenge was..." Naruto drifted off in thought. It had to be that time him and Jiraiya went first looking for Tsunade and they ran into Orochimaru. That guy sure was tough and his little assistant Kabuto. "Kabuto?" Naruto suddenly whispered with suspicion. That was right, Kabuto fought with Tsunade and was always figuring out away to heal his wounds of damage her body in the fight.

"That's it!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed to himself, popping up out of bed. "Kabuto is a great medical nin too, and working for Orochimaru should have taught him all sorts of forbidden jutsu's. Surely he would know how to reverse this!" Naruto thought out loud. there was only one problem. Tsunade wanted him and Sasuke to leave for Konoha by tomorrow and Sasuke probably wouldn't let him search for Orochimaru and Kabuto. "I guess I will just have to go on me own then." Naruto decided. This was the best chance he had for curing Gaara, so he would definitely take it.

Without a second thought, Naruto rushed out of the room. He came down the hallway and spotted Tsunade talking to Gaara's siblings in his office. So that had to mean Gaara was in his own room. "Gaara..." Naruto lightly muttered as he pushed open the other's bedroom door to find him gazing out the window at the far side of his room. Gaara didn't even bother to turn toward him when he came into the room.

"What are you doing in here Naruto? It's safer for you to keep away from me." Gaara reminded, his head falling in shame. He didn't like the idea of being away from Naruto, but his safety was more important. He knew this was coming; that once he had found love he wouldn't even be able to enjoy it before someone was already trying to take it away. It just goes to show, people like him were not meant to have happiness.

Naruto was a bit discouraged when he heard Gaara's suggestion. "I-I just...wanted to say good bye before I left." Naruto explained. "I didn't want to leave for Konoha with us still on bad terms." Coming towards Gaara slowly, Naruto lightly hugged the other boy from behind. "You should know I don't blame you for anything you did. It was an accident; but I was disappointed to hear you though there was no other way out. We won't be together like this if you hadn't used Shukaku to help us out on the first day, or we wouldn't have even come here at all if the sickness hadn't kicked in. So I could never think you had done something completely wrong."

Gaara couldn't believe Naruto had such faith in him. It was as if he had not just sealed the fate of his entire village. But this made him dread the separation ever more. How could he not miss Naruto once being parted? "Whether I meant to or not, it still happened..." Gaara confirmed softly. He nearly broke down and cried when Naruto leaped into his arms the next moment; but even the least bit of emotion shown would be uncharacteristic for him. Coming of as a weak, pathetic fighter was not something Gaara could take pride in, so crying was definitely out of the question. He merely returned the friendly embrace; but wishing for so much more.

"I'll clear your name Gaara, I promise." Naruto released the red head and stepped back. Gaara personally wasn't sure if he liked that thought. Naruto didn't want to go into much detail since that would only give Gaara reason to panic or try to stop him. "I'll see you soon." Were Naruto's final parting words as he left the room and ventured back to his own guest room to retrieve his things. He hoped Sasuke wouldn't be too mad with him for leaving on his own, but he simply couldn't afford bringing Sasuke around when he was already on bad terms with Kabuto and Orochimaru. As far as Sasuke was concerned, the Uchiha might make a negotiation absolutely impossible between them.

"Sorry Sasuke..." The blond mumbled as he grabbed his bag and slugged it heavily over his shoulder. He opened the window and quickly jumped out. He was lucky Gai and Kakashi were probably getting briefed as well by Tsunade, which meant he would have no one to stop him for at least half an hour. Now his biggest worry was how he was going to find out where Kabuto was and how to get there. Naruto was not to keen on the idea of waltzing around in the desert until he found another village or a person. "Looks like I will just have to wing it until I find some help." Naruto sighed and walked toward the town's exit.

"Alright dobe, I don't want to here any of your crying because this isn't ramen." Sasuke scolded as he pushed open the door with his toe while balancing a tray in his hand. He was expecting to see Naruto still perched on the bed in a poor, pathetic pile of sorrow, but instead he was greeted by the simple imprint his form had left and the crumpled sheets as if he has just gotten up. "Naruto?" Sasuke called out aloud. He didn't think the blond could have left the room to speak with Tsunade since he was upset with her and he wasn't allowed to see Gaara, so maybe he was in the bathroom. Considering this a reasonable explanation, Sasuke set Naruto's meal on a small stand beside the bed. But to his surprise Naruto's bag was no longer there.

Now that he thought about it, the window was left open as well. "Holy shit! The little snot ran away!" Sasuke exclaimed, rushing toward the window. He growled angrily in frustration. Only Naruto would want to run for the hills when he was in trouble, but this took the cake. "Hokage!" Sasuke raced back out of the room to inform Tsunade of this new tragedy. He burst into the office room without any warning, "Naruto's gone!" He yelled out.

"What?!" Tsunade asked in astonishment. That couldn't be; Naruto was so stupid as to run off because of this. She knew the boy was stubborn and sometimes pig headed but this was too drastic for even Naruto's taste. "Get started on the search Sasuke, I get the others to help." Tsunade insisted. Gaara was probably not going to like this. And there was no telling what mischief Naruto could get himself into out there all alone. There were all sorts of people out there who could hurt that naive blond; bandits, murders, and not to mention perverts.

"That idiot better not do anything stupid." Sasuke told himself as he dashed out of the building and into the streets. No doubt this would frustrate him greatly because he had no idea where to begin looking for Naruto. He could have simply decided to stay at Kaito and Haruka's home or he could have tried to go to another village, which would make no possible sense to him.

"Hey! You boy!" A man called out from a small shop as he saw Sasuke running by. The raven haired teen quickly came to a halt, hoping this wouldn't consume to much of his searching time before he lost trail of Naruto completely. "Are you looking for some blond kid?" The man asked. Sasuke's jaw dropped but he anxiously nodded in response. "He looked kind of lost, but it seems to me he hitched a ride on one of those sand gliders that fly by here every now and again to deliver supplies." The man explained, pointing toward the south which so happened to be the direction Sasuke was already headed in.

"Hitched a ride?" Sasuke repeated. Why would Naruto possibly need to came a ride, especially with a group of strangers? It could only mean that numbskull was trying to get to another village. "Thanks." Sasuke replied before running more quickly in that direction. He didn't have the time to wait for another shipment to stop by and give him a lift, so he had better chances by going there on foot.

A cloud of dust formed all around the boat as the sand was rapidly driven through. Naruto watched in pure amazement as the wind picked up in the sails and pushed the land-boat across the desert ground without any struggle. Since horses or any other animals used for transportation would die in these desert conditions, sand gliding was the only cool way of making it cross the desert. Naruto thought he was extremely fortunate to had run into these guys at the shop as they were unloading merchandise. "Thanks a lot you guys." Naruto said again with a wide and carefree smile. "You have no idea how much you've helped."

"It was no problem Naruto." A younger brunette man replied, returning the gracious grin. "You're lucky you caught of those. Suna doesn't get anymore imports until another month." He explained. The man leaned comfortably back against the railing of the boat and eyed the blond boy with amusement. His other three partners couldn't help but laugh and find the small teen's antics to be quite entertaining. Naruto was practically walking around the whole time, switching spots to get a better view of desert landscaping. It pleased them to know just a ride could be so fascinating to a kid in this era. "By the way Naruto, you did tell us why you were heading out of Suna alone."

Naruto's smile stiffened and for a brief moment one could make out a bit of remorse shimmering in his aqua blue eyes. "I was hoping to find a friend of mine." Naruto lied partially. "You see someone I really care about is sick and I know my friend will be able to heal him. I just wish I knew where he was now." Naruto said with a sigh. He settled back down and turned toward the men. "I'm sorry I'm not much help in telling you where I need to go."

The brunette guy could not help but smile. "There's no need for apology. You're company is very enjoyable and certainly makes up for the traveling. But if you say you need a medic, then I would suggest you go to the Land of Tea. A lot of students start out there to learn more about herbal medicines. If your friend isn't professional yet, he would definitely be there." The man offered knowingly. Naruto, filled with immediate hope and excitement, did not seem to notice the smug grins of his company after their comrade’s mention of the town.

"Really?! Then I'll check it out, thanks a bunch!" Naruto exclaimed, his mood obviously better than before. At least he had a lead now.

"Umm...Naruto? Aren't you worried about being missed by any family or friends while your here? Won't they come looking for you?" The man asked curiously. This question seemed to intrigue the rest of the party as well.

"Well, uh..." Naruto couldn't hold back the fierce blushing that suddenly spread to his cheeks and before he knew it he was shyly staring at the boat's floor with his hands clenched tightly and his heart pulsing hastily. "I don't think so." Gaara would be the only one to actually miss and sorry about him. Tsunade would probably just want him around so she could punish him for leaving in the first place, and Sasuke... Naruto thought carefully and a saddened frown came to his face. "No, I can't say that I do have someone like that." Sasuke would never miss him. In fact Sasuke would be better off without him around; even Sasuke would have said so.

A interested brow arched up and a coy smirk lightly pulled at the edge of the man's lip. "That's too bad. Life is always more tolerable if you have someone to share it with. But I'm sure a good looking stud like you will be able to find yourself a girlfriend any time." He chuckled, patting Naruto on the back only to make the embarrassed teen stammer a bit. "And with a bubbly personality like that, you should have girls lining up to date you." He insisted.

Though it was all very flattering banter, Naruto couldn't get rid of his nervousness and the uneasy sinking in his stomach. It was certainly sad that he had no confidence in himself anymore. Sure when he had first become a ninja, he had never let any of Sakura's rejections put him in a sour mood. But after two years of unsuccessful courting, it became quite clear he was not at all an appealing sort of guy. Miraculously his luck had suddenly changed when he met up with Gaara again, who would have thought?

"Naruto..." The blond boy quickly pulled himself out of his daydreaming and glanced back up at his kind host. "You wouldn't mind doing us a little favor would you? You know, in return for the ride to the Land of Tea."

"Of course not, I owe you guys big time. What do you need me to do?"

To Be Continued...

A/N: Naruto is certainly asking for trouble when getting rides from total strangers. And poor Sasuke is out there looking for him while Gaara is left to worry himself to death. Hope you liked the chapter, I'll update soon. So until then, please continue to contribute your thoughts! You guys are the best at that already, thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews! Oh and someone had asked about Gaara's father still being alive, well in my fic he didn't die at the incident during the Chounin exams and remember, it had been a whole year after Naruto's first run in with Itachi and that’s how word/rumors reached all the way to Suna.