Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Our Lives in the Hurricane Chronicles ❯ Chapter 8

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"I don't want to talk to you! I just want BANG BANG BANG!" -Group X
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"Mayu… what's the plan?" Naruto questioned, still glaring up at Deidara. Likewise, the older blond was glaring down at the three of them. Mayu was momentarily startled that Naruto was asking. He would usually just charge right into battle, not thinking of the others in his group once his target was in sight. Mayu had to tell herself that this wasn't the same Naruto as before. It's been three years, Naruto had grown. Mayu looked back up at Deidara.

"First, I have to determine how this guy fights," she said. Mayu stared up at Deidara for a few more minutes. "His attacks are going to be long ranged. We're going to get really close to him."

"Alright…!" Naruto shouted. He was about to jumped up to Deidara, but Mayu stopped him.

"Not yet," she said. "No matter what he does, don't do anything until I say."

Naruto nodded slowly, not turning his eyes away from Deidara. Mayu licked her dry lips as she continued to stare up at Deidara. The blond hadn't moved in minutes, giving her time to come up with a plan. "I have to see him attack..." she thought. A frown appeared on Mayu's face. "Damn, this is gonna be a little risky," she muttered out loud. Sasuke looked at her in question.

"What do you mean?" he asked, keeping Deidara in his line of vision.

"Nothing, just take care of my body. Make sure he doesn't do anything," Mayu stated.

"She's going to switch," Sasuke thought. He glanced at her an noticed that she had began doing multiple hand signs.

"Mono... rata... zorro, dragón, gallo, caballo, mono, puerco, conejo... OVEJA!!" Mayu shouted, stopping on the Ram sign; it was pointed up at Deidara. The blond looked down in confusion.

"What kinda language is that?" he muttered.

"El estilo de Ishikari: ¡El interruptor del Cuerpo Jutsu!" Mayu continued, and then she collapsed in Sasuke's awaiting arms. (Translation: The style of Ishikari: The switch of the Body Jutsu!)

Deidara's eyes widen as he felt his body suddenly go limp, and then an unfamiliar feeling washed over his body. He felt as light as I feather; the feeling was... soothing to him, so he closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at his own body. Deidara blinked three times in confusion. "What the hell...?" he muttered. Sasuke heard this, and then eyes widen. Meanwhile, Deidara looked down at himself, or rather... herself.

"What the hell are these, un?!" she-he yelled out, grabbing her-his boobs. Naruto almost let out a snicker, while Sasuke had to keep himself from getting a nose bleed. Deidara had pulled Mayu's shirt away, showing large amounts of cleavage.

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Deidara-Mayu's shout came from up above. "WHY IS THAT PLACE THE FIRST THING A MAN GRABS?! STOP! TOUCHING! ME!"

"Hey...un! What the heck is going on?!" Mayu-Deidara yelled, pointing up at his own body. Sasuke suddenly jumped into action and grabbed Mayu's body from behind. "Get the heck off me... un!"

Sasuke took out his sword and held it at Mayu-Deidara's neck. "Be still if you don't want to die at this moment," he said in a frightful voice. Mayu's body immediately tensed at the threat. Apparently, Mayu-Deidara wasn't thinking at the moment because it she-he would have, she-he would have realized that Sasuke wouldn't have killed his own comrade. Meanwhile, Deidara-Mayu was paying close attention to her new body. He-She inspected every part, even put a hand through the long blond hair.

"Mmm... soft," he-she commented. He-She then looked at the palm of his-her hand.

A disgusted look appeared on Deidara's face as a tongue slipped out of the open hand. "Wonder what he does with this when he thinks no one's looking at night..." Mayu thought. The blond shook his-her head to rid him-herself of such thoughts. "I need to focus... As long as Sasuke keeps my body restrained, I'll have enough time to absorb--" his-her thoughts were cut off when a scream was heard. Four heads turned to the entrance of the cave. That scream sounded a lot like Ino. "Damn! I need to hurry!"

"Looks like they've started," Mayu-Deidara stated, turning back to look up at his body. "Do you really think a little girl and an old hag will be able to defeat Master Sasori? Sure they have the Sharingan user, Kakashi-sensei, but... it won't be enough... un."

"He wants to fight Naruto on his own," Sasuke thought, glancing down at the girl in his hold. "He's trying to get us to go and help the others."

"Does he really think that's going to work?" Mayu thought. "Naruto would most likely be the one running off and helping the others... But his thoughts are clear."

"Sasuke..." Naruto got his teammate's attention. "As soon as she comes back, you two go and help Kakashi-sensei and the others."

A smirk appeared on Mayu-Deidara's face. "Yes!" Deidara thought. "It would be best if they listened to him! That way, I can have my fun..."

"I'm not going to listen to an idiot," Sasuke said in a calm tone; Naruto glared at him. "Mayu maybe an idiot, but out of the two, you're the bigger one."

"Teme...!" Naruto muttered.

"Damn it!" Deidara thought, frowning.

"There! That should do it!" Mayu thought, forming a hand sign. "Liberación..." the blond whispered, closing his-her eye. The familiar rush swept over the body, causing the eye to close. Opening her eyes, Mayu found herself back in her own body. "Let me go, Sasuke," she instructed. Sasuke didn't move an inch.

"How do we know you're her?" Naruto asked.

"You could easily be trying to fool us," Sasuke stated.

"Yeah, say something that only Mayu would say!" Naruto ordered. Mayu sighed, and then a frown appeared on her face.

"I'm not saying that long ass password we discussed, Sasuke, so you can just shove it!" she said. Sasuke released the girl, put his sword back in its sheath, and then turned his attention back to the real enemy.

"Wait a minute, that's it?!" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah, Sasuke and I went over some things this morning," Mayu stated.

"Is that why you two were working so well together when you were fighting that fake Itachi?" Naruto asked. His two comrades nodded their heads simultaneously. "And here I was thinking they were using their teamwork instincts..." he thought with a disappointed look.

"Okay! Time to get serious! ... For real this time!" Mayu stated. "Naruto, go now!"

"You got it!" Naruto shouted, jumping up. He would have flown right into Deidara's clay bird, but the giant clay bird merely moved out of the container's way.

Naruto crashed right into the wall of the cliff that was behind Deidara. Rumble fell from the cracked wall and dropped into the water below. Deidara smirked and then threw down a tiny claw bird; the tiny bird transformed into a bigger bird and it was headed straight for Naruto! "Sasuke…!" Mayu exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah..." Sasuke muttered, jumping up. His left hand seemed to glow with chakra, sparks began to form as well. Sasuke suddenly jerked his hand forwards and it seemed that electric needles shot out, nailing the bird dead on!

A sharp gasp escaped Mayu's mouth as she watched the bird begin to fall. "Those look like senbons!" she thought.

"Not only that, but I can also concentrate my chakra into small weapons."

"Of course..." Mayu muttered. "Sasuke... so cool...!" Meanwhile, Deidara had begun to toss little clay bugs.

"Katsu!" he yelled. The clay creatures exploded before Sasuke could react.

The force of the small explosions sent Sasuke into the water below. Deidara thought that Sasuke was caught in the blast, so he assumed that the younger Uchiha was dead. The bomb crazy blond turned his attention to Mayu. "Now it's your turn," he said, and then began making another bird of clay; he threw it. Mayu's eyes widen as the bomb came closer and closer. She quickly concentrated her chakra and jumped up; the bomb exploded, causing dust and smoke to appear, momentarily blinding Deidara of Mayu's location. "This was way too easy," he muttered with a grin. "Even Uchiha Sasuke wasn't a big deal. Must not run in the family... un."

"HAHHH!" a shout came from above, causing Deidara to look up. What he saw was Mayu coming down towards him, fist ready to punch. That's when he noticed that her hair color was changing from black and blue to bleach blond. He also noticed that her eyes had become a different shade of blue. Mayu crashed landed right on the clay bird's back. She had unfortunately missed Deidara because he had narrowly dodged her fist. The giant clay bird stumbled quite a bit before regaining its balance. "Damn it! It was supposed to split in two! I guess I had to see Ino exactly use it for me to use it later," Mayu thought, glaring down at her now covered fist; it had lodged into the back of the clay bird. "No matter... I just hope this works..."

Deidara squatted down, so that now he was at eye level with Mayu. He had a smug-like grin on his face. "Did you really think that would work?" he asked; Mayu only glared. "Switching our bodies like that was a waste of time also... un. You could have just freed your precious Gaara... un." Mayu gave her own little grin, causing Deidara to cock an eyebrow. Mayu's hair changed to another shade of blond, and then her eyes changed to another shade of blue.

"If I did that... I wouldn't have the satisfaction of killing you before hand," she said.

Suddenly, Mayu's heart skipped several beats, causing the girl to wince in pain. "Damn... it might not be an advanced bloodline," she thought. "If only Uncle Mori taught me a little bit more!"

"You're a strange one... un. Itachi didn't really say anything about you. How do you get your hair color to change?" Deidara questioned, running his hand through Mayu's blond hair. "It looks just like my color now."

"Before I kick your ass... Tell me... how do you get your hair so soft?" Mayu asked.

"L’Oréal... because I'm worth it," Deidara answered, giving a small grin. "Your hair is nothing compared to mine... un." Mayu frowned, and then shoved Deidara away with her free hand, causing the man to fall on his butt. "Hey!"

"Don't underestimate me!" Mayu yelled. Deidara stood up, and then tried to kick the girl in the face, but Mayu brought her free arm to block the kick. She struggled to keep Deidara away with just one arm because her other hand was busy at the moment. "It doesn't help that that weird ass tongue is licking me!" Mayu thought, suppressing a laugh. "Oh, it's finished..."

"Underestimate you...? You're my inferior... un, I can do what I want," Deidara said. Mayu suddenly got angry, and then did a 360, bringing her leg out and tripping Deidara, so he fell on his butt again. "Hey!" he exclaimed again as Mayu released herself, and then jumped off the bird.

She landed on the water, using chakra to hold her up. Her hand went into the water and when it came out, it was holding another hand. Mayu pulled a coughing Sasuke out of the water. The boy stood next to Mayu, trying to get as much air back into his lungs. "He's... He's fast," Sasuke stated in a whisper, standing up straight. "But not faster than us."

"Good..." Mayu muttered, releasing Sasuke's hand.

"You shouldn't be worth fighting if that's all it took," Deidara commented. Naruto suddenly punched through the wall of the cliff, looking quite angry.

"I won't let you have Gaara!" he shouted. Deidara turned his attention to Naruto, who was busying trying to dislodge himself from the wall. "I'll take Gaara back!"

"You're weird, for a Jinchuuriki," Deidara said. "I've heard that Jinchuuriki are gloomy and hate people... un. My comrades have defeated two other Jinchuuriki, not counting him. It seems that neither their friends nor their villages tried to save them... un."

"Mayu..." Sasuke muttered.

"Hold on a sec..." Mayu whispered.

"In fact, it seemed like there were people who were happy to have them gone," Deidara continued. "A kindred spirit who was hated and despised... You couldn't just ignore him... un. Gaara..." the man paused to remember the removing of the Ichibi. "Gaara died when we removed the Ichibi. That's going to happen to you, soon. You hear me?" Mayu noticed steam and looked as if it were coming from Naruto's fingertips; Sasuke noticed this also.

"Naruto's very powerful while he's like that... We have to act quickly," he stated; Mayu nodded her head.

"I won't let you bastards get away with this!" Naruto declared.

"NARUTO!" Mayu called; the Kyuubi container looked down to his two other teammates.

"Kuso...!" he muttered as he jumped down to where they were.

"Mayu, the others are still fighting," Sasuke told the girl beside him. "Even though I don't know what's going on, Kakashi should have at least defeated the other one. Something must be wrong."

"We have to finish this as soon as possible," Mayu muttered. "Which might be a little hard to accomplish, considering Naruto's anger."

"I can hear you guys!" Naruto hissed; Sasuke only sighed.

"Well, at least Mayu's not letting her anger control her," he thought, glancing at the girl, who was currently glaring up at Deidara. "I think..."

"Give Gaara back, you bastard!" Naruto shouted, clenching his fist.

"It's only a matter of time before Master Sasori defeats the three inside," Deidara muttered, ignoring Naruto's command. The bird fully consumed Gaara, causing Mayu's glare to harden. "If he comes out here, then using this guy to lure the Jinchuuriki away will have been a waste," he thought.

Deidara then flew away, not even glancing back at his three enemies. "Where the fuck does he thinks he's going?!" Mayu thought.

"You son of a bitch…! You're dead!" Naruto shouted, and then took off after Deidara. Sasuke and Mayu followed close behind. "Sasuke, Mayu... you stay and help the others out!" Naruto said, looking back at his following comrades.

"Shut up, dope! I already said I wasn't going to listen," Sasuke stated.

"Gai's team still hasn't come back yet. Something must being holding them up," Mayu thought as she and the other two boys jumped on convenient logs that were lodged into the sides of both walls.

"You're not getting away!" Naruto shouted, picking up speed.

"We won't be getting back up in a while..." Mayu muttered, causing Sasuke to look at her. "It's going to be us from here. Don't think someone else is going to save us if we need it. Don't let Naruto do anything reckless, Sasuke."

"Right..." Sasuke replied, nodding his head.

"He's coming," Deidara said, finally looking back. "Be sure to keep up... Then I'll finish you off."

"Sasuke, it's obvious that he wants Naruto and Naruto alone. I'm going to assume and say that he'll try to separate us," Mayu whispered to Sasuke.

"Shouldn't we tell that to Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"No, Naruto will figure it out eventually. It's up to us to stay close to him," Mayu answered. "Everything will go as plan if we stick together." Sasuke nodded his head, and then turned his attention to Naruto's back.

"Naruto..." he thought.

A thirteen year old Sasuke rushed through the forest. It was the time of night and he tried not to make a sound as he head further and further away from camp. Sasuke glanced back and saw only a flicker of light. "Gotta keep moving..." he thought, jumping from branch to branch. Sweat flew from his face and his heart beat quickened as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. "Damn, not yet!" he thought, picking up speed. "Should I hide?"

Sasuke jumped from a branch and began running on the forest floor. No, hiding would be a waste of time and effort. He would only find him in the end. Running was the best option. It wasn't in Sasuke's nature to run away like this, but... this time it was necessary. That's why he couldn't get caught, no matter what! Sasuke continued to run, glancing back often; the fire of camp no longer was in his vision. "Naruto's still asleep, but Jiraiya's following me still..." Sasuke thought, looking ahead.

The boy quickly dug around in his backpack and pulled out multiple makibishi, and then threw them on the ground behind him. He knew that the spikes wouldn't slow his sensei down at all, but he had to try. It wouldn't be long before Jiraiya had come across one of Sasuke's traps. A trap he had learned from Naruto actually. "Let's just hope that old pervert falls for it," Sasuke thought, glancing back. Suddenly, there was a small, but loud sound. After the noise stopped, Sasuke heard a shout of anger.

"Sasuke, you little tyke!" the shout sounded exactly like Jiraiya.

"What do ya know? Naruto's trap actually worked!" Sasuke thought, smirking slightly. "But he's a lot closer than I first!" He quickly began forming hand signs. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Sasuke whispered. Four clones of himself appeared around the running Uchiha. Yes, this was another thing Sasuke had picked up from Naruto. Not to say Naruto didn't know a few things that Sasuke had taught him. Even though their personalities were different, they still found it easy to learn from and teach each other.

The four clones quickly dispersed into different direction. Most of the things that Naruto had taught Sasuke were taught in secret, so Jiraiya didn't know. The four shadow clones were sure to throw him off, giving time for Sasuke to get away. The Uchiha ran out into the clearing, being sure to keep close to the ground. He was almost to the hole in the ground that Naruto had created earlier that day, during the daily spar against Jiraiya. The hole was a tunnel that lead straight out of the whole forest. Sasuke was about to jump right into the hole, but he felt himself being grabbed in mid air.

He closed his eyes and sighed; he just knew that his sensei had caught him by the back of the collar, leaving his legs dangling. "Where do you think you're going?" Jiraiya asked, turning the boy around to face him.

"I'm leaving..." Sasuke replied, looking indifferent. Though, on the inside, he was cursing himself for getting caught.

"Leaving where?" Jiraiya asked; Sasuke opened his eyes, and then closed them again to try to suppress a laugh. His sensei was covered head to toe in bright pink paint!

"Nice one, Naruto!" Sasuke thought; Jiraiya noticed the look on his face and frowned.

"There's nothing funny about this!" he grumbled. Sasuke stopped laughing mentally, and then propelled himself away from Jiraiya by kicking the Sannin. He landed a few feet away from the older man. Jiraiya didn't bother to try and grab Sasuke again. "You and Naruto are beginning to become a pain."

"Whatever... Let me pass!" Sasuke responded.

"Why?"

"I'm going to leave to train by myself," Sasuke answered.

"And why is that?"

"Because you obviously don't trust me enough to teach me as much as you teach Naruto! ... Even though I held up my deal of the bargain!" Sasuke stated; he reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out a green book. "Over the months, you have collected enough research to complete this stupid book. If it wasn't for me, this book wouldn't be done now!"

"You're right, the book wouldn't be finished this quickly, but it's also true about me not teaching you as much as Naruto," Jiraiya agreed; Sasuke's eyes slightly. He knew that fact, but he didn't think Jiraiya would actually come out and say it.

"And chances are... you'll never trust me because of what I did to Naruto, right?" Sasuke asked; Jiraiya nodded his head. "If that's the case... then it doesn't matter to you if I leave or not."

"That is correct... but it matters to Naruto," Jiraiya stated. "That note you left isn't going to be enough to satisfy his mind. You didn't even mention if you were going to come back or not."

"I meant to... my mistake," Sasuke responded, making Jiraiya's eye twitch. "I kinda knew you were going to follow me anyway... I want to meet somewhere after my training is over. The Village Hidden in the Mist would be preferred."

"What of Orochimaru? As soon as if figures out that you are no longer traveling with me, he's going to come after you," Jiraiya stated.

"With the things you did teach me, I'm sure I'll manage," Sasuke answered, closing his eyes. "Orochimaru won't be the one to come after me, anyway. His new body is already starting to fall apart." Jiraiya still looked unconvinced at the decision he was about to make.

"Why are you doing this?" he questioned.

"Because... I have to get stronger! And if you're not willing to help, then I'll train on my own," Sasuke said, opening his eyes again.

"But you could have become stronger if you stayed with Orochimaru. Why did you come back?" Jiraiya asked.

"That... That's not the right way to become strong. Orochimaru isn't an option," Sasuke asked. Jiraiya looked momentarily surprised by Sasuke's answer.

"And why is that?"

"... she wouldn't want that of me," Sasuke muttered.

"She?"

"... my fiancée," Sasuke stated; Jiraiya's mouth dropped open.

"F-F-Fiancée?! Hey, kid, aren't you a little too young to be thinking like that?" he asked with a shaky finger.

"It doesn't matter what age I am, she's still going to become my wife," Sasuke said simply.

"Okay... So, it's a love thing... That's why you're doing this the 'right' way," Jiraiya said; Sasuke nodded his head. "I still don't like this. I'd rather have you where I can see you, but--The Village Hidden in the Mist, you say?" Sasuke nodded his head again. "Alright, I'll allow you to go."

"Just like that?" Sasuke questioned.

"Yes, but in return, you must do something for me," Jiraiya answered. "When we return to Konoha, Naruto will no longer be under my care and protection. It'll be up to you to keep Naruto safe from Akatsuki." Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I understand," he said. Jiraiya nodded, and then reached into his jacket; he pulled out a bag, and then tossed it to Sasuke. The boy caught it and looked down at the bag in question.

"In there is enough money to last half a year... if you know how to spend it. After that, you're on your own," Jiraiya stated.

"You actually get money for those books?" Sasuke asked, putting the bag and the book in his backpack. Jiraiya's eye twitched again, but he didn't respond. "Well, I'm off..."

"Be careful, Uchiha Sasuke..." Jiraiya said; Sasuke nodded, and then took off. "Hey! My book!"

"Jiraiya..." Sasuke muttered.

"What? What did you say?" Mayu asked, glancing at her comrade; Sasuke shook his head, mumbled a 'nevermind' and continued jumping from log to log. Mayu shrugged and followed him.

"Wait, damn you!" Naruto shouted, causing Deidara to turn.

"I'm really lucky," he said. "... getting to take out two Jinchuuriki by myself." He formed three small clay birds in his one hand, and then tossed them over.

The three birds headed straight for Naruto! The blond boy stopped, muttering a 'shit' as he did. One of the birds exploded on impact, but the other two flew towards Mayu and Sasuke. Sasuke quickly formed electric senbons in his hand and threw two of them at the oncoming birds. Sasuke's target was hit and the birds drifted down. Mayu noticed Naruto climbing back up the log and gave a sigh of relief. "I knew it..." Sasuke muttered.

Mayu and Sasuke quickly caught up with Naruto. "You're not getting away!" Naruto yelled.

"He didn't figure it out, did he... un?" Deidara muttered. He dug around in his bag. "And now I only have a little explosion clay left. I wanted to lure the Jinchuuriki out, but this is becoming a problem... un."

"You... Get back here!" Naruto shouted, and then took off again. Sasuke sighed again.

"We've already gone too far from the others..." he thought, glancing back. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, almost causing Mayu to slip off the log.

"What the heck was that?!" she asked, looking back to where the sound had came from. "It felt like an earthquake!" Suddenly, there was another 'earthquake', causing Mayu to frown. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's Ino..." Sasuke answered, turning his eyes towards Deidara, who didn't seem to notice. "She really is the student of the Fifth."

"If things are turning in favor of Kakashi-san and the others... then they will definitely be here soon!" Mayu thought, staring up at Deidara. "I want to have Gaara back before hand!" She noticed that the flying blond toss something over and it looked as if it were multiple things. The clay things landed on the logs, but Naruto ran right passed, taking no notice of the little clay creatures. Mayu and Sasuke tried to do the same, but two of the creatures jumped in front of their faces, causing both to jump back; both Mayu and Sasuke landed on one of their knees.

Luckily, they did because the two creatures exploded. "He is trying to separate us," Sasuke muttered.

"Those things... they're fast! And there's so many of them!" Mayu said. "There are also so much smaller."

"He probably doesn't want me to hit them with my attack," Sasuke said.

"Damn! He really wants Naruto to himself!" Mayu mumbled. "Fine! I'll race right passed ya!"

She grabbed Sasuke's collar and began to run. "M-Mayu, wait!" Sasuke yelled, but his shout was ignored. Mayu got passed a couple of them, but about three jumped in front of her face again, causing her to stop on a log, and then jump up. An explosion occured, forcing Mayu to go up a little higher. More bug-like creatures appeared in Mayu's face. "Damn it!" Sasuke thought, somehow forcing himself in front of Mayu. He took out his sword and slashed at the bug-like things.

The wind rushed at the tiny creatures and sent them away, but this wasn't enough to keep them from exploding! The force of the explosions sent both Mayu and Sasuke back down to the logs. "They're way too fast! Little buggers...!" Mayu muttered.

"Naruto! Wait a minute!" Sasuke called; Naruto looked back.

"You two are way to slow! I'm going on ahead!" he called back.

"Just don't do too much!" Sasuke yelled.

"Whatever...!"

"It doesn't matter what I tell him. He's going to end up losing control," Sasuke muttered. Mayu watched intensively as the bugs seemed to be staring at her as well.

"Shit! They don't look as if they're going to let us retreat either," she mumbled.

"We'll go straight through!" Sasuke declared.

"What?! Didn't I already try--" Sasuke interrpted her by grabbing her waist and pulling her close to his body. "Gah! What the hell are you doing?!" Mayu asked, a slight blush appeared on her face.

"Hang on to me! And no matter what... don't let go!" Sasuke ordered; Mayu slowly nodded her head as Sasuke put his sword back in its sheath.

Mayu was quick to notice sparks coming from Sasuke's body, and then she noticed that the sparks had enveloped them entirely. "What is this...?" she thought. Sasuke picked Mayu up bridal style, and then began running right through the insects. Surprisely, not one blew up, not even when they jumped in front of Sasuke's face! "H-How...?!"

"The bombs are no longer effective. The electricity is acting as a shield and its overriding the bombs, causing them to become duds," Sasuke stated as if he heard what Mayu was thinking.

"Awesome..." she muttered; Sasuke just smirked. Getting compliments from Mayu was like gold to him at the moment.

Once they were passed all the ineffective bombs, Sasuke let down his shield and released Mayu. "They got ahead quickly," Sasuke muttered. "Catching up to them won't be easy."

"Teh! Not a problem!" Mayu declared, giving a two-finger salute.

"I'm not going to be carried by you again!" Sasuke exclaimed; Mayu glared at him.

"That was not what I was talking about!" she hissed, and then bit her thumb. A pained expression crossed Mayu's face as she put her hand down. "Man, that hurts!" she cried, rubbing her sore thumb.

"What... the hell are you trying to do?" Sasuke asked with an exasperated look on his face. Mayu ignored him and took a kunai from her weapons' pouch. Sasuke's eyes widen slightly when he saw Mayu pierce the flesh on her thumb. Blood dripped out of the small cut as Mayu put the kunai back in her pouch. The girl then began performing hand signs. "N-Nani...?"

"Summoning Jutsu!" Mayu yelled out, slamming her hand to the log.

Both teenagers had to jump away because of the massive amounts of smoke that filled that spot. "What did she do?" Sasuke thought, landing on a nearby log.

"Aah! Nana got bigger!" Mayu exclaimed, once the smoke cleared. In its place stood an above average-sized black leopard. Sasuke could easily tell it was a leopard because of the spots. The animal had a bow hanging from its neck, bandages wrapped around its hind legs, a quiver of arrows tied to its mid section, and a purple ribbon tied to its tail. The giant cat roared and did a pose as if it were making a grand entrance. "Still the same Nana..." Mayu muttered.

The leopard looked in Mayu's direction and its eyes seemed to light up. "No, Nana! We'll take care of greetings after we deal with the problem." The leopard looked slightly disappointed, but then nodded its head. "Let's go, Sasuke!" Mayu said, and then jumped off the log she was on. Sasuke, and the black leopard known as Nana, followed Mayu down. The three landed on the ground below. "It should be easier to run now." Mayu removed the bow and arrows from Nana's body, and then let out a sigh. "It's been a long time... I might not be as good as I used to," she mumbled, placing the items on her body. Mayu hopped on Nana's back, her legs dangling on each side of the leopard; she extended her hand out to Sasuke. "Let's go! We've wasted too much time already!"

Sasuke quickly grabbed her hand and was instantly lifted up on to Nana. The leopard sped off as soon as Sasuke grabbed on to Mayu. At the pace she was going, they would make it to Naruto in no time. "Mayu, how did you...?" Sasuke had to ask, keeping a tight grip on Mayu's waist.

"My family has always had a deep connection with the cat family. Sometimes, a member of my family would form a special bond with a cat. My uncle, mother, and I were the only ones who had this bond, unfortunately," she answered, staring straight ahead. "My mother's partner was a jaguar, my uncle's partner is the white tiger. The bond is so strong that if one were to die... then so would the other. I've had Nana since I was old enough to speak. It's been almost seven years since I saw her."

"Mayu..." Sasuke thought in surprise, and then he narrowed his eyes. "There's... There's so much I don't know about you..." Suddenly, Nana started growling.

"Hm? What is it?" Mayu asked, looking down at her companion. The leopard growled again; Mayu looked back, and then a grin appeared on her face.

"Nani?" Sasuke asked.

"Kakashi-san and the others are headed this way!" she answered.

Sasuke was momentarily shocked by this information. "They defeated that Sasori guy already. I wanna take back Gaara before they reach us, Sasuke!" Mayu continued.

"Right," the boy responded.

"Nana, step on it!" Mayu ordered. The black leopard did as it was told and picked up speed, causing both Mayu and Sasuke to cling on for dear life.
****************************


"... Oh yeah. You just can't calm down, can you?" Deidara asked. He was currently flying near Naruto, who had stopped. Deidara was teasing Naruto by showing him the body of Gaara. "Not as a fellow Jinchuuriki."

"Give Gaara back!" Naruto yelled; he was about to jump up and attack Deidara, but an arm put him in a choke hold.

"Hold on a sec, Naruto!" it was Mayu that had grabbed him. Sasuke slid off Nana's back and stood next to his two teammates.

"Mayu! Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed in surprised. "Ack! N-Need air, M-Mayu!" The girl quickly released the boy.

"What?" Deidara muttered with an annoyed look on his face. "I thought I'd finally killed the two of you... un."

"Well, excuse us for not falling for your little display of your so called 'art'," Sasuke replied; Deidara glared. "Your bombs are useless against me."

"Damn it, he did figure it out..." Deidara thought, frowning. The giant clay bird closed its mouth, and then flew higher. "Where'd that giant cat come from... un?" he mumbled out loud.

"Wait!" Naruto shouted.

"Don't make me put you in another head lock, Naruto!" Mayu told her angry teammate. "I know you're angry, but... We won't let Gaara-kun be taken away by him."

"Master Sasori is gonna be angry with me for not being properly prepared again," Deidara said to himself. "But then again, over-analyzing and preparing for every little possibility isn't my style. One has to think on the spot and adapt to the situation. That's what makes artists so well suited for fighting... un."

He placed his hand on his chin, looking deep in thought. "What to do?" he muttered.

"Okay, listen... I have a plan," Mayu stated, getting the attention of her comrades.

"This plan of your doesn't involve me being carried by you, right?" Sasuke asked; Mayu narrowed her eyes.

"Okay... I have another plan!" she mumbled. "Jeez! What's the big deal about him being carried by me, anyway?" she thought. "Sasuke, tell me, is that guy paying attention to us?" Mayu asked out loud.

Sasuke looked up, and then frowned. "No, his eyes are closed," he answered.

"Kuso! He's underestimating us!" Naruto growled.

"He probably thinks that we can't reach him when he's up that high," Mayu muttered. "... Naruto, I need clones of you and Sasuke! Can you do it?"

"Yeah!" Naruto answered, and then formed a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Another Naruto appeared and so did a clone of Sasuke. "Okay, the two clones are staying with me... both of you are going with Nana," Mayu stated.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, what's the point of spliting up?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke, you are to separate Gaara's prison from the body of that thing. Naruto is there to catch it," Mayu said. "Nana will make sure you reach him. There's no time to talk now. Deidara could stop thinking at any second!" The two boys quickly got on Nana's back, causing the leopard to growl lightly.

"What about you?" Naruto questioned.

"There's no time to explain!" Mayu said, and then smack Nana's backside, making the the leopard run and leap off the log. She hopped on the cliff, and then began running towards where Deidara was. Mayu sighed, and then took out an arrow and prepared to fire by placing the arrow in the proper place of the bow. The bow was black and it had the Ishikari crest on the front. (A/N: see profile for crest!) "Let's start distracting!" Mayu said, and then pulled ther string to her bow back; she aimed for Deidara.

"Yeah!" Naru clone responded; Sasu clone didn't respond at all, but that was to be expected.

Mayu exhaled slowly, and then fired her arrow! The arrow traveled at blinding speeds. "Kami-sama..." she thought. "Duh... my strength has increased over the years..." She didn't think it would go that fast! Unfortunately, Deidara opened his eyes at that moment and saw the arrow coming. He quickly moved to the side, so his face wouldn't get hit.

"What the hell, un?" the blond exclaimed. "Don't you know it's rude to attack someone while they're thinking?!"

"Well, it's also rude to make me think you're a girl!" Mayu yelled, pointing an accusing finger. Deidara glared down at the girl. She was becoming a nuisence, not to mention she was just plain rude!

"She needs to be taken care of..." he thought.

"Sasuke, Naruto, follow me!" Mayu ordered, hanging the bow around her neck, and then jumped off the log and went the opposite direction the real Naruto and Sasuke went. "Man, I hope this works!" she thought. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Nana still running. "NOW!" she shouted, knowing full well Nana heard her.

Mayu grabbed the two clones by the collar, and then jumped up towards Deidara. Deidara smirked as Mayu rushed at him, not noticing that Nana was behind him. "Too easy," he thought. "She's seems to be the only one who can jump so high. I'll kill her first." Mayu gave her own little smirk, and then she released the clones. She used the clones to propel herself up further. The two clones disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "Clones...?!" Deidara thought, and then he turned around to see Sasuke and Naruto on Nana, and they were as high as he was!

"CHIDORI!" Sasuke yelled, jumping off Nana and headed quickly towards Deidara. Sasuke ripped right through Deidara's shoulder, tearing his arm off, and then ripped through the neck of the giant clay bird.

"Shit!" Deidara exclaimed, stepping back. "My other arm!"

"Nice, Sasuke!" Mayu thought, finally descending. Naruto quickly made more shadow clones and caught the head of the bird. "Deidara!" she called, making a hand sign; the blond looked up. "KATSU!"

Deidara's eye widen in shock. There was no way this girl knew his jutsu! But he wasn't going to take any chances with it either. Deidara quickly jumped away from the bird and fell in the trees. The clay bird had exploded a split second afterwards. "Shit..." Deidara thought, still falling. "How the hell did she...?!"

"Mayu!" Sasuke yelled. Nana quickly jumped up and Sasuke caught the falling girl in his arms.

"Nice catch!" Mayu said, getting out of Sasuke's hold, and then straddling Nana; she was in front of Sasuke now. The black leopard landed on the ground, not making a sound. "Naruto caught him, right?"

"Yeah," Sasuke answered, turning his head. "He's over on that branch, trying to get Gaara out."

Mayu also turned her head to see. "Nana!" she said. The leopard roared, and then bounded on to the branch that Naruto was standing on. By the time they reached him, the Naru clones had already pulled out Gaara's body. "Gaara-kun...!" Mayu exclaimed, hopping off Nana; Sasuke did the same. Naruto had he's head down, so Mayu couldn't see his face. Nana disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the teens there.

Mayu's hair and eye color changed back to their original setting as she reached out to touch Gaara. "Mayu..." Sasuke muttered, watching the girl's actions. Mayu suddenly gasped loudly, and then fell to her knees, blood ran down her chin. "Mayu! What's wrong?!"

"N-Nothing..." she responded, covering her mouth. "It's just the after effects. I-I haven't been using my family's jutsu for a w-while now... It's only n-natural." Sasuke didn't look convinced at her answer.

The Uchiha suddenly looked up. "He's near," he stated. Naruto let out a growl of rage.

"I'll kick the shit out of you!" he said through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, yeah," Deidara said, causing Mayu to look towards the blond. "I'll fight again with you soon... un."

"Gaara-kun...!" Mayu muttered, clenching her fist.

"I'm sorry, but... you should really be more alert," Sasuke said, making Deidara's eye go wide. Naruto appeared behind Deidara ready to punch his lights out!

"Shit!" Deidara exclaimed, just before Naruto's fist made contact with his jaw. Blood shot out of his mouth as he was sent flying over the branch, Naruto following after him. Mayu looked back towards Gaara's body.

"That bastard! He gets what he deserves!" she muttered, staring Gaara's face. A stray tear slip down on her cheek and on to Gaara's kanji.

Suddenly, there was a crash and a yell of pain. Mayu still didn't look away from Gaara, but she heard the punches being landed. "Die... Deidara... die," she thought. And that was definitely shocking, considering she used to like Deidara back when she didn't know better.

"... no," Mayu heard Sasuke mutter, causing her to look up in question.

"Nani?" she asked.

"It was a clone," he answered; Mayu's eyes widen, and then looked down to Naruto to see him standing over a glob of clay.

"He... He won't get away!" she thought, standing.

"Mayu...!" Sasuke began, but Mayu had already took off. Sasuke frowned at her departure, and then looked in a completely different direction. "So, you're finally here?"

"What's... What's happening to Naruto?" Ino asked. She, as well as Kakashi and Chiyo, stood on a branch not to far from Sasuke and then Naru clones. All three looked worn out from their earlier battle, even Kakashi's mask was torn... though you still couldn't see his face. Everyone turned to Naruto at Ino's question. "Red... I can see red chakra coming from him. At least, I think its chakra."

"That's...!" Kakashi began.

"This... I've seen this before," Sasuke muttered. "He's using the Kyuubi's chakra to the max without even realizing."

"Kyuubi?!" Ino repeated. "We have to stop him, now!"

"That chakra..." Kakashi said to himself. Naruto suddenly punched the ground, causing a massive earthquake to occur. Ino and Chiyo gasped at his strength.

"Jiraiya... are you sure that he's the one that needs protection?" Sasuke thought, watching as Naruto looked around in search of Deidara.

"Be extremely careful if the cloak forms, Sasuke. And stop it while there's only one tail. Not even you could control him after other tails are formed," Jiraiya had said.

"Damn it!" Sasuke thought, noticing that Naruto had already begun to grow another tail. Sasuke slipped a hand into his pouch and took out a piece of paper that read 'suppress'. Sasuke quickly jumped from the tree and headed towards Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun, no!" Ino cried.

Sasuke ignored her and jumped right in front of Naruto's face. Before the enraged blond could react, Sasuke smacked the piece of paper on his forhead, sending Naruto back a couple feet. The red chakra slowly began to reside as Sasuke walked over to his friend. "Are you finished, now... Naruto?" he asked, kneeling down in front of the panting blond. Sasuke removed the paper from Naruto's headband and placed it back in his pouch.

"Y-Yeah," Naruto answered. Suddenly, Ino, Chiyo, and Kakashi jumped down to the two.

"Naruto!" Ino exclaimed.

"Hey! Y-You beat that other guy?" Naruto asked; Ino nodded her head.

"Luckily, we had Kakashi-sensei with us," she said. "Where's Mayu? We should finish things up since we got Gaara back."

"... Gaara," Naruto muttered, bowing his head.

"Nani...? What are you doing, Naruto?" Ino asked.

"You of all people should have figured out that... Gaara's dead," Chiyo stated. A glare appeared on Ino's face.

"I know that," she practically hissed through clenched teeth.

"We have to find Mayu," Sasuke stated, but Ino had already took off.
******************


"Oh well, it was still an artistic way to go," Deidara muttered, shimming out of the bushes he was currently under. He turned around, only to see Team Gai, as well as Mayu looking down at him. "Damn, they're like roaches!" he thought.

"Good work, Neji," Gai said.

"Not a problem," Neji respond; Mayu was quick to glare at Deidara.

"I see..." he said, staring at Neji's eyes. "That must be the Byakugan. The eyes that are passed down in Konoha alongside the Sharingan... un. You used their power to find my blind spot and sneak up on me. I've never seen them in person."

"IT'S GONNA BE THE LAST DAMN THING YOU SEE!" a shout grabbed the attention of all five people. It was Ino and she was racing towards Deidara, fist at the ready. The only thing Deidara could do was stand before Ino's fist made contact with his abdomen, causing the male blond to fly back into a nearby tree. Deidara fell to the ground, coughing up blood as Ino stomped over to him.

"There's no way you're getting all the fun!" Mayu stated, joining the female blond. Ino picked up Deidara by his cloak and punched his face, this time not using her inhumane strength. Deidara stumbled away, only to get knocked back to Ino by Mayu because she punched his jaw.

"Scumbag!" Ino yelled, punching his face again, causing him to stumble towards Mayu.

"Jackass!" Mayu shouted, punching his jaw again.

"Fuck yeah! Dickhead!" Punch!

"Bastard!" Punch!

"Mother... fucker!" Punch, punch!

"Asshole!" Punch!

"What now, bomb shit?!" Punch! Punch!

"Shazaam, fucker! Is this artistic enough for ya?!" Punch! Punch! Punch! Punch!

"Eat shit and choke!" Punch! Punch! Punch!

"DIE!" Ino and Mayu exclaimed in unsion, delivering a final kick to Deidara's chest, causing him to go right through a tree trunk. After spiting out blood and a couple teeth, Deidara fell in a crumbled heap.

"... Wasn't that a little harsh?" Lee asked; both girls glared at him.

"I wouldn't say anything to them, if I were you..." Tenten muttered.

"Damn it! I've got to get outta here!" Deidara thought. "Feels like I'm going to puke!" Ino was about to walk over to Deidara for another round, but Kakashi's voice stopped her.

"Now, now, Ino-san... we can't kill him. We need information about Akatsuki," he said. Ino frowned, glared at Deidara's face one last time, and then turned her head away. "You too, Mayu!" Kakashi said, noticing that the girl was inching over to Deidara. Mayu stopped, frowned, and then crossed her arms.

"Sucks ass!" she muttered. She didn't seem to noticed that her knuckles were bloody, but Sasuke did.

"Mayu, your hands," he said; Mayu looked down at her hands with a bored expression on her face.

"So what? This is nothing compared to Gaara-kun's... Gaara-kun's..." she didn't finish; tears had starting leaking from her eyes. "G-Gaara...!" she cried, holding her face. "D-Doushite...? Doushite Gaara?!" Sasuke moved over to Mayu and held her close. Mayu was quick to wrap her arms around him and start completely blubbering. Everyone had their eyes on the two, so they didn't see Deidara stand, but Neji noticed his movements.

"He's trying to run!" he stated.

Deidara quickly jumped up into a tree and started running. "He's headed for Naruto, Chiyo-sama, and the Kazekage!" Neji continued.

"Everyone move out!" Gai commanded; the ninja did as they were told. Sasuke had to pick up Mayu's body to move. When the eight ninja finally caught up with Deidara, they found that he wasn't going after Naruto. His target was something far worse!

"He's eating the clay off the head thing!" Tenten exclaimed.

It was true, Deidara was now chewing the clay in his mouth. "I'll show you my ultimate creation," he said, and then swallowed! Ewww... Anyway, Deidara's body began to expand; it was like bubbles were in his body.

"Yeah, a fat Deidara is exactly what is considered art," Ino muttered sarcastically, still pissed. Deidara's glared turned into a smirk.

"You're going to regret mocking me... un!" he said. Neji looked at Deidara's expanding body through Byakugan eyes.

"He's focusing all his chakra into a single spot," he thought, and then his eyes widen. "Oh no...! Everyone, get away!" Team Gai and Ino, being in the front, quickly moved away from Deidara.

"Art is a bang!" Deidara yelled just before his whole body erupted. A firery ball of red and yellow began to consume the forest and every thing in it.

"We're not going to make it!" Neji said, looking back. "No, I still have to find you... Yaya-chan!" he thought.

"I knew I should have knocked all his teeth out!" Ino thought, trying to escape the flames of the explosion.

"We're too late... We're going to die... just like Gaara-kun," Mayu muttered closing her eyes. "This is our punishment for not saying him." Sasuke's eyes widen. Sure, Mayu was right about the explosion and how they weren't going to make it, but punishment was going a little too far! And then... there was silence. Everyone opened their eyes to see that they were still alive.

"What's going on?!" Gai asked, looking around.

What everyone saw was the dust being sucked into, what seemed to be, a black hole. When everything became still again, Ino turned her attention to Kakashi. "He used it again...?" she thought. The copy ninja started panting heavily, and then just fell out. Luckily, Naruto was there to catch him.

"You okay, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked.

"That's my rival!" Gai thought, smirking.

"I blew the explosion into another dimension," Kakashi said as if someone asked him. "Is everyone all right?" The other ninja muttered 'yeahs'. Naru clones suddenly jumped down towards the group with Gaara's body balanced on their shoulders.

"You hear that? We're going to be okay," Sasuke said to the girl in his arms. Mayu didn't respond. She only had this blank look in her eyes as if she had die inside. "Mayu..."
************************

The ten ninja had traveled to a large clearing, so that Ino could try to revive Gaara. And boy, was she trying desparately to do so. But no matter what she did, her eyes never changed. As if there was nothing to do. Gaara, the fifth Kazekage of the sand, had died. "Gaara..." Ino mumbled. "P-Please... come back to me..."

After a few more minutes, Naruto stepped forward. "Ino...?" he said, causing the girl to flinch. She removed her hands from Gaara's chest and wiped the tears from her eyes. Naruto's eyes widen at her movements. Ino mumbled and no, and then looked away.

"I... I can't do it," she said, and then she stared at Gaara's face. "Gaara... I'm sorry." She gently placed a hand on his face; his cheek was cold as expected. "It looks as if he was sleeping..."

Everyone looked on with sad eyes at the information that had received. "So, there's really nothing to do for him..." Sasuke thought; he looked over to Mayu, who still looked blankly at the growned, and frowned. Meanwhile, the tears had finally fallen from Naruto's eyes.

"Why? Why did Gaara have to die like this?" he said, shoulders shaking. He walked over to Gaara's body. "You're the Kazekage, damn it! You just became Kazekage!"

"Calm yourself, Uzumaki Naruto," Chiyo said.

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto yelled, turning around with a glare on his face, not to mention the tears. "It's you fault! If you goddamned Sand shinobi hadn't put that monster inside him, this never would've happened! Do you have any idea what kinda of burden he carried?! ... Damn the Jinchuuriki. You have no right to act like you're better, to label us and use us..." Chiyo bowed her head in shame. For she knew that Naruto was right. Naruto tried to wipe his eyes, but the tears kept falling. "I-I couldn't save him... I couldn't save G-Gaara... I trained so hard, but nothing's changed..." Chiyo suddenly stood and began to walk over to Naruto and Gaara's body.

She slowly walked passed Naruto and kneeled down in front of Gaara. "Grandma Chiyo...?" Ino muttered, wiping a few tears away. The older woman didn't respond; she just stared impassively at Gaara's face. Chiyo suddenly extended her hands to Gaara's chest and closed her eyes. Chakra suddenly emited from her hands. Ino's eyes widen, knowing the technique that the old woman was using. "But that will...!" she began, but Chiyo looked up at her, causing Ino to become silent. "Grandma Chiyo... Is this what you meant?" Ino thought.

"What are you trying to do now?" Naruto questioned.

"Medical ninjutsu...?" Neji thought, staring at the elderly woman with Byakugan eyes.

"That's..." Gai began.

"Yes," Kakashi said.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Naruto shouted, pissed that he wasn't answered the first time.

"She is... She's bringing him back..." Ino muttered, causing Naruto's as well as Sasuke's eyes to widen. "She's going to bring Gaara to life!"

"Bring him... back...?!" Naruto asked. "Can you really do something like that...?"

"This jutsu that's she's using... is hers alone," Ino said, staring at Chiyo's hands.

"That chakra flow... I can't believe such a convient jutsu exists... Perhaps..." Neji thought.

"She might bring Gaara back, but..." Ino thought. "Something of equal value must go... Grandma Chiyo..."

"Damn...! Not enough chakra!" Chiyo muttered, the blue orb was slowly going down in size.

Mayu's body sudden twitch, causing Sasuke to look over to her again. It was the first movement the girl had made since they reached the clearing. "Mayu...?" he muttered.

"He's dead... Gaara-kun's dead... I have failed one of my precious friends," she whispered with her headed bowed in shame. "It's my fault... I should have just stayed... maybe this wouldn't have happened. ... I don't... deserve to live..." Sasuke's eyes grew wide in shock. What?! She wanted to die just because she 'failed' Gaara?!

"Mayu, what the hell are you saying?! You're obviously not thinkin--"

"Shut up, Sasuke... You wouldn't understand at all," Mayu cut him off. "I just want to die... with Gaara." Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he grinded his teeth together in irritation, and then he slapped her. No, really! Uchiha Sasuke slapped Ishikari Mayu! The force of the slap caused Mayu to fall to the ground. Everyone, except for Chiyo and Naruto looked at the two with surprised expressions.

"What just happened...?" Tenten muttered.

"Didn't you tell me that you have another precious friend?! You can't just want to die because of that!" Sasuke yelled out Mayu, not even blinking when he saw the surprised look Mayu was giving him, or when he saw her cheek turning red. "And were you not listening?! Are you that much of a moron that you couldn't comprehend what was said?! Gaara is coming back to life, so stop acting like a fucking zombie and get it together!" Mayu bowed her head again, and then started shaking slightly.

"Ano... Sasuke... I'm going to punch you in the nuts for that later," she muttered, causing all the males to wince. "But thank you... I really needed it." Mayu stood up slowly, holding her red cheek. "Is it true? Gaara-kun's coming back?"

"See for yourself," Sasuke answered, looking towards Naruto. Mayu, as well as the other ninja, turned to Ino, Naruto, and Chiyo. Gaara was actually sitting up!

"Gaara..." Naruto muttered. The red head looked surprised to see Naruto's face.

"Naruto..." he said, and then he looked around. "Ino... and everyone else... This..."

"Everyone came running... to save you...!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin. It was true, multiple Sand shinobi had gathered around.

"G-Gaara... Gaara-kun..." Mayu muttered, staring at the red head with a look of disbelief. "GAARA...!" Gaara turned his head to see who had called his name, only to get tackled to the ground in a fierce hug.

"Can she do that?" Lee asked; his team just shrugged. Meanwhile, Mayu had begun crying again, but this time instead of tears of sorrow, they were tears of joy.

"Gaara-kun! I'm so glad you're okay!" she cried out.

"W-Who are you?" Gaara asked, confused. Why in the world was this strange looking girl hugging him? Mayu pulled her head away from him with a smile on her face, though tears were still falling. She put her hand on his head and rubbed it as if he were her pet.

"Your friend," she answered, and then she kissed his love kanji. Gaara's mouth dropped open, as well as the other shinobi surrouding them.

"M-Mayu-san...! You're back," he whispered; Mayu nodded her head, somewhat surprised that Gaara had actually remembered without her having to tell him her name.

"It's no wonder she's happy, Gaara," Ino said.

"Yeah, you put us through a lot!" Naruto stated; Gaara looked at the two as Mayu got off of him.

"For sure. You're a little brother I always have to worry about," Kankuro said, nodding his head.

"Hey, don't go getting all complacement!" Temari said, closing her eyes with a grin on her face. "Gaara's still the Kazekage, so don't be so cheeky! You're underlings!"

Mayu, Naruto, Kankuro, and Ino looked at Temari with frowns on their faces. "Shut up, sand wench!" Ino muttered. Temari only waved off Ino's comment and turned to her younger brother.

"Gaara, how are you feeling?" she asked. Gaara tried to stand, but it looked as if he was struggling.

"Don't move, your body still hasn't recovered yet," Ino told him. Gaara looked to Ino, and then nodded his head.

Suddenly, some of the female ninja started running towards Gaara, but Ino and Temari intercepted them. "Didn't you just here what I said?! Gaara needs to rest!" Ino shouted.

"But... Ino-san...!" they exclaimed.

"I'm so glad!" Mayu whispered; Sasuke walked over to her.

"So, you're okay now?" he asked; she nodded.

"Thank you..." she said.

"No problem... just don't punch me down there. I'm planning on having children," Sasuke stated. Mayu just laughed lightly.

"Thank you, Naruto," Kankuro said, causing the said blond to look at him.

"You should be saying that to the old lady," Naruto said. "She saved Gaara with her amazing medical ninjutsu..."

"Chiyo... used that jutsu..." Kankuro thought, glancing at Chiyo's body.

"She's passed out from tiredness now, but... she'll be fine when she gets back to the..." Naruto started, but was interrupted by Kankuro.

"No..." he said.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Naruto asked.

Kankuro didn't respond for quite some time. "Kankuro...?" Naruto said.

"That was no medical ninjutsu, it was a tensei ninjutsu..." he finally answered. "Chiyo's dead."

"What are you saying?" Naruto asked.

"That ninjutsu can restore life... in exchange of the user's own," Ino answered for Kankuro.

"At one time, in the Sand's puppet squad... people tried to reserch and develop a jutsu to give life to puppets... Chiyo led that," Kankuro explained further. "She worked out the theory behind the jutsu, but... in the process... saying that the risk of the jutsu was too high, before experimentation, it was designated as a forbidden jutsu, and sealed away..."

Ino walked over to Chiyo's body and held her. "Grandma Chiyo," she whispered. "Thank you so much..."

"I keep expecting her to laugh out loud and say she was only joking. Hmm... Such a peaceful expression she has now..." Ebizou said. Gaara stood, with the help of Naruto, and spoke.

"Everyone... say a prayer for Chiyo," he said. All of the shinobi present bowed their heads in prayer.
****************************


It had been a couple of days since the return of the Kazekage, but now it was time for Konoha's ninja to make their departure. They were all at the entrance to Suna; the Sand siblings were the ones to say goodbye. "See ya!" Kankuro said, giving a nod. Mayu smiled lightly and waved.

"Bye! I hope to see you again!" she said.

"... I guess this is when you normally shake hands and part ways but..." Naruto muttered, scratching his cheek. "I'm bad at that kinda thing! So..."

Gaara extended his hand towards Naruto, causing the blond's eyes to widen. He then grinned, and then shook Gaara's hand. "I think I'm gonna cry again..." Mayu muttered.

"Please don't... I had enough of that last night," Sasuke stated, refraining from rolling his eyes; Mayu glared. "Crying just because we had to leave today. You're so sensitive."

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Mayu hissed. Ino laughed mentally at the sight in front of her.

"They're so close to one another," she thought, smiling as Sasuke began chasing Mayu because of something she did or said. "So close... Now I see why Sakura nor I could ever hope to win Sasuke-kun's heart. He was already in love with Mayu."

"Sasuke, quit it! You're friggin' scaring me!" Mayu cried out, still running.

"Not until you take that back!" Sasuke retorted.

"Take what back? It's true!"

"The hell it is! I do not like camel spiders!"

"Kakashi-san!"

"Now, now, you two..." Kakashi half-heartedly scolded; the other members of the team looked on in amusement.

That's when Ino noticed that two out of the three sand siblings had began walking back into Suna, leaving Gaara standing there. "He's staring at me..." she thought, turning her back to Gaara. "It's creepy when he does that, but... at the same time..."

"Ino..." a voice whispered, causing Ino to stiffen. The voice sounded as if the person was right behind her!

"G-Gaara..." Ino muttered, voice cracking. "Why does he always do that?!" she thought.

"I just wanted to say thank you again... for all that you've done for and in this village," Gaara said; Ino didn't turn around.

"It's really no big deal!" she said. "I'm just glad every thing is okay, now! You even got to see your first friend after all this time."

"Yes, seeing Mayu-san... and Naruto again has really got me thinking," Gaara agreed. "I'll make changes here in Suna..."

"Yeah, that's great! Well, I'd better go... my teams leaving me, the jerks!" Ino muttered; she had begun to walk away, but Gaara grabbed her arm, pulled her back, and then whispered something in her ear. (Not that kinda whispering in the ear, you sickos!)

Ino's eyes grew wide at the information she had just received by the Kazekage. Gaara released her and took a step back. "It's true, but don't say anything to her just yet," he said.

"W-Why not...?" Ino asked.

"The time isn't right," Gaara answered, and then he turned. "Goodbye, Ino..." with that being said, the red head returned to his village, leaving Ino standing there in a stupor.

"COME ON, INO! YOU WANNA GET BITE BY A CAMEL SPIDER?!" Mayu's voice snapped Ino right out of her stupor.

"C-Coming...!" she called, a look of embarrassment on her face, not to mention the fact that her face was red.
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Tenten gave a fustrated sigh as she glanced back at her sensei. "Both of you are so slow," she commented, turning her attention back in front. Both Gai and Kakashi were falling behind in the ground because Gai had to carry Kakashi.

"Ehhh... sorry, Gai-kun," Kakashi mumbled. "Because I used that Sharingan, my body won't move..."

"RIGHT!!" Gai suddenly shouted.

"AH! Oh! Wha...!" Kakashi made weird noises.

The younger of the ninja turned around to see that Gai had put Kakashi on his back; it looked as if Gai was giving a piggyback. "That's... kinda creepy," Naruto thought.

"Screw Sasuke-kun and Mayu! Those two are closer than anyone..." Ino thought, eye twitching.

"Oh, no way!" Tenten thought. "And I thought he couldn't get any weirder..."

"No comment..." Sasuke muttered.

"Same here..." Mayu agreed.

"..." were Neji's thoughts about the situation.

"AHA! It's training!" Lee thought, watching his sensei with admiration.

"This way, I'll be faster!" Gai exclaimed, flashing his signature grin. "AHAHAHAHA! Think any of you can keep up with me?!" he yelled as he speed off.

"They look even more close when they're moving..." Ino thought with a dead-panned look.

"Hell yes!" Mayu exclaimed, jumping on Sasuke's back. "Go, Sasuke!" she yelled, pointing to the older men.

"Hell... no..." was his response, causing Mayu to frown, her energetic attitude slowly evaporating.

"Neji...!" Lee said, bending down a little so that the Hyuga could climb on his back.

"Absolutely not!" Neji declared.
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Quote of Update:

"Yeah, a fat Deidara is exactly what is considered art." -Yamanaka Ino

Yes, I think I'm going to give my favorite quote of the chapter at the end of the chapter from now on. Some might be funny... some may not.

By the way... What was your fav. quote from THIS chapter? It would be very helpful to me in the future, so please... When you leave a REVIEW, don't forget the quote that you found to be your favorite!