Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Way We Change ❯ Temari's Request ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter Six

The alarm clock was practically screaming in her ear no matter how hard she pulled the pillow down over her head. Enough of this...

WHAM!!

The alarm clock was no more.

Ahhh.... that's better, Sakura thought to herself. Still, she couldn't help the feeling that there was something she had to do... but what was it? A little light bulb went off and she sat bolt upright in bed, throwing the sheets off herself. Her eyes darted to the calendar on her bedroom wall. It had all the days crossed out up until one little square with a big red circle drawn around it.

"Shit! The exam finals are today! Naruto's gonna be so pissed if I'm late!" She sprang out of bed and dashed out of her room to the stairs, jumping the last few steps on her way to the kitchen. Her mother was already seated at the kitchen table eating rice and miso soup and doing a crossword puzzle out of the Saturday news paper. Her faded red hair was drawn back into a loose knot at the top of her head and she was dressed in an old fuzzy bathrobe. Haruno Kanna was not a shinobi like her daughter. Sakura had inherited her drive to become a ninja from her father, Toji, who was retired and probably still asleep in the upstairs bedroom since it was a Saturday. Her father had been the first in several generations of the Haruno family to become a shinobi.

"Sakura, there's rice and miso soup ready," her mother said without looking up from her crossword puzzle.

"Thanks mom," she said and hastily scooped some rice and miso soup into bowls.

"What's the rush, honey?" her mother asked, finally putting down the paper.

"I don't wanna be late to watch Naruto's matches in the Chuunin Exam finals today."

"Oh that's today? Do you think he'll win?"

"Of course he will mom! He can kick major butt!" she shouted through a mouthful of rice. Kanna chuckled as her daughter shoved the rest of the rice into her mouth and rushed back up the stairs.

Sakura rifled through her closet, pulling out her usual outfit and heading into the bathroom. Stripping off her soft pajamas and stepping into the shower, Sakura washed her short pink hair and ran her fingers through it. Ever since their first Chuunin Exam, she had realized that keeping it short was far more practical. Kin had been right; she had been so preoccupied with her looks and trying to impress Sasuke that she had neglected her ninja studies. That was a thing of the past now and she trained harder than ever. She stepped out of the shower and began towel drying her hair. It may have been slightly spiky and not as shiny as it used to be, but it didn't bother her anymore.

With her hair close enough to dry, she put on her clothes, grabbed her hitai-ate and a shuriken holster, and walked out of her room.

"Bye mom!" she called as she slipped on her ninja sandals and leg guards at the door.

"Bye honey! Cheer hard for Naruto-kun," her mother called from the kitchen.

"I will!" she shouted, and dashed out the front door. Sakura was so glad that her mother and father had finally started to like Naruto. They had never actually met him in person, but Sakura's stories about him had finally swayed their opinion of the Kyuubi vessel.

Sakura walked briskly down one of the main roads of Konoha towards the arena that the finals would be held in. In her hurry to get out of the house, she had given herself ample time to get there. As she got closer to the arena, more people were walking down the road, but not very many. It showed just how early she was.

"Sakura..." said a low voice from behind her. She turned around to look at the person who had addressed her in slight shock.

"Wow..."

It was Gaara... or at least she thought it was him. All she could see were his eyes. He was not only wearing the robes of the Kazekage, but also the hat, and a cloth hung over his nose and mouth as well. For an instant she saw the image of a different Kazekage, the Kazekage that had been at her first Chuunin Exam... Gaara's father. But he pulled down the cloth to reveal the rest of his face and the image was gone, leaving just Gaara. Just the serious boy she knew.

"You look... official," she said, slightly amazed. "I thought you didn't like the hat..."

"You're right. I don't usually wear it, but I thought I should for something diplomatic like this." And he certainly did look diplomatic. Garbed in his official robes, he stood in the street with two Suna jounin behind him. They silently observed the exchange between the two teenagers.

"You're supposed to meet with Hokage-sama right?" she asked.

"Yes. We're late actually. We were supposed to arrive here in Konoha yesterday, but I was delayed."

"We should get going then." And with that they made their way towards the arena while they continued talking.

"So, where are your brother and sister? In Suna?"

"Actually, Temari is here. She had to speak with someone... the Nara man, I think. Kankuro is still in Suna though. He's in charge while I'm gone." Sakura started laughing out loud. "What's so funny?"

"Hehe. As much as they may say otherwise, I think Shikamaru and Temari-san have a thing for each other." Gaara simply blinked at her and went back to watching the ground under his moving feet, thinking about this new information.

Sakura glanced sideways at her silent companion as they walked. His face was set in a stern expression as his icy jade eyes watched the road in front of him. His vibrant red hair was just visible under the rim of his hat from her vantage point, and the fabric of his robes billowed around him as the two of them walked side by side.

Imposing. Deadly. He commanded the attention of anyone and everyone around him.

Kage.

Sakura couldn't help but be amazed at all he had accomplished.

When they reached the arena, there were a few people making their way inside even though the first match wasn't scheduled to start for another half hour. In the higher stands sat nobles and lords from Fire Country, Wind Country, Thunder Country and others. They talked to one another, probably making bets on various contestants. Someone called Gaara's name and they turned around to see Temari striding up to them from one of the smaller side roads.

"Hey Gaara. Hey there Sakura-chan! How're you doing?"

"Fine," she said, smiling at the older kunoichi.

"You're here to watch Naruto-kun no doubt."

"Yup. I don't think any of the other fighters will give him much of a challenge," she said with a grin, but stopped as soon as she realized what she'd said. "I mean... not that the team from Sand wont-" but Gaara suddenly cut her off.

"We know what you meant," he said, waving off the accidental comment. "The team from Sand that made it to the finals is talented, but Naruto is much more experienced. He's a force to be reckoned with. Besides... he's overdue to get the rank of chuunin. If the three from Suna can show they have the qualities of a chuunin, they will be given the rank even if they loose."

"Oh," she breathed, relieved that neither Temari nor Gaara had taken offence. "Will you be the one deciding if they become chuunin, Gaara?"

"All of us will," he said, motioning to his sister and the two jounin behind him, who were both standing several paces away, apparently a little intimidated by the two Sand siblings and the strange pink haired kunoichi of the Leaf who was on such casual terms with them.

"Ah, I see. Oh, you still have to meet with Tsunade-sama right?"

"Yes. We should go now Temari."

"Right," Sakura said. "I promised to meet with the others so we could find seats together." Gaara nodded and watched as she turned on her heal and left.

"See you later Gaara! Temari!" she called over her shoulder and waved. Gaara watched her go for a few seconds before heading toward another entrance to the arena; one that would lead them to the Kage's box. Temari watched him curiously as they walked side by side.

"You two are pretty good friends, huh?" He looked at her quizzically until she elaborated. "You call each other by just your first names."

"I do the same with Naruto," he said calmly.

"Yeah, and he's your friend, which means Sakura-chan is too?"

"Yes. She's... a good friend like Naruto. She's... good at understanding things."

"Ah."

Temari knew what he really meant. He meant that she understood him. Like the way Naruto understood him. Even if Sakura didn't know all the details of Gaara's past, she still took him at face value. And even though he had almost killed her only a few years ago, Sakura didn't fear him. In fact, she spoke to him as if he were just another normal person. And Temari knew what that must have meant to her brother. So she didn't say anything more as they walked up the stairs of the arena to meet the Hokage, while all sorts of ideas swam around in her head.

----

"Hey guys!" Sakura called as she ran up to a group of people standing by the main entrance to the arena.

"Hello, Sakura-chan," Hinata said quietly. Around her stood Kiba, Ino, Tenten, Neji, Lee, Shino, and Chouji, who now looked even more like his dad than ever with the typical armor and longer hair. Akamaru sat by Kiba's heel.

"Hey Forehead Girl," said Ino cheerily.

"Hey Ino-pig," Sakura responded.

Despite the fact that Ino and Sakura had finally managed to repaired their friendship, the pet names for each other had never quite gone away. It had been hard to become friends again years ago when Naruto had not been able to bring Sasuke back. A few days after Naruto had left for training with Jiraiya, they met accidentally at a tea shop and had had a long discussion, which resulted in a few tears, but considerably lighter hearts.

"Come on, Forehead Girl. Let's find some seats so we can watch that dunce of a teammate of yours," Ino joked.

"Don't call Naruto a dunce!" she berated before they walked into the arena to find seats. As they walked down the aisles, they paid no notice to two older females walking by.

"Dammit Suzie, we're not going bar hopping!"

"Aww, but I want a margarita..."

"It's the middle of the day! Hey.... where'd Willow go?"

"Oh, there she is! Looks like she got distracted by some shiny object on the ground. I'll get her Rynn."

"If she doesn't stop doing that I'm gonna sick my Chipmunks of Doom on her."

The two strange females walked off to retrieve their friend, who was playing with a piece of shiny tin foil. Their conversation went unnoticed by the actual characters of this story, who had managed to find a row of empty seats that were, thankfully, chipmunk free. The tension in the spectators seated around the arena rose as everyone awaited the first match.

--

Gaara could easily spot Sakura from the Kage's box, her bright pink hair standing out like a beacon. But his gaze shifted to Tsunade as she stood from her seat and approached him, wearing the outer robe of the Hokage over her normal attire. They bowed to each other.

"My apologies Hokage-sama. I was delayed in getting here."

"Ah, that's quite all right," she said, waiving off his formality. "I'm glad you could make it at least. There promise to be at least a few interesting matches today." The two Kages sat in their respective seats. Ibiki and Shikamaru were there as judges of the Konoha genin.

"I'm looking forward to Naruto's matches," Gaara said. "I want to see how much he's improved."

"Ah. You and he are friends right? But I bet you'd like a rematch with him, ne? From what I heard, you and he fought each other during the invasion nearly three years ago."

"Yes. I would like to fight him again." An evil smirk slowly crossed Gaara's face. "But I'm afraid the resulting property damage would be rather extensive."

"That's Naruto for you!" she laughed. "The brat never quite knows when to give up."

The rest of the time before the first match was spent waiting. Gaara caught Temari and Shikamaru glancing at each other every once in a while out of the corner of his eye. He thought back on what Sakura had said about them. At this his eyes drifted back to the pink spot in the stands. Sakura was sitting with several fellow Leaf shinobi, smiling and laughing with the dark haired girl on her left. He recognized three of the shinobi from the mission to retrieve Sasuke. The other five she sat near he recognized from their first Chuunin Exam. But Gaara's attention was drawn away when the proctor, Genma, followed by the twelve participants, came into the arena. And the finals began.

The first match was the girl from the Hidden Cloud team against one of the Konoha genin. She liked bladed weapons apparently because the unfortunate boy eventually fainted from blood loss from all the cuts, thus making her the winner. The sight of blood made Gaara's fingers twitch momentarily before he violently squashed his old, near dormant urges. He had more control now. He was above that.

Gaara watched as all the opponents faced off one by one, keeping a close eye on the genin from Suna to observe their skills. They were fairly talented, he remarked to himself, and at least one of them would probably be promoted to chuunin. Naruto made quick work of most of his opponents, throwing them off with his raw power and some newly learned strategies.

And finally it came down to the last match: Naruto against the boy from Cloud with the blueish grey hair. Gaara shifted in his seat to get a clear view while dozens of people in the stands cheered. If he strained his ears he could pick out the voices of several of Naruto's friends, excitedly shouting their encouragement.

The boy from Cloud was glaring rather fiercely at Naruto while the golden haired boy just looked on determinedly. Genma brought his arm down with the shout to begin the match and the two contestants shot directly at one another, kunai flashing in the sunlight while the boys traded blows. Several Naruto clones appeared and attempted another combo attack only to be avoided and dispersed by a shower of shuriken and small lightning attacks. The Cloud nin grabbed the real Naruto and sent another huge surge of electricity into Naruto's shoulder. Naruto gritted his teeth through the pain and delivered a solid right hook to the other boy's face.

The two boys fought non stop until Naruto had been hit no less than three times with a surge of electricity; all three times on the same shoulder. His opponent however, fared far worse and finally collapsed from broken bones and exhaustion, unable to keep up with Naruto's freakish stamina. Gaara just smirked at his friend while the crowd erupted into wild cheers.

--

"Ow! That hurt!"

"Oh quit whining Naruto."

"But it stings..."

"I know," said Sakura. "But I'm not going to waste chakra healing such a minor injury. Besides, with your healing capabilities, this burn will be gone in hours."
Naruto sat on a hospital bed, his shirt and jacket lying beside him, while Sakura leaned over him to apply a clear liquid to a slight burn on his shoulder with a cotton ball.

"But hey, you won right?" she grinned.

"Damn straight I did. But that lightning attack still hurt."

"You said you fought the same kid from Cloud in the Forest of Death?"

"Yeah. I think he was mad 'cause I beat him and we took the scroll from his team. He wanted to pay me back. That's why he hit me with that lightning thing so many times."

A knock sounded at the door. Sakura called for the person to come in and the door was pushed open.

"Yo Naruto!" Kiba shouted as he stepped in, followed by Shino and Hinata. The poor girl turned red when she saw Naruto was shirtless. I wont faint. I wont faint... she chanted in her head.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto cheered. "Did you see me? I won the whole tournament!"

"Y-you were great N-Naruto-kun." She smiled and tried to be casual, stuffing her fists into her pockets. Another knock was heard and Neji, Tenten, and Lee came in.

"Ino and Chouji said congratulations on winning Naruto," said Neji. "They had to go meet Shikamaru."

"Yes! Go Naruto! You are in the springtime of youth! You'll be promoted to chuunin for sure!" Lee cheered. Naruto grinned and flexed his shoulder to test it. The pain was already fading and the burn was no doubt healing already.

"That lightning thing was pretty cool," said Kiba. "Did it hurt?"

"Only a little at first. But by the third time it hurt like hell!"

"Yeah, it looked like it would have. The fights didn't last very long though, did they?"

"Naruto was more advanced," Neji interrupted. "He's older and more experienced, and he's been training with one of the Legendary Three for years. The other genin were at a disadvantage."

"So when do we find out if he's a chuunin now?" Sakura asked while putting away the medical supplies she had been using. Hinata quietly drifted over to Naruto while the others were distracted talking to each other and offered him one of her jars of medicinal cream for his burn. He gladly took it and rubbed a bit into his shoulder. Yet another knock came from the door just as Naruto was pulling on his shirt. This time Sakura opened it.

"Temari-san, Gaara! What are you doing here?" she asked, smiling.

"We came to see Naruto-kun," said Temari. "Is he ok?"

"Like a little injury like this would stop me!" he shouted, hopping off the bed. "Come on guys, let's get out of here already. There are like, ten people in this room."

"Yeah," Sakura agreed. "Let's go find out if you made chuunin."

One by one they all filed out of the cramped hospital room until Hinata and Naruto were the last ones leaving. He stopped when he saw Hinata trembling slightly, rooted to the spot she had been standing on next to the hospital bed.

"Hey, hey. What's wrong Hinata-chan?" he asked quietly.

"It... it's nothing..."

"No, tell me."

"Uh... um... it's just that... the last time I saw G-Gaara-sama I..." she trailed off nervously.

"Hmm. Look, I don't know what you saw him do, but he's way better now. He's really cool once you get to know him," Naruto whispered with a reassuring smile. She stopped trembling and blushed a bit.

"Th-thank you Naruto-kun. Y-you're right." He just grinned and held the door open for her as they walked out into a white hallway where the others were already walking ahead of them.

"So," said Sakura, directing her question to Gaara and Temari. "Have you decided if any of the Sand genin will be promoted to chuunin?"

"Yup," Temari smiled. "Two of them will be. The other one wasn't advanced enough though."

"Ah."

"Naruto!" someone suddenly called from the end of the hallway behind them. They all turned to see Tsunade striding up to them with Shizune close behind.

"Hey old hag!" Naruto called cheerfully in way of greeting. A temper vein appeared on Tsunade's forehead.

"I said don't call me that brat." She had to suppress her anger and decided to ignore him, instead turning to her fellow Kage. "Gaara-san. I hope you have enjoyed the matches and your visit to Konoha. Have you made your selections for chuunin among the Sand genin?" He nodded. "Ah. Good then. So have I." Naruto was practically bouncing up and down by now and she scowled at him. "I'm sorry Naruto, but you did not make chuunin."

"WHAT!?"

If Tsunade had waited to laugh any longer than she did, she would have been met with one very mad loud-mouth ninja. But she did laugh. And when she did, everyone just blinked at her for a second or two.

"Ha! Serves you right brat! I was just joking. You've more than earned the chuunin rank. I just wanted to get you back for that old hag comment," she smirked.

"Why you...! How could you do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack you old hag!" he raged. She glared at him and crossed her arms.

"Well anyway, I don't have time to deal with you right now Naruto. Oh, but I should tell you that both your temporary teammates made chuunin as well, but none of the other Konoha genin did." She sighed. "Well that's all. Come on Shizune. And Gaara-san," she said, nodding to the boy, "thank you for being here. I hope you have a safe journey home." He gave a slight bow and a nod of the head and she turned and walked away briskly.

"Ah. We're all chuunin now, Naruto!" Sakura cheered. "We should celebrate!" Naruto's scowl immediately disappeared and the grin was back full force.

"Yeah! We should go to Ichiraku!" he shouted gleefully. She sighed and smiled.

"All right. We'll get ramen since I guess you're the man of the hour."

"Yes! Come on guys. Let's go! Oh, wait," he said, turning around again with a big smile. "Hey Gaara, Temari, you guys wanna come too?" Naruto looked at them hopefully. Gaara blinked in slight surprise. He inwardly hesitated. Training with Naruto and Sakura was one thing, but he barely knew any of the other people besides Lee.

"I have to go speak with Aramaki about the new chuunin and..."

Oh no you don't, Temari thought. You're going to be social if it kills you.

"We'd love to!" she interjected. "I think I know where Ichiraku Ramen is, so once we're finished talking to the others, we'll come join you," she said smiling. Gaara glared at her but she just swung her arm over his shoulders congenially. He was as tall as she was now.

"All right! See you two later then! Come on guys..." Naruto said. He, Sakura, Gai's team, and Team Eight made their way out of the hospital in the direction of Naruto's favorite ramen stand, leaving only Temari and Gaara in the hallway.

"Temari. Why did you do that?" he asked dangerously. He was not pleased.

"Aw come on. It'll be fun. Naruto's so happy to be a chuunin."

More glaring.

"Sakura will be there to," she said slyly.

"So?"

"Don't you want to see her too?"

"I just did. She was standing right here." Temari couldn't tell from her brother's blank, but stern face if he was honestly confused, or if he was being defensive. Either way, she just smiled devilishly and walked away. Gaara frowned at her back and followed.

--

"Hey old man!"

"Ah, Naruto! If it isn't my best customer! What'll you have today?" The old man who had run Ichiraku Ramen for as long as Naruto could remember came walking out from the back of the stand wearing an apron and wiping a bowl with a towel.

"It's a party! I'm a chuunin now so we're celebratin'!" The old man smiled broadly and congratulated him. As a treat, he gave a slight discount since Naruto had brought so many people with him and ordered some dango from a nearby restaurant for the teenagers. The dango wouldn't be free of course. They would have to pay for it, but still, the old man couldn't help but be generous. Naruto was his favorite customer after all.

About ten minutes later, Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji joined them as well and the old man brought out a few folding tables for the extra people. About five minutes after that, Temari and Gaara appeared.

Gaara spent nearly the whole evening talking to either Naruto or Sakura, and occasionally Lee. Naruto kept trying to get him to talk to all the others but it was all a social overload for him. Eventually Naruto gave up and left Gaara to his own devices while he tried to talk to Hinata instead, who was blushing profusely at all the attention the blonde boy was giving her. Temari enjoyed talking to all the girls and generally pestered Shikamaru. She seemed to like pestering him for some reason that the lazy genius didn't even want to attempt to fathom. However, Temari never failed to notice the way her brother practically stuck to Naruto and Sakura like glue and she smiled to herself.

When everyone started to drift off in the directions of their respective homes, Temari and Gaara bid their friends good bye and said they would be traveling back to Suna early the next morning. As they away from the others, Temari already had devious plans running through her brain.

--

One week after the conclusion of the Chuunin Exams, Sakura found herself running through the streets of Konoha, red in the face and looking anxiously through the crowds. The early January wind nipped at her face and chilled her fingers and toes despite the bright sunny weather. In her hand she clutched a slightly dirty envelope, tattered at the edges from being read repeatedly after Tsunade had handed it to her that morning.

Dammit, where is he!? She screamed in her head. She had been looking for Naruto all morning and afternoon, even going to his apartment, but it had been empty. She had been startled by just how small it was, having never actually seen it before.

Darting down a side street, she finally spotted the tell-tail head of golden blonde hair next to... She did a double-take.

Is that... Hinata? And indeed it was. Naruto and Hinata were walking side by side holding ice-cream cones, the former sporting a huge smile and the latter blushing like crazy. Are they... on a date?

Inner Sakura started shouting triumphantly. Yes!! My plan worked even better than I thought! All I had to do was plant the idea in his head and he went and asked her out! Buahahaha! Dance my puppets! Dance! Sakura shook her head to clear her inner persona's crazy thoughts and sprinted up to the pair of chuunin.

"Hey Naruto!"

"Hey Sakura-chan," he smiled, turning to see who had addressed him.

"Hello, Sakura-chan," Hinata said quietly.

"Eh Naruto, are you two on a date?" she asked slyly.

"Yup," he grinned. "We got ramen and ice-cream." Hinata's blush renewed itself and she stared at her nearly finished ice-cream cone. She could never have said no to Naruto's ice-cream idea even if it was January. Sakura discreetly winked at Hinata and the girl blushed even more.

"Well, I'm sorry I interrupted you two, but this is sorta important. But... I guess it can wait if you two want to finish your date."

"Actually I was just walking Hinata-chan home."

"N-Naruto-kun, it's all right. If it's important then you should go. My home is very close anyway," she said shyly.

"Eh? You sure Hinata-chan? I can walk you the rest of the way," he said, scratching the back of his head embarrassedly, a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks. She only shook her head and smiled. Naruto knew she always liked to put others before herself.

"Well ok. I'll see you later then, Hinata-chan."

"Good bye," she said, smiling, and walked off in the direction of the Hyuuga compound.

"You see? I told you she was sweet."

"Yeah, you were right. And she doesn't hit me either, like you do." Sakura scowled at him. "Well you do! Anyway, what was it that you needed to talk to me about Sakura-chan?"

"Oh. I got this letter from Temari-san this morning."

"What is it about? Is something wrong in Suna?" he asked.

"No no. Nothing bad has happened but... Just read it and you'll see."

Sakura handed him the envelope and he carefully unfolded the letter.


Dear Sakura-chan,

This letter is for Naruto-kun too so please make sure he reads it. I had to send this as soon as possible to make sure you got it before you had a mission or something. I know you guys must have a lot of stuff to do but I have an important request to ask of the two of you. You guys wouldn't know this, but Gaara's birthday is the nineteenth of this month. You know that stupid cliché "Sweet Sixteen"? Well every year up till now the nineteenth has been like a black hole on the calendar. Our mother died giving birth to Gaara so his birthday is also the anniversary of her death. He actually visited her grave last year for the first time. Anyway, my point is that Gaara's birthdays pretty much suck and his "Sweet Sixteen" is gonna be about as sweet as a dead dog if I don't do something. This is where you guys come in. I want you two to come to Suna as a surprise for him. I know it's kind of a lot to ask but you two are practically his best friends besides me and Kankuro. You don't even have to bring presents or anything, just be there. It would mean a lot to me.

Sincerely,

Temari


"Well," said Sakura, "what do you think?" Naruto stared hard at the letter for a few moments before answering.

"We're gonna go of course."

"You think Tsunade-sama will let us?"
"She better!!" he shouted. "'Cause I'll be damned if I let Gaara spend his birthday visiting a grave!"

"Well then, we better go talk to her."

And so five minutes later, Naruto and Sakura found themselves winding their way through the streets of Konoha to the Hokage's tower to ask for passes to Suna. Naruto practically threw open the door of her office before stomping inside.

"Granny Tsunade!"

"Naruto..." she growled, looking up from several mission reports. "You shouldn't just barge in here. What do you want?"

He slammed his palms down of the wood of her desk and shouted, "We want passes to Sunagakure for a few days."

"What for?" she demanded, cocking an eyebrow. Sakura walked up to stand next to Naruto.

"Please Tsunade-sensei. Temari-san sent a letter asking us to come. It's... sort of a personal request." Tsunade looked at her curiously, leaning back in her chair with her fingers laced.

"What about your mission to find Uchiha Sasuke?" she asked carefully. Naruto's brow furrowed and he glared at the paper strewn desk.

"We will find him. But... this is important too."

"I see... Well, it's not like you can do anything about that right now anyway. We've got no leads or information yet..."

"Wasn't Ero-sennin supposed to be looking for leads?"

"Yes. But Jiraiya hasn't sent me any word for a while now. But even so, you will still be on duty if you go to Suna. It wont be a vacation, just temporary leave. If I have to call you back for some reason you will be required to return immediately."

"We understand Tsunade-sama," Sakura said. Tsunade scratched her chin while thinking.

"Naruto, get your hands off my desk already," she snapped. He jumped and retracted his hands, waiting for her verdict.

"All right. I'll write up the papers for you. When is this anyway?"

"We need to be there by the nineteenth." Sakura said, relieved. Tsunade pulled two forms from one of her desk drawers and began scribbling on them.

"Here," she said, handing them the forms. "These say you are given permission by the Hokage to be in Suna for the time and date you said, and I gave you a few extra days after that. Put them with your travel papers and make sure to pass through one of the check points in Suna and have them stamped. You know the procedure Sakura."

"Right," she said, nodding to her teacher.

"Good. Now get out of my office," Tsunade grumped. They nodded and left hastily, heading out of the building. They never saw Tsunade's slight smile after they closed the door.

Sakura look at the sky as she and Naruto parted ways on the street, thinking about their impending trip. Temari would be so pleased.

They were going to Suna.

--------

And there you have it. Chapter Six. Sorry if the birthday idea seems a little silly but it's important setup for some stuff. But the next chapter WILL have a lot more humor in it, and also more Gaara/Sakura interaction. God the next chapter was fun to write.

Next time: Chapter Seven! Be afraid. Be very afraid!