Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Colourless Vanity	By : Cepheus Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1743 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Approach
- 2-Offer
- 3-Understand
- 4-Departure
- 5-Meeting
- 6-Truth
- 7-Control
- 8-Burning
- 9-Observing
- 10-Forming
- 11-Forcing
- 12-Portraying
- 13-Organizing
- 14-Honing
- 15-Entering
- 16-Bruising
- 17-Admitting
- 15
- 16
- 17
Cepheus: it has been a while, but there it is –a new chapter. Thank you for your kind reviews until now, and thank you for not giving up on this fic.
Once again, thank you. And this chapter is dedicated to my dear friend Imperial Mint. :)
…–…–…–…–…–…–…
Rating: M
Summary: (ItaNaru, GenmaRaidou, IruKakaIru) Naruto is tired of his life. But he would never run. He’s given an option instead, and decides to take it, becoming a member of the newest ANBU team…
Warnings: yaoi, boy x boy relationship, angst, torture, and such. Mental as well. Flames will be used to warm up food.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto. If I did, it would be yaoi, and thus, would not have so many fans. Nor fanfiction. So, are you glad I don’t own it?
“Talking”
‘Thinking’
–Flashbacks, memories, dreams–
…–…–…–…–…–…–…
Colourless Vanity
Chapter 16: Bruising

“All this paperwork will make me grow old before time”.
Tsunade hissed in displeasure as she stamped down on the first of a long list of many (far too many) important documents that covered every inch of her desk, groaning when she realised that maybe spending the night drinking sake then sleeping her morning away didn’t really make her work disappear as if by magic.
“Baa–chan, you always say that but you do know you’re already old, right?”
Without looking up, Tsunade grabbed a stapler from the depths of her desk and threw it at Naruto’s head; much to her surprise, looking up she saw him evade the incoming object easily as it sailed and collided with the wall.
It might be just a small thing, but it made her smile anyway, as her projectiles had always hit him whenever he made a scathing comment at her.
“Not bad, gaki,” she admitted, pleased that his reactions were getting quicker. “It took you a while to come back to report to me about your training, huh?”
Under his still white mask, Naruto smiled brightly without taking it off; Hyoo had been strict on the matter –he wasn’t supposed to take away his mask outside the ANBU headquarters unless requested by either the Hokage, Hyoo himself or Naruto’s captain Itachi.
Since Tsunade didn’t say anything in that regard, he deemed it safer not to take it off.
“Hyoo told me you passed their test,” the blond Hokage straightened up, considering Naruto’s presence as a good way to rest from the paperwork, and motioned for him to get closer. “I am not allowed to know what the test was about, though,” she added, noticing the way the teen had stiffened instantly. “But I want you to know, gaki… Naruto, I am proud of you”.
Naruto flushed considerably, thankful that the woman could not see. He felt warm inside, her praise making him happy, and his right hand moved up where the necklace Tsunade had given him should have been (though he had left it in his room, knowing he wouldn’t wear it again until he officially ‘returned to Konoha’).
He hoped he’d be able to make her even more proud in the future.
“Hyoo offered your team as escort for my trip to Suna,” Tsunade continued, intertwining her fingers under her chin. “Since so many shinobi will be around during the Chuunin exams, I trust you are well on your way to effectively masking your chakra, right?”
Embarrassedly scratching the back of his head, Naruto looked to the side. “Hyoo nii–san said he will put a chakra–concealing seal on me before we leave. I am still learning, and he prefers not to leave anything to luck”.
Truth to be told, Hyoo had stated that it would take a lot more training for Naruto to be able to effectively mask his chakra in a way that would not cause ninja in a one–mile radius to feel his presence every time he used it, but at the same time, he had praised him by saying that back when he had been the trainee, his own commander had been less than pleased of his own slow progresses.

Tsunade hummed in reply, pleased to see that Naruto hadn’t seemed offended by Hyoo’s words.
He was indeed growing up, she thought fondly.
“Baa–chan…” Naruto took that moment to step closer to her desk, and even without being able to see his face, Tsunade could hear the pleading underlines of his tone. “I’m actually here for a favour…”
Frowning, the Hokage leaned forwards. Was there something going on? Was he in trouble? “What?”
“Buy me ramen~” he whined, clutching the side of the desk and moving even closer, standing right in front of her widened eyes, “please, baa–chan! It’s been over a month since I’ve last tasted some! They won’t let me eat it! Not even a cup! Please! I’ll do anything you want! I’ll… I’ll even slip in sake for you!”
Mildly amused and equally annoyed by his words (his depressed, panicky tone had almost fooled her into thinking he was somehow in danger), Tsunade raised one eyebrow, staring at the white mask. “And where would you get sake, pray tell? Not that I would ever seal such a deal with you,” she added as an afterthought.
Naruto’s face turned into a mischievous one, though it was lost on the woman once again due to the mask.
“Well, I happen to know where Jiji’s secret stash of sake is,” he hummed, rapping his fingers on the table and looking to the side. “No one knows where it is, and he used to have a cup of it every night after work”.
Tsunade’s eyes widened against her will.
A secret sake stash?
Knowing Sandaime, it was surely the most delicious brand available, the expensive kind that Shizune never allowed her to buy… just thinking about it made Tsunade unconsciously drool.
“I know that Shizune keeps stealing away the one you hide,” Naruto continued, moving away from her and shifting through the office, poking at the furniture.
“Tch –you are bluffing,” she accused, knowing she had inspected the whole room carefully the first time she had stepped into it. “You wouldn’t know where I hide my sake, let alone where Sarutobi hid his own”.
“Well, I happen to know that Shizune is perfectly aware of this,” he pointed at Yondaime’s frame on the wall, behind which there was a hole just big enough to hide a bottle in it, “and of course, almost everybody working in the Tower knows of this one,” he poked at the carpet with a foot, on the spot where a small trapdoor was.
Much to Tsunade’s chagrin, she had to admit that the gaki knew a bit too much about these things –always popping around to visit Sarutobi had apparently resulted in unexpected results…
“And you say… there is one nobody knows about?” she asked, suspicious.
“Of course, would I ever lie to you?” Naruto turned around, and Tsunade had the distinct impression that he was smiling at her, foxy grin in place. “I want one bowl of ramen every week from now on. If you agree, I will tell you where his secret stash is”.
She didn’t even have to think twice about it –if Hyoo and Itachi had deemed he couldn’t eat ramen, who was she to give it to him? She couldn’t…
Her hand extended towards Naruto as she nodded, muttering under her breath.
Naruto’s smile increased tenfold.
…–…–…–…
Holding out a stack of papers, Itachi regarded his team with an unreadable expression; Raidou and Iruka were relaxed but attentive, whilst Naruto looked relatively smug for reasons Itachi really didn’t want to know.
“This is the information regarding the place selected for the Chuunin exams,” he explained, offering one folder to each of the other three shinobi. “As guests, we won’t be allowed to interfere with the exams, but we will join the Sunagakure’s ANBU division and we will patrol with them”.
Naruto checked the files with curiosity; there was a long, boring description of the landscape of Sunagakure and its surroundings, detailing what they were expected to see and what could be the easiest way for enemies to approach. It seemed that the landscape wasn’t just composed by desert, stone and sand, but there were quite a few desert plants and animals and insects that lived without needing grass or water streams to survive.
On the second part of the report there was a list of all participating Villages, together with the number of ninja that would take part into the exams and their names; as expected, Konoha had the highest number of shinobi, followed by Iwagakure and Kusagakure.
Sunagakure and Kirigakure were next, and much to Naruto’s relief, Otogakure was not listed amongst the participating villages.
That didn’t mean Orochimaru wouldn’t be present, of course, but at the same time it was still good to see the place wasn’t listed in together with the others.
“As the exams will start in less than two weeks,” Itachi continued after a short pause, “we will leave Konoha this afternoon as part of the Hokage’s personal escort. The participants will follow in three days, due to the amount of people involved and the treaties going on between the villages. It would be easier to attack us while we are moving, and we need to protect the Hokage first”.
Raidou nodded without speaking, already flickering through the folder, and Iruka turned towards Naruto.
“Sunagakure is quite different from here. As you have never left Konoha before apart for your trip to Nami, you should be sure to memorize all the information to avoid being caught off guard”.
With a resigned nod, Naruto returned his attention to Itachi.
“You won’t be allowed to bring your Kusarigama with you,” with a slight movement of his wrist, Itachi motioned for the younger teen to get closer. “Your training with them has yet to reach a satisfactory level of usefulness, so you will only be allowed to bring kunai and shuriken, and during our stay, Tomoyo–san will instruct you on the way of the sword”.
Suddenly reminded of the Hyuuga woman and the two swords draped on her back, Naruto nodded, feeling excited at the prospect of meeting with her again; he definitely needed to ask her about Neji, after all. Besides, Gai had surely nominated his team for the upcoming exams… right?
Flickering through the folder to check on the list of participating shinobi, Naruto remembered something else and stopped.
“Wait, wasn’t Tomoyo–san supposed to be guarding Sasuke?”
“Her mission will end in a week, and then her team will switch with another one for the duration of the next month,” Itachi answered, eyes glancing at the folder and not giving an apparent reaction to Sasuke’s name.
Naruto nodded, trying not to think about Sasuke, who had to remain in Konoha, unable to compete into the Chuunin exams.
‘I’ll have to train harder, so he won’t be disappointed when we face each other again!’
“Raidou~!”
The group turned around, feeling a familiar chakra flare up. Seconds later, Genma slammed the door open, mask hanging from his neck and staring at Raidou with a clearly disgruntled expression. He was munching on his senbon as if his life depended on it, teeth clamped tightly shut.
Naruto snickered, as he’d grown used to Genma popping around to harass his friend, and it always proved to be entertaining (not to mention Raidou didn’t have any qualm into offering Naruto every kind of proper blackmailing material about their childhood days).
“Genma…” Raidou groaned, turning around. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have something… anything to do? Missions, training…?”
Genma tackled him; Naruto watched as Raidou quickly succumbed under the weight of his taller friend, and wondered how it always ended like that when he knew Raidou enough to know he never allowed himself to be caught by surprise.
It was clear Genma was different.
“We are the second te~am! Raidou~!” Genma was actually whining, and Naruto’s lips twitched again. “Anko just told me! Isn’t it horrible?!”
Itachi let out a soft hum and lost all interest in the situation, realising what it was all about. Both Iruka and Naruto, though, turned to look at the whining Jounin in interest.
“Anko’s team will be the one in charge of Sasuke for the next month,” Itachi explained them.
The small trace of a smirk present on his lips went almost unnoticed when Genma’s wailing turned louder at his words.
“That means I’m stuck here! With Anko going wild because she will be unable to terrorise the aspiring Chuunin!” Genma clutched at Raidou’s shirt, eyes wide in shock. “How am I going to survive?! Raidou! Save me!”
Iruka poked Naruto’s shoulder, making him look away from the drama unfolding in front of them. “You’d better prepare your things, we’re leaving in two hours,” he told the teen.
Naruto saluted with a smirk, and after a last glance at a wailing Genma, he left the room.
He was going to follow the Chuunin exams as an observer, and it would be surely entertaining, not to mention he could be better prepared for the time he could join in as a participant… it was an exciting prospect, and he’d make sure to have fun.
Besides, he was going to meet with Gaara, one way or the other, and he couldn’t wait…
After all, he’d yet to see Gaara ever since the previous faulty Chuunin exams, and he wondered if the other teen would be glad to see him again or not. Naruto was sure they could become good friends if Gaara also wanted it.
He didn’t have much to prepare in his room, but when he got back to the entrance of the ANBU headquarters, his team was already waiting for him, together with two others, and Hyoo himself.
“We’re going to meet up with the Hokage at the Tower, and move from there,” Hyoo explained them.
With so many ANBU surrounding him, Naruto was revelling in the fact that he was one of them, and in an attempt to straighten his back so he wouldn’t look as short as he felt amongst them, he didn’t even notice Hyoo approaching him.
“Naruto, please hold out your mask,” he demanded. “I need to place the sealing jutsu on it”.
Removing his white mask, Naruto watched carefully as Hyoo started a quick set of hand-seals, completing it with hebi and pressing his index right between the eye holes.
There was a light ripple all over the mask, much like a wave, and when Naruto touched it again, he could feel it humming under his fingers.
As he put it on, the ripples expanded from his face down to his body. He looked down, but couldn’t see anything different about himself, as he could still feel the flow of his chakra vibrate through him.
“Uh…”
“Don’t forget to cover your hair, Naruto,” Hyoo reminded him, giving him a cloth. “Are we ready to leave?”
The ANBU around Naruto replied with a loud ‘yes’, and Naruto hastily covered his blond hair with the fabric, not wanting to be left behind.
Then, together as one, the squad of ANBU moved.
The team at Naruto’s left darted forwards first, putting some distance between each other and quickly disappearing in the foliage; Hyoo’s team was next, and Itachi quickly signalled his own team to follow.
Naruto jumped on the nearest tree, grabbing the bark with one hand and pushing himself forwards, quickly finding his own pace within the group.
At his side, Iruka made a waving motion with his hand, and Raidou responded with a barely noticeable nod, dropping down from the tree tops and onto the ground; much to Naruto’s shock, he instantly disappeared from sight.
“Naruto, move higher up on the branches now,” Itachi jumped on the branch Naruto was on, breathing his order in a low tone. “Once we’re in the outskirts of Konoha, we will wait at the back nearby the gates while the rest of the squads move to intercept the Hokage”.
With a nod, Naruto flexed his legs and jumped high, fingers curling around a branch and using his speed to bounce even higher, his feet bracing against the impact with the tree before jumping forwards.
The rest of the ANBU around him were moving quickly, smooth and fast, and once again Naruto wished he could master the running system that still eluded him for prolonged periods of time. Maybe he’d have it easier in Suna, where he could practice on sand…
Hyoo and the first group were gone already when Itachi’s team reached the gates; beneath them, the guardians continued their duty, staring into the forest outside with bored eyes. Naruto blinked down at them, and experimentally flared his chakra a bit to see whether they would feel it.
His chakra fizzled on his skin, and Naruto instantly realised what was different; it felt like a thin layer was covering it without hindering it, and he knew that unless he flared more of it, the Chuunin at the gates would not be able to detect it.
With a smile, Naruto calmed his chakra stream again and waited patiently on the branch, flexing his muscles and practicing bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited.
Tsunade and Hyoo appeared moments later, with the Hokage behind the ANBU captain and followed by three more shinobi.
Naruto glanced up, and noticed the other team of ANBU flicker through the leaves.
Looking down again, he was shocked to see a familiar pink head following Tsunade closely. ‘S–Sakura–chan is here?’
Apparently, both Iruka and Itachi had noticed her as well, but didn’t say anything –if Hyoo seemed ok with the presence of the young kunoichi, then they wouldn’t question it.
Fighting against the desire to jump down from his position to go greet his ex–teammate, Naruto watched Itachi closely, and nodded when the Uchiha ninja motioned for him to move; he jumped from the tree and got into position along with the other ANBU, checking every few jumps to see if Sakura had noticed their presence.
Apparently she hadn’t, because she was staring only at Hyoo and Tsunade, turning to look at the two ANBU shinobi at her sides only when they shifted, attracting her attention.
For a moment, Naruto didn’t understand why she looked so antsy –she was surrounded by ANBU shinobi, and Tsunade was not far from her, either– then he finally got it; the ANBU members at her sides were masking their chakra, and Sakura could not feel it.
Naruto had taken for granted that despite the masking, he could still somewhat feel the presence of Itachi, Iruka and Raidou (thanks to the practice he’d done before, and the familiarity of their chakra), and if he really concentrated on the two ANBU at Sakura’s side, he could feel a rumbling sensation coming from them, too… nothing strong or easily noticeable, but even from his position he could feel them because he knew what to search for.
Yet despite her physical closeness to them, Sakura could not sense their chakra at all, and Naruto had to admit he would be equally upset if he had to run side by side with shinobi that did not emanate any chakra signature.
For a moment he felt guilty again –he had been offered a great opportunity, but that meant he’d have to leave his two teammates behind, and the thought stung– but then he shook it off.
Sasuke didn’t need his pity, because he would soar back up after his punishment ended, and as for Sakura…
Tsunade was going to train her. There was no way Sakura would be left behind if the Hokage herself, one of the three Sannin, decided to train her. A person who was looked at with wary eyes even by someone like Orochimaru…
With a satisfied nod, Naruto looked away from Sakura.
They all had a different path to follow, and he had decided to move on his own without looking back; he would follow through with his decisions and come back stronger, for himself and for his village.
Down on the ground, proceeding with a fast pace and trying to force herself not to tense up every time she was reminded of the ANBU’s presence at her sides, Sakura advanced on her own path, not knowing that one of her teammates was closer than she realised.
…–…–…–…
“This is Suna?”
Naruto was, if anything, disappointed.
The land was bare; there were no trees anywhere he could see, and everywhere he looked there was just sand and then even more sand. To differentiate portions of the same territory, a few cactus sprouted out of the boring scenery, and at one point during their march, they had passed next to a tall pile of rocks, but that was it.
The forests of the Fire country had started disappearing the closer they got to the borders between the two nations, and Naruto had been able to sniff the change almost instantly.
The moisture of dew and the scent of the moss on the trees, the consistence of the soil under his feet were left behind, and crunching sand and rocks took their place.
“Learning about your environment is important,” with the Hokage following them at a moderated place, and Sakura with her, Itachi had moved to Naruto’s side and had used that time to give the blond shinobi some pointers. “You will need to make the best use of what is around you… that is why if you don’t have a variety of jutsu to use by yourself, moving in a group is the best option”.
Naruto knew what he meant –Kakashi had once stated that being a team meant they had to learn complementary notions– but he thought that on their own, Iruka, Raidou and Itachi himself were knowledgeable enough not to need him and his lack of skills and practice.
Almost as if catching on his thoughts, Itachi shook his head, inching closer. “There is nothing wrong for a trainee to depend on his teammates until he is able to stand on his own,” he murmured, eyes scanning his surroundings. “Nobody is invincible, after all”.
Not reassured in the least, Naruto looked around again, trying to find something interesting in the empty desert.
“What about… this?” he asked, sceptical. “Gaara is able to use this environment because the demon inside him is the Ichibi, Shukaku… all his attacks are earth–based and he can use the sand at his own will, but someone like me… what could I do?”
“You will soon realise that even a small fistful of sand is useful in battle,” Itachi replied. “It depends on the moment”.
“Are you disappointed by this place, little trainee?” one of the ANBU belonging to the other team, attracted by their conversation, slowed down his pace and lifted one hand as a greeting. “When you’ve lived all your life in the Country of Fire, it is difficult to see the beauty of a place like this.”
Naruto shrugged without replying; he didn’t know what he had been expecting, really –the folder Itachi had given him had been rather fitting with its descriptions of Sunagakure, but…
“Don’t let habits prevent you from seeing the full potential of this place, rookie,” the man continued. “Earth jutsu users come from all over the world to train in this kind of environment, but they are not the only ones taking interest in learning here… water jutsu users train here to heighten their skills and test their limits. You like training, so you might find this change of pace entertaining”.
Naruto shrugged again, not sure what to think.
Itachi smirked under his mask, privately agreeing with the man’s words. Always testing his limits was something he was familiar with, and it would do Naruto good to learn how to deal with different environments.
The unknown ANBU member waved again and slowed down his pace once more, waiting until Hyoo and Tsunade passed at his side and then speaking with them.
Naruto looked forwards again, noticing how now there was something in front of him –a long, tall and unchanging line that looked like a tall wall.
“That’s the wall surrounding the city of Sunagakure,” Itachi explained, also slowing down his pace. “We’ll be arriving shortly, so behave yourself”.
Naruto’s lips twitched into a pout at Itachi’s words, but he nodded without speaking, accepting his captain’s orders.
Much to his amusement, during the whole trip Sakura had never remained silent for long; ignoring the ANBU to the best of her abilities, she had started questioning Tsunade about their surroundings as soon as they started travelling through the Kaze no Kuni.
As Naruto glanced at her, he realised she was about to ask something again.
“Tsunade–shishou, are there plants in this desert that can be used for healing potions?”
Naruto listened with only half an ear as Tsunade started a long, boring speech about plants and their officinal uses, and instead slowly expanded his senses, feeling Itachi’s chakra sparkle at his side.
“How many?” his captain asked him, probably smirking, and Naruto frowned, trying to concentrate.
He could feel at least three ninja standing on top of the enormous wall encompassing Suna, but he was sure there had to be more that he could not sense.
“Uh… three?”
Itachi hummed at him. “There are seven,” he corrected him, and Naruto’s shoulders slumped. “You can feel only three of them because the remaining four are masking their chakra in order to keep hidden”.
Naruto took a deep breath and simply nodded, still unable to feel any of the other four no matter how much he stretched his chakra perception.
“You would have been able to feel only one or two with your skills before,” Itachi continued, his tone almost gentle. “You have been improving greatly, so do not worry –as your skills increase, so will your perception”.
Feeling positively reassured by Itachi’s unexpected compliment, Naruto straightened again and followed the rest of his teammates towards the wall.
As they got closer and closer, Naruto felt a prickle on his skin and extended his chakra again, and this time he was able to feel, barely at the edge of his perception, a fourth almost completely hidden chakra signature.
Feeling inwardly pleased with himself, Naruto checked back to see how Sakura was fairing and then followed Itachi and Iruka above the sand dunes and through the wall.
There were two ninja waiting there, both dressed weirdly –in the typical sand–nin uniform– and Naruto recognised one of them, gasping softly and quickly biting on his lip. Fidgeting, he tried to suppress his chakra even with the seal covering it for him, not wanting to be recognised.
Hyoo landed softly in front of the only female ninja present, nodding down at her and motioning for his squad to land as well; Itachi signalled for his team to follow, and they all lined up behind their commander, who stepped sideways and allowed Tsunade to trounce forwards with Sakura hurrying up behind her.
“Hokage–sama?” the Suna–nin called out.
Tsunade nodded, her lips pressed firmly into a thin line. “And you are…”
“My name is Temari, I was sent here to escort you to the Kazekage residence. As elected representative for this village, I formally welcome you to Suna, Tsunade–sama. I hope that the Chuunin Exams will seal our alliance for good”.
For a brief moment, the two women stood one in front of the other, then Tsunade’s lips twitched upwards in a pleased smile. “Thank you, Temari–san. It is also my wish for our two villages to conclude this alliance successfully”.
Temari shifted a bit to look at Hyoo and the remaining ANBU with a calculating look, then she lifted one arm and did a one–handed sign; three shinobi appeared at her side, dressed in a similar attire to that of Konoha’s ANBU, and one of them stepped towards Hyoo.
Naruto blinked at the different carvings on the masks they were wearing, as they didn’t paint the shape of an animal, but something he could not recognise at all.
He decided he’d ask Itachi or Iruka about that later on.
“The ANBU troops of Sunagakure welcome you,” the man stated in a rough, gruff voice. “Please allow us to lead the way to the Kazekage tower”.
Naruto blinked at the weird tone, wondering why the ANBU of both parties looked so tense and wary of each other, but realised that maybe things were still tense between the villages, and that there was still a long way to go before a real alliance could be built.
Hyoo lifted his hand, signalling his troops to follow, and Iruka moved to Naruto’s side.
“Look,” he murmured in a low tone. “Sunagakure sent five ANBU members to greet us. Had it been any other situation, it would have been disrespectful towards our Hokage, but sending Temari, the daughter of the deceased Kazekage, as the village’s representative is an attempt to show they have nothing to hide, and the small number of ANBU following her mean they do not consider us a threat”.
For a moment, Naruto was thankful he was wearing a mask, because he was aware he had a look of utter confusion on his face as he listened to Iruka explaining the tense situation between the two hidden villages.
He was aware that after Orochimaru’s attack at the previous Chuunin Exams, Konoha and Suna were trying to form another alliance, but he hadn’t been aware of the subtle political moves required to make things work, and in truth, they went all over his head anyway.
He had a long way to go if he wanted to grab that Hokage position, it seemed…
Temari stepped to the side, glancing at Sakura with a glimpse of curiosity on her face. All of Suna’s ANBU scattered around except their leader, who remained at Hyoo’s side to lead the way.
Then, the group started moving again.
…–…–…–…–…–…–…
The meeting with the Elders of Suna was, in Naruto’s opinion, utterly boring.
They were old, like the elders of Konoha, and just like them, they apparently enjoyed talking a bit too much, as they had been going at it for the last hour, and Naruto couldn’t see an end to it anytime soon.
The welcome had been half hearted at the best, even Naruto had noticed it –the shinobi were tense, uncertain, and even though they tried their hardest to relax, it was clear they were having difficulties accepting Konoha’s ninja with open arms.
The grand hall where the meeting was taking place had four statues on both sides, and upon asking Itachi about them, the blond teen had been chastised for his questions and then had been told they were the past four Kazekage of Suna.
Any further questioning had resulted in a flare of Itachi’s chakra, so Naruto had to deal with his boredom and try not to slump against the wall as he waited for the meeting to end.
The only thing that caused Naruto discomfort was the presence of one sand user on the other end of the hall, right behind the seats of the Elders, whose eyes never moved from him.
Gaara had been waiting for the Hokage together with the Suna Elders in front of the huge building of the Kazekage, and had yet to speak ever since then, his presence quiet and at rest, as opposed to the last time Naruto had seen him.
Filled with happiness at the sight of the only other Jinchuuriki he knew of, Naruto had to fight against the sudden desire to run up to him the moment he realised he was there, reminding himself that he was a faceless ANBU and he could not call attention on himself.
Gaara… he had changed, that was obvious –there was something about him that felt different to Naruto, as if something Gaara had been holding for a long time was gone, and he could finally allow himself to rest.
The dark shades under his eyes were still present, but instead of the emotionless, cold mask he had during the previous Chuunin exams, this time his face was relaxed and not as tense.
He still had the enormous gourd on his back, and Naruto could feel more than see the sand shifting inside it, almost wanting to be let out.
Naruto had smiled under his mask, attention completely focused on the sand user, ‘I wish I could talk to him,’ he had thought…
Then, almost as if reading his mind, Gaara’s attention moved all of sudden from Tsunade and his sister to the guest ANBU troops, scanning each one of them, almost as if searching for something, and much to Naruto’s chagrin his green eyes stopped on him and did not move away.
When the Elders greeted Tsunade and lead the group to the hall for the customary speech, Gaara had followed them, but his eyes remained on him even then, and once he positioned himself against the wall, he stopped listening to the men’s speeches and concentrated his full attention on Naruto.
Unable to leave, feeling exposed despite the ANBU attire and mask he wore, the blond Jinchuuriki could only try to distract himself by looking around the room and listening to the elders ranting on and on about unity of the villages and shit like that.
Gaara couldn’t know it was him underneath that white mask now, could he? Naruto’s chakra was well hidden, and he trusted Hyoo about that.
Maybe Gaara was interested by how small the trainee looked compared to the rest of the ANBU? But there again, Naruto didn’t know Gaara enough to try speculating about stuff.
He still hoped he wasn’t going to be busted right then and there.
Itachi gently poked him in the ribs, and Naruto realised with a start that he’d been about to nod off. Cheeks flushed in shame, the teen straightened his back and tried his best to focus on the droll voice of one of the elders.
“Well, as Konoha’s Hokage, I assure you that this truce will greatly benefit both villages,” Tsunade stated, tone plain but confident.
“Yes, of course,” the elders all looked more confident than before, and they were even smiling as one by one they finally stood up. “I am sure you are all tired and in need of refreshments, so you will be escorted to your rooms, where you will be allowed to rest before it is time to dine”.
Naruto hadn’t been able to catch all that was being said and hoped Iruka would tell him later without lecturing him about his short attention span, but he was far too happy that the meeting had ended to care about it.
The same ANBU captain that had greeted them on the outskirts of Suna moved up to Hyoo’s side, and with the same guarded stance motioned for them to follow.
The Hokage’s room was situated on the north wing of the building, while her escort had three rooms surrounding it.
Finally away from Gaara’s piercing gaze, Naruto was able to relax, and once into the room, he gladly flopped down onto one of the beds –noting how weird the texture of the mattress felt compared to the one he had in Konoha– and stared at his roommates as they also relaxed.
“Is Suna anything like what you were expecting it to be, Naruto–kun?” Raidou asked, placing a long, complicated masking jutsu on the only window in the room to prevent any outsider from spying inside.
Naruto dropped his mask on the bed and grunted.
“I have sand everywhere,” he complained, freeing his hair from the cloth and flapping it in the air, watching as the sand that had been caught into it fluttered to the floor. “And… it’s so bare. There’s just sand, and the houses are so weird!”
“Sunagakure was built in a desert, what were you expecting? Lakes and grass?” with a smile, Iruka removed his own mask and shook his head. “That’s more like Kusagakure”.
“I don’t know what I was expecting,” the teen admitted, shrugging. “It’s just… different, I guess”.
“I am sure you will end up liking this place,” Raidou commented, taking out a cloth to polish his sword with. “There are things you can find here that Konoha does not have”.
Naruto wanted to reply something sarcastic, ‘Like what? Sand?’ but in the end decided it wasn’t worth it.
Itachi shifted his gaze to the door and then walked towards Naruto’s bed, glancing down at the sprawled teen with something close to amusement in his eyes.
“You shouldn’t be here”.
At Naruto’s frown, Itachi’s lips twitched upwards. “Your friend is standing outside and is waiting for you to leave this room. It would be rather impolite to stay here while he waits in the corridor…”
Naruto’s eyes widened and he hastily sat up on the bed, knowing exactly who that ‘friend’ was. “I don’t know how he found out! My chakra wasn’t visible, right? It’s not my fault! Did I mess up?!”
Raidou and Iruka chuckled at Naruto’s expense, but Itachi simply shook his head.
“Sabaku no Gaara is a Jinchuuriki,” he replied. “He has heightened senses and he has already fought against you and your demon. He probably recognised you through his sand”.
Deflating slightly, Naruto pouted and looked at the door. “What should I do? I couldn’t tell my friends about my position in the ANBU, and now a ninja from another village found out all on his own…”
“This is a delicate situation, but as Gaara is not a Konoha nin, he is a fellow Jinchuuriki and seems to know your identity already, you are allowed to go talk to him as long as you don’t reveal anything that could endanger Konoha’s standing with Suna”.
Naruto smiled brightly up at his captain, glad that he had received permission to see Gaara, and without wasting any more time, he slipped his mask back on and ran to the door, pushing it wide open.
…–…–…–…
Sakura didn’t even realise she had been tense until she was left alone with Tsunade in the rooms assigned to the Hokage, when she was finally away from the ANBU guards.
It had been weird –the ANBU man who had remained at Tsunade’s side during the whole trip had kept his chakra low, but he hadn’t masked it completely, allowing Sakura to feel it and not panic, while the other guards surrounding her (and the ones that had been in the trees back in Konoha that had then joined the others during the last part of the journey) had masked it so completely Sakura felt like she had been travelling with two dead bodies instead.
It was disconcerting, and it was a wake–up call for her too, as she realised that despite her good control over chakra, there were many things she had to learn.
Tsunade had told her right away that she’d have to work hard, and she hadn’t been lying –the first week or so under the Hokage as master had been almost hellish, and Sakura’s chakra had been exhausted more than once in the course of a single training session.
Still, Sakura had never felt this satisfied ever before –she was finally doing something for her own growth.
Suna was, so far, a very interesting place, and the side of her that liked researching had taken much interest in the information Tsunade had relayed about the local plants and animals. She couldn’t stop herself from asking questions, but it looked like the Hokage hadn’t minded it.
Temari was still in the room as she was going to lead the group back to the dining room in a bit, and Sakura couldn’t help but glance at her and shiver; things were different between the villages, and Gaara’s sister didn’t look as mean and imposing as she had during the previous Chuunin exams, but she still scared Sakura a bit.
Not knowing what to say to the other kunoichi, Sakura sighed and looked down at her hands –maybe she could just start one of the chakra–based exercises Tsunade had asked her to do during their stay in Sunagakure…
Slowly, she cupped her hands together and closed her eyes, concentrating her attention on her chakra reserves, which were, despite her training up to that point, still rather low.
Tsunade’s words echoed in her mind –‘concentrate, focus and visualise a thin layer of chakra between your fingers…’
“Oi”.
Temari’s voice rippled through Sakura’s concentration, breaking it, and the small bubble of chakra she had been trying to create exploded with a soft sound.
Blinking in surprise, the pink haired kunoichi turned around to stare at the sand girl, who had gotten closer and was watching her like a hawk.
“Y–yes?”
Temari looked hesitant for a second, as if she didn’t know how to act around the younger kunoichi, then her expression hardened slightly. “How is your teammate?”
Sakura blinked, unsure as to why Temari would ask about Sasuke, then she inwardly facepalmed –of course she wasn’t referring to the Uchiha boy. She meant Naruto.
“Ah, he’s… he’s fine. He joined Jiraiya in a three–years training trip,” she replied uneasily.
Temari seemed to consider this and looked ready to back off, but something stopped her; she glanced over at Tsunade, who didn’t appear to be listening to their conversation, and tried to relax a bit.
“I never did manage to thank your team… Naruto… for what he did to Gaara,” Temari continued after a long pause. She looked hesitant in speaking her brother’s name, and Sakura knew why.
“Is he…” she didn’t quite know how to ask, and flushed red at her own daring tone. “I–I mean…”
Temari’s lips twitched upwards. “Better,” she admitted. “Things are changing, and now Suna and Konoha are trying to sign a treaty… it’s slowly getting better, and it’s all thanks to Naruto”.
Sakura felt her heart grow warm at the words of the older kunoichi, oddly touched by knowing someone was praising Naruto, and wished he could be there to listen.
Temari was actually smiling and she looked calmer, as opposed to her actions from before, and Sakura slowly relaxed as well, finding herself enjoying the conversation with the Suna kunoichi, explaining her about the training she was going through with Tsunade and having Temari tell her something about Suna in exchange.
Tsunade grinned slightly at the two younger girls from her spot close to the window, allowing her mind some rest as well.
If the negotiations between the two villages continued as they had till that moment, she had one thing less to worry about.
Now she only needed to get some sake in her sleeping quarters and everything would be well.
…–…–…–…–…–…–…
Cepheus: so that's the new chapter. Next one there's Gaara and Naruto's meeting. Please look forwards to it and drop me a review...
Glossary: (have patience if you know most of those, some might still do not)
Sabaku no Gaara – simply means Gaara of the Sand. Similarly, Sunagakure no Sato is The village hiding in the Sand.
Gaki– brat
Hebi - snake. The jutsu ended in snake because I consider it perfect to key a concealing/hiding jutsu.
Baa–chan– grannie. Used with older women, in this case it’s an endearment.
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Colourless Vanity