"Here I am, once again. I'm torn into pieces."
Kakashi's POV
"OH MY GOSH!" Someone screamed suddenly, and I bolted up from my position on the floor. I ran over to Sakura, who was the one who had yelled. She had a hand covering her mouth, and her green eyes were wide.
"What happened!?" I asked frantically, my one visible eye widening as Granny Chiyo came into view.
"I just saw the cutest thing ever!" Sakura trilled happily, and I resisted the urge to anime fall.
"You screamed because of that?" I asked flatly, and she nodded, a grin on her face.
"I just couldn't help it!" She exclaimed. "I mean, it's too cute! Look!" She pointed behind the now dosed-out fire, and I tilted my head when I saw what she was grinning at.
Naruto and Minxie were still asleep, but instead of being a few feet away from each other as they had been when we'd fallen asleep, they were cuddled together. He had an arm draped around her, and she was snuggled into his chest.
"I suspected there was something going on between them," Granny Chiyo said suddenly.
"There isn't," Sakura said, sighing sadly, "They're just best friends. At least... That's what they tell everyone. Liars! But it's so cute!"
"No matter how cute it is," I said, "They need to get up. We've got a lot of ground to cover and little time to do so."
Still, I couldn't help but smile at my two sleeping students. I'd always known that they'd harbored some sort of feelings for each other; they were just too stubborn to admit it. Naruto was good for Minxie. He cared about her more than anyone, and he'd never let anything happen to her. They understood each other instantly, having the most amazing connection I'd ever seen in a pair of friends.
"All right, all right," Sakura muttered, sighing. She walked over to them, kneeling next to their sleeping forms. "Naruto! Minxie! Get up!"
"Shh..." Minxie muttered, her hand searching for Sakura's face. She finally found it and covered the pinkette's mouth. "Five more minutes..."
Sakura's eye twitched, and she smacked Minxie's hand away. "We're on a mission! There's no time for that!"
Minxie groaned, squeezing her eyes shut tighter. Her hand moved along Naruto's chest, and she froze. Slowly, she opened her eyes and, realizing that she had been snuggling with Naruto, flew backwards.
"Oh my fudge!" the brunette exclaimed. "When... How did that even happen!?"
Sakura opened her mouth to answer, but the brunette was already answering herself. "Naruto! Get your ramen-loving butt up! I'm going to kick you!" Minxie barked, poking Naruto awake.
"What!?" the blonde shouted, bolting up from his position. Sakura fell backward, startled by his sudden movement.
"Don't do that!" the pinkette barked, bopping him on the head.
"And don't get all cuddly with me unless you have my permission!" Minxie added, flicking his ear.
"It's too early for me to get beat up! Believe it!" Naruto shouted, and the three began arguing with each other.
"These three... Are they always like this...?" Granny Chiyo inquired from next to me.
I scratched the back of my head nervously. "Sadly, they are. They're a bit dysfunctional... But they are a great team," I said, and she nodded. "Now... Excuse me." I smiled at her and then sighed, hating my life, as I walked over to the three bickering teens.
Seriously... They don't pay me enough for this job.
Minxie's POV
Kakashi-sensei finally broke up our whole argument, and my team once again began our mission. We were running through the forest, and I began to wonder how Kylie was doing. We had left her in the Sand Village to monitor Kankuro's healing process and to provide whatever assistance the Sand needed.
Thinking of Kankuro, I began thinking about Gaara, too, which was expected. I really hoped he was okay. He didn't deserve any of this. Why did it always have to be him? Why couldn't someone else bear the misery he was shouldering? He'd suffered enough for a lifetime.
I looked at Naruto, and my eyes widened at the sight. He had a very concentrated expression, and the fox-like markings on his face had deepened. His normally cerulean blue eyes had darkened, turning red.
He hopped over branches, bounced off trees, and bounded forward, leaving the rest of us behind.
"Naruto! Wait a second!" Sakura called, quickening her pace to catch up with him. But I knew she couldn't. She didn't understand why he was going so fast, why this meant so much to him. She didn't realize how close he was to Gaara.
And she didn't realize how far he'd go to keep a promise. Not even I did.
I sighed, closing my eyes. I now realized how close I was to the inevitable. To my team finding out about where I had spent the past two and a half years. To reuniting with the Akatsuki. And, most importantly...
To finding Gaara.
~*~
Moments later, we finally reached the Akatsuki base. I recognized the huge rock formation, but the tag placed on it was new to me. It was most likely a defense against intruders, which is just what my team and I were going to become.
My eyes widened when I saw four familiar figures standing around the rock, most likely trying to figure out how to get past it. It took all the composure I had not to run and attack them all with hugs.
"It's a five seal barrier," Kakashi-sensei stated, hopping onto the water and standing up on it, using his chakra to keep him balanced. My team and I followed, and a familiar boy with dark hair and huge eyebrows turned to us.
"Naruto! Sakura!" Lee said. Then, he noticed me and got hearts in his eyes and a smile almost as big as his eyebrows on.
"MINXIE! MY YOUTHFUL FLOWER!" He shouted.
"LEE! MY YOUTHFUL... I DON'T KNOW!" I exclaimed, and we both ran over to each other in a whole epic-hug scene, similar to the one I had with Kylie.
"Okay, Lee, I think you can let her go now. She's turning blue," a familiar calm voice said, and Lee set me down. I took a greedy gulp of oxygen, and he smiled apologetically. I nodded, flashing him a smile and a thumbs up.
I turned to the person who had spoken, a grin on my face. "NEJI!" I shouted, running over to him and jumping on him. My arms were wrapped around his shoulders and my legs around his waist. "I'VE MISSED YOU SOOO MUCH!"
Neji sighed, shaking his head at my loudness. "She hasn't changed much, has she?"
Sakura shook her head. "Not at all," She agreed.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" I asked in an offended tone.
"That you should shut up more often," Neji answered easily. "But I missed you, too." He wrapped an arm around my back, returning the hug.
"Yay!" I cheered, letting go of him and landing safely on the water. I spotted a familiar brunette and my former sensei, and I ran over to them and hugged them both tightly.
"TENTEN! GUY-SENSEI!" I exclaimed, hugging them both tightly.
"Hey, Minxie!" Tenten said brightly, returning the hug.
"Ah, my pupil! You've grown so much, Minxie!" Guy-sensei said in his booming voice, hugging me back.
"Minxie?" another voice said, and I looked down after releasing Tenten and Guy-sensei to see Pakkun. "You grew so much!"
"Hey, Pakkun!" I said brightly, patting his head. "I missed you all so much! I can't believe we're finally seeing each other again!"
"Such a shame it has to be on a dangerous mission," Neji deadpanned, and I anime fell.
"Think happy thoughts, Neji!" I ordered, flicking his ear. "Anyway... Epic reunion's over. We'd better get started."
"Good idea," Guy-sensei agreed.
"I'd better get going," Pakkun spoke up. "I'll just get in the way."
"Thanks," Kakashi-sensei said, and after nodding, the dog disappeared into a puff of smoke. "Now, for the barrier."
"Right," Guy-sensei agreed. "How do we get past it?"
"A five seal barrier consists of five tags," I explained, "Each of them has the character 'forbidden' written on it. There's a tag placed in spots all around the area. They're well hidden, most likely. We've got to find them and pull them off at the same time if we want to get past the barrier."
"Know it all," Naruto mocked, and I stuck my tongue out at him and flicked his ear.
"She's right," Kakashi-sensei said. "One of the tags is right in front of us. We need to find the other four."
"How do we find the tags?" Sakura inquired.
"Neji?" My sensei called.
"Got it," Neji answered, activating his Byakugan. "The first is on a rock 500 meters northeast. The next is on a tree by a river about 350 meters south-southeast... Another, on a cliff wall about 650 meters northwest. The last is in the woods, 800 meters Southeast from here." I give him props for that. Neji was like an all-seeing ruler.
"Perfect! They're in wireless range," Guy-sensei said. He brought out three wireless communicators and handed one to each member of his team. "Neji will be our guide. The frequency's 174. My team's faster; we'll handle it."
He gave Kakashi-sensei one, and after fastening them on, we were all ready.
"Testing!" Lee screeched into his communicator.
Neji, Tenten, Guy, and Kakashi all flew back, Lee's voice deafening. I touched my own ear, my eye twitching.
"I don't even have one of those... And I felt hurt," I muttered, rubbing my ear.
"Not that close, you idiot!" Tenten barked, hitting him on the head.
"Eh... Lee... I think you've got it on the wrong frequency..." Guy-sensei murmured, sweatdropping as he stood up slowly.
"Ooh... Whoops!" Lee said sheepishly, smiling. He fixed his communicator and flashed a thumbs up. "Ready to go!"
Kakashi-sensei sweatdropped. "Right... We're counting on you."
"All right! Team Guy, on with the power of... YOUTH!" Guy-sensei ordered, and his team dispursed quickly to find the tags.
"We'll use a switch hook entry," Kakashi-sensei explained, and my team nodded. "Minxie, you're with Naruto and I, got it?"
I nodded, taking my place on the right with Naruto. Sakura was a few feet away from the huge rock, putting on her gloves. Granny Chiyo stood on the left, preparing to be Sakura's partner. Kakashi-sensei jumped on top of the rock formation, kneeling parallel to gravity as he prepared to peel the tag.
And, finally... The mission commenced.
Kylie's POV
"Here you are," I sang happily, bringing in Kankuro's lunch. He sat up at the sound of my voice, and I placed the tray on the table next to his bed. "How're you feeling?"
"Good," he answered. "A lot better, now that you're here," He added flirtaciously.
"I know, I know. I am an awesome person," I joked, batting my lashes, and he smirked. I smiled back and bent down, picking up the clipboard with his information written on it.
"According to this, you should be out of here by tonight," I announced happily, smiling at him. He nodded, but there was something in his expression that seemed uneasy. My smile faded slowly, and I placed the clipboard down.
"Kankuro... Is there something wrong?" I inquired, putting a hand on his bare shoulder. His chest was bare except for the bandages. And, yes, I'll admit it. It was a tad distracting.
... Okay. So it was very distracting. But I was a professional, and I should act like it, even though my inner girly side was screaming her head off.
Kankuro and I had grown very close over the last few days. I, serving as his personal doctor, was with him every single day, and he had opened up to me, just like I had opened up to him. And, although I wouldn't admit it, I had developed a small crush on him.
There was a part of me that reminded me of how wrong that was. He was my complete opposite: cocky, blunt, teasing. And I liked that. But I knew I couldn't just forget about Josh. There was a part of me that was still very much in love with him. But there was a part of me that couldn't get enough of Kankuro, either.
I was falling for an anime character that was real, and sadly, I had no problems with it.
Kankuro looked down, his eyes narrowing as he stared at his dark pants.
"Did something happen at the meeting?" I asked, tilting my head at him. He, being the previous Kazekage's son and brother to the new Kazekage, had a direct seat at the meetings with Suna's elders.
"Promise you won't freak out?" He inquired, and I nodded.
"I won't," I promised.
"... They want to stop the search for Gaara," He said quietly.
My eyes widened, and I, as expected, flipped out. "What!? That's insane!" I shouted, and he gave me a flat look. I bit my lip and calmed myself down, sighing. "Sorry. That was just really surprising."
"It really isn't," He said. "I'd always known the elders weren't happy with Gaara as Kazekage. They still think he's some unstable monster, and they don't want him back. They think he'd harm the villagers. They still see him as a weapon."
"But that's not true," I objected. "Gaara has changed. He's a great Kazekage."
"Yeah, well, try telling the elders that," He said flatly. "But I'm not giving up. As soon as this medicine wears off, I'm heading out to get my little brother back."
"And you won't be alone," I assured, smiling at him. "I'll be going along, too. And maybe, when we get back, we can put egg bombs in the elders' homes."
That got a smirk out of him. "Cute and evil. I like it," He said, smirking at me.
"The cutest things are the most troublesome," I agreed, smiling at him. "Now, we can't save Gaara and prank the elders on empty stomachs! It's time for food!"
And with that, we began eating the pasta I had had prepared for us, talking and laughing and flirting with each other the whole time.
Minxie's POV
"They've found the tags," Kakashi-sensei said from atop his perch on the rock. "Remember your placement."
"One... Two... Three!" He counted, and he peeled off the tag easily. It rippled into the wind as he flipped over the rock the second Sakura's fist touched it.
The rock crumbled with a serious of crashes and rumbles, all because of Sakura's immense physical strength. A pummel from her fist could kill you, thanks to Lady Tsunade's training.
A few moments after the rock finished breaking down, Kakashi-sensei gave us the signal, and we sprang into action, jumping into the hideout with ease. I was directly in the middle of our formation, Naruto on my left, Kakashi-sensei on my far left, Sakura on my right, and Granny Chiyo on my far right.
My eyes widened, and I saw Deidara and Sasori seated on something, as if they had been waiting for our arrival. Next to Deidara was one of his huge clay birds, and Sasori was safe from inside of his human puppet, Hiruko.
Deidara's purple-colored eyes landed on me, and he smirked. "Well, well... What have we here, hmm?"
But he didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Me being in front of Sasori and Deidara and in formation with my team at the same time didn't matter. The fact that my cover was only seconds away from being blown didn't matter. Nothing at all mattered.
And why did nothing matter, you ask?
Because, right under Deidara and Sasori's seated forms, was Gaara's lifeless body.