Naruto POV~

'Welp.' I slung my bag over my shoulder, 'Time to head out.'

"Pay them."

'Of course, of course. What is it with you and money?'

"It's very very important that they get paid."

'...even after all this time, I don't understand you.'

"Good."

Leaving my confusion at that, I strode out the door and made my way to the front counter, paying and taking my leave.

'Okay. Breakfast and then we go.'

"Ramen."

I grinned, 'You know me too well.'

"Hmph."

I made my way to a restaurant (not a ramen stand, I don't want to give anyone a single clue about anything) and ordered myself a steaming bowl of the stuff. My mouth watered as it arrived. I hadn't had much of a chance to eat ramen these past couple years, one of the few things that I missed about Konoha. Ichiraku's was the best, and always would be, no matter what.

Ramen was something I grabbed whenever I could, even keeping instant ramen for myself when I was out in the wilderness, but it was something to be treasured and savored since I couldn't get my hands on much of it nowadays. I made sure to enjoy this bowl of ramen, knowing that I wouldn't get another for at least a few weeks.

Halfway through the bowl, a sudden wave of familiarity hit me. What it was, I didn't know. Kurama was sleeping, but he was awake in seconds.

"Something's up. I sense something."

'Me too. I know we said we shouldn't, but can I use a bit of your chakra, just to see what's happening?'

It was then that I happened to look through the window. I almost dropped my chopsticks.

Looks like I didn't need to use Kurama's chakra. It was a good thing I didn't, too.

"Is that..."

'KAKASHI!?'

A surge of panic crashed through to me, and my heart began to hammer in my chest. 

No fucking way. Is he...? Will they take me back...?

Have I been found?

'Kurama -'

"Yes yes. I'll withdraw my chakra as far as possible. I'll avoid talking to you, too, since that involves us communicating through our chakra."

I nodded slightly, not trusting myself with words. We both knew it would be useless, anyways, if Kakashi decided to look at us with his sharingan.

Speaking of sharingan, a familiar head of spiky black duckbutt hair appeared in my line of sight too, along with a distinguishable pink haired girl.

Sasuke? Sakura too?

And whose the guy in the crop top?

I didn't expect them to trace me this fast. If Sasuke found out I was here...oh god, I didn't even know whether to be scared or relieved that Sasuke was here. I had no doubt that Sasuke would avoid bringing me back, but there was only so much he could do. Besides, if he did find me, then I would probably be too ashamed to worry about that. I take promises very seriously, after all, and he very clearly said that he never wanted to see me again.

If any of them do, I'm fucked.

Time to get the hell out of here.

My guess was that they were going to talk to Gaara. After all, they came here under suspicion that I was here, so of course they would confront the Kazekage about this. 

I had to leave before then. If the people of this village caught wind that Naruto Uzumaki, the missing Jinchuriki of the Nine-tails, was here...

I waited, slurping my ramen while discreetly keeping an eye on the group of Konoha shinobi outside. I watched them walk towards the Kage tower, talking amongst themselves as they scanned the crowd.

The moment they were out of sight, I paid for my ramen, and high-tailed it out of there.

Gaara POV~

"Well, this is a surprise." I raised an eyebrow at the Leaf shinobi in my office.

"I'm sure you have some idea as to why we're here." the white-haired jounin, who I recall as being their team leader Kakashi, said.

I stood, making my way to the front of my desk, "Yes."

He nodded. I wasn't happy with their presence, but at least they were respectful. 

"We think Naruto might be in your village." the girl said. Her name...was it Sakura? I didn't pay much attention to Naruto's teammates back then.

To say this news didn't come as a surprise to me would be a lie, but I had a sneaking suspicion that this was something involving Naruto the moment four Konoha shinobi arrived at my village.  I still disliked them, but I admit, I was curious. 

"Why do you believe so?" I asked. 

Kakashi shot a discreet look towards Sakura before explaining, "We were sent to investigate the chakra flare that appeared near our border, on suspicion that it was Naruto. We followed whatever trails we could find, but we came upon the conclusion that Naruto had gotten tangled up with the Akatsuki and might have come to the Sand village to find out more."

I showed no visible reaction, but my breath caught in my throat at the mention of the Akatsuki.

I leaned back against the desk, folding my arms across my chest, "That is an issue. I do not know whether or not Naruto is here, but I will send some shinobi to comb through the village in case he is."

The Konoha shinobi nodded, and I was again grateful for their respect. I was already quite irritated, and the Leaf village bothering me wasn't going to help.

"You'd better." Sasuke growled before they left, earning himself a sharp look from Kakashi.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I spoke too soon.

"Temari will show you to your rooms." I waved them out. Temari sighed and led them away without a word.

Heading back to my chair, I sat and pondered silently for a minute.

The fact that Naruto might be here was not good. If he was here, then the only reason for that would be to find out more about the Akatsuki. I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

Why would you do that?

The Akatsuki were dangerous. They had quite literally killed me, and I would still be dead if it weren't for Granny Chiyo's sacrifice. They had extracted Shukaku, and if they were collecting the Tailed Beasts, that meant Naruto was a target too.

Why would he willingly put himself in danger like that? I understand, more than most, why Naruto left his village. I was a bit disappointed, frankly, but I could see why he did it. Despite that, I still have a great deal of respect for him, ever since that day at the Chunin exams when he managed to knock some sense into me. 

If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be Kazekage. I would have continued to suffocate on my hatred.

I stared out the window. If Naruto was here, if he was looking for the Akatsuki, what should I do? Should I help him achieve his goal, or should I stop him and protect his life? I knew he wouldn't appreciate the latter, but I couldn't just let him walk to his death either. 

What kind of friend would I be if I did that?

A small smile appeared on my face at that thought.

Friend.

Yes, he was my friend. My first friend.

I turned and called in the jounin of the village.

Yes, I would search for him. No, I wouldn't let him go straight to his own funeral.

But yes. I will support him in any way that I can.

We were all hunting the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki, who were a threat to all the Hidden villages.

The faint smile stayed even after all the shinobi left my office.

If we can't find him, fine. I will support him from a distance. I will defend this village, help protect the other Jinchuriki from the Akatsuki, and I will help my friend.

It was all I could do to repay him, after all.

Naruto POV~

Dammit. Dammit dammit dammit.

"Naruto, you can't just run out of the village. That's sketchy."

'I know, I know! But they're searching for me now, and if I don't leave soon they will most definitely find me.'

Kurama growled. I could sense his agitation. "Move calmly. Think, baka. If you dash out of here just as the Leaf shinobi arrive, you're only going to draw attention to yourself!"

I froze. 'Shit. I'll just have to lay low and avoid any shinobi that I can-'

"Excuse me."

My breath hitched. Kurama was silent, withdrawing all his chakra without a word. 

Fuck.

I turned to face the Sand ninja, as nonchalantly as I could.

"Yes?"

The man didn't look suspicious, but if he was, he did a good job at hiding it. "We are looking for a boy, around 16 years of age by the name of Naruto. He has blond hair, whiskers on his face-"

"Baka!" another voice snarled. I didn't jump at the sound, but my heart did a little leap of its own.

Two of them now...

The other ninja jumped down from a roof and smacked the one talking to me on the head. I watched with bated breath.

"If we're looking for him, he could be wearing a henge for all we know!" he yelled, "Why would he just walk into the village without a disguise? Don't go around asking people stupid questions!"

The ninja who confronted me shrunk away. "Eh-uh, sorry, sir?"

"Let's go!" he barked, then turned to me, "Sorry about him. We apologize for interrupting you. We'll be on our way now."

With that, the two shinobi ran off, not even sparing me another glance. I released the breath I was holding.

Must've been a chunin or lower. That was close...

Kurama hummed from the back of my mind, "Stay out of the open. And stay hidden, goddammit. Mingle with the crowd or something."

I nodded, calming my racing heart. 'I think I'll do that.'

I ordered food (not ramen this time) and slipped into one of the busier restaurants. I made sure to sit close to a group of people, hiding amongst their ranks. I didn't look up very often, but out of the corner of my eye I kept a close watch on the shinobi bustling about outside. There were several times when some of them came in to the restaurant, but none of them paid me any heed.

'So. We have profiles on two Akatsuki members. Where to next?'

"We have to check out the next location they would be."

I thought for a moment, chewing my meat slowly, 'Yeah. I would say for us to go to the Hidden Cloud, since that's where Matatabi was stolen and we might get more info on Akatsuki members, but it would be too risky after this little adventure to the Sand village.'

"Hm. Yes. Their hideout might not be the best idea either, since taking on all of them at once wouldn't be helpful at all."

'True.' I took another bite, my face much more calm than I was feeling, 'It's just the two of us. And they've defeated Jinchuriki before. We can't take on the whole group and make it-'

I froze. Kurama made a quizzical "hm" sound.

'We don't have to take on all of them at once.'

Kurama, noticing what I was going at, barked a laugh, "Exactly. From their attack on the Sand, it seems they travel around in small groups, maybe pairs."

'Not by themselves, unfortunately, but close enough that we stand a chance. From the looks of it, all of them are powerful but the Pain guy we fought was one of the strongest. And he had six of him helping, which is cheating.'

"That's not really-"

'Let me have this one.'

"Pff."

I glanced out the window again. 'Seems the search has calmed down. We should leave now.'

"Yeah. Not gonna say bye to Gaara before you go?"

'Stop fucking around with me. You know I can't do that.'

"Heh."

I paid and left the restaurant, tailing behind a small friend group as they left. Not a single person sensed anything awry. 

I made my way to the front gate without struggle. A couple shinobi looked my way, but their gazes raked straight over me and moved on. Each time made me more and more nervous. Kurama had his chakra withdrawn all the way. I suppressed my own chakra, too, knowing that some perceptive ninjas might be confused at my huge chakra reserves if they bother to look.

I left the village without struggle, waving goodbye to the guards. I mixed in with a group of merchants also leaving. The guards, recognizing me but not the least bit suspicious, just nodded or ignored me.

It was nerve-wracking, walking through the towering gates in fear of being discovered. I hadn't come this close in a long time.

There was a slight moment when I turned to look to the side, when I saw him.

Sasuke stared back at me, sharingan activated.

I blinked. He did too.

I let the henge over my eyes drop, revealing their usual deep blue color.

His eyes widened, but he said nothing. A warm feeling rose in my chest, and I winked at him before leaving.

Sasuke.

What a true friend.

AN-

Gaara is best boi.

Comment if you agree.