Our Heavy Burdens(Naruto Fanfic Gaara Love Story)[Slow Update]

Chapter 36: Summit

After the fight was won, Nariko sent her paths back to their chamber. Baki and Kankuro reassured that they will take Gaara to his room and watch over him for her until she returned, and she let them know her team and Temari will be at the village within the next couple of hours. After putting her paths back in their beds, she teleported to Tsunade's office, but stumbled into her desk in exhaustion. "Nariko!" Tsunade and Shizune exclaimed, Tsunade standing from her seat as Shizune steadied her. "Sorry." Nariko murmured before yawning largely. "I'm completely spent after fighting Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto then defending Gaara and Suna." She told them with a tired smile. "Nariko, you should go home and rest." Shizune suggested, worried about the drooping girl. Nariko shook her head. "I need to show you guys what happened first, then I'm gonna go back to Suna and stay with Gaara for a bit. Can you have Ino and Sai babysit Shizuka for me? I'm sure they'd enjoy it." She murmured sleepily. Tsunade sighed in exasperation, knowing the girl would take care of others before herself. "Alright, show us what happened." She ordered. Nariko reactivated her Rinnegan, and transferred her memories of the fight to Tsunade, leaving Shizune alone since she figured the multiple perspectives would overwhelm her.

Tsunade sat back down, processing the memories shown to her as Nariko deactivated her Rinnegan and yawned again. "So they aren't the Akatsuki..." She surmised, and Nariko shook her head. "They're definitely impersonators, or just fanatics who want to continue the Akatsuki's old plan." She said, making Tsunade hum in thought. "What'll we do, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked. "I'll send word to the other Kages about the threat and have us hold a summit meeting to see how we can deal with this. We'll also have to find a way to protect our Jinchuurikis if they are targeted again. I'll send a message to Pein so the Akatsuki can join the meeting. They need to be informed of the threat as well and help us fight against it." Tsunade said. "Okay. I'll let Gaara and the others know once we're gathered at Suna." Nariko yawned again. Tsunade thanked her and dismissed her, Shizune letting her go so she could teleport to Gaara.

Nariko reappeared in Gaara's room, and basically collapsed at the edge of the bed. "Who's there?!" Kankuro demanded as he threw the door open, having heard Nariko collapse. "Nariko? Are you alright?" He asked, rushing to help her when he spotted her. "Yeah, yeah, just tired. Can you help me lie down next to Gaara?" She requested, and he did so, carefully moving her so she was beside Gaara. Kankuro backed away as she snuggled up with Gaara, who even asleep, pulled Nariko closer and held her to him. Kankuro chuckled at the sight and bid her good night before leaving the room.

By noon, Gaara had woken up. The light was shining through his windows, making him squint from how bright it was. Then he noticed Nariko in his arms. His heart softened at the sight of her, the memory of last night and how she defended him and his home softening him further. Oh, how he loved her, and was proud to call her his. He pulled her closer, breathing in her strangely lovely scent of vanilla and fresh flowers, and enjoyed the feel of her as she snuggled closer in her sleep. All he wanted was to sleep and stay in bed with her some more, but Nariko suddenly flinched slightly. She had woken up to the pull she feels whenever Naruto is nearby, and immediately remembered she needed to talk to the Sand Siblings and her team about the summit meeting Tsunade was planning. "Nariko, are you alright?" Gaara asked softly, soothingly rubbing her back. She whined in reply, not wanting to get up just yet but knowing she had to. "Yeah, but your sister and my team are here. We need to have a talk with them about a decision Tsunade made after what happened last night." Nariko sighed. Gaara hummed, as disappointed as she was that they had to get up. Nariko sighed one more time before looking up at Gaara and pecking him on the lips. "Good morning, by the way." She said, grinning cheekily at him. He just chuckled in reply as he glanced at his clock. "It's more afternoon than morning." He told her, making her eyes widened as she looked at the clock as well. "Oh, wow. No wonder I feel so hungry." She commented, her stomach growling right on queue. They both laughed. "Come on, let's get ready to meet our friends. I'll have someone pick up some ramen from Pako-san's shop in the meantime." Gaara told her, making her squeal in excitement. In her opinion, Pako-san's ramen was just as good as Teuchi-san's, though nothing could beat Ichiraku Ramen.