Guardian Angel (A Naruto Fanfiction)

Chapter 21

(A:N - I'm on a roll this week, haha. Enjoy!)

Kurami, Naruto and Gaara reappeared near to the gates of the Suna, startling a few villages in the process. Two of them were still trembling with anger, whilst the third was with sadness. Naruto calmed down quicker than his older sister and pulled Gaara into a comforting hug. "It's ok onii-chan, forget about them two dummies. They don't deserve your tears." He said as he rubbed his older brother's back. The red-haired boy sniffled as he pressed his hands to his eyes, trying to stop the flow of his tears. It didn't work. "I k-knew they didn't l-like me, I knew they w-were scared of me, but I at least h-hoped th-that they cared about m-me." Gaara hiccuped. "Now I know they never did."

Kurami's eyes softened and she knelt down next to her brothers, bringing them both into a warm embrace. The three siblings stayed like that for a few minutes, taking comfort in each other's warmth and presence. "They might not have ever cared about you, sweetie, but we do. We care about you. We love you. And we always will." Voice soft, but sure, Kurami gave Gaara a smile which he returned, shakily. Taking a deep breath, the boy wiped away his tears and stood up, hugging his teddy to his chest. "Thank you Kurami nee-chan, and thank you Naruto. I love you both as well."

Thee two siblings smiled and stood up as well, Naruto took Gaara's free hand in his and Kurami transferred Gaara's teddy to her right hand before clasping his with her left one. The trio of siblings walked hand in hand towards the gates, feeling happy and complete. As they neared the towering structures, the guards on duty practically pasted themselves against its walls to allow Kurami to pass through. Their fearful eyes trailed from Kurami to Gaara, and their already tense frames stiffened further, a hostile aura emitting from them in waves. Amethyst purple eyes hardened, then narrowed, before a deep, guttural snarl reverberated through the air, causing the guards to cower back with their eyes lowered and worthless apologies spewing from their lips like a waterfall in order to appease the dangerous and powerful girl in front of them. Rolling her eyes, Kurami decided to ignore them and walked past gracefully, her brothers pressed close to her sides for protection in case any fools dared to attack them.

The sun was steadily climbing higher into the sky, the siblings had been walking for a good few hours and the youngest two were beginning to tire. They had both been running ahead excitedly, chattering non-stop and now began to fall back, feet aching. Kurami chuckled fondly. "Tired already?" She teased. Naruto huffed and stubbornly pranced ahead, skipping around to prove his sister otherwise, only to misstep and face plant the sandy ground. He groaned whilst Gaara and Kurami stifled their laughter unsuccessfully. With a pout, he spat out some sand that got into his mouth and pushed himself up. "Maybe a little," he admitted grudgingly, crossing his arms over his chest and looking to the side. Kurami giggled and turned to Gaara. "I assume you are as well, sweetie?" He nodded.

With a few hand signs, Kurami summoned two of her wolves, Mika and Yoru, the fastest in her pack. Mika, a young she-wolf with sleek, sandy brown fur, black tipped ears and tail, and charcoal black eyes appeared next to a slightly older, muscled male wolf with rich chocolate fur splattered with white randomly and forest green eyes, both larger than the average wolf. Quickly assessing the situation, they both deemed it to be of no danger and bowed their heads in greeting to Kurami. "My lady," they both said happily, padding towards her and nuzzling her legs affectionately. Kurami smiled, crouching to stroke their backs gently. "It's been a while, hasn't it Mika, Yoru?"

"You don't say...why it was only yesterday when you last summoned us, right? Oh wait no, that was about four years ago. Whoops, my bad, you know me and my terrible memory." Yoru drawled sarcastically, only to yelp in pain when Mika nipped his ear. "Ow! Jeez, ok, ok. I said ok, woman!" The male wolf winced and the female let go, satisfied. He pouted. "What did I do to get such a troublesome she-wolf as my mate?" He grumbled, looking despairingly towards the sky. Kurami giggled when Mika shoved him roughly, causing him to face plant the ground, and turned away with a huff. "Stupid pup."

The young she-wolf's attention was drawn to Naruto and Gaara, who had watched the whole drama unfold with great curiosity, and she squealed. "Aww, who are these cuties, My Lady?" Mika bounded over to the two, head butting them playfully and earning small giggles from them. "They're my little brothers, Naruto and Gaara." Kurami answered proudly, her eyes warm as she gazed at her siblings. The wolf hummed, imprinting the two new scents into her memory and lovingly licked their hands. "Welcome to the pack, little ones. I promise to protect you both when necessary and care for you like my own." She nuzzled them both gently.

Yoru managed to push himself off the floor with a groan, finally deciding to investigate the newest additions to the pack after lazily watching the clouds drift by. "Hey brats," he greeted gruffly, his rough demeanour melting away as he gently poked them with his snout to show them he wasn't a threat. Naruto beamed and wrapped his arms around Yoru's neck in a hug, and the wolf reluctantly allowed it after a warning glare from his mate, although the disgruntled expression never left his face. "Yeah, yeah kid, nice to meet you too. Welcome to the pack and all that jazz." He grunted impatiently, though his green eyes were soft. Gaara tentatively approached Mika with an outstretched, and she lowered her head to allow him to pet her. He looked up at her in awe. "You're so pretty." He breathed, a smile lighting up his face. Mika's eyes twinkled happily and she rubbed her snout against his cheek adoringly.

"Hey kid, that's my mate," Yoru muttered half-heartedly, knowing Gaara only meant it innocently, causing the red-head to laugh. "You're cool too." Gaara complimented, making the male wolf preen proudly. Kurami clapped her hands to get everyone's attention, and when four pairs of eyes were looking her way, she spoke. "Now that we all know each other, it's time to get going. I want to cover half the distance back by nightfall." The two wolves nodded and lowered themselves to the ground, since they were too tall, and waited for Kurami to lift her brothers onto their backs. Naruto was with Yoru, and Gaara with Mika, and once both boys were on, the wolves stood up to their full height, which was about that of a small horse. Gaara and Naruto leaned forward, arms wrapped around Mika and Yoru's necks, not too tight to choke them, but not loose enough so they would fall off either.

The two wolves glanced back at Kurami with a cheeky glint in their eyes. "Try to keep up, My Lady." Yoru teased, and then they were off, their lithe forms streaking across the desert in the direction of Konoha like lightning, twin trails of dust in their wake. Kurami watched them go with a smirk, already they were mere dots in the distance.  They weren't given the title 'Lighning Duo', the fastest two wolves in the pack, for nothing. However, it had been four years since they'd last seen her, and she had improved drastically. Her smirk widened. "I did wonder how fast I'd gotten lately anyway."

By now, the two wolves had disappeared from view, but Kurami wasn't deterred. If anything, it only served to spur her on even more. She crouched down low with her palms on the ground, eyes fluttering shut and waited, taking a deep breath. A few seconds later, her eyes snapped open, burning with excitement, and she shot forward, a sonic boom exploding behind her as she broke the sound barrier with the speed she was running at. In mere seconds, she had caught up with the two wolves and her brothers, who all gaped at her in shock, Mika and Yoru faltering in stride. "Try to keep up." She reiterated Yoru's words from before, then with a cheeky wink and two-fingered salute, passed them, putting a few miles between them with another few seconds.

Laughing, she slowed down and then stopped, deciding to wait for them under a over-hanging rock, so she wasn't in direct sunlight. "I'll give them fifteen minutes." She smiled, closing her eyes and relaxing after she had scanned the area and found no danger. She wasn't worried about the safety of her brothers as she knew her wolves were more than capable of protecting them.

The wolves had watched the raven haired girl overtake them and fade from view in stunned silence. Kurami's brothers were also shocked, she was so fast. The silence was broken by Yoru. "Well, damn." He whistled, impressed. "Pup's gotten even faster than last time."

"Language!" Mika chided. "There are pups present." She then resumed running, increasing her speed, Yoru at her flank. "Let's catch up with her, she's not the only one that has gotten even faster since last time." Her eyes danced with determination and Yoru nodded, his blood crackling in his veins. "Let's show Kurami-hime exactly why we got the title we did in our pack and kept it all these years." He grinned wolfishly.  Gaara and Naruto both glanced at each other over the wolves, then gulped and tightened their holds. With a sudden lurch, twin sets of booms went off simultaneously, and the scenery blurred together as the wolves shot forward, almost flying from the speed that they were travelling at, paws barely touching the ground.