That Nara... | Naruto Fanficiton

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We walked in silence for a while, I was walking at the front of the group, Ryuzo was behind me in the centre and Inoiché and Choro were on either side of him a bit further behind.

"So... Uh-- why would you go head-to-head with such a terrifying dude?" Ryuzo broke the silence and jogged up to my side.

"Who? You mean Danzo?" I asked, he nodded, "I've been going head-to-head with him since the attack on the village when Lord Minato was killed. He wanted to become the Hokage but I may or may not have interjected and put forward Lord Hiruzen to which everyone else ended up agreeing too. Ever since we've been at each other's throats."

"You're either really brave or impulsively stupid," he replied, "I can't decide which it is..."

"The latter," Inoiché and Choro both said in unison.

"Hey!" I shouted at them, "that's just mean!"

"It's the truth," Inoiché shrugged, "only you would go against him so willingly."

"Someone has to," I stuck my tongue out, annoyed before focusing on the road ahead, "by the way. How is that girl of yours? What was her name again..?"

"Fuuka Enatsu," Choro replied, nudging Inoiché with a sly grin, "you were looking at rings the other day if I remember correctly."

"Rings?!" I exclaimed before lightly punching the top of his head, "you think you're up for that kind of commitment?"

"No," Inoiché shook his head, "that's why I didn't end up buying it. I think at this point I'm satisfied with just dating her at the moment. I mean-- sure, I'd like to start my own family, after seeing you with Himari and even teaching kids now, I realised I really do want my own child. But maybe not yet."

"Whoa-- you're serious," Choro stared at him wide eyed.

"I haven't known you for a long time, but I think you'd be a good father," Ryuzo stated, "I mean-- if Shikarei can be a mother then you definitely can be a father."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" I snapped.

"I don't mean it in a bad sense," he quickly clarified, "I mean you guys grew up together right? So, you guys will-- you know what... It's hard to explain."

"You're even worse at words than Tsume Sensei," I sighed.

"Yeah. I can't tell if you're insulting us or not," Inoiché gave Ryuzo a weird look.

"Anyway, if we speed up to our normal pace then we should be at the sand village within a day and a half," I clapped my hands to stop the awkward conversation.

"A day and a half?! Sunagakure is a three-day journey!" Ryuzo shouted, grabbing my shoulders, and shaking me back and forth, "what kind of poor monsters are you?"

"I'm a shadow monster, Inoiché is a mind monster, and Choro is an expansion monster... Well in your logic, that is," I replied with a small laugh, "now come on. Don't slack or we'll leave you behind."

"But you're my escorts!" he exclaimed before we all began jumping through the trees, Ryuzo quickly jumping to catch up with us.

°🥢°
A day and a half later_

"Phew-- I thought I was going to die," Ryuzo whined as we stopped running and began walking through the sand village.

"Oh man, I forgot how hot it is over here," I sighed, "it's refreshing."

"Not what I expected you to say," Choro laughed, "anyway, we'll go find a room for us to stay in for however long it is we'll be here for."

"No need," Ryuzo seemed to recover quickly and smiled, "we have spare rooms in my house. Having a big family is pretty good for guests. Though Choro and Inoiché may have to share a room."

"Yeah we don't mind," Inoiché nodded, "thanks for the offer."

"Anyway, we'll find you after delivering the--" I found the word caught in my throat, "--H-Hokage's... Response."

"Alright," Choro nodded, "come on, Inoiché, let's get some food. I heard the salted tongue here is delicious."

"Uh-- I don't even want to go near such a revolting dish," Inoiché seemed to slump, "I want Ichiraku..."

"Tough. We're in Suna now, let's go," Choro pinched Inoiché's ear and dragged him away as me and Ryuzo walked in the direction of the Kazekage's office.

It didn't take long, we got there quickly and Ryuzo knocked on the door.

"Come in," came a rough response, Ryuzo opened the door and we both entered.

"Lord Gaara," Ryuzo greeted him, "Lady Ts-- Lord Danzo has sent his response to your letter."

"Ga-- Lord Gaara, may I, before you read it?" I spoke up as Gaara took the letter, he looked to me and nodded for me to continue, "Danzo is not our Hokage and I don't believe he has the villages best interest in mind. So, I beg that you do not take this response seriously until Lady Tsunade can take office again and give a more suitable response."

"I'll take that into consideration," Gaara nodded before myself and Ryuzo both bowed to him and then left.

"Now... How about that dinner I asked you about a while back?" Ryuzo asked, a smile on his face. I flicked him in the forehead.

"Idiot. We need to find Inoiché and Choro," I reminded him before walking away.

"Gah-- not fair," he pouted before catching up with me.

I couldn't help but to let out a small laugh before being hit by the intense heat of the outside again.

I do love it here, but I could never live here, it's just way too warm... I mean, I'm already sweating, that's really uncomfortable. I just want to sink in the sea forever at this rate.

Oh well.

I can happily say that this mission was a success.