Naruto: Dreaming of Sunshine

Rough waters are truer tests of leadership. In calm water every ship has a good captain.—Swedish proverb

.

.

We stared upwards, through gaps in the canopy at the monstrous, looming form of Shukaku.

"Well, shit," Kiba said bluntly.

Chouji looked a mix between determined and terrified. "I'm the only one that can fight on that scale."

I wasn't even sure he could. Chouji was hardly a master of the Multi-Size Techniques, and without the pills…

I didn't think he'd get anywhere near big enough to matter. Maybe he would clear the tree tops, but that was barely up to it's knees.

"Let's keep that for a backup plan," I said.

Naruto bit his thumb in preparation for summoning, then paused. "Err. Maybe you guys should get some distance. Gamabunta is pretty big. Don't want him to squash you or anything."

What had I thought, that we could all stand atop Gamabunta to fight alongside Naruto? Even if the Chief Toad allowed such a thing, we'd still just get in the way.

"Right," I said, nodding. "Good luck, Naruto."

I didn't want to leave him alone to fight, but realistically… there wasn't much we could do. It seemed wrong to put it all on his shoulders, as though he was the only one that could save us. It was too much pressure for one small boy. Yet, against an enemy of this scale what could any of us do?

"Let's move out, people."

Chouji hefted the stirring but unconscious Temari and Kiba staggered back to his feet. We ran into the others on the way. Shino had a bundled up Kankurou slung over one shoulder. Hinata was breathing hard but no one looked injured. It was a small relief.

"Please tell me we don't have to fight that," Shikamaru said flatly.

"Right now, Naruto is going to try something," I said grimly. "If it doesn't work… Plan B."

"What's Plan B?" he asked, warily.

Chouji's Multi-Size Technique; setting giant explosive seals as close as possible; seeing if Genjutsu worked and trying to lead it into a lake; sending someone running for Konoha to find a Jounin; stuffing Sasuke full of soldier pills and setting him loose with Chidori; getting Ino to Mind-Body Switch and hope it didn't kill her and that she could shut Shukaku down… I had backup plans, but they weren't necessarily good ones. And I was defining good by the very low standards of 'everyone makes it out alive'.

"I'll let you know."

Come on, Naruto.

Then there was an explosion of chakra smoke and a huge, red toad was rising above the tree tops. We could barely see one of them, let alone both, but I'd say Gamabunta was about the same size as Shukaku. That was a very, very good thing.

"You know," Kiba said sounding half thoughtful, half baffled. I was relieved to see that Kiba and Akamaru were only superficially wounded, cuts and scraps and not more serious damage. It seemed that the expelled and rotating chakra during the Fang over Fang technique had protected them from the worst of the attack. That made sense, since it was a jutsu that seemed to be created to slam you head first into solid objects. It had to protect you. "I sort of want to ask 'what the hell has he been learning'… yet I don't."

"This is why you wished Naruto to be one of the ones to confront Gaara?" Shino asked.

I nodded. "He signed a summoning contract this last month," I said. "Hopefully…"

The two giant creatures stared at each other. There was a rumbling sound from Gamabunta that made me think he was probably talking to Naruto, but it didn't carry. I had no idea what he was saying.

Then he drew a sword that was probably larger than the Hokage Tower and leapt. The ground shook like we were in the middle of an earthquake and I nearly tumbled to the ground. Ino and Shikamaru did.

"This… is such a drag," Shikamaru said, not even bothering to get back up.

There was no way to really see what was going on, not with the trees in the way, and I didn't really want to leave the miniscule cover they provided. Getting any closer to that battle would just be suicide anyway. Naruto had been right to make us move.

The ground shook more, trees crashed, there were loud booms and crashes. I gave up trying to stand and just clung to the ground like it was trying to throw me off. That wasn't really too far from the truth.

There was a spike of chakra, a roar, and I caught a glimpse of what looked like an orb flying overhead - air bullet? - before it was intercepted by a glob of water. Cold, torrential rain poured down on us from the dispersed attacks. If that was the force of a deflected attack I didn't want to get hit with one full force.

"Hinata?" I asked weakly, shivering just a bit at the sudden cold. "Think you can fill us in on what's happening up there?"

"Good thinking," Kiba said. "I'd like to know if we need to run or not." Akamaru whimpered, though whether it was in agreement, fear or pain, I didn't know.

"I - umm… y-yes." She folded her fingers into a hand seal. "Byakugan!" The veins around her eyes bulged as her Bloodlimit activated. "Umm… Naruto is standing on top of that toad. I- I think they're trying to get closer to … Gaara." She said the name hesitantly. Knowing that Gaara had the Shukaku and seeing it were two different things. "Gaara is keeping him away with those long distance jutsu… I- I think they're some kind of wind bullet. Maybe?"

Hinata's narration may not have been the most confident, but having some idea rather than none was a step up. We could catch glimpses of them as they moved and fought, and the jutsus they used and destruction they caused but that didn't give us a clear idea of what was happening.

Temari and Kankurou were starting to stir, the cold water having had the side effect of waking them up. Temari woke up first, which was understandable given that she'd probably only been clobbered around the head or something, whereas Kankurou would have had his chakra system either drained or shut down.

Her eyes flared wide with terror, when she caught sight of the sand behemoth towering over the trees. "No," she moaned. "Gaara's gone… he let it out. We have to get out of here. You… you don't understand! You're crazy if you think you can take Gaara like this."

I glanced at her, straining futilely against her bonds. Her movements were slow and sluggish, consistent with exhaustion. "Unless you have a secret way of containing him when he's like this, I suggest you be quiet."

"Only the Kazekage can deal with him when he's like this," she said forcefully, at odds with her pleading terrified eyes.

"Hmm. We're fresh out of Kazekages," I said cheerfully, mostly just to be irritating. I didn't feel particularly cheerful, that was for sure. But we were not going to abandon Naruto.

"Given the invasion, it probably wouldn't help even if we had one," Shikamaru pointed out laconically.

Kiba snickered. "Yeah, I can imagine that. Ahem. Excuse me, Kazekage sir, could you please abandon the battle and come restrain your Jinchuriki? It seems to be getting out of hand. Much appreciated."

Sasuke's lips twitched. "That's rather polite for you, Inuzuka. Not going to just demand help?"

"Well, y'know," Kiba said, as though seriously considering the point. "Foreign Kage. Got to be on your best behaviour, right?"

Even Hinata cracked a giggle, at her team mate's mock serious face.

Temari looked at us in horror. "You're all mad."

I couldn't exactly argue her point, but that kind of banter was relaxing. There was a difference between being on guard and being strung out to the point of uselessness.

"Look!" Hinata squeaked, and we all spun around to try and peer through the canopy.

"Is that-?" Chouji shouted.

Shikamaru looked thunderstruck.

But there was none of that terrifying chakra. "Transformation Jutsu?" I suggested as the Nine-Tailed Fox - flipping Kyuubi - leapt over the trees, grabbed Shukaku and bit down.

"Naruto is running for Gaara. The real Gaara, I mean. The human body," Hinata said, flustered.

We waited with bated breath. I wished I could see.

"He's attacking," Hinata said with a cringe. "And… again."

The sand starting shaking, like it was falling apart. It was. Whatever Naruto was doing was disrupting the giant structure. He was… he'd done it!

Then I realised, if the sand was falling… there was nothing to hold them up.

"Naruto!" I shouted, springing forward into the trees and sprinting for them. It was all I could do to scream his name like a helpless fan girl. I hated it.

I was aware that Gamabunta vanished in a puff of chakra smoke, either dismissing himself, or having run out of chakra, but I didn't pay too much attention. I was more focused on Naruto.

The sand was all gone now.

And he was falling.

A much smaller fall had done me a fair bit of damage in the Forest of Death, though I had been unconscious and if Naruto was still aware then he'd probably be able to negate most of it. Assuming he had chakra left.

I raced towards them, over scattered debris and broken trees, over furrowed and wrecked ground. Shouts of surprise echoed behind me, before the patter of racing feet as they followed. We wouldn't get there in time to catch Naruto.

But we'd be able to see the outcome of the fight.

I nearly cried with relief when I saw Naruto, battered and bruised and bleeding, with his chakra flickering like a candle in the breeze, but so, so alive. He was fine.

You never give up, do you? I thought with a huge surge of relief.

"It's almost unbearable, isn't it?" He was saying, as he dragged himself along the ground to the equally exhausted Gaara. "The feeling of being all alone. I know that feeling. I've been there, in that dark and lonely place. But now there are other people who mean a lot to me. Having them around… it makes me a better person. They trusted me to do this. And … I wont let anyone hurt them. That's why I wont ever give up. I will stop you even if I have to kill you."

"But why… why would you do this for anyone but yourself?" Gaara asked, his voice soft and empty. The hate and rage was all gone, leaving only broken, wide-eyed confusion behind.

"Because they saved me from myself," Naruto said frankly. "They rescued me from my loneliness. They were the first to accept me for who I am. They're my friends."

I landed next to Naruto, crouching down beside him. "Yeah," I said, voice a little shaky. "We'd do the same for you, y'know. You did good, Naruto. You did good."

He gave me a small, tired smile and collapsed.

Gaara watched us with eyes that were so very bleak. "Love…" he said, more a whisper than a word. "Is that the thing that makes him so strong?"

I ran a diagnostic scan on Naruto, surprised and yet not that all that plagued him was bruising and exhaustion.

"This guy's chakra is all gone," Sasuke reported, crouching near Gaara.

I heard the unspoken, now what do we do with him?

And wasn't that a very good question?

The others had followed us, though they'd tried to stick together instead of streaking ahead like Sasuke and I had done. They'd even brought Kankurou and Temari with them, who stared in mingled horror and awe at seeing their brother brought low.

"Gaara!" Kankurou gasped, wiggling a bit. It didn't seem to accomplish much. "I swear, when I get outta here-"

"That's enough," Gaara whispered. "It's over."

Kankurou fell silent.

"So do we drag them back to the village with us, or what?" Kiba asked, with his customary tact.

"We should not head back to the village," Shino stated. "Why? Because standard operating procedure dictates we should find a safe location and await further orders."

"Depending on the state of the village," Ino said slowly, biting her lip. "Taking prisoners might not be a priority." She looked at me trying to convey something important. Ino knew what I did - prisoners would go to T and I, and people didn't exactly leave T and I. She knew it, accepted it… but had never had to apply the idea to a real person before.

Neither had I.

"Hmph," Kankurou said, all false bravery. "That's right. When the rest of our forces find out you're holding us prisoner, it wont go well for you."

Shikamaru raised a sardonic eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? Your brother was the main force of the attack and he fell to a bunch of Genin. I'd be surprised if anyone else even survived. All he's sayin' is that there might not be enough time to properly restrain him. In which case…" In which case they wouldn't survive long enough to be interrogated. Better to lose Intel than risk Gaara recovering and transforming again.

Kankurou fell silent, likely because he knew it was true.

We were probably supposed to keep them prisoner, and then they'd be interrogated by T and I about the invasion. Then… disposed of, probably. They were Genin, however strong, and not stable ones. I doubted that they really knew all that much. They might have been considered valuable enough for trade, due to heritage, but Gaara was too much a weapon for Konoha to ever hand him back. We could, probably should kill them. They were enemies, ones that invaded our home and attacked us. But… Temari wasn't a faceless enemy. We knew her name, had talked to her, fought with her; she was young and pretty and vivacious. We weren't hardened enough for that, for it to seem but cruel. The others… after the Forest of Death, heck after the explosion here, they already thought I was merciless.

I could, probably, do it. But even thinking about it I was aware I didn't want to.

"So what should we do?" Chouji asked, directing the question more to the group than to me.

"Let us go," Temari said, jumping on the chance to direct their fate. Her eyes were pleading. "Please."

She was on her knees, pushed up awkwardly with bound hands and feet. Part of it might have been exhaustion, but she was begging. She was a proud, strong girl, yet she would beg. Not so much for herself, but for her brothers. Even Gaara.

"So you can just attack us again?" Ino asked caustically.

"No," Temari said quickly, shaking her head. "The attack… it was never our idea. We were just… following orders." That wasn't a great excuse… and yet in some ways, it worked. People broke orders all the time, and if something was so reprehensible, so morally wrong then…

But in the world of ninja, invading a foreign nation wasn't one of those issues. Hell, even back Before, a soldier in the army would be expected to do the same. Here, you were loyal to the Village, or you died.

"We would return to Suna," she continued in a rush. "Straight back. We wont - We wont fight anymore."

I looked at the others. Uncertain faces stared back at me. At length, Shikamaru shrugged. "Our mission was just to keep them out of the fight, right?" He asked, clasping his hands behind his head and staring up at the sky.

"We can't just let them go," Kiba scoffed. "After what we went through to bring them down."

"Please," Temari begged, seeing her chances slip away. Her eyes darted from one face to the next. "At least… at least let them go. I'll do… I'll do anything." Her voice cracked. People shifted uncomfortably. Her eyes, I noted distantly, were a very pretty blue green. Teal, maybe. They were flickering around wildly, Sasuke to Shikamaru to Shino to Kiba… unsure who she needed to sway to her side. She didn't know, I realised, who was the leader.

It wasn't an unheard of statement. A bargain of last resort. There were Shinobi Rules against accepting, in Konoha, and it counted as bribery which could, in some circumstances be treason. No one appeared interested, though if that was because they were moral, or because they were twelve I didn't want to consider.

"Temari!" Kankurou protested, immediately, loudly.

"Shut up!" She hissed at him, a quick shift back to domineering and in control, though the line of her back was terrified.

"Ano," Hinata said, very, very softly, tapping her fingers together. Her eyes were cast downwards, towards Naruto. "I t-think that we should let them go, i-if they promise…"

"I swear," Temari said immediately and a little shakily. "By the desert heat, by the shifting sand, by my mother's grave…" she flinched and glanced at Gaara, almost as though she expected him to react. But he was just staring at her as though he had never seen her before in his life. As if she were something too alien to comprehend. "That we'll do nothing but head straight for Suna."

I looked around the circle of people. They stared back, unnerved, confused but offering no solution.

Shikamaru had voted for releasing them, and the rest of Team 10 would stand by him. So had Hinata. Kiba wanted to drag them in. Shino was unreadable. Sasuke hadn't said anything.

Kakashi-sensei gave you the lead. It's your call.

I sighed and titled my head back to stare into the endless blue sky. There was a strange circular rainbow around the sun. A bad omen. But for who? My thoughts were scattered, I knew, probably from the stress.

I could explain it away. Letting them go released us of the pressure of trying to hold a Jinchuriki captive. With limited information about the state of the village, it could even seem like a wise decision. Taking captives in the middle of a war situation would only tie up troops guarding them. We'd never been ordered to capture them. Our heavy hitters were exhausted - we were all exhausted - and we wouldn't be able to handle a round two. Ensuring the area was clear of other enemies took priority to chasing exhausted, retreating and defeated opponents.

Looks like I already decided…

"The quality of mercy is not strained," I murmured to myself. Huh. Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare. God, I'd hated that English paper. That quote had ended up being in the final exam, too. Pity I hadn't been able to remember it half so clearly then.

I looked back at her, so proud and kneeling. I stepped forward and slashed with a kunai, lightning fast. She flinched, and the silvery, tendrils of ninja wire broke and fluttered away from her hands.

"Go," I said flatly. "Take your brothers and go. But remember… you wont get mercy twice."

She stared, wide eyed, but didn't question the sudden generosity. None of us stopped her as she scrambled for Kankurou, undoing his bonds with fumbling fingers, and as they both stumbled towards Gaara.

"Was that wise?" Pakkun asked levelly.

I stared at their backs. They weren't far away. I knew they heard. "I hope so," I said softly. "I really hope so."

"What was that you were mumbling before?" Shikamaru asked. "About mercy?"

"The quality of mercy is not strained," I quoted. "It drops as the gentle rain from heaven, upon the place beneath. It is twice blest; it blesses he that gives and he that takes…"