Chapter Text
“Naruto!”
Iruka-sensei’s stern voice broke him free of his train of thought. Naruto was brought back to the present, where he should be focusing on the lesson ahead of him, a requirement towards achieving his goal of being Hokage.
“Honestly, what’s been distracting you so much lately?” Iruka-sensei let out a sigh, genuinely curious as to what was occupying Naruto’s focus as of late. Unlike his usual overly energetic self, Naruto seemed more withdrawn and closed-off, as if the weight of the war was still burdening his shoulders. A few years have passed since the war ended, Konoha was recovering alongside the rest of the world and the reality of achieving an era of peace was closer than ever before.
Another beat of silence passed between them before Naruto fully came back to the present and finally made eye contact with his sensei. He gave a sheepish grin and shrugged off the question, though Iruka could probably see that whatever was bothering him still lingered. “Sorry Sensei! I’m gonna give it all my focus now, you know.”
Iruka looked over him a little longer, the concern he felt for Naruto clearly written on his face but ultimately he let the subject drop and continued with the lesson. Naruto was grateful that his sensei - who was honestly more like a father figure to him - trusted him enough to deal with his own issues or get the help he needed. The rest of the lesson passed by in a blur, and Naruto found himself walking the familiar path home in the warm light of the setting sun.
Konoha was really doing its best to rebuild what was lost during the war and the efforts of all the villagers and shinobi were obvious all around him. Tsunade-baachan had stepped down from her position as Godaime, entrusting the village in the capable – somewhat reluctant - hands of Kakashi-sensei, who honestly suited the job well despite his initial complaints against taking up the mantle. He had pushed Naruto into taking the necessary steps towards being the next Hokage, all the while doing his best to rebuild a village he could proudly hand over to his former student.
All around Naruto there were groups of people working together to build parks and houses, commuting home after a day at work, or simply enjoying the warm and peaceful sunset. He politely returned the greetings he received, yet was unable to stop and make conversation with anyone. Flashbacks of the nightmare that has been plaguing him for the past few nights come unbidden to the forefront of his mind.
The nightmares started out vague, destruction and damage would usually surround him and he would be left feeling helpless in the middle of it all. However, these dreams would progress and a certain red headed figure would always come into focus. Gaara.
He would see Gaara from a distance and a sense of grief would replace his initial helplessness. The nightmares would end soon after he spots him, leaving Naruto to wake up with leftover grief and an ache in his chest that he couldn’t understand. At the beginning, he decided that maybe the dreams were just from his past memory, his brain reminding him of how he once truly lost his friend if not for a miracle and a sacrifice that changed fate. Yet, as the dreams kept on occurring with better clarity, it became clear that the memory and nightmare were not the same.
Naruto arrived home and immediately went to carry out what has recently become a sort of routine. He checks his balcony for a messenger bird, and takes the letter that’s attached to it. He can’t help the small smile at seeing his name in Gaara’s familiar and neat scrawl on the letter front. He reads the letter at his desk and proceeds to write out a reply, sending it off with the same messenger bird once it has had its rest and refreshments. He had started writing to Gaara more frequently to help quell the uneasy feeling that made itself known whenever he thought of the sand-nin. Gaara’s replies were often simple and short, but they were almost always consistently on time, one every two to three days. They spoke of simple things like their home villages, updates on their work and learnings, as well as future plans of official visits to each other’s villages. The communication between them allowed Naruto to rest easier, and he ultimately decided to keep the existence of the nightmares to himself.
He wasn’t able to rest easy for long. Four months into their back and forth letter exchange and the pattern was broken. Naruto didn’t think too much of it at first, what with Gaara being busy with his own duty as Kazekage, surely he’ll send a reply when he can. Days became weeks, and Naruto had sent a few more letters out but no reply came back. The nightmares came back to daunt him, getting worse and worse until an anxiousness made place in his chest. It was a feeling that he could control, but not a feeling he enjoyed living with. It had started to bother him to the point of losing his focus during trainings, and that’s when he decided he needed to do something about it.
Almost two months without a word from Hidden Sand had him barging into the Hokage’s office, much to Kakashi’s weariness. The Rokudaime Hokage seemed to be busy with paperwork and decisions to make, but Naruto had to do something about his worrying gut feeling before it festers into a full blown anxiety attack.
“Yes, Nar-”
“Send me on a mission to the Hidden Sand Village.” Naruto cut his former sensei off in a rush to get himself on the road as fast as he can. His request clearly took Kakashi off guard and the current Hokage sat straighter in his seat, looking at the blonde ninja with a calculating expression.
“Why?” A look of surprise crossed Naruto’s face - definitely from the lack of immediate rejection – before he schooled it into fierce determination. “Is there any specific reason you need to be there?” Kakashi asked in his usual casual tone, but the underlying weight of his question was not missed by his former student.
“I’m not sure sen-” he cut himself off to rephrase what he needed to say better. “What I meant to say was that I don’t have a specific reason to be there, but I’m sure I will find out once I’m there, Rokudaime.”
Kakashi seemed to be considering the blonde’s request. He glanced to look behind Naruto at the sound of someone entering his office, spotting the familiar face of another former Team 7 member. Sakura came to stand beside Naruto, a look of concern on her face at his lack of enthusiastic greetings. He only spared her a nod before continuing whatever battle of wills was happening between the two men. Kakashi finally let out a sigh and the tension in the room dissipated.
“I’m sorry, Naruto. I can’t arbitrarily assign you on a mission to another hidden village without any solid reason.” It was obvious that there was something else the Hokage was keeping to himself.
The feeling of disappointment and frustration at his former sensei’s clinical answer overshadowed his own curiosity in the moment and he was left trying to come up with some valid excuse.
“I believe you are here to report your team is ready to leave.” Kakashi addressed Sakura, dismissing his conversation with Naruto.
A moment of hesitation passed before Sakura quietly answered her confirmation to him. She turned her focus to the infamously energetic blond who was uncharacteristically quiet. His eyes were staring unfocusedly at the ground, and his features were painfully showcasing his dejection. Sakura turned to glance at Kakashi and they both shared a concerned look towards Naruto. An uncomfortable silence had started to fill the office before Naruto finally appeared to come to some sort of conclusion.
“I guess I have no choice but to be as honest as I can.” he started, Kakashi and Sakura both turning their full attention to what he had to say. Naruto told them about his recurring nightmares, keeping the details vague and omitting Gaara’s role as the main reason for his uneasiness. He did share about the sudden end of their back and forth letters, explaining that it may hint to something happening at the Hidden Sand. Concern was rolling off of both Kakashi and Sakura, and at that moment Naruto knew he was speaking to them not as his Hokage and fellow shinobi, but as his found family. They questioned him about how long he had kept this to himself and Sakura chides him for not getting help or talking to anyone about it sooner.
“Okay okay, I’ll get help with it soon, Sakura-chan. Now do you understand why I have to go there?” he looked to both of them, their expressions betraying the fact that they really did want him to have his way.
“Look, Naruto. I want to send you out, knowing what I know now,” something in the way he said it still sounded a little off. “But the situation is still very rocky and I can’t just assign you a cross border mission immediately. You’ll need to give me a few days to come up with the paperwork and assign some sort of formal mission for you. I’ll make something work to get you there.” As much as he trusted his former student and wanted to send him out immediately, as the Hokage he had no choice but to abide by the rules and regulations that have been set.
The atmosphere in the room became stifling again, the silence stretching between them filled with tension. Naruto didn’t blame Kakashi for this, he understood the weight of the position he holds. Now, he was considering the consequences he would face if he went ahead anyways.
“Wait,” Sakura broke the silence with a hopeful expression. Both men sat up straighter in anticipation of what she would say. “Put him on my mission team.”
Kakashi contemplated her idea while Naruto looked between the both of them for some sort of clue as to how that would help him.
“Ino, Sai and I are part of a three-man cell assigned to visit the other hidden villages to help with the improvements for their medical facilities and communications network. The direct network between the five Kages are also getting a significant upgrade.” Sakura began explaining, hope blooming in Naruto’s chest. She turned to address the Hokage, “We’ll just rearrange the schedule so that the Hidden Sand is our first stop.”
Kakashi was already making adjustments to the paperwork in front of him and only looked up to hold eye contact with Naruto. He made sure that what he had to say was heard before he completely lost the blonde’s attention. “As your Hokage, I am officially assigning you as an extra support in their team with Sakura as your captain. You are to stick to your mission, work with the rest of the team, and follow your captain’s instructions.” At the more familiar sight of an energetic and excited Naruto, he dismissed his former students with a fond smile and a nod.