Naruto hugged her. "I'm glad you're here." He said. Suddenly, his stomach growled loudly. "Hehehehe.....I guess I'm hungry."

Gemini smiled and lay down, snuggling close to him when he lay next to her. She closed her eyes, feeling calm and protected for the first time in a while. "Thank you..." She murmured, falling asleep.

Yugito giggled for a few seconds before that turned into a full laugh. "I guess we can go get some food," she said once she got her laughter under control.

Gaara was unsure as to what she was thanking her for, but mentally shrugged as he stayed silent next to her. He didn't want to risk waking her up by moving, not when it seemed like she was peacefully sleeping for the first time in forever.

Her laughter was infectious, and soon Naruto was laughing along with her. "Great. I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks!" He said, managing to finally get up. "Let's head back to the village and get something good."

Early the next morning, Gemini woke slowly, allowing her mind to adjust to the fact that she was in a bed. The transition was surprisingly easy. She felt something warm near her, and instinctively snuggled closer to it. When she opened her eyes, she realized that the warm object was Gaara, and that she was holding him very close indeed. She blushed brightly, but didn't move away. "Oh...g-good morning..." She said, knowing he was awake- had been awake the whole time.

"I could go for some sushi actually..." Yugito said with a grin on her face. She knew that the villagers would be distrustful of Naruto now that he had a kitsune form, but she didn't care. She would be with him, no matter the hardships.

"Good morning," he said with a smirk on his face. "Did you know that you talk in your sleep? It's quite endearing," he added with a light chuckle soon after, causing her blush to intensify all the more.

Naruto laughed. "I had a feeling you would say that. I really want some ramen, though. We can get both." He said. He wasn't too worried about the villagers' reaction to him at the moment. Nothing much could get him down.

Remembering her dreams the night before, Gemini turned so bright red that her face almost glowed. "Oh, I, uh...oh, d-dear..." She had to pause and remind herself to breathe. She had only dreamed of kissing him. She couldn't have said anything too discriminating. "I apologize for that."

Yugito gave a light laugh at that. "And somehow, I knew you would say that," she responded, wondering if he was going to call it a date or not. Either would be fine with the young neko.

"It's quite alright. I learned some interesting information," he said with a light chuckle. He had to admit that the color of her blush was quite cute, though he would deny ever thinking that if someone asked him.

"Well, it's a pretty safe bet with me, dattebayo." Naruto said, grinning brightly. He started heading back towards the village, imagining a huge bowl of pork ramen in front of him.

Gemini wasn't sure if it was possible to feel more embarrassed. "O-oh, r-really? And what was th-that?" She asked, almost afraid to find out. What had she said?

"Just like with me and sushi," she said as she walked next to Naruto back to the village. "Though...I think you should those two your true form. I highly doubt they'll turn you out just because you're a kitsune now," she added thoughtfully, figuring that it was a good idea.

"Did you really have a stuffed animal you named Mr. Cuddles?" he asked while keeping a straight face.

Naruto hesitated, then nodded. "You're right. I'm lucky to have good friends...they'll accept me no matter what. Though they might be a little freaked out at first. No one our age knows about the Kyuubi." He said.

Gemini blinked. That was not what she had expected at all. Then she started laughing. "N-no, I didn't. I wasn't allowed stuffed animals, but there was this teddy bear I saw in a store window once, that I just adored. I couldn't have him, so I imagined that he was real and my friend, and his name was Mr. Cuddles. My imaginary teddy bear." She said, thinking about how silly it was. She never thought that having an imaginary stuffed animal could be considered tragic.

Yugito took his hand into hers. "No matter what happens, I'm with you and that won't change," she said quickly.

"I see..." he said after hearing the explanation, frowning lightly since it was probably because of her asshole father that she couldn't have the teddy bear in the first place. That reminded him of the teddy bear he had a child, and wondered where it was, figuring that it would be a nice gesture on his part.

Smiling, Naruto gently squeezed her hand. "I know. Thank you. And you know that it's the same for me, too. I'll be there for you, no matter what."

"What's wrong? You're frowning." Gemini observed, wondering what could have made the smirk disappear from his features. Had she said something to upset him?

Yugito blushed lightly before kissing his cheek lightly. "And I think that's one of your greatest qualities," she said before her stomach growled lightly killing the mood and caused the neko's blush to intensify. "U-um...let's go get some food?

"It's nothing, and nothing that you did," he said quickly. Seeing her still looking down, he quickly offered an explanation. It would kill the joke, but it would be better for her to understand why he was frowning than the joke he thought of...or so he believed. "As a child, I had a teddy bear myself, and use to carry it around with me everywhere. Just got me thinking of it and wondering where it went to. Though you dare tell anyone I just said that, girlfriend or not..." he said, not realizing that he just called the girl in front of her 'girlfriend' to her face.

Naruto laughed out loud. "Sure, let's go." He said, patting her on the back.

Gemini looked up, startled. "G-girlfriend?" She asked, hope lighting up her eyes. She doused it quickly, however, knowing from experience that getting her hopes up only led to pain. "You had a teddy bear? That's so sweet! I bet you were so cute back then." She said, trying to cover up her reaction to him calling her his girlfriend.

Yugito blushed as she followed the new kitsune back into the village, keeping her eyes open for anything or anyone that would try harming them.

Gaara had the decency to blush at Gemini's teasing before nodding. "Are you...not okay with being called that?" he asked, referring to him calling her his girlfriend.

They made it back to the village safely, and it wasn't until they were halfway through the center of the village that something went wrong. They met up with Ino, who took one look at Naruto and screamed, then fainted. This set off a chain reaction of villagers not only panicking, but also becoming enraged. "Kitty-chan...run!" Naruto advised, knowing that a riot was about to erupt.

Gemini blushed slightly. "N-no, I'm okay. I like it, actually. I was just a little surprised...I didn't think you felt strongly enough about me to want that." She admitted. "Do you...want to be my boyfriend?"

Yugito didn't know what to say as she saw the mob starting to form around them. Hearing Naruto's command to run, she did exactly that, making sure to keep up with him.

"I would like that...if you're okay with it?" Gaara asked, a little surprised that she was okay with it so quickly.

Naruto bolted, making sure to keep Yugito in his sights. Thankfully, he was used to dodging angry villagers, and managed to get them away quickly. Once they arrived safely at his apartment, he stopped. "That news is gonna travel fast, 'tebayo. It'll die down by tonight, though, and people will start accepting things. Are you okay?"

Gemini couldn't help the broad smile that lit up her features. "Of course I am. I don't know how many times I'll have to tell you this before you get it, but I love you. Being your girlfriend is the best thing you could possibly offer me." She said happily. And she meant it. Her sincerity shone through with her smile.

"A few bruises here and there, but I'll be fine. Some people were actually trying to grab at me or my tail. I'm just glad they were drunk and not able to keep their hold on me," she admitted as she checked over her body, stretching and moving in various positions to check for any scratches or lacerations, not realizing what she was doing to Naruto.

Gaara smiled lightly with one of his true genuine smiles, glad that she really felt that way about him. You're probably right when it comes to saying those words, but I'm going to have trouble repeating those words back to you, you realize, right?"

Naruto stared openly, watching her stretch and move. His face turned pink, and he cleared his throat. "U-um...I don't think we'll be eating out today. I'll make us some breakfast, if you want."

Gemini nodded. "I knew that, even back before I first said it. I said it knowing that you probably wouldn't say it back. It's okay, you don't have to. Even if you never do, it's okay. I won't force you."

"I think that would be for the best, especially with what happened out there. I wonder what happened to that girl...Ino, I believe her name was," Yugito said with a little bit of annoyance in her voice. It was because of her scream that started the riot in the first place.

"Thanks," was the only word that Gaara could respond with, especially since that was the one of the many things he liked about her.

Naruto shrugged. "Ino-chan is a drama queen. My guess is that her team got her out of there. They're always getting her out of trouble. She's kind of the way Sakura used to be, except even more girly. She'll be fine, though. People like her are always fine." He said, then started to laugh. "Did you see her face, though? Sakura-chan would have loved that. She turned white as a ghost!" He said, gasping with laughter.

Gemini smiled back at him and sat up, stretching. "I think maybe it's time to get up. How do you guys usually go about your day, anyway?" She asked, not really knowing what to do. Back in Konoha, most of her days were spent training, or on missions. Could she still do that? Was there some kind of test she would have to pass before officially becoming a Suna nin?

"I suppose..." Yugito responded as she cracked a small smile. "Still though, it could have been much worse. If we had gotten separated..." she said before shaking her head lightly. They had gotten out of there safe enough and that was all that mattered...right? "So...how much would Sakura-chan like to have seen Ino-san as white as a ghost?" she asked curiously.

"Well first we have to get you to become an official member of Suna and a Kunoichi of Suna. After that, we'll see what we can do. Usually my brother and sister train in the afternoon while I worked on my control with sand. Everything's probably going to change now that I'm not a 'blood-thirsty monster'" he said, using air quotes around the last few words.

Naruto managed to stop laughing long enough to answer. "She would have done cartwheels. She would have paid money to see that. I think I told you about them before, how the two of them were best friends until they started fighting over Sasuke-teme. Their relationship is a bit strange now, after they fought in the prelims. They're like...frienemies?" He shrugged, not trying to understand girls. "So, what do you want to eat?"

Gemini frowned. "Even if you're being sarcastic, I don't like you saying that." She said, then hopped up off the bed. "Okay, so how do I officially become both a citizen and a kunoichi of Suna? I want to get that done as soon as possible, because now I know how I'll be spending my time." She glanced back at him with a sly smile. "I'm going to be helping you learn how to interact with people, and how to keep control. It won't be easy to stop yourself, you know. They're not going to treat you better right away, and you're going to want to hurt them. Badly. But they'll never act differently until you do, so you can't even touch them. That's where I'm going to help you." She said.

"I could eat just about anything, you decide," Yugito replied. "And try not to get any fur into the food either," she teased as she digested the information about Sakura and Ino. Honestly, from the 'fight' that they had, she was disgusted by both. However, she did make a vow to Sakura to help her...she just hoped that Sakura would be okay with her new form.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure about the process. You'd have to ask Baki-sensei since he's acting as the Kazekage since Orochimaru-teme killed that man," Gaara said. Ever since he found out that his father had orchestrated attacked in order to kill him when he couldn't be controlled, that man stopped being his father, at least to him."And how do you plan on stopping me if I do go out of control?" he asked. He knew that he was going to need the help and would gladly accept it from his girlfriend, but it was something that he wanted to know all the same.

Naruto chuckled and headed for the kitchen. "Great, cause I was pretty much going to make eggs and sausage no matter what you said." He replied mischievously. "And don't worry, I won't get any fur in it."

Gemini smirked and, instead of answering directly, leaned forward and kissed him square on the lips. It was quick and chaste, but a kiss nonetheless. When she pulled away, she was smiling. "That's how. I learned before, in the forest, that the fastest way to trip you up is affection." She said.