Thankfully, the sand-travel teleportation went smoothly, and the sand siblings plus Gemini landed safely in the middle of the forest. Gemini knew where they were right away. "Okay, I can smell wounded back that way, and I hear battles up ahead. You guys were the ones called in, so you should go ahead and assist wherever you can. I'll head back this way and help the wounded back to Konoha." She said.

At about that moment, Naruto was having a bit of trouble getting past a really pale guy who used his own bones as weapons. He was surprised, to say the least, when Rock Lee appeared and urged him to go after Sasuke- mostly because Lee had been told to stay in the village. Still, he thanked the green-clad ninja and raced onward, leaving Lee to face Kimimaro.

"Sounds like a plan," Temari stated before she and the others went to help in any way they could. Kankuro noticed a boy with brown hair along with a white dog battling two different shinobi at once. Seeing the dog being injured and the boy trying to protect it, even taking some hits that were easily dodgeable, Kankuro unsealed his newest puppet and made it look like him before helping out.

"Oh joy...it's you" Temari deadpanned, though was secretly glad to see Shikamaru. She wasn't happy to see that he was hurt, but pushed those emotions down for the moment. Battle to win first, dealing with the boy in front of you second.

Heading back through the forest, Gemini found Neji, nearly dead, and then Chouji, passed out farther back towards Konoha. She couldn't help both of them get back, but thankfully she met up with a team of medic ninja that helped. She helped get the two back to the village and into the hospital as fast as possible. Once that was seen to, she had nothing to do but wander Konoha until the others came back. So, she did.

Lee was having a bit of trouble with Kimimaro, though he wasn't fully aware of the trouble he was in- mostly because he was slightly drunk. The young ninja only started to understand his perilous situation when he fell backwards onto his bottom, and watched an especially fast moving bone come flying at him. He had no time to block, and it would take a miracle for him to not be hit.

A miracle appeared in the form of a dense sand cloud forming in front of the bone projectile, quickly stopping it's momentum and piercing power. Once that had been accomplished, Gaara made his presence known, a scowl upon his face as he looked at Rock Lee. "You are fighting with no style and no grace. What happened to the man who took me to my limit all those months ago?" Gaara asked as he stared down the bone user in front of him.

'Gemini?' Yugito thought once she was within the main plaza in front of the village's doors. She thought that she saw the vixen princess and headed towards her, surprised when she found out that it was actually Gemini standing there.

Now sober again, Lee felt embarrassed. "Gaara? What are you...?" He scrambled to his feet, taking a fighting stance. He wasn't about to give up just because backup came.

Gemini spotted a familiar blonde head, and, upon realizing that it was Yugito, started towards her. "Yugito-san! How are you doing? Is Naruto-kun alright?" She asked the neko girl cheerfully.

"Apparently I'm saving you from an untimely demise," Gaara monotoned as he sent a tendril of sand at the opponent. "Who is this guy anyways?" he asked.

"His name is Kimimaro, he's one of Orochimaru's henchmen. And right now, he is my opponent. Please back me up!" Lee answered, before charging forward. He tried to hide the flinch when he felt his still-recovering wounds start to sting.

"I was requested to help you and the others, but I would have helped you all the same," Gaara replied, especially since he, and Gemini, helped him to understand that there was more to life than just proving one's existence. Sure Naruto was the one to beat it into his head, but it was started by his girlfriend and the boy behind him.

"Foxy-kun is out on a mission trying to save his douche of a teammate along with a few other of his friends," Yugito replied, but it was good to see Gemini. Though she wondered what she was doing back in Konoha and decided to ask.

Gemini nodded. "I knew he would be in on that mission. Gaa-kun and his siblings were called here as emergency backup, and I came along just in case. It turned out they didn't need me, so I helped the wounded members get back to the hospital. Now I'm just waiting for everyone to get back." She said, starting to look worried. "It's been a while, though, and I'm starting to get nervous. Naruto-kun is likely to find Sasuke-teme, but if they fight..." She trailed off, leaving the implications clear.

"I'm worried too. Foxy-kun did promise to bring him back...it may make him go easy on the prick," Yugito responded, having a feeling she was as worried about Naruto as she was. True she knew that he could handle himself but the fact still remained that she was worried for him...

Gemini nodded. "You have no idea. Naruto-kun would go easy on him anyway...he wants to believe the best of everyone, which is good, but it gets him into trouble with situations like this. If Sasuke-san is really serious about joining Orochimaru, then he's not going to hold back at all. He'll try his best to kill Naruto-kun. And if Naruto-kun doesn't realize fast that his life is actually in danger, he won't defend himself seriously." She fretted.

Meanwhile, after two attempts to jump back into battle thwarted by Gaara, Lee had accepted that he was destined to sit on the sidelines for this one. And after seeing some of what Gaara was now capable of, he was kind of glad for it. The only problem was, the blasted bone ninja refused to die!

(holy crap, how did you catch a Missing No. on Vdex?)

"I just hope he'll be okay," Yugito said with a light sigh. She really was worried about her boyfriend and knew that what Gemini said was right.

Gaara was starting to get annoyed by this bone ninja. He had taken a good amount of hits from the jinchuuriki but hadn't stayed down. He was thinking that he would soon have to pull out his ultimate trump card...minus Shukaku that is.

((Wolfie caught two, actually. She was doing some massive clicking, looking for one of the Jirachi that were released back when she first joined, and she came across several that she missed, then she happened to have Lyrit at full and a Dusk Ball, and she caught a couple that way. She's seen a few since then, but hasn't been able to catch them.))

Gemini nodded in agreement. "Hey...let's go get some tea or something. Maybe we can catch up a bit." She suggested, trying to lift the mood.

(Phoenix sees what you mean)

"That sounds like a good idea actually," Yugito responded and asked Gemini to lead the way towards a tea shop. Sure she knew of where a few existed, but had never gone into any of them.

Gemini smiled slightly and led the way to her favorite tea shop. It was a small place, but very tidy and nice. "I used to come here a lot. They're really kind here, the service is great and the tea is wonderful, and it was the only place I could afford on a genin salary." She told Yugito as they entered.

"Really now?" Yugito asked as she headed inside with Gemini. She was quite curious as to what the shop was like and wondered why she never entered here before. Probably because she was too busy...

Just like outside, the inside was small and neatly put together. It was a traditional setting, with cushions and low tables instead of chairs. The wait staff were women wearing traditional kimonos, and the patrons even had their shoes off. There were only two waitresses, but that seemed to be enough as the customers were pretty laid back. Both waitresses waved at Gemini when they entered, and she waved back as she took a seat near the window. "One of them will get to us in a minute." She said, sitting down on the cushion.

Yugito followed Gemini's actions before nodding lightly. "So...how has Suna been?" the neko asked curiously.

Gemini smiled, her ears perking up at the question. "It's been wonderful! Oh, I miss Konoha sometimes, of course- it's where I grew up, after all- but Suna just feels like home to me. It's really hot in the daytime, but I don't mind, and the nights are freezing, but that's good for training...or cuddling." She blushed a little. "There's a huge library, and I actually get to borrow books because I'm an official citizen now. I took the genin test and passed, so I'm kind of an unofficial fourth member of team Suna. Gaa-kun and his siblings are really kind, they even let me live in their house- which is enormous! And there's this couple that has been teaching Gaa-kun and I all about swordsmanship. But the best part is that Suna has accepted me for who and what I am- in a way that Konoha never did. The people can be a little rough around the edges, but all in all they're really kind. It's like I finally found a place I belong." Gemini gushed happily. She didn't even realize that she had started to use her pet name for Gaara almost permanently. "And what about you? How have you adjusted to Konoha? Are they nice to you?"

Yugito laughed as she heard the the pet name for Gaara that Gemini used, but then again, Naruto and herself were no better since he called her 'Kitty-chan' and she called him 'Foxy-kun' almost all the time now. "Sorry, I couldn't help laughing after hearing the pet name you've given your boyfriend. But to answer your questions, I'm doing well. I miss Kumo a little, but not much. This place is much more warmer and friendlier seeming than Kumo could ever become. Plus I'm treated like an actual person and not just a weapon that the people 'need to be kind to otherwise she might barbeque you alive' she said with a shake of her head. "But it seems like we've both benefited by 'moving in' with our boyfriends."

Gemini blushed a little, realizing that she'd used the pet name, but smiled. "Ah, I can't help it. I call him that all the time now..." She said with a chuckle. "But yes, you're right. We're both doing better now. I'm glad you like Konoha, Yugito-san. It really is a nice place with good people...I just got a bad rap because my adopted father made sure of it. But no one knows that in Suna, so I got a clean slate...well, mostly clean. Gaa-kun had a bad rap, too, so at first I was bad by association. But now, after so many months of me fighting for him, and him behaving himself, they've started accepting both of us. Gaa-kun has a lot of work to do still, and I feel bad because people seem t see me as either a good influence on him, or else someone that's "keeping him under control," when really he's doing the work himself and he deserves the credit." She sighed. "But I know it'll keep getting better for him. He's trying really hard. Anyway, the point was that we've both got a clean slate after moving to a new village."

Yugito nodded lightly at that. "I know what you mean, and the fact that I now look like a neko and Naruto-kun looks like a fox...sometimes it doesn't help matters. But we both get through it," she replied.

Gemini nodded. "Actually, I was wondering about that-" She started, when one of the waitresses came over. "Hello again, Gemini-chan. It's been a while. Did you come back from Suna to visit?" The girl asked. Gemini nodded. "Yeah, something like that. Kimi-chan, this is my friend Yugito-san. She's Naruto-kun's girlfriend." She said. Kimi smiled at Yugito. "It's nice to meet you, Yugito-san. You are welcome here any time, even after Gemini-chan leaves. Now, what may I get you both?" She asked. Gemini placed her order, and waited for Yugito to place hers. Kimi took them both and smiled, saying that they would be ready shortly. Once she left, Gemini turned back to Yugito. "Anyway, like I was saying, what happened with you? I noticed you looked like a Neko, but I wanted to ask why. And did you say that Naruto-kun looks like a Kitsune now?" She asked. She hadn't seen Naruto yet, so that was news to her.

(I've been meaning to ask, is Gold an okay color for Yugito? Are you having trouble reading it?)

Yugito thanked the waitress, both for the offer and for taking her order. "I will remember that Kimi-chan, thank you" she said before she heard Gemini's question and blushed lightly at that. "It's actually a long story...but Foxy-kun has a heart of gold, nya" she admitted, blushing as her verbal tic made itself known before she told the vixen about how she was going to eventually become the Nibi after she died.

(Hm? No, it's fine! Wolfie would have told you a long time ago if she was having trouble with it.))

Gemini nodded in agreement that Naruto had a heart of gold. She chuckled a bit at Yugito's verbal tic, thinking it was cute, especially since she and Naruto both had one. Once the Neko girl was finished her story, Gemini sighed. "Wow, I can't even imagine that. I'd be so scared in your position...but also kind of excited. I mean, someday you'll be a super-powerful hellcat. It sounds kind of cool. And I think it's really sweet that Naruto-kun became part Kitsune for you, too. It's exactly the kind of thing he would do." She said, sighing wistfully. "As much as Gaa-kun loves me, I know he could never do that. To become one with that beast he houses...I would never ask him to, either. It would just kill him if he looked like that, and I couldn't hurt him that way. It's not like with Naruto-kun and my father, where they can get along." She shook her head, clearing that line of thought. "I wonder if I'll be able to talk with father while I'm here. I'd like to ask him a few questions." She mused with a smile.

The fight was finally over, and even though he hadn't done much fighting, Lee was exhausted. He was currently sitting on a log next to Gaara, and they were talking about important people. "So, Gaara-san, have you found anyone important to you yet? A person to protect?" He asked.