Shikamaru sighed as he and the other members of the acclaimed "Rookie 11" stood in front of the Hokage in her office, Naruto having been unable to locate Tenten in the time allotted to find the people on the list. "Alright...Naruto was only saying that we all were needed by you, not what though" he said, silently inquiring as to what was going on. He had no information to go on.

Tsunade clasped her hands in front of her on the desk. "We have an emergency mission request from Suna." She said, and continued to explain. "You'll need to get moving quickly."

Yugito could see the urgency running through her boyfriend's eyes and had a feeling that if it was just him, or her with him then they would be using their respective Bijuu energy in order to get towards Suna as fast as possible. "I think Foxy-kun will agree with me when I say let's get going, Nya~" Yugito said after the debriefing was over.

Naruto nodded. "Absolutely." He said.

"Then let us go and help our friends!" Shouted Lee exuberantly.

Sakura sighed. "Time to put my training to the test..." She muttered.

Yugito placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. Seeing the pinkette looking at her, the neko gave her a light smile. "I've seen you training off and on Sakura-san, I think you'll do fine," she stated, especially since she had been watching over Sakura every once in a while and seeing that she was being diligent in her studies.

Sakura gave Yugito a tiny smile. "Thanks. I hope you're right." She said, moving towards the door with the rest of the group. They were going to have to move fast, so there wouldn't be much time for talking.

"Don't mention it Sakura," Yugito replied as she headed to the door with the others. As they headed to the gate, she placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder lightly. Seeing him turn towards her, she smiled lightly. "I know you want to get there fast Foxy-kun, but we'll be no help to our brother if we spend all our energy running and using our partner's youki," she stated.

Naruto looked back at his girlfriend and nodded, smiling. "Yeah...you're right. Thanks, Kitty-chan." He said, starting to move with the group. He didn't know what he'd do without Yugito keep him on track.

Yugito grinned at that. "Of course I'm right," she said with a light laugh as she kept up with the others.

((Fast forwarding...))

It took quite a bit of running, but they eventually caught up with team Suna- plus Gemini- in the heat of battle with the kidnappers. They each broke off to help someone fight, and Naruto found himself helping Gaara, though there wasn't a lot he could do.

Yugito saw that Gemini was having problems with her opponent before going through handseals. "Gem, duck!" She shouted before letting her katon jutsu fly.

((Just gonna pretend there's an enemy for Gemini and Yugito. Originally, there were only three henchmen and one boss guy who Naruto and Gaara fought. We'll invent a fourth henchman.))

Gemini, who was struggling against an opponent much larger than herself, ducked just in time. The man stumbled back from the force of the jutsu, giving Gemini a chance to get clear of him. "Yugito-chan! I'm so glad they sent you!" She said. "Where's Naruto-kun? Please tell me he went after Gaara!"

"Of course he did," Yugito stated as she landed on the desert sand. 'Ugh...I'm gonna have to take a shower to get all this sand out of my fur later,' she thought. "So...what's going on here, do you know?" Yugito asked. Sure she had gotten the main things from Tsunade, but it was better to get details from Gemini.

((Actually those fights happen in a forest.))

"These people are from a village that makes weapons." Gemini said, tail flicking back and forth. "I don't know the details of why, but they're trying to force Gaa-kun to transform so they can steal the demon's power. Gaa-kun went on ahead, but the leader is really tough and he came to the fight prepared." She explained nervously. "We need to get to him. I'm worried."

(huh...thought it was in the desert. Oh well)

Yugito nodded after listening to Gemini. "I think I can find him, assuming that Foxy-kun is nearby," Yugito said, having been able to sense where Naruto is a couple of times in the past, but didn't know if that was because they were boyfriend and girlfriend or if something else was at work.

((Nah, they end up clashing in a forest halfway between Suna and...Ame, Wolfie thinks? Some village close to water.))

"Lead the way, then." Gemini said, her tail twitching impatiently.

Not far away, Naruto was desperately trying to pound open a huge metal dome. Inside it was Gaara, who's chakra was being removed.

(alright)

Yugito nodded quickly before taking point, using her connection with Naruto to find them. She could also sense Gaara...and his chakra slowly being removed. "Come on, we need to move!" she shouted before starting to speed up.

Gemini nodded and put on a burst of speed, almost overtaking Yugito in her haste. She let up just a bit to let the Neko girl lead. "How much further?"

"Not much farther!" Yugito shouted. She just hoped that when they got there that they would be able to help.

Matsuri was surprised as to how Naruto was fighting to free Gaara. Seeing her resolved he was...she was annoyed at herself for not being able to help. Seeing several kunai coming at Naruto's back as he was dealing with the metal surrounding her crush, her body moved. Spinning her weapon to create a shield of chakra. She didn't know how she was doing it, but she was...

By the time they arrived, the dome had been broken and Gaara was there, half transformed and fighting to keep control of himself. As much as she wanted to help, Gemini realized that there was nothing she could do. This was something Gaara had to deal with by himself.

Naruto had drawn the same conclusion and was waiting on the sidelines to see what happened. He was more than ready to jump back in if he was needed.

"Foxy-kun, what's happening?" Yugito asked, concerned about what was going on with their Jinchuuriki brother.

Naruto shook his head. "It's difficult to explain. As far as I can tell, they were trying to resurrect some old guy- that one over there- and they wanted to use Shukaku's power to do it. Now Gaara's stuck...he's hurt and fighting that guy, and he won't let us come close." He explained.

"Why isn't Gaara-kun letting others get close?" Matsuri asked not only with curiosity but also with concern.

Naruto looked at the girl curiously. "Because it's dangerous. If Gaara-san loses control for even a second..." He shook his head. "It's not really safe for us to be even this close."

"He's right. But we're not going anywhere- or at least, I'm not. I have to be right here if he needs me." Gemini said stubbornly.

"I'm staying right here as well. I'm his student...it's the least I can do," Matsuri stated stubbornly.