Extra: Home Sweet Home

The three of them rose from the sand covered ground; finally back in their home world. Completely exhausted, they collapsed onto the lush grass, taking the time to relax and reflect a little.

“That… was really random…” Lee sighed, looking up at the canopy of the trees. It felt weird, going there with seven people and coming back with only three. Never before had a team of his suffered such incredible losses at one time.

“So many good people died over there… how on earth will we defeat Akatsuki now? With Naruto and Kakashi gone, we can’t possibly stand a chance,” Sakura moped, her hope steadily draining.

Things looked bleak for them. In this short time their forces had steadily dwindled. But Gaara had been through enough hardship for a lifetime, and didn’t want to dwell on the matter currently.

“Hey, at least we survived. And we’re back in my time now so if we need it, we can take as long as we need to regroup and make a new plan,” Gaara told them, trying to be optimistic.

Sakura looked over at him, a sour look on her face. How dare he try to make light of what had happened! It was an outrage, and she planned to teach him a lesson.

It was quite obvious that she was about to beat on him, and Lee knew he had to stop her. Things hadn’t turned out quite as planned, but she couldn’t use Gaara as a punching bag to vent her frustration.

Thinking quickly he jumped between them, hissing, “Sakura, stop that now! I know we lost a lot, but we have to try to keep calm. I think I knew a way to get our comrades back.”

The girl didn’t lower her fist, but at the same time didn’t proceed with punching Gaara’s face in. Sounding sceptical she muttered, “And how would we possibly be able to do that?”

“We’re in the past, right? So the past selves of everyone should still be alive,” he started, smiling brightly, “If we can find them we can train them, and then go defeat Akatsuki when the time comes.”

For a moment she thought, realizing he was right. Slowly she lowered her hand, backing down and saying softly, “That’s so crazy… it just might work…”

“Gaara, you think you could help us out with this?” Bushy Brows asked, turning to the red-haired boy.

He didn’t even have to think about it. He would do anything to save his future, no questions asked. Without hesitation he nodded vigorously.

“Yes, of course I’ll help! It might take some time to gather them all, but…” he started, but was distracted by something before he could finish, “But… what’s going on? What’s happening to you guys?”

Up until then nobody ha noticed it, but something weird was happening to Sakura and Lee. They didn’t realize it, but it had been going on since they’d arrived in Gaara’s time, a slow process.

Sakura looked down at her hands in horror, unsure of what to think. She cried out, “What is this? My hands… where are they?”

Lee looked at his hands to find that they weren’t there. Somehow they’d completely disappeared, leaving nothing but empty space. Unlike Sakura, though, who was scared out of her wits, he seemed oddly calm.

“Guys, it’s not just your hands. Your whole bodies look lighter, like they’re about to disappear too!” Gaara blurted, only worsening Sakura’s panicked state.

Still Lee remained calm, smiling even. He seemed to be the only one who knew what was going on.

Sakura glared at him, his odd calmness enraging her. She shouted madly, “What the hell is you’re problem, Lee? We’re randomly disappearing into thin air and you’re just sitting there smiling!”

He laughed, “Sakura, there’s nothing to be worried about. Just leave it be and everything will be alright.”

“Alright? ALL RIGHT! We’re freaking being erased from existence, how can that possibly be ‘alright’?” she exploded.

“Exactly. We’re being erased from existence! Don’t you get it?” he began, finally explaining his cheeriness, “That means our future doesn’t exist. By coming back to his own time Gaara’s corrected the future. You and I live in a Gaara-less world, but now that he’s here again he’s changed the course of history… again. It’s back on the right track!”

For a moment silence engulfed the group, though it soon ended when they all let out whoops of joy. Things were finally right again.

“Yes… thank you so much for saving us, Gaara. No more Akatsuki-ruled future for us,” Sakura thanked.

Gaara hugged the two of them, not quite knowing what to think. He asked sadly, “Wait! When will I see you guys again? Please don’t leave just yet.”

Over the course of their journey he’d grown attached to his older comrades, and he didn’t want to see them go like this. He knew he couldn’t stop them, though, and didn’t bother trying to keep them there.

“Exactly as we are now… you’ll never see us like this again. Whatever we make of ourselves in this new future you created, however, those are the versions of us you’ll see,” Lee said, as everything but his head disappeared.

“So in a few years you’ll see us again… the right way. Until then…” Sakura finished, making it her final goodbye.

With that the two of them disappeared, leaving nothing behind. Gaara just stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Soon he became aware of two voices coming from the clearing. It was his brother and sister, freaking out about his own disappearance.

Realizing what he had to do, he calmly strode into the clearing. At first the other two sand ninja didn’t realize he was there, and they didn’t until he alerted them of his presence.

“Kankuro… Temari? What’s going on?” he asked as he neared them, trying to sound as if he hadn’t just been on a random adventure.

The two of them whipped around to face him, tears streaming from their eyes. At first they looked surprised, but that quickly wore off as they realized their brother was safe.

No words were spoken as they embraced him in a hug. They were just happy he was OK, for they’d assumed the worst.

Gaara thought to tell them what had happened, but quickly decided against it. They didn’t need to know the truth, not quite yet. With that in mind he hugged them back, stashing his secret in the dark depths of his mind.

:End of Extra: Home Sweet Home:

Well, here it is... the very end of the fanfiction. Now you know what's been happening to everyone in the minichapters. Makes sense, I think... since he corrected the past the future versions of themselves no longer exist in that form.

Thanks to all the readers who've stayed along for the whole ride and who've left reviews for me. This was really fun to make and it was great to see all your reactions to everything that's happened to the characters.

If you really want to read more of my writing I've got a series in the works, a trilogy about my first OC, Slert. It'll be invader Zim based, but I'm really proud of it so far. I don't know when that'll be coming out, but I do know it'll be epic.

SPECIAL THANKS TO RICHARD FOR BETA READING THE FIRST HALF OF THIS, AND POSSIBLY THE REST IF HE FEELS LIKE IT. I'm sorry, I forget your username and all I have is my emails from you XD.

Now... I will have to go now. I don't know if I'll make another fanfiction quite like this, but it's a possability; I have too many ideas in my head...

I hope to see you all in future projects, and I hope you all enjoyed reading Ninja in a Demon's World! :D