Lloyd's POV
When it was morning I started off in search of my team. I walked in the direction we had been heading when I stormed off. I found them getting ready to leave. "Hey," I said.
Y/n looked at me. "Are you in a better mood?"
I shook my head. "But I need to be with my team. It's best if you just don't talk to me."
"About Sasuke or the war?" Temari asked.
I gave her a dark look. "Both."
"Okay, then we won't talk about Sasuke but not talking about the war is going to be a little difficult, Lloyd," Y/n said. "Given the fact that we have to prepare for it."
I glared at the ground. "I am aware."
"But how are we supposed to talk about our plans and stuff if it pisses you off?"
I shook my head and didn't respond.
Y/n's POV
I watched Lloyd worriedly as we headed back to Suna. I caught up to Gaara. "Is it me or is Lloyd actually becoming an angry person because one of his friends betrayed their village?" I asked him.
"It's not just you," Gaara muttered. "He won't let anyone help him."
"I don't think anyone can."
"I meant that he's not talking about it so it's festering."
I nodded. "Should we try teasing him and making jokes?"
He blinked. "What?"
I rolled my eyes. "We're his friends. It's our job to make him happy."
Gaara nodded. "Okay."
We both dropped back and walked beside Lloyd. "So when you went for a walk was it so you could think about a girl you like?" I asked playfully.
Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "The only girls I know are prickly."
"Hey!" I said. "Temari might be prickly but I'm not."
Gaara snorted. "You are too."
I scowled at him. "Well, you're friends with Temari and me so you do like prickly women," I pointed out.
Lloyd's mouth twitched. "I suppose that's true."
"Suppose?" Gaara said. "That's a lie."
Lloyd shook his head. "I know what you two are doing."
"Or yeah? What are we doing?" I challenged.
"You're trying to make me feel better."
I blinked. Wow, he got it right. "Is it working?"
He shrugged. "A little. I won't say that I'm in love with anyone and I know that's what you're hoping for."
I looked at him. "Do you love someone?"
He smirked. "I love my friends."
I scowled. "Really? That's not what I meant."
He raised an eyebrow. "You asked if I love someone, I said that I love my friends. I answered your question."
"Cheater," I growled.
He laughed which made Gaara and me smile at one another. "I answered your question truthfully," Lloyd told me. He saw us smile at each other and had ignored it.
"Okay, fine. Let me rephrase my question. Who are you in love with?" I said. Ha, I thought. Try to get out of that one.
Lloyd thought for a minute. "No one."
I frowned. "You aren't in love with anyone?"
"Are you?" He countered.
I blinked. "What? No."
"Then why do I have to be in love with someone?"
"You don't have to be. I'm just hoping you are."
Lloyd rolled his eyes. "You are a ridiculous friend, you know that?"
I beamed. "Yup."
Gaara chuckled. "She is," he agreed.
I scowled. "How about you? Who are you in love with, Gaara?"
He frowned at me. "No one."
I look from Lloyd to Gaara and back again. "I guess we all are going to die single," I said.
Lloyd smiled a little. "We'll die together."
I shrugged. "I guess that could work."
He sighed. "We'll survive this war together or die together. That's the only thing we can do."
I glanced at him. "Do you think Sasuke might help us fight in the war?" I asked cautiously.
Lloyd tensed but nodded. "He might. Then he'll just try and take over Konoha himself."
I saw that he was back to being unhappy. "Sorry, I should have asked that," I murmured.
He shook his head. "It's okay. I need to calm down." He looked at Gaara. "sO what's the plan, Kazekage?"
Gaara snorted. "Since when do you call me 'Kazekage'?"
Lloyd grinned. "When I want to irritate you."
"But seriously. What's the plan?" Temari said. "We've never been in a war before."
"None of us have," I said. "Madara I think has but other than that, we're screwed."
"No, we have a tailed beast that no one knows about," Gaara reminded us.
"Everyone in Konoha knows," Lloyd muttered.
"Yes, but I doubt anyone told someone."
"Sasuke probably did," Kankuro said.
Lloyd looked at Kankuro thoughtfully. "No, I don't think he did."
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"Because no one has tried to go after you, Y/n."
I thought about that. "True. They went after Gaara not knowing that there were two Tanuki's."
"Now there is one," Temari said.
"Shukaku isn't dead," I told her. "He's alive. He's just inside a giant statue at the moment."
"Gaara, do you want Shukaku sealed back inside you after all this is over?" Lloyd asked.
Gaara's POV
I was silent for a few minutes. "Well...No," I said firmly. "He hated having a Jinshuriki. The only way I'll accept him back is if he asks."
Y/n snorted. "I would make him beg for it."
My mouth twitched. "I know. But I'm not that mean."
"Hey, I'm only a little mean," she said defensively.
Lloyd snorted. "Bullshit. You're meaner than a cat."
We all laughed. Y/n scowled at us. "Gaara was meaner than that back in the day."
Lloyd's expression turned serious. "Can you please stop bringing that up? He's not like that anymore."
"It's okay, Lloyd," I said. "It's true. I was cruel and mean back then. But I've changed."
Y/n nodded. "Maybe we should have introduced Gaara to Naruto sooner. That way he could have changed faster."
"That would only have worked if Naruto and him fought," Lloyd pointed out. "Naruto needed to learn how to fight before doing that."
"Okay," Y/n allowed. "Oh! Do you think it would have made a difference if Lloyd was here when you were younger, Gaara?"
I thought about it. "It's possible."
Lloyd frowned. "Maybe but I would have been a kid who knew nothing then. Hell, I probably would have encouraged him to turn to the bad side because at the time I thought that was right. It took becoming the Green Ninja to change that."
Y/n nodded. "Okay."
Temari looked up. "Hey, it's getting late. We should make camp and get some sleep. We'll get to Suna sometime tomorrow."
We made camp and I took the first watch. then switched with Lloyd at midnight.
