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By Inuzuka

Premise: Uchiha
Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto have been apart for four years. They
haven't seen each other in four years. Sasuke's betrayed his country,
alienating all who treasured him, and Naruto has won it over,
befriending all who alienated him. Sasuke, who feels no self-worth,
and feels he has no one is allowing his amnesty to give him one last
chance to give his life meaning, all his goals fulfilled. Naruto is
in turmoil...why is he worried for the one who left him? Why is he
glad the one who wished to kill him is back?

Archived: Only on aff.net as of 1.20.06.

Rating: NC-17 for later on graphic sexual content, plus mentions of suicide, violence,
and overall things requiring maturity.

Pairings:
This focuses on the relationship between one Uchiha Sasuke and the
Uzumaki Naruto. But since they were very much made by their
surroundings, I can't avoid other people, and how they view them.
There are blatant references to other relationships, including, in
this chapter, Kankurou and Kiba, Neji and Sakura, and Lee and
Ten-Ten.

Feedback: Reviews, please!

Characters: The majority of the Naruto cast.

Disclaimer:
I don't own any of the rights to anything to do with Masashi
Kishimoto's Naruto, and claim no ownership over any of it's
trademarks.

Author's note:
This is technically my freshman fanfiction attempt...I've written one
or two fanfics before, but I didn't like them enough to publish them,
so hopefully this will be decently written, eh?

This takes place 1 year after the 3yr
jump, and I'm trying to establish my own storyline after that point
for my purposes, but it's definitely within the current Naruto-verse.
Billiards exists within Naruto-verse, don't judge me. These are
assumptions that might not be clear...well, the latter one's just a
deus ex machina, I'll admit it, but hey.

• Naruto's 17 (12yrs at start,
  plus one, plus 3 years time jump, plus another) and Konohamaru's
  15...though I'm not sure if that'll come into play or not. I think
  it will, but I'm still deciding.


• Itachi was the only Akatsuki
  pressing for the demons to be obtained.

Finally, --~~~~-- means scene change.

Enjoy the story!

Chapter 1: Weather

Naruto bent over further, and
adjusted the cue stick within his hands. He'd grown taller in recent
years, but was still only about the same height as Iruka. It didn't
bother him. He was fast, and he had the chakra to gain him any
leverage he'd ever need...but that didn't make him any better at
pool, with the no-chakra, no-jutsus rule. Sand whipped up against the
windows outside. It was a dark night, a sandstorm blazing, and the
heat blistering. Outside was unpredictable, but inside, he could
ignore it while he kept away from his duties, while he denied he had
them... much more relaxing that way.

He straightened up, taking a step or
two back. The weather was vicious outside the bar, but inside it was
air-conditioned, well-lit, and comfortable. "Oi, Temari! Your
turn." Befriending the Hokage and Kazekage had it's benefits,
and Naruto managed a week free of work in Suna for "diplomatic
relations" a few days ago (Naruto had already put up with a few
too many insinuations from ero-sennin as to the...nature of those
relationships, thank you very much, and his excuse of "we just
enjoy each other's company" really didn't remedy the situation
much).

Gaara was buried in paperwork. He'd
neglected it for days to humor the blond, but if he didn't get to it
soon the ANBU was going to fall apart. Usually, he managed to ignore
Naruto sooner, but the kyuubi-holder still held the nasty habit of
mischief when he was bored. He didn't know how many times he'd had to
replace his damn hat after Naruto had stolen it. Why it amused him so
much, he'd never know. Thankfully, Temari had offered to teach the
blond how to play pool that day, seeing as nothing had been up
lately.

Standing straight and stretching his
back (ero-sennin-teme had also commented on how he always stretched
after he bent over) he waited until Temari made her shot. "So,
where's puppet-boy, anyways?"

"You could've passed him on your
way over here." Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "He uses
the same excuse...except, since he doesn't have to fear
the...y'know...killing part..." She smiled gently, and
made her shot, the cue bouncing off the far wall and she just missed
the red solid, even thought the blue solid was practically falling
into the corner hole. Naruto was a proud kid, too proud for this kind
of mercy, but he sucked at this. "...he pretty much beats up on
Gaara until he gives him leave. I really should remind him that
that's your fault the next time you spar, you know." She added
with a grin.

"Heh. What's he doing in
Konoha?" Naruto said, finally sinking the damn yellow striped.

"Probably getting wasted with
that dog-boy."

"Kiba?" The cue ball went
in with the blue striped this time, and he took a few steps back,
leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, I think so. I'm just glad
Kiba's not up here. Akamaru's cute, but seeing Kankurou's
puppets outside of his room so he's not 'tempted' is so disturbing
it's not worth it." The red went in that time, and Naruto choked
a little on his coke, his face turning the colour of the recently
sunken ball.

"Gah. Don't even make me picture
that."

"Why? Still hung up on that
gothy kid? Sasuke?" She smirked.

That earned her a glare. "Uzumaki
Naruto does not get hung up on anyone. I'm not even into
guys."

"Hah. And that's why you nearly
half-raped Gaara when we got you into that bar?"

"I, um, fell. And tripped over
him. Gah, why do you care anyways?" An awkward grin on his
whiskered face, Naruto stared wide eyed at the windows, fidgeting.
The red-head hadn't let him live that one down, hell no. Every
time he had a drink—one drink!—the
redhead made sure to make the blond walk in front of him. The
Kyuubi had refused to break any
of the alcohol down unless Naruto promised to either kill or
have rabid sex with the red head (he had a...bit of a past with
Shukaku, one he refused to share), and Naruto had obviously refused
to do either.

He remembered it very clearly, more
clearly than he liked as the kyuubi chuckled, bringing that
particular memory into clear focus. It had been a clear night, the
streets almost deserted, and the desert cold a bit abated as they were well within
the city. He, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro had gone to a
restaurant—Naruto was the only one who drank anything, it being
his birthday, and 16 being the legal age in Suna—and was
stumbling along, walking near Gaara, with Temari trailing behind,
Kankuro having gone ahead. Naruto fell over (see, part of it was
true, fox bastard!), and
hugged the shorter boy from behind for balance, and then stood up,
not letting go, and pressing up against him.

The boy he clutched was getting
progressively redder, and Naruto had been starting to lift his shirt,
eyes closed as he smelled his hair (it smelled good, shut up!)
when Temari smacked the blond on the back of the head. He fell off, with
a yelp, and scrambled up as Gaara stiffly walked off at a too-fast
pace, muttering to himself, his head between hunched up shoulders.
But he was drunk, that was something else, right? “You're
horrible at lying, you know.”
Shut it, rat...why the hell did you call that one up,
anyways?

Sensing the younger boy had finally
stopped spacing out, she continued. "I swear you scarred the kid
for life. Hormones and emotionally stunted little twerps don't mix."
Naruto glared at her, but didn't reply. "Speaking of emotionally
stunted twerps...did you hear? Apparently the council of elders
agreed on giving the Uchiha amnesty. Took forever for all the old men
to agree on something, and he's lucky still, usually he would've been
executed by now."

Naruto looked up from where he was
studying the polished wooden floor, his mind still on the
past...incident. "How'd you hear about that? I didn't..."
When was the last time I heard anything about Uchiha?

"Gaara." The 8-ball went in
and Naruto's face rose for a moment before falling again when he
realized all the solids were already sunk...damn kyuubi! It had a hobby of preserving
a photographic record of any time Naruto pissed someone off, got horny, or got violent...but spacing out while getting his

ass whupped in a $20 pool game? Bastard fox! "Go easy on me my ass..." he muttered as he fished
out his losings from his wallet, putting them on the table with a
pout, and then walked up to the counter (damn barkeep'd only give him
cola, but the dryness he now felt in his throat was frustrating, and
the tingle in his stomach worrying. It'd been 4 years, right? They
were just friends.

He didn't matter that much to me.
He didn't. But, still...Sasuke's coming back?

The door was pulled open momentarily,
the storm's turmoil letting its presence be known in the temporary
howling rage, eerily silent and freakishly loud at the same time, but
it banged shut as the two nin went back at ease and Temari started a
new game, giving Naruto an odd, understanding look.

--~~~~--

The wind rustled the bright green
leaves surrounding Konoha's walls on every side as the sun began to
sink lower in the sky, splashing the heavens with it's magnificent
splendor. The fresh smell of autumn was in the air, and the dirt road
was crunchy beneath sandaled feet. It seemed like nothing would ever
change. It was still August, and that made itself apparent to one
Hyuuga Neji. Why was there no ANBU summer uniform? A wooden mask, and
tight, black cloth weren't the most relaxing clothes...a tank top at
least, something. A cool
breeze ran by at that moment, and Hyuuga tilted his head up appreciatively. It was
the relaxing sort of quiet, sun-baked day, and for that, he was
grateful. He had no wish for combat, not now. The unmasked crunching
of feet on the road just reached his hears from far ahead, and he
didn't need byakugan to see who the sounds belonged to.

Neji glanced over quickly at Ten-Ten,
who was standing on the other side of the gate, seeing her reaction
to the person approaching them. He started when he saw that one
Uchiha Sasuke was not only not glaring, but his chin was inside of
his collar. An Uchiha nervous...? He was still a good 40m off,
but he saw the raven-haired boy stop his dash, sigh, eyes
studying the ground beneath him, and after a pause, shiver, and
straighten up, starting a slow walk down the last stretch. He was in
all black, a high, wide collared shirt like his old one, and baggy
pants tight on his lower shin to socks and sandals. Ten-Ten had
noticed him too, but she hadn't seen his face. Maybe he'd changed?
He'd been bothered by the recent decision...

Not too long after the boy's
disappearance, the buzz about him had died down until his teammates
were the only ones who really cared. And when leads dried up, even
Naruto, at least outwardly, had lost his steam for finding his rival.
There'd been some searches, sure, but there was more concern to
stopping the growing power of Orochimaru than recovering the missing
nin, and when the pressure had really been on him as Konoha recovered
from the attack years ago, Orichamaru had fled his village, going
into hiding.

Kabuto had taken his place, and the
medic-nin proved to be a much better leader than the snake, and had
prevented war and the prosecution of his underlings by, in a show of
good faith, turning over documents detailing some of the
more...macabre procedures he and the snake had conjured, though far
from all of them, the nin claiming the snake hadn't let him into the
details of the cursed seal, even after Anko's...special
questioning. Actually, if it wasn't for him, Sasuke would've likely
been handed the death sentence as soon as he was found, Kabuto being
the sole diplomat between the two villages. The temporary otokage has
disbanded Oto however, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Sakura had only kept defending Sasuke
for the blonde's sake. She had realized the kindness Naruto had shown
her in their time together, and had dropped her favoritism towards
Sasuke, and had confided in the Hyuuga that she would've humored the
fox-boy in a date, if he'd asked. Sakura had definitely moved past her
delusions of needing love to complete her. She'd become independent,
and when her newly honed taijutsu skill combined with her
monster-strength, she became an excellent ANBU captain...though her
closeness to the hokage probably influenced this more than her skill.
She recently had a bit of a relationship with the Hyuuga—most
people figured she was just interested in him because of the whole
dark haired beauty thing, but they'd truthfully gotten to know each
other fairly well.

Why Neji had gotten close to the
pink-haired medic had been a bit too Naruto-esque for Neji's tastes.
He'd gotten in a bit of a spat with Sai, and after getting past the
summons, he'd paralyzed the boy for a week. Sakura had mended Neji up
afterwards—even a Hyuuga got scratched by tigers—and...things
went one after another. He wasn't worried about Sasuke taking her
away from him, he was only concerned for his friend's feelings. She'd
thrown herself at the Uchiha in the past, and frankly, she was
embarrassed by it.

Not only that...Uzumaki, the one to
whom he owed any personal progress he had made. Though he denied it
fervently, pretty much everyone knew that the blond and the Uchiha
were more than friends before he ran to Orochimaru. Speaking of
which, the man claiming to be Naruto's friend was approaching them
now. The man who left Naruto alone, who had broken the boy who'd
saved him, was striding confidently up to his post after 4 years.
Four goddamn years, Sasuke. I used to respect
you...The trace of humility he'd seen when the Uchiha
had thought himself to be unwatched was gone, but not replaced by
arrogance.

He...he really does seem nervous.
What is his game?

He tried to summon up some sort of
resolve. He had to do something. There was no way he was going to make
this easy on the raven-haired boy. He quickly moved to the center of
the road. “State your name and business.”

“You know who I am, Hyuuga.”
Sasuke looked directly into the blank orbs. They were opposite in
that. Sasuke acted shallow and had endlessly deep eyes. Neji acted
like he revealed none of himself, and had shallow eyes...creepy eyes, too,
but that was another matter.

“State your name and business.”
Neji tried to keep his face calm. Don't you dare come back into
this village thinking you're above us. Don't think we waited for you,
it would either crush them, or enrage them. Things don't need
to change, you bastard. You left. You left! “Who do you think you are,
and why is your shadow disgracing our gates?”

A crestfallen glance off to the side
as the Uchiha's stomach turned. He was being confronted already? If
I lose my temper here...I'll never see him again. He
was already on thin ice being late to coming to the village...any
sort of violence, and the death sentence that Sasuke was fully aware
he deserved for even thinking of coming here would be enacted
swiftly, and after what he'd been through...the exhausting training
from the snake, the constant abuse and fear at his hands...Kabuto had
saved from the snake, the silver-haired boy his only friend and link
to sanity during their time together. For whatever reason he joined
the snake...when Orochimaru obtained Sasuke, he betrayed Kabuto's
loyalty, putting Sasuke above him in the command chain, and trying
all he could to get the Uchiha as his right-hand man, so his entire
conscious was devoted to him, and that was his fall...that was why
Kabuto developed the seal that effectively rendered the snake's fushi
tensei harmless. That was why he gave it to the Uchiha, and took up
contact with other villages. The Uchiha hoped that wherever he was,
he was doing well.

After
he had managed to leave the snake behind, he'd heard that Konoha
somehow found the whereabouts and statistics of Otogakure. They
launched a full-out attack, and whatever happened, he received word
he was to come back to Konoha immediately. He'd eventually heard word
of his brother's death. The will to kill him was withering, and if he
went back to Konoha...if he met him again, and had the will to live,
to really live...he didn't
think he could do it, not ever. It'd almost been a relief. He felt
tired...his soul was tired. He'd had no joy in years, he was
depressed, and he was slipping. The onyx-eyed nin had considered
letting his brother kill him...at least then he'd know Itachi thought
him worth killing. At least then Itachi would have killed the entire
clan...and then maybe Naruto would hate him, he hoped he would care
that much, even after all this time.

He
shook his head. He didn't like where his thoughts were going. He'd
denied he cared what happened to the dobe...but when he thought about
him as his dobe...the
possessiveness alone proved him long. He wanted to believe Naruto was
his, but at the moment, he didn't feel he deserved him. Even the
idiot...and somehow that made him feel better, to know he wasn't
failing himself by sinking so low as to come crawling back to save
his own life...maybe if he had something, someone who needed him to
be alive...it wouldn't be so shameful. He closed his eyes...he was so
tired, and the heartache was too much. I'm stronger
than this...I sound like Sakura... Even
she lifted his spirits. He had once been considered a person. He
wasn't a tool, and he wasn't just an Uchiha. He had been a person. An
important person, to a few people...He took a deep breath, and
stared right back at Neji. “I'm Sasuke. I've come back.”

“—and what is your
business back, Uchiha?” Neji was angry. He didn't know
why, but I don't want him
here. Maybe he was worried he'd
lose Sakura. Maybe...

A mutual glare. “You were
informed. It's not your place to question the decisions of the
elders.” All confidence on the outside. Anger,
his last wall against self-pity and misery was starting to build up.

Throughout this, Ten-Ten had remained
silent, off to the side. Only now did she step in. She didn't even
know the Uchiha...she knew he betrayed them, and was being let
back...she didn't mind him coming back. It'd be normalcy...Lee
wouldn't be concerned over Naruto so much, for one. She thought back
to one of her conversations she'd had while going back to the
village. There'd been death...the disgusting nature of being cold
from being wet with blood didn't escape them, and the two conversed.
At the time, only Neji had been ANBU, and this wasn't a difficult
mission anyways. Just theives...but they were relentless.

--~~~~--

Lee
draped an arm over Ten-Ten's shoulders. She was shivering, and they
had a long way to walk. She went closer to him. His face had mellowed
out some...enough so that people couldn't find pi from his eyes, at
least. “Why do we still do this? Kill?” Lee asked, his
voice quiet.

“To
protect Konoha, like we always have.”

He
was silent for a moment. “Do you think it's worth it? Is Konoha
worth killing for?” He was so quiet...Ten-Ten almost missed his
overactive vibrance.

“...well...sure,
I guess. I mean, we live there. It's our home. It's balances,
Lee-kun. If we didn't...then we'd be taken over...by people who
would...” She didn't fully believe her reply, but she wasn't so
upset by taking lives. She never had to touch the bodies. She didn't
have to look into their eyes as they died. Lee did.

“...yeah.
Something's been bothering me...” His blatant honesty about
himself always pleased her. Why people had to put up a facade, why
they couldn't just be...she didn't know.

--~~~~--

Naruto always seems depressed
until he leaves the village...and he never tells us why. She knew
why. It reminded him of the time he'd spent with Sasuke. But she kept
telling herself he didn't deserve to be back, if only to support
Neji. She stood beside him and tried to stare him down. To protect
Konoha, our soldiers must be united...but Lee loved Konoha...and he
would be sad if it's most evident brightness, it's loudest, most
well-known secret dimmed any further. He didn't look intimidated, but
he didn't look confident, either.

The reserved boy finally graced them
with an honest look—it was strained, but it was there. “I've
been travelling for 3 days. Just...just let me in, okay?”

Ten-Ten glanced over at her partner
again as she heard backup ANBU arriving, feeling the malicious chakra
from Neji. They'd purposely had people who'd known Uchiha on the
gates, and despite his change in demeanor, they were fairly sure he
was the Sasuke they all knew and...well, they knew him, anyways. He'd
spend a bit of time with Ibiki regardless, but for a missing-nin come
home, that was still getting off easy. Neji nodded, and the gates
opened. Neji and Ten-Ten parted to let the Uchiha in, and he stepped
inside, his stomach clenching.

Four years. Four long years.

--~~~~--

The night was beautiful. The richest,
most honest black was speckled with hundreds of stars. Naruto didn't
know why, but somehow the colour of these heavens made
butterflies rove his stomach. He was going back tomorrow, going back
to his home. He always did, why was it relevant now? Just because
Sasuke-teme was back...just because he finally came back to him—no,
he came back to Konoha--...ah,
everything here was so peaceful, the deserts serene, and the
town silent. He'd been to sand enough times to know how to dress, and
didn't get the usually itchy feeling he had in past visits. He had
friends here. People here didn't know who he was, who was at the
brink of control. He trusted the kyuubi as one trusts a good
friend...but he was the only one who did.

“I haven't met with the hokage
in a while...”

Naruto closed his eyes before
replying to the silent offer. Gaara was worried about him, and as
much as he appreciated it, Naruto couldn't help but feel defensive.
“Sasuke's not going to try anything! He's done with the
snake-bastard. He's not even the avenger anymore.
I'm sure he just wants his old life back.” Why am I
so defensive? Goddamnit, kyuubi, this is your fault. “It's
my fault you're infatuated with the Uchiha?”
...yes...damnit. Why is this so difficult? Why can't I just
calm the hell down? “What
do you call it? It'll be like your first date. So cute, Naruto-kun's
growing up.” Naruto could
picture the fox grin in his face as the kyuubi mocked him. UZUMAKI
NARUTO DOES NOT GET HUNG UP ON ANYONE!

Gaara just looked at him patiently.
The sand nin wasn't the talkative type, even now. He wasn't going to
visit Konoha if he didn't need to—that'd be far too much
trouble—but he wanted Naruto to know that if he felt he had
to do this, he was wrong. “You're worried he's changed.”

“Hn...I don't know what to
think about this. Why is he even coming back?”

Gaara stared. Temari didn't tell him
the rest? He knew it was old news, but now that Sasuke was actually
reported to be coming back, they might as well tell Naruto... “He'd
be hunted if he didn't. It was part of the agreement. The last
remaining sharingan joins Konoha, or Konoha ensures it doesn't fall
to the wrong hands.”

“Oh...”
It doesn't matter. I don't even care about Sasuke. He was my
friend, I've made others. I don't care for him anymore, right...? As
long as he's all right, it's fine. What he thinks about us doesn't
matter...right? Why he was listening to the
fox at all was a recent development. Kyuubi had given up taking
control of him. It could gain it...but with Naruto's own control of
his chakra, honed with training, he could regain it back just as
fast, if he wanted to. Kyuubi may be a demon, but he wasn't
malicious. If he had the same fury, he could probably overcome
Naruto's weakened control over him but...it had given up on it's
revenge. It would never escape Naruto's body unless some very complex
jutsus were performed, and the only one the two could trust who was
capable was Tsunade, and she knew the boy placed his trust much too
easily, and to a demon?
Nevermind the council of elders, she wouldn't
have it. To both their chagrin...Naruto might trust the fox, but he
could still be an annoying little bastard at times.

Anyways, Kyuubi
didn't mind being in here, anymore. There wasn't much left for him
elsewhere. He was happy guiding the kit, staying in the seal-assisted
slumber when he wasn't needed...though he did like to get under the
boy's skin, it was in his nature. The fact he shared the extremes in
pleasure and pain may make the experience-deprived fox a little
biased towards his requests, but that was in his nature. Maybe his
kits were mischievous, too...kami knows it was in their
nature, the nature of all demons. It wasn't their only trait...the
joy of murder, of bloodshed, of domination...all came immediately to
demons.

That nature the
fox had thought he'd gotten past himself in his many, many years, but
when the people of Konoha had killed his kits and his mate in cold
blood...his rage was inescapable, and when the fourth had given
himself for his people, he should've realized the monster he'd
become. He fumed and sulked for years, and he never regretted the joy
of bloodshed, he couldn't deny it, but malicious? No. He could offer
no solace for the boy, now, as he could when he had lain in his room
with pale skin, and crimson-stained sheets. He'd worked furiously at
healing the boy then...luckily, he'd passed out, so he couldn't stop
the demon from doing his work. The weakened boy couldn't take control
back then, and the kyuubi sobered, realizing what he was doing to his
kit.

He'd threatened
him...threatened Sakura, threatened Iruka, threatened Hinata,
threatened Temari, and threatened Kankuro. The kyuubi had told the
boy he'd do horrible things to anyone who'd ever been close and the
boy had protected. He said he'd kill them slowly, he'd revel in it,
and then he'd destroy Konoha. The boy had believed him, and the
ensuing fight where the kyuubi could easily have killed the boy (and
himself, unfortunately) left him very damaged...but he
recovered. Of course, Nartuo had conveniently believed him then,
but hadn't when he let him—let him, the kyuubi
reminded—have control back, and he was “just kidding
about the whole mass-murder thing” a week later.

But, since then,
the boy hadn't dwelled on the fact that the Uchiha had left him. He'd
brought him to everyone else. Making him see he was worth something.
Even if the boy trusted the kyuubi now, and didn't—couldn't—gaurd
himself all the time when talking to him, he still felt worthless to
him when they weren't in battle. The demon had lived for thousands of
years, in some form or another. What was it to him to offer himself
to this child for the mortal's meager lifespan?

Naruto had already decided. He'd
confront the Uchiha. Whatever his motives for coming back, they were
his. He doubted Sasuke feared hunter-nins. If they'd threatened him
with it—the old him—him, nontheless, he would've
challenged them. He...hurt, just trying to reason this.

Gaara
could see the conflict in his friend's eyes, but he knew he would get
past it. He had a sense he wouldn't see his friend for a while. He
stood up and reached his hand out, to help the blonde up. They'd been
sitting on top of his roof, looking over the deserts when Gaara
spoke. He almost regretted breaking the moment, but it had to be
done. He couldn't stand to see his friend like this. One mention of
the Uchiha, and he was torn up immediately. The kazekage took a deep
breath, looked the still distracted Naruto in the eye, and gave his
diplomat, his friend, his ex-infatuation...a good shove off the roof.
“...huh? GAH!” Naruto swiped madly at the side of the
building, only remembering to add chakra when he had 2 of the 15
stories left.

Gaara smirked,
seeing the boy acting much more impulsively, storming up the side of
the building to yell at him. Naruto started to, but only narrowed his
eyes at the smile on Gaara's face...and the shit-eating grin in his
eyes. “You seem tired. Want to go back, to rest before you
depart?” He laughed. Naruto finally was just leaning forward
and glaring at him. “Would you have preferred I 'wake you' with
my sabaka kyû?”
“How about I wake you upside the head?” The kyuubi
was roaring laughter at him. Sure,
their lives had been in danger a few moments ago!...but he much
preferred an annoyed kit to an angsty one.

Gaara coughed. That was just bad. But he was glad to see his
friend in higher spirits. “I'm tired, anyways. I had to spend
hours doing paperwork today.” There was no threat in it. He may
be without demon, but he could still pass a blatant threat when he
wanted to. If nothing else, he would be the blonde's friend. He
wouldn't let him get crushed again. He may still be a bit creeped out
that Naruto blushed when Temari hugged him, and in his
thoughts about himself (Aah, blackmail. Temari told him the whole
thing), but he shouldn't be surprised. The kid was open minded, he
never had anyone he respected to impose any of their beliefs on him.

Untainted.
He thought, as he pulled the once again vacant-eyed kyuubi holder
into a rather loose sabaka kyû.
He sat on top of it himself, and they went to Gaara's large home,
previously owned by his father. Naruto's complaints were muffled by the sand,
but he'd travelled this way before. Gaara was not reknowned for his patience.
Pure.

---

TBC.

Ahh, now that I'm publishing one
myself, I understand why authors want reviews! Please, I'm seriously
begging here, I'm nervous as hell here, tell me if you guys liked it,
what you thought. Not only fanfiction, I like writing in general,
and this is my first work I'm opening to the public. Anyhow, I do plan
to continue this...I like this start so far, but Sasuke and Naruto
have to at least meet. I've already written quite a few scenes where
they're comfortable around and with each other, but the story isn't in concrete.
I hope that I achieve the mix
of heart-warming and breaking I'm aiming for (I'm icy-hot, bitches!).
I'll likely fall short, but I hope.

Sidenote: I'm sure noone will notice if I don't point it out, so I cleaned up the markup
for this chapter...I'm OCD like that, considering it was output by Open Office. - Inuzuka