You were the one behind the mask

Hey!! thanks to all of you who review the story!! I am really glad you had liked it so far, I really hope you like this chap.



Do not forget that this is my first time writing not just yaoi but a multichapter story and of course a Naruto one. Thanks to InosBane who help me out with the story.



Read, review and enjoy!!







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Chapter 2



Naruto was mumbling furiously as he walked through the empty halls of Konoha High. His alarm clock had gone off too early, and instead of letting him go back to sleep, (the clock was obviously broken, he certainly wouldn't have set it to go off at five in the morning on purpose!) Jiraiya had sent him on to school stating that being early wasn't a bad thing. Jerking open the door to his first class, Naruto stomped in to what he assumed would be an empty classroom. When he saw Gaara and a sleeping Shikamaru sitting at the back of the classroom, his eyes lit up and his sour expression changed to a smile.



"Oi, hi Gaara! What are you doing here? Did your alarm go off early too?” The blonde asked bounding over to a surprised looking redhead.



“Good morning Naruto-kun.” Gaara nodded, mentally chiding himself for having such a stiff, formal manner. If only Shikamaru would wake up, then maybe he wouldn't feel so awkward.



Naruto plopped into the seat right in front of Gaara, “You know, you still have something that's mine,” he grinned.



Gaara raised his non-existent eyebrows, “I don’t have anything that belongs to you.”



Naruto frowned and stuck out his bottom lip, pouting. Gaara couln't help but focus on that lip...his face grew warm and he knew he was blushing like mad. He hoped Naruto wouldn't notice that his face suddenly resembled a beet.



“Yes you do," the blonde insisted. "You said that if I really liked it I could have it."



Comprehension took the place of his blush as Gaara remembered the drawing from Art class. A little surprised, he eyed Naruto searching once again for a trick, but just as before, found none. Cerulean eyes locked with his own pale green ones, and Gaara lost himself in those blue orbs that were always shining with happiness and life. He could remember the first time Naruto had talked to him, though he didn’t expect the blonde to remember that, he didn’t even learn his name until later on.



“Well, are you going to give me my drawing or not? Don't tell me you changed your mind, I'll be forced to pester you all day until you change it back!"



"Wait, why would you want it? I thought your friends said it would scare you."



Naruto's eyes widened with indignation, “Uzumaki Naruto isn't afraid of anything!"



The sincerity of the outburst caused Gaaa to smile slightly, unbeknownst to the two, their classmates were beginning to file into the room.



“Seriously, I don't get scared …it's just that Sasuke Teme and Kiba like to ….play games with me after we watch a horror movie.”



“So, you do get scared,” Gaara smirked.



“No! Hey…wait a minute," Naruto cocked an eyebrow, "you're just trying to change the subject. What about my drawing?”



“Why do you want it?”



It wasn Naruto's turn to wonder if Gaara was teasing him. The blonde sighed and became serious, “You see…I had this friend when I was a kid. His name was Haku.”



“Was?” Asked Gaara and Naruto nodded sadly.



“Yeah, he died. We lived on the same street. He was always smiling, and could cheer me up whenever I was sad. One day he made a drawing for me, it was a really big fox with a sun a moon behind it. The fox had nine tails.” .



“Nine tails?" Gaara leaned slightly forward, "why nine tails?"



“According to Haku, each of the tails represented something different about what I meant to him.” Naruto counted off on his fingers, “friendship, strength, humor, hope, family, mischief. Let’s see…" he paused, "I think he said that I was like a teddy bear that he could hug when it was raining outside…yeah. Mmmhmm something about a thief," Naruto looked nervously at Gaara, "but that's only because I used to steal candies for us…and, oh yeah, love.” All traces of sadness had melted away and were replaced by a brilliant smile. “So when I saw your drawing, I couldn’t help but think of the one Haku did. Can I still have it?" Naruto asked quietly, a note of pleading in his voice



How could Gaara said no after this boy shared such an important part of his life with him.



“You can have it, but it won't be until tomorrow. I didn't bring it today.”



“Oh, well that's no problem," the blonde's grin grew bigger. "I'll just come by your place after school and pick it up." Seeing the look of apprehension on Gaara's face, Naruto backtracked. "That's only if you don't mind."



“Mind? Ofcourse he doesn't mind! I'm sure Gaara here would love to have you over." Shikamaru's voice startled the two boys who turned to see the smirk on his face. Gaara couldn’t believe his "friend" would say such a thing in front of Naruto, and with that damn smile on his face? Gaara shot him a death glare that had no affect other than to make Shikamaru yawn. The redhead's shoulders slumped, if his infamous death glare got no results...he must really be losing his touch. In front of him, Naruto beamed.



“Then it's settled, I'll meet you after school and walk over to your place."



“Whose place?” said the deep voice of Uchiha Sasuke, looking curiously at his best friend. Naruto merely shrugged.



“Gaara has something for me,” said the blonde. Sasuke frowned coldly at Gaara who couldn't help but smile triumphantly in return.



“Really? And what is that?” asked the Uchiha, his eyes not straying from Gaara's face.



Naruto leaned over and whispered, “it's a secret Sasuke- teme!”



Sasuke opened his mouth to reply when the teacher entered the classroom.



“Ok everyone to your seats. That means you too, Sakura. You and Ino can continue to gossip on your own time,” Ms. Anko called, an amused gleam in her eyes. The girls blushed slightly as Sakura slid into her seat beside Naruto.



"Hey Sakura," Naruto smiled. "How was your night?"



"Good thanks," the girl smiled. "So I heard from Sai that a bunch of you were planning your birthday party?"



“Oh, yeah we were…”



“Excuse me Miss Haruno, I understand that your social plans are much more important than Trigonometry. But when I told you and Ino to stop talking, I didn't mean for you to start talking to Naruto!” The normally smiling teacher's voice had risen and an angry vein could be seen throbbing in her forehead. Naruto and Sakura shot worried glances at eachother and remained silent for the rest of the class.



In the last row of seats, Gaara was ignoring Shikamaru’s attempts to discuss the conversation between the redhead and Naruto.



“Come on Gaara, I heard the whole thing.” When Gaara turned his glare on Shikamaru this time, the dark haired boy did indeed cower.



“You were spying on me," he hissed.



“ It's not really spying, I was just...pretending to be asleep so that you would be able to talk without anyone listening in."



Gaara rolled his eyes before they fell on the smirking faces of Sasuke and Kiba. The pair was looking his way, when Kiba nudged Sasuke who nodded. Deciding there was nothing he could do about them right now, Gaara turned his attention back to the lesson.



The cafeteria was in it's usual turmoil. Students were gathered in small groups at tables or standing in line waiting to be served by Bertha, the grumpy lunch lady. Conversations were punctuated by occasional laughter when suddenly, the sound of an explosion caused many to stop talking altogether. Students looked around trying to find the source of the noise. When a loud laugh echoed through the room, noone was left in any doubt, Uzumaki Naruto had pulled a prank. From the looks of things, his friend, Sasuke had once again been the target. The Uchiha was holding a half empty bottle of soda, the rest of it was dripping from his hair, his face, and had soaked his shirt..



“What the hell? Uzumaki you are sooooo dead!” Sasuke exclaimed.



Kiba, Ino, Tenten, Lee and Sakura joined Naruto in laughing. Scowling, Sasuke tried to clean himself up. Seated beside him was an impassive Shino, and a smirking Neji. Sai, who was next to Tenten merely looked confused.



“I just don’t get it," the artist shook his head. "Why is that funny?”



The whole table started laughing as Naruto tried to explain, "Because…this is like…the third time…this week…he fell for the same trick...” he said gasping for air. ”Oh, teme…" he chuckled, "you should see your face.”



“Just wait dobe…” said Sasuke in such a menacing tone that Naruto stopped laughing and actually gulped. “I will get you for this.”



“C'mon now Sasuke, it was a little joke. You play them on me all the time,” Naruto hesitated. The look in Sasuke's eyes worried him a bit.



Sasuke smirk did nothing to make Naruto's uneasiness go away. Attempting to diffuse the situation, Naruto grabbed a few napkins and started helping Sasuke clean up. The Uchiha continued smirking, obviously enjoying the newer, humble Naruto.



“Oh, I get it….so, Sasuke-kun was too dumb to realize that Naruto–kun had played the same trick on him that he 's played before!” Sai exclaimed loudly, pleased that he'd finally figured it out. Sasuke turned to find Sai grinning with pride while Naruto stifled a laugh.



“Well, as fun as this has been…I think we should get going now,” Kiba said casually looking around, before turning his gaze to Sasuke who nodded. Noticing the look that passed between the two, Shino lifted an eyebrow but said nothing..



“Now?" Ino asked looking at her watch, "but it's still early.“ It was one o’clock, and even though they got out early that day, it was still way too early to leave the cafeteria.



Sasuke and Kiba stood up to leave. Neji and Shino looked at eachother, identical frowns on their faces. Typically, it was Naruto who held the title of prankster, and because he had such puppy dog eyes, he almost always got away with it. Plus, his pranks were usually harmless. But Kiba and Sasuke were another story...whenever they instigated a prank it usually meant trouble, and lately, that trouble was focused on one particular person.



“Hey, where are we going?" Naruto asked, following Sasuke. The Uchiha put and arm around his friend's shoulders.



“Tell me dobe, how long have we known eachother?”



“Mmmmh…well…A long time” said Naruto. Behind them, Ino rolled her eyes and Sakura punched the blonde boy on his shoulder.



“Hey! What kind of best friend are you?” Naruto asked rubbing his shoulder where Sakura punched him. Then turning back to Sasuke, said "I guess it's been what, like eight years?”



Sasuke rolled his eyes, “yeah, about that long. Anyway, remember that time Itachi told us about the prank he, Kisame and Deidara played on that guy….Tobi?”



Naruto hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. When the group rounded the corner and he saw Gaara, Choji and Shikamaru making their way to their lockers, he stopped. Eyes wide with surprise, Naruto suddenly remembered what prank Itachi had played.



“Sasuke, what the hell are you going to do?”



“Just watch dobe.”



Since he'd arrived at Konoha High, Sabaku no Gaara had been the favorite target of Sasuke and his group. Many of them had heard the stories behind his transfer: the bad ass reputation, and how dangerous he could be-having killed two people at his former school (or so the rumors said). But when the Uchiha and the others met him they just couldn’t believe that the skinny redhead who wore black eyeliner and had a tattoo of the ‘ai’ kanji on his forehead was all that dangerous. They had decided to play a joke on him his very first day, and after receiving no response, the pranks continued while Gaara just kept ignoring them.



The redhead spied the group of friends with narrowed eyes. Following his gaze, Shikamaru poked him and told him to just ignore them, Gaara was happy to comply, and went to open his locker. He felt someone punch him aside, though not fast enough. The moment Gaara opened his locker a can of yellow paint hit his left arm, when he turned to see who had ‘saved’ him, he saw that Uzumaki Naruto was covered in the paint. Gaara cursed under his breath.



Sasuke looked from Naruto to Gaara frowning, “what the hell?” He yelled running towards Naruto with Kiba and the others close behind.



Gaara was staring at the floor. Enough was enough, rage was coursing through his body, and he could feel his old self resurfacing, That was the moment Kiba unwisely decided to open his mouth and comment about the new combination of colors in Gaara’s jacket. Unable and unwilling to stop himself, Gaara grabbed Kiba around the neck and shoved him into the lockers.



The hall went completely silent. Kiba squirmed in pain, Naruto and Sasuke stood with their mouths open, while Shino, Neji and Lee stood by not sure what to expect.



Gaara locked eyes with Kiba, the boy gulped as he stared back into the cold depths of the pale green eyes.



“You think that was fucking funny, eh? What about this?” Gaara hissed tightening his grip on Kiba’s neck. “Tell me, is this funny?”



“Hey, you'd better let Kiba go unless you really want some trouble,” Sasuke said ready to jump Gaara at any moment. Gaara turned to face his tormentor, a maniacal grin on his face."



“Trouble? You call this trouble? I call this putting an end to the problem you seem to have with me,” he replied in a cold voice.



“Let him go. I'm not afraid of a freak like you,” Sasuke ordered. The tension increased as the two glared daggers at eachother. With Gaara distracted, Kiba was able to kick him in the side. Gaara yelped with surprise but managed to punch Kiba in the stomach before the dark haired boy ran off. Sasuke ran forward, but Naruto intervened. The Uchiha was shocked by the look on his best friend's face, Naruto looked deadly serious and ready to punch whoever came a step closer. He turned around facing Gaara.



“I understand that you're really pissed off. You have every right to be. But…if you ever try to hurt one my friends like that again, you will wish you never crossed paths with me.” Gaara stood there, indecision written all over his face. Should he fight? Should he go? The look Naruto was giving him, made something deep inside of his chest rip to pieces. Silently, he nodded and walked away from the scene, not even pausing to look at Shikamaru or Choji. He knew they must hate him for this.



Sasuke was about to say something when Naruto lifted his hand for silence.



“I don’t know what your problem is with Gaara, but this has gone way too far.”



“Too far? Did you see what that maniac did to Kiba?”



“Of course I saw it, but don't you think he had every right to be angry?”



“So, you're saying that Kiba got what he deserved?”



“Of course not, but Gaara didn’t deserve what you guys did. Look at all his stuff!”



Sasuke stood trembling with fury, “you know what?" He smirked, "you're awfully protective of him...do you like him?" Naruto stared at Sasuke as though he'd never seen him before. The Uchiha continued. "From where I'm standing it looks like you're really in to him. Like you want to start something up with him.”



Naruto's mouth hung open. Ino and Sakura were both suffering nosebleeds.



“What? What…I…what?”



“Come on, we all know you like girls...and boys. Why else would you side with him over your friends?” The Uchiha accused..



“Are you out of your bloody mind? Didn’t you hear a word I said? You. Went. Too. Far. Besides, even if I did like him, what does it matter to you?”



Sasuke had no answer to that, at least not one he was ready to say out loud. The sound of footsteps caused the boys to look away from eachother. One of the teachers, Hatake Kakashi had come to see what the problem was. He took in the locker covered with yellow paint, Kiba lying on the floor and the two red-faced boys.



“Ok, what's going on here,” he sighed looking from Choji and Shikamaru to Ino and Sakura. Sai smiled, while Shino and Kiba avoided his gaze. Naruto stared determinedly at the ground. His eyes passed over Sasuke and Lee before landing on...Neji. Sasuke rolled his eyes, they were doomed. It was well known that the only one among them who couldn't even tell the whitest of lies was Neji. When they were younger, it had been quite the problem since every time they pulled a prank, all the adults had to do was ask Neji who was behind it. The boy could not lie.



Neji sighed when Kakashi gave him a curt nod.



“We were…It was a prank that got out of control,” he mumbled.



“Very well, who was behind this prank?”



Neji hesitated for a moment, before Naruto raised his hand.



“It was me, Kakashi sensei.”



“That’s not true. Kiba and I were the ones who planned all of this.” Sasuke said, not looking at Naruto.



“Okay," Kakashi nodded. " Sasuke, you and Kiba will stay here and clean up. The rest of you can go. Now.”



Gaara arrived home angry and frustrated. He crossed the livingroom and headed directly to his room ignoring the greeting from his sister, Temari. When he passed his younger brother in the hall, Kankuro raised an eyebow in question. Gaara made no response, and upon entering his room, turned on his stereo full blast before hitting the wall with rage.



It was past five o’clock when a knock on his bedroom door pulled him out of the trance he was in while sitting at his desk drawing.



“What?”



“Gaara, there's someone at the door….he said he wants to talk to you,” Temari called trying to be heard over the music. Gaara clicked off the stereo confused. Shikamaru and Chouji didn't have to come by just to tell him they didn't want to hang around with him any longer. With a resigned sigh, Gaara stepped into the hall where Temari stood frowning.



“You okay?” She asked concerned. Gaara shrugged as he walked past her to the front door.



When he saw who was standing there he couldn't help but gape with surprise. On the doorstep was none other than Uzumaki Naruto.





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