"Gaara."

Gaara sighed and tossed the kunai in his left hand at the target across the grounds and watched it hit just to the right of the bulls eye. He had figured Naruto would have been here but he wasn't. He'd checked everywhere and couldn't find the blond anywhere. So, the last place he'd gone had been the training grounds. He wasn't here either.



The sand at his back hissed and churned so Gaara turned around and found Naruto walking passed the field. What a coincidence? Or wasn't that what Temari usually said? Shaking his head, Gaara ran over to Naruto.



"Naruto-san?"



"Hm? Oh..Gaara." Naruto stopped and turned to face the red head, a slight blush on his cheeks.



"I'm..." Gaara looked to the ground, not sure of how to go about apologizing for what he'd done earlier. "Sorry..." he paused and looked at Naruto, a similar blush creeping over his face, "about earlier."



"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to...you know."



"I shouldn't have read your journal."



"No, no you shouldn't have but there's nothing we can do about that now is there?"



"Hm."



"You were training?" Gaara just nodded and Naruto smiled. "Then lets go!" Naruto ran down the field and turned back in time to move out of the way of a shuriken. Gaara was grinning as he pulled the cork from his gourd and sent his sand straight at Naruto.



Naruto dodged the attack and crouched low, readying a scroll. He didn't use them often but it might come in handy, and besides, it was one Tenten had given him when he'd gotten back from his training. Summoning the weapons to the air around him, Naruto threw them at Gaara and watched them bounce off of his ultimate defense. Frowning, Naruto rushed at Gaara, intent on figuring out how to take down his defense. There had to be a way he could do it.



The fight lasted two hours and ended with both teens collapsing. Gaara was on the verge of passing out but Naruto was staring at the sky, eyes drooping lazily. When Naruto's eyes closed and stayed that way, Gaara frowned and also let his eyes drop, embracing the darkness.



It was only when someone was poking Naruto in the side did he wake up and he growled something rude before swatting the hand away. He rolled over and felt a body. He frowned and was up in seconds, looking down to see Gaara still passed out and Lee staring at the both of them.



"Are you okay Naruto-san?"



"Fine." He rubbed his head and looked from the green, spandex clad teen to the red head who was still sleeping. "What time is it?"



"It's four."



"In the after noon?!"



"Yes."



"Wow..." Where had the time gone? Did they really sleep that long? Shaking his head, Naruto reached down to shake Gaara awake. The red head didn't budge. "Gaara, it's time to go." Naruto shook him again but still got nothing. Eyebrows furrowing, Naruto moved his hand to feel for a pulse and it took a few moments but he got one...but it was thready and slow. "Lee, is Tsunade-Baa in the hospital?"



"I think so why?" Lee stood and looked around, then down to Gaara.



"He's not waking up, he's sweating and his pulse is thready." Picking up the red head much like a child, around the center of the gourd, Naruto started to run in the direction of the hospital. "Lee! Go ahead and tell them I'm bringing Gaara in! Tell them somethings wrong!" Lee nodded and in a green blur, was gone. The blond took to the roof tops and went at his full speed, looking down to the red head in his arms. "Don't you die on me damn it! We still have things to talk about and I haven't even figured out your ultimate defense! Damn you Gaara! Wake up!"



"Hmneh..." Gaara's eyes fluttered but stayed closed. He was half conscious.



"Gaara? Can you hear me?" A hand clutched at his jacket and Gaara's face crumbled in a wince. That wasn't good. Naruto landed in the hospital's emergency wing and set Gaara on a waiting gurney. He was told to stay there while Tsunade, Sakura, Ino and Shizune rushed Gaara into a room. They had taken off his gourd and set it just outside the door. With a groan, Naruto found a chair and sat down. When sitting didn't help, he started pacing around the entire room. People stopped to look at him, some with angry looks, some with wonder. He ignored them all, not interested in what they were thinking.





Some time later, while Naruto was pacing, Sakura came out, wiping sweat from her brow and smiling. "He's okay Naruto. He broke some ribs, had a torn ligament and a killer headache but he's fine." She patted his shoulder and he relaxed visibly. Shaking his head, he went into the room she'd just come out of and stared at Gaara, who was now awake and grumbling to himself. Tsunade was talking while Ino and Shizune were putting up some supplies.



"..twice a day for the next few days." Tsunade handed him a small bottle of pills and Gaara just stared at them...like they would burst into flames and be out of his way. "You have to take them Gaara." He just looked at her with a look that might kill, if it had the power. "Stop it." She slapped him in the back of the head and he growled at her. She sighed, shook her head and looked over to Naruto. He just shrugged. She left, Shizune and Ino behind her. The blond walked to the bed and took a look at the bottle.



"Looks like headache pills to me." He handed the bottle back to Gaara who tossed it across the room. "You should really listen to her. She's a real pain when she's mad...and she tends to hurt you when you don't do what she says."



"Some Hokage." Naruto grinned and nodded an agreement.



"You ready to go?" Gaara just nodded and swung his legs over the bed. When he went to stand up he almost fell over but luckily, fell back onto the bed. "Maybe not right now." Naruto helped him lay back down and sat in a chair next to the bed. "We'll wait a little and then go ne?" He chuckled at the look Gaara gave him but relaxed and looked out the window.



"Naruto-san?"



"Hm?" Naruto looked to Gaara who just shook his head and fell silent again. Shrugging, Naruto stared out the window, his mind rolling.



"Were you really worried?" Naruto nodded.



"I was."



"Why?" Gaara sounded distant, almost small.



"You're a friend of mine Gaara. I worry about all of my friends. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to any one of them. You know more about what I go through than anyone else so..I guess I must worry more about you. Don't ask me why because I don't know the answer myself."



"Hm." Gaara turned to the window and looked outside at the darkening sky. He was losing more time every time he lost consciousness. Tsunade told him as much. She also said he was breaking and tearing more than just a few bones and muscles every time he over worked himself. He just couldn't stop. If he stopped he feared what might happen. He might not start again. The thought made him shiver and move his hands to rub his head. He might not start again. It scared him to think about so he pushed the thought way back into the recesses of his mind. He'd think about it later.



Nodding once to himself, Gaara swung his legs over the bedside and stood up slowly. There was a wave of dizziness but he fought it. Looking around, he spotted his sandals but not his gourd. Gaara walked slowly to step into his sandals and then to the door. Naruto was at his side, making sure more than anything that he wasn't going to fall. Once outside, Gaara grabbed his gourd and started for the exit. He ignored the nurses who were yelling at him to get back into bed and even Ino when she joined them. Naruto assured the blond that he would take care of the paperwork in the morning.



Both teens walked back to Naruto's apartment in silence, Naruto watching Gaara carefully and Gaara watching the villagers. They were still staring at Naruto. He glared at the villagers who looked at them and something inside of him smiled when they turned away with frightened looks on their faces. He hadn't felt anything like it since...



"Do you want to stop for some ramen?" Naruto came up to Gaara's side but was staring off into space, away from the villagers.



"Can we go somewhere else?" Naruto shook his head.



"Not worth the trouble." He scratched his head and went silent again. The continued further through the village main and then onto the apartment buildings, finally reaching Naruto's home.The red head was exhausted from the walk. He'd fought dizziness the entire way and when he was able to sit down, he did so with a rather loud thump. He removed his gourd and set it at his side while crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knees. Gaara just sat like that, focusing on a new spot in the opposite wall.



"Gaara?" The red head blinked and looked to Naruto. "I think maybe you should sleep, not meditate." Gaara just let out a small breath and got to his feet. He looked around for a moment. Where was he going to sleep? he sure as hell wasn't sleeping on the holey-er than rice cake couch and there was only one bed. While cleaning he hadn't spotted another futon so unless Naruto had one shoved somewhere- "You can take my bed. I'll make dinner while you sleep." The blond smiled and went into the kitchen. Gaara felt a moment on panic at the thought of Naruto loose in the kitchen but it went away. It was his apartment and if he wanted to burn it down then he was entitled to try...although maybe dying in a blaze wasn't what Gaara wanted.



"I'll make it. You sleep." Gaara walked to the kitchen and started pulling things out to make a small dinner. Naruto stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, then turned him and pushed him out of the kitchen.



"I am not dealing with Baa-chan because you aren't taking the medicine she gave you or resting. You can get your own ass kicked." The red head would have argued but Naruto pointed at the bedroom door. Deciding he wasn't up to arguing -because he didn't argue- he just headed for the bedroom.



When the door closed behind the red head, Naruto sighed a little triumphantly and went about looking for something easy -other than ramen- that he could cook. He did remember how long Gaara cooked the rice for and how much water to use so he put some water in a pot on the stove then turned it on to boil. He looked in the fridge for something that might have been left over but when there was nothing he frowned. "Now...what did he use?" Naruto pulled out some vegetables, ones that he had seen Gaara cook, and tried to remember how they were cut and cooked. Deciding he needed another pot and some water, Naruto cut up the vegetables and stuck them in the water to boil.



When the water for the rice started to boil, he added the rice and went to watching the vegetable. When they'd boiled for -what he thought was long enough- he drained them and set them aside. Thinking on how he might combine the rice and vegetables took some time but he decided that after the rice cooked he'd put everything in the wok with some spices and see what happened.



He ended up burning everything he'd cooked.



With a defeated groan, Naruto grabbed Frogger, his money purse and headed out to buy something for dinner. Hopefully he could get something that wasn't rotten, damaged or broken. Frowning for the entire walk to the market, Naruto thought about what he, Kakashi and Iruka had talked about. They weren't much help at all. Kakashi was never any help unless it came to a fight and Iruka...well...he was easily embarrassed. His frown deepened when he got to the market and saw that no one was willing to sell him anything for normal price and everything he was going to buy was like it always was.



Turning, Naruto headed to the weapons dealer, the one who'd given him so many 'free' weapons.



"Ne! Jii-san!" The sales clerk looked up and gulped.



"C-can I h-help you?"



"Yea." Naruto pulled out some money and set it on the counter. "This is for the weapons you had delivered. It's not right to just take something like that. I'm sorry for anything my friend might have done to convince you to give them to me." When he was sure there was enough money to cover the weapons -and Frogger was utterly empty- Naruto left the market place all together and went back to his apartment. He could cook ramen. At least that much he could do.



"Ne! Uzumaki-san..." he stopped and turned to find the sales clerk following behind him.



"Hm?" The old man handed him back his money. Naruto pushed the mans hand back to him. "No. Really, it's yours. That's what everything would have cost had I bought it right?" He knew it was more than that, but sadly, Frogger looked starved and he didn't have anymore money to give. The old man picked up Naruto's hand and put all of the money back into it, closing the blonds hand when he was finished.



"Your friend...with the glowing green eyes...he was right." With a smile, the man turned around and walked back to his little booth, the other sellers looking at him like he was an alien. Turning around, Naruto stuck the money back into Frogger's huge, gaping mouth and walked back to his apartment, stunned beyond words. What had Gaara done to that man and his wife? There had to be some brain washing going on there or something. Had to be.





Gaara woke up and felt a little better. He rolled over and felt something uncomfortable under his shoulder, Pulling whatever it was out, he found a frog. Did Naruto like frogs that much? Oh...wasn't his summon a frog? Did he still have a summon? Rolling over and off the futon, Gaara sat up and crossed his legs. He felt a little light headed but he always felt like that after he actually slept. The red head put his arms above his head and stretched, much like a cat, only stopping when he heard a series of popping that signaled his back was in working order.



The red head stood and caught a whiff of himself. Making a sour face, Gaara peeled off his clothes and left them in a pile by the bathroom door. He pushed out a little chakra to make sure he was the only one home and nodded once to himself. He stepped into the bathroom and then into the shower. The hot water felt good and he could feel the dirt washing off of his body.



Water was a precious commodity in Suna but he could never stand to be dirty for more than twenty four hours tops. He did when he had too but he didn't like it. At all. If he could get a shower twice a day he was happy but one couldn't do that in Suna. Here however, he could shower to hit hearts content. A small smile appearing on his lips, Gaara washed up and then stood under the spray, hands braced against the wall. His eyes closed and he just enjoyed the heat that spread through his body.



A noise caught his attention and Gaara turned his head to find a familiar face staring at him. Without a word, Naruto climbed into the shower with him. Gaara blushed a bright shade of red when he noticed the blond was naked. Why was he in the shower? Why was he naked? Why was he even in the bathroom? When had he gotten back?



"Naru-" Naruto pressed his lips to Gaara's mouth and kissed him, hard. One of the blonds hands pushed Gaara's back against the cold tile while the other one flicked over a nipple and then the other. The red head pushed Naruto away, wiping his mouth and glaring.



"What are you doing?" Naruto just smiled and stepped forward. Gaara looked around in an effort to find something -anything- to keep Naruto away but the only thing he could grab was the shower curtain. Gaara grabbed the curtain and pulled it in front of his body, effectively hiding it from Naruto. The blond frowned and pulled the curtain away which pulled it from the rings holding it on the bar. Growling, Gaara threw a punch at Naruto who caught his arm and pulled their bodies together. Water was flowing all over them and the floor, creating small puddles that continued to get bigger the longer the water was on.



Naruto's lips crushed against him and the blonds arms held his body captive. Gaara felt something poking his stomach and he would have glanced down but he felt his eyes closing and his body relaxing. A smile against his lips let him know Naruto was enjoying himself. The blond once again pushed them against the tiles and one hand went to Gaara's nipples while the other went lower. Someone moaned and Gaara thought it was him.



"N-naruto..." The blond was stroking his cock to it's full potential and Gaara couldn't help but thrust his hips forward. "Uhn...Naru...to..." He was panting, his hips moving forward of their own accord. His eyes opened a little and he saw Naruto smiling at him, his lips were moving but Gaara couldn't hear anything. Blood was pounding in his ears, his brain turning to mush and his muscles tightening. He could feel something low in his stomach, something building, pressure. He tried to tell Naruto but the blond stroked harder, faster and his hips moved to keep up.



Gaara's eyes opened, his body rising from the futon as he screamed. "NARUTO!" As he fell back onto the bed, Gaara closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. His body spasmed and he let out a breath. He looked down to see a spot on his pants. Growling at it and then at himself, he rolled over and stood, ignoring the dizziness that plagued him and went to wash up. He wasn't going to shower, not until he was sure Naruto was asleep and probably not even then.



When he was finished, the red head tromped out of the bathroom, holding onto the anger and embarrassment he felt as he went to find something to eat. Naruto was on the couch. Gaara frowned and almost went over to see if it was another dream but stopped himself. Reacting to his anger, the sand in his gourd was hissing and moving against it's barriers. He silenced it with a wave of his hand.



The kitchen was a mess, something black was in the wok and there were dishes all over the place. Gaara spotted something on the counter, next to the heater. It looked to be a meal. Actual food. Had Naruto cooked it? Gaara picked up a piece of what was on the plate and tasted it. It was good, but cold. Picking up the plate, Gaara walked back out to the living room and sat down, eating the cold food. Somehow, it tasted fine cold. Maybe he should start eating more cold food? Neh. He liked it hot better.



Movement from the couch caught his attention and he froze.



"No...give him back..." Gaara frowned. "Gaara..." His frown deepened. Naruto's face was twisted in sleep, pain lacing his features followed closely by what could have been anger and sadness. What was he dreaming about? Had he just said Gaara's name? Yes, he wasn't hard of hearing. "Give him back....not dead..." Tears were falling out of Naruto's eyes and Gaara moved closer to the couch without thinking about it. What was he dreaming about? What was dead? Why was Naruto saying his name over and over again?



"NOO!" Naruto sat up, swatting in front of his face. He stopped and was panting, looking around furiously. His eyes were glowing red but he shook his head and they cleared. "Not dead...not anymore..." Naruto rubbed at his eyes then his temples and sighed, closing his deep blue eyes. he mumbled something and then looked around the room. His eyes stopped on Gaara's face.



"You were dreaming."



"More like a nightmare." Naruto stood and stretched. "Sorry if you heard that." He looked rough, bags under his eyes, pain lacing his features. The blond looked to the floor and noticed the plate. "I tried to wake you for dinner but you batted me away and mumbled something about sand. I gave up after one of your hands connected with my face." He chuckled a little as Gaara blushed. Naruto sat down on the floor, opposite Gaara and crossed his arms over his chest. "How is it?"



"Good."



"I had to get some help...if you didn't notice the kitchen." Scratching the back of his head, Naruto sighed and deflated. "it was going so well until I put it all in the wok. It caught fire and I couldn't put it out. Water just made it smoke so I took it off the heat and well...it was black." Gaara moved back to his plate and went back to eating the food. It really was good. "I had to get Iruka-sensei to help me. Actually, he cooked it." Naruto laughed a little but stood and went to the kitchen. "I'm going to clean up. Why don't you think of something to do for the night ne?"



Gaara mumbled around his fingers as he continued to put food in his mouth. Maybe if he stuffed it full enough he wouldn't say something he would regret later, like "Why did you molest me?" when it only happened in his dream? Frowning as he chewed an overly large mouthful, Gaara pushed the dream out of his mind for examination at a later date. He honestly didn't want to even think about it.



Why would his mind conjure up such a dream in the first place? Yes, he had talked to Iruka about the journal entry and what it could mean but he hadn't thought anything of it after that until he'd confronted Naruto about his feelings.Could it be that- no. Shaking his head, Gaara swallowed hard and then pushed all emotion from his mind. It was a good place. A safe place. His face fell into what is was before he'd realized what emotions were. Picking up his empty plate, Gaara took it into the kitchen and put it on the counter next to the sink where Naruto was washing dishes.



Without a word, he walked back into the living room and sat down. Pulling the cork out of his gourd and dragging the monstrous thing to his lap, Gaara whispered to the sand and it heeded his call, coming out and swirling around him. Setting the uncorked gourd aside, Gaara delved his hands into the sand and watched as it solidified around his fingers and when he felt a stab of pain, he coaxed the sand around and around until it was evenly coated in red. Pulling his bleeding hand out of the sand, Gaara brought it to his lips and licked the blood away.



The sand around him hissed, flowed around him and over him, through his hair, over his clothes and skin. It was like a living entity. In essence, it was. It was a part of him just like the demon used to be. Sand was the raccoons to control, shape and use to his whim but while being sealed inside of Gaara's body, it was passed from demon to mortal and now it was Gaara's. More sand came flowing out of the gourd and he swirled his hands, making patterns and feeling his chakra leave his body, into the sand.



"Gaara, what are you-" Naruto stopped, mouth agape and watched. He couldn't help it. Gaara was being pulled to his feet by sand which had splotches of red through it and more sand was coming out of the gourd. Naruto could feel the chakra flowing out of Gaara's body and into the sand and he swore he could see the sand pulsing from it. The red seemed to move through all of the sand, like the sand was...tasting it or something! "Gaara..." Naruto took a step forward but the sand moved to block his path with a wall of spikes. He could only see Gaara's eyes through a small rectangle. Those eyes...he knew them.



The sand hissed at Naruto and he stopped moving, going utterly still. What was Gaara doing? His eyes were so different from what they were earlier. Why was he..."Gaara, can you hear me?" A spike flew at him and he had to roll to avoid it. The plate he had in his hand crashed to the floor and broke into pieces. The shattering seemed to snap Gaara out of whatever he was in and the sand fell in front of him. It was nothing but a huge pile. The red head fell to his knees, his face still devoid of any emotions. Naruto slowly crawled over towards Gaara. "Gaara-"



"Don't touch me!" The red head moved away, hiding his eyes behind his arm. Naruto stopped, looking lost. What was going on? The blond stopped moving and just sat back on his knees, hands in his lap and waited. He didn't know what he was waiting for but the the sand started moving again, he went on guard, watching it closely. It moved back to the gourd and pulled the cork firmly into place. Frowning, Naruto's deep blue eyes moved from it to Gaara who as holding his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth. His face was still the same as it was moments ago but his eyes...there was something in them and he didn't know what it was.



Wait...didn't he remember hearing something during the chounin exams from Temari or someone that Gaara suffered from a blood lust? Frowning, Naruto moved and sat cross legged trying to remember what was said so long ago. In front of his eyes he saw events play out, frowning at some and smiling reluctantly at others. When he got to the elimination fights he slowed the memories down, like a movie almost, and focused on what was said. No, it wasn't Temari, it was Shino and his team that had seen it and heard it. They had told their sensei and she told Kakashi and the others. He'd over heard them without intending too.



Naruto's thoughts moved farther to his fight with Gaara. Yes...it did seem like he had a blood lust but, he didn't have the demon in his body and...it made no sense. Frowning, one hand folding over his chest and the other holding his chin, Naruto put his mind to work trying to figure out why a blood lust would surface when the demon was not in sight.



When a demon is bound and sealed within a mortal, that mortal takes on characteristics and personality traits of that demon. He knew that voice. Closing his eyes, Naruto took a breath and let it out.



But there is no demon inside of him now so that doesn't apply.



Shukaku has been within him from birth just as I have been you brat, even without the demon inside of him he still has personality traits and even some of the same needs as he did before Shukaku was removed.



But...I don't go around killing people or...well, you know. I don't have a tail or ears, I don't have any funny markings other than on my stomach and I am nothing like you.



I am sealed within you brat. I am in a cage. No others would have to put up with a cage. Damn that Yondaime! Naruto got the image of the fox ramming his body into the bars of the cage and he shivered.



Stop that. You're giving me chills. And...why are you listening in and even answering me? It hasn't been a week. The fox growled and started pacing in his cage.



No, no it hasn't been a week but I have decided to help you and what I want in return.



You did keep the rules in mind while coming up with your payment I hope?



Unfortunately yes. Now, I will help you in whatever way I can but in return, I must be allowed free roam of your body one night a month for the rest of your life, however unnaturally long it may be. Naruto stopped thinking. he could have swore he stopped breathing and forced the air through his lungs. The fox laughed a snarling laugh. Have I frightened you brat? I do hope so. Tell your Hokage what I want as payment and we will see if that red head will live to see his next birthday. And then he was gone. Just like that.



Naruto took a deep breath, and then another. His gaze was drawn to Gaara who was still rocking back and forth. Crawling over, Naruto pulled Gaara into his arms and held him tightly. "I know you can hear me. Fight it Gaara. Don't let the need for blood over power your senses." His voice was low, soft and murmuring. Gaara shivered and pushed Naruto away, looking at him. His eyes were telling Naruto things that he couldn't even begin to understand but his face never changed and he never uttered a sound. Glancing at the window, Naruto noted it was almost dark and stood. "Come on." He grabbed his weapons pack, threw his feet into his sandals and walked out the door. The red head just stood, picked up his gourd, put on his sandals and followed.



The teens ended up at the nearest training grounds and the battle began. Gaara held no weapons and Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to get in close enough to use his own. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Four clones appeared and nodded to one another. In a flush of orange and black, all five Naruto's rushed at Gaara weapons out and surrounded him. His sand was flowing, swishing up and down, side to side, making a noise that chilled to the bone.



The sand swirled out in a ring and went into attack mode. If it had modes at all. The Naruto's spread out and started to run around the sand and Gaara in a circle but the sand was there whenever they stopped. Naruto wished at a time like this that he had Shikamaru's brain. All that genius and he was too damn lazy to use it. Two Naruto clones rushed in and were poofed by the sand. Growling, the other three Naruto's circled in opposite directions. If the sand had a mind of it's own then it could probably get confused or could slow down and pick one Naruto to follow.



Naruto was right up to a point, the sand did get confused but it was because Gaara lost sight of the Naruto's. The sand split into three parts, one part for one Naruto. It started to follow the clones pattern so they had to change it. They kept changing it every few seconds and it started to work. Naruto called more clones and they started to move in different directions. Some jumping over head, others running in circles around Gaara and the sand and some trying to rush at them from all sides.



Gaara growled low in his throat and stopped the sand, then moved his hands, closing the sand into a ball over him and setting spikes all around the ball. With a seal, the spikes flashed out and started attacking from everywhere, the clones and when Gaara heard a cry of pain, he pushed the sand out and towards the sound. Naruto was panting, holding a bleeding shoulder. The sand was coming at him fast and he had to push chakra to his legs to get just enough out of the way to be barely missed by it. When the sand moved, he moved with it.



When the sand moved, Naruto moved. He was loosing feeling in his arm and that wasn't good. Kyuubi should be healing him faster than this but it seemed the fox had better things to do. Arm going Numb, Naruto called for more clones and rushed at an opening he spotted. The clones were attacked instantly and poofed out of sight and just was the sand closed over his legs and torso, Naruto landed a punch in Gaara's face. The last thing he saw was a green blur and Gaara's eyes go wide before darkness claimed him.





Naruto woke up cursing something fruitful and sat up. His arm was bandaged and splinted, his head also had a bandage. he could tell because he could see the ends of it. His stomach hurt and felt like he'd come in contact with a thousand pounds of pressure. he was sure he had a few broken ribs but there were no bandages so maybe they were just bruised? Fumbling with the cover that was over him, the blond winced and looked around. The hospital. Figured. They couldn't just bring him home a treat him, they had to bring him to the hospital. "Phht."



Swinging his legs over the bed, Naruto hopped up and tested everything. His ribs hurt, his legs hurt...and pretty much everything else from head to toe. he had a headache and his stomach made a churning noise. Frowning, Naruto looked around again and noticed he was alone in the room. Looking for his shirt and shoes, Naruto put them on and walked to the door only to jump when it opened. he was left staring at one very angry looking blond woman. Suddenly, he wished he'd stayed passed out.



Rubbing the back of his head and smiling like an idiot, Naruto started slowly backing towards the windows hoping for an easy escape but when he bumped into something solid, he froze. "Sorry Naruto-san, looks like you're in for this one." Shivering, Naruto glanced behind him to see the Green Beast of Konoha and that corny smile. Sighing in defeat, Naruto walked over and prepared for whatever he was going to get.



"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED EACH OTHER OR BEEN KILLED JUST BY YOURSELF! YOU ENDANGERED THE WHOLE VILLAGE WITH YOUR LITTLE ESCAPADE AND NOW LOOK AT YOU!" There were glomps on the top of his head the entire time she was yelling at him. He could add a few lumps on his head to the 'what hurts and is injured' list. When he was sure she was done yelling, Naruto rubbed his head and looked her in the eye.



"Just for your information, woman, I could very well have saved the village by my little 'escapade'. If you don't remember, Gaara suffers from the occasional blood lust and he just happened to succumb to it tonight. So, deciding that I would be a worthy opponent, we went to an empty training ground and had it out. Sure, I could have died but, it was for the better of a village who hates my guts. A win-win if you see my meaning." Standing up straighter, Naruto started walking and stopped next to her, staring out the door. "And just for your information Baa-chan, I wasn't being stupid." He left the room pretty sure he was going to die for his latest stunt so he started to run around the hospital looking for Gaara's room. Even though he could have died, he wanted to make sure his charge and friend was alright. Gai didn't hit lightly and Naruto knew that for a fact so...making sure the red head was okay was in order.



Naruto finally found the room. It was surrounded by guards. Frowning, he slunk into the shadows and covered his chakra signature. When he was sure he wouldn't be caught, he slipped through the shadows, close to the wall and headed straight for the door. He was stopped by a firm grip on his shoulder.



"I'm sorry Uzumaki-san, there are to be no visitors." He turned to see a masked man holding him by the shoulder. Growling, he shrugged his shoulder out from under the man's hand and started for the door again. The ANBU stopped him again and he turned to give the man his full attention, not bothering to cover his chakra anymore.



"Listen here mask face, I don't care what Baa-chan said to you, I am going in that room and if you get in my way again, you might just end up in the bed next to him." No, it wasn't smart at all to poke at an ANBU member when he knew he couldn't win, but he would be damned if he would be kept from that room. There was a chuckling that came from the man as he put a hand on his hip and let the other fall to his side.



"Your threat means nothing to me Uzumaki-san. You. Are. Not. Going in there. Hokage-sama's orders."



"Watch me." Clasping his hands together, Naruto gave an evil grin to the ANBU. He took a breath and just as he was about to speak, he was stopped.



"That's enough Naruto." Wincing, Naruto growled at the ANBU who just shimmered away and let his hands drop. His arm hurt and he puffed out a breath. Turning, Naruto looked at the woman who's orders were he couldn't enter. "Did he try to kill you?"



"Well, obviously." Naruto indicated the bandage on his hand and lifted the covered arm.



"Was it on purpose?"



"I told him to come with me and he followed, no questions asked."



"So you started it?"



"Evidently." She walked over and slapped him across one cheek and brought the back of her hand against the other in a double slap. Grabbing Naruto by the scruff of the shirt, Tsunade brought him off his feet to meet her eyes."I don't know what your problem is Naruto but if you don't check it immediately I will make sure you are hooked up to tubes for the next few years of your life." Her voice was low, angry and slightly scary. Naruto just closed down his face, hiding his emotions away, like wrapping a package.



"Let me in that room."



"No."



"He did nothing wrong."



"He hurt one of my people."



"I started it."



"But he went against our bargain."



"What bargain?"



"The one he and I made the night he got here."



"Let me go Tsunade." She dropped him from utter shock. He hadn't called her old woman, hadn't even used her title or last name but her first! What a little- She stopped and reined in her quickly rising temper. "I want to see my friend and my charge. Unless you are taking me off this mission, I am to protect him from even you, or isn't that what you told me?" He brushed passed her once again and she didn't stop him. When the ANBU would have stepped in his path, she waved them away. They faded into the walls becoming her eyes and ears.



The Hokage watched Naruto walk into the room and close the door quietly behind him. Her mind was reeling. What was wrong with him? What was with his attitude all of a sudden? Why was he acting like an asshole? Where did he get the golden balls?! Fuming, Tsunade paced back and forth in the hall, cracking her knuckles and wrists every few minutes while she thought. She needed to speak to Jiraya. Nodding to herself, she summoned an ANBU to her side and told her to find the Sanin. The ANBU nodded and dissipated.



"How are you feeling?" Naruto looked at Gaara who looked out of it. There was a tube attached to an I.V. and he was sure that was what made him look so dopey.



"Hmm..." Yup...had to be the tube. Sighing, Naruto walked over and carefully took the needle out of Gaara's hand and stopped the flow of liquid. He knew enough about I.V.s to know how to get rid of them. When he set the needle aside, the blond walked over to the sink and grabbed a small cup, pouring cold water into it and walked back over to the bed. Gently, he lifted Gaara into a sitting position and helped him drink it down.



"It should help clear your head a little." Although, he wasn't entirely sure. It always helped him.



"Why are you...being so nice to me?" Gaara giggled. Giggled. Shaking his head at the oddity of the sound and who it was coming from, Naruto helped Gaara to lean back on the bed.



"Because I know what it's like to not have control of your body. Someone helped me just like this only...it was more than just this." He cringed at the memory of having to have Jiraya bathe him because he was so out of it he couldn't do it himself. He knew what it was like to have something take over your mind. Sure, he was just a small part of the puzzle when Kyuubi started taking over but he had never killed anyone in a rage and he wasn't a murderer. He didn't suffer from blood lusts unless Kyuubi was trying to get out.



"Why were you in my dreams?" Gaara's eyes were drifting closed and Naruto stepped back from the bed, crossing his good arm over his chest.



"I don't know what you mean Gaara."



"You were...earlier...in my dreams...we showered and..." he giggled again, covering his mouth with a hand, "kissed." He was blushing. What did that woman give him? He was totally gone!



"Go to sleep Gaara. When you wake up you'll feel better ne?"



"Okay." It didn't take long for Naruto to hear soft snores coming from the red head. He sighed, rubbed the back of his head and left the room. He shut the door quietly and leaned against it. Tsunade was still in the hall and she had been pacing. He could swear he saw the tracks in the floor.



"He's agreed to let you poke and prod him and do whatever it is you are going to do to him but for one price."



"Do you think it's worth paying?"



"To save the life of any person even those who would die before accepting my help, I think it's a small price to pay."



"What does he want?"



"To be free one night of every month for the rest of my life."



"You can't be serious!"



"I would let you ask him yourself but he isn't in your body is he?" Looking to the floor, Naruto took up a very Shikamaru like pose, arms across his chest, ankles crossed and leaning against the door.



"We can't agree to that Naruto."



"He's promised me he won't become a raging animal and become a homicidal maniac and he won't hurt anyone."



"He's a demon...a fox demon at that. Don't you know why they call a fox sly?" He looked at her then, blue eyes blazing.



"I may act it but I am far from stupid Tsunade. You would honestly let Gaara die simply because you don't want to take a small chance? You could have killed Lee when you gave him back his leg but you still went ahead with it. There are ways to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone or go to any extremes."



"What are you saying?"



"Full guards for one night shouldn't be a problem should it?"



"You are asking a lot Naruto."



"I'm not asking you anything." He looked away from her and through the door. "He's died once and someone died to give him back his life. You would really let her sacrifice go to waist and watch him fade away into nothingness?"



"You sound much older than your years Naruto." He grinned at her.



"I've had my whole life to sit back and watch people Baa-chan. I learned something from the Third and I will never forget it. 'People will always view you through glass. They can see what they want to see on the outside but they are separated and will never see what lies beneath. People are stubborn Naruto, they are set in their ways and they are hard to change. Take a few steps back and then view the world, the people in it.'" he looked away and sighed. "He was a very smart man."



"Indeed." Tsunade studied the teen in front of her. Where had he come from? Where had this Naruto come from and what happened to her loud mouthed, happy-go-lucky teen? He was so different that it made her shiver. What was he? It was like he'd done a complete one-eighty and she was viewing someone totally different. His eyes spoke volumes now. They spoke of knowledge she didn't know he possessed and it scared her. What had she missed? Shaking her head, the Hokage rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I will think about it Naruto."



"Looks like you don't have much time." Naruto was staring through the window into the room at Gaara's sleeping form. She stepped up next to him and looked at the red head. She could see, although very faintly, the bones in his face. The life was being drained out of him.



"You have to stop training with him Naruto."



"I can't do that." She looked at him. "There was a look in his eyes earlier...it was fear. He wasn't afraid of the blood lust but something else. If I stop trying to help him in every way I can, he might stop. Just stop, give up. He's a fighter but he's felt death and knows a loneliness that even I can't begin to imagine. He's afraid of it." Sighing, he pushed away from the wall, wincing as his arm jarred and started walking away.



"Naruto?"



"Hm?"



"What happened to you?" He stopped walking and let his hand fall to his side.



"Life, Hokage-sama." It was the last thing he said before he walked out of the hospital.