New World

Chapter 5

A redhead with the kanji 'love' tattooed on his forehead, eyes rimmed thickly with eyeliner, a piercing through the nonexistent left eyebrow and a heck of a lot of ear piercings.

In other words, Gaara with a lot of additional piercings. Naruto had a hard time trying not to smile brightly and hug the living hell out of the redhead but somehow managed.

'' err yeah I'd like to do a couple of piercings. '' he answered smiling back at Gaara on the inside hoping that it would be Gaara doing the piercing.

''have you chosen what to do yet?'' Naruto nodded ''Follow me. '' Gaara turned around and started to walk towards a door in the back of the shop.

While following him Naruto saw Temari at the cash register looking even more dangerous then he had ever seen her.

Naruto couldn't believe how lucky he was to have bumped in to them already and he was really having a hard time holding back a shout of happiness. He was sure that Kankuro was here somewhere too.

Gaara stopped before the door and pointed towards Temari.

'' go choose then come through this door.'' He said and walked through the mentioned door.

Naruto made his way toward Temari who looked up from the book when she saw him nearing and grinned at him. The grin would have unsettled anyone else but Naruto was used to it and only grinned back.

'' what can I get you Blondie?'' Temari asked and stood up.

'' If I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to scare me away.'' The amusement in Naruto's voice was evident. '' anyway I've decided to get two ear piercings one on the lobe and the other on the scapha, a tongue piercing and one of my most annoying companions somehow managed to talk me into getting a nipple piercing. ''he said grimacing for a second but then the smile was back at his face.

'' I'm Naruto by the way.'' He said extending his hand toward Temari who shook it back.

'' Temari, and good choices anything else wouldn't really suit you.'' She brought out three different stands of piercings to choose from.

After ten minutes Naruto had chosen a simple orange stud for the upper part of the ear and a completely black thick hoop for the lobe, an orange and black striped hoop for the nipple and a tongue rivet. One little ball black the other one orange.

'' wow you really like this color combination don't you? '' Temari marked before giving him the piercings.

'' You have no idea.'' Naruto said and went to the door Gaara had gone through.

Upon entering the new room he saw that Gaara was waiting for him and everything seemed to be ready.

'' hey, well I want two ear piercings one here and the other here'' he said while pointing where '' a tongue piercing and a nipple piercing.'' He almost blushed while saying that. '' oh and I'm Naruto by the way. '' he handed Gaara the piercings and sat down on the chair in front of him.

'' Gaara.'' The redhead gave him a slight nod and motioned him to take of his shirt.

Naruto did just that and shivered a bit still fearing a bit the nipple piercing part.

'' nice tattoo.'' Gaara motioned towards the seal on Naruto's stomach and Naruto looked down at it.

'' heh yeah thanks. '' 'hey you 'the pain in the ass' why's it visible?'

'' the answer is the same as to most of the questions you ask. Because We Merged!'' Kyuubi said muttering something about blonde idiots and something Naruto didn't quite hear.

'Yeah, yeah whatever you don't have to have a hissy fit because of that.' He could hear Kyuubi growling at the back of his mind that demon foxes don't have 'hissy fit's'.

Gaara did the ear piercing first, then the tongue piercing and lastly the nipple piercing that for Naruto's relief wasn't as painful as he though it would be.

Just as Naruto was about to put his shirt back on Kankuro walk out of another room and stopped to look at Naruto or rather the 'tattoo' on his stomach.

'' Hey cool tattoo where did you get it done? '' he asked loudly and crouched in front of him to get a better look at it. In this dimension what had been war paint in the other, was tattoos here.

'' eh this one? '' Naruto asked motioning towards the tattoo on his belly thinking fast for a believable story. '' I don't even remember the name of the town really. I was traveling a couple of years back and had a fight with my uncle while we were in this little town and just stumbled upon this little tattoo shop. I was still mad at my uncle so I got this done just for revenge. '' he finished.

''hehe, good one. Well kid I haven't seen you around here before. I'm Kankuro by he way and this it my little brother.'' He motioned towards Gaara. '' What school do you attend anyway? '' he asked as an after though.

'' oh I'm Naruto and I'm new here. I'm probably going to start in Konoha-High. '' Naruto answered and finally put his shirt back on.

'' Konoha-High huh? What a coincidence we attend there too. I'm in my second year Temari is in her third and Gaara in his first. What year will you be in? '' they walked through the door back to the shops front where Naruto's newly bought stuff was.

'' oh I'm in the first year but I still have to do the entrance exam to see if I'm smart enough.'' Naruto said picking up his things and checked the time from the clock at the shop's wall.

'' well I have to get going my uncle is supposed to pick me up at four a clock and I only have about ten minutes to get to the parking lot. '' he said and headed for the door. '' now I just need to get the stuff trough the door again'' he muttered to himself sighing.

'' let me help.'' came Gaara's low voice from behind him.

Naruto was surprised by Gaara's offer and by the looks on Kankuro's and Temari's faces so were they. Naruto bid them goodbye and followed Gaara to the parking lot.

'' so why'd you help me? '' he asked when the arrived at the parking lot.

'' your interesting.'' came a monotone answer from Gaara.

Naruto just smiled at Gaara. Spotting Jiraiya he bid Gaara goodbye but before he could go Gaara held him back and gave him a piece of paper.

'' my number.'' Gaara said and turned around.

''thanks!'' Naruto shouted at him and ran towards Jiraiya… or at least tried to run.

'' who's the redhead?'' Jiraiya asked while trying to house everything in the car.

'' one of my close friend from my previous life.'' Naruto answered climbing into the first seat.

'' ahah well I found you a nice apartment near the school. Near enough so you can walk there. Well be driving there now and you'll going to stay there for the rest of the summer. It's already furnished so all you'll have to do is get all the other stuff you'll need for living on your own and now you already know where the mall is at. '' Jiraiya explained while driving out of the parking lot.

The apartment was apparently as near the mall as it was to the school and in a rather nice neighborhood. It had rather spacious, had nice furniture and looked cozy. All in all Naruto loved it.

Jiraiya didn't stay long, said he had to go back to writing his new book but said he'd be back the next evening to give Naruto all the material he'll need to know before he could take the entrance exam and to talk over what else he needed to know about.

Once Naruto was alone he left a couple of shadow clones to unpack and to study the instructions that came with the phone, i-pod and computer. He himself went to take a much appreciated bath.

Once done he left his clones at the apartment and went out to find someplace to eat. He found a nice diner just a cross the road from his apartment building. When entering it he came upon another familiar person. Behind the counter stood Ten-Ten ready to take orders.

'' hello what may I get you?'' she asked cheerfully.

'' eh Hello! My name is Naruto, nice to meet you. I don't really know what to order. What would you recommend?'' Naruto smiled while scratching the back of his neck.

'' oh well we have really good sushi and I'd recommend rice balls with it. My name is Ten-Ten by the way.'' She smiled at him when Naruto agreed to order just that. '' you new here? I don't remember seeing you around here before.'' She asked while serving him.

'' yeah just moved in across the road here so you'll be seeing me quite often.'' It didn't take much to become friends with Ten-Ten. Apparently she was also going to attend Konoha-High with some of her friends.

When he finally arrived back home he saw that his clones had finished reading the instructions and were all hunched in front of the computer. Dispelling the he found out that apparently they had found a card game at the computer and started playing out of boredom.

Now knowing how to use the phone he took out the note Gaara had given him before they parted and dialed the number. After a few seconds a voice answered.

'' Yes?''

'' Hey Gaara It's Naruto remember me?''

''yeah'' came a short answer.

'' great! So I wanted to ask if you had some time tomorrow because I have to go shopping again but this time for household stuff and was hoping that maybe you could accompany me since I really don't have any idea what to get.'' Naruto was crossing his fingers. He really hoped Gaara would say yes so he could befriend him.

'' what time?''

It took a lot of self control out of Naruto to not jump around in joy!

'' emm I don't know but I have to be back home by five so whenever suits you best.''

'' nine.'' 'Wow Gaara's talking habit's haven't changed much have they?' thought Naruto.

'' yeah O.K nine will be great! Meet you in front of the mall main entrance.''

'' bye.''

''see ya!'' Naruto replied enthusiastically and the line went dead.

-_-_-_-_-

The next morning Naruto found himself standing in front of the mall ten minutes earlier then planned. He was wearing dark gray thigh jeans, black hoody with crimson red sleeves and hood and of course the new jewellery.

'' you know it's not nice to sneak up on people.'' Naruto said with a calm voice without turning around knowing that Gaara was there having heard, sensed and smelled him a mile away.

Since he had been early he had opted to try out his new senses that he had blocked before because of the overload. It was quite a mouthful to get used to and hard to control. Like just five minutes ago he had smelt and heard someone fart and that was just not something he wanted to experience again.

Also he wasn't quite used to the fact that the people around him didn't have chakra signatures. They did have something but he really didn't know what to call it and it was a lot fainter then chakra signatures. They were hard to track down and emit but he was sure that in time he would accustom to them.

''your early.'' When he turned around he found Gaara looking calmly at him

'' yeah I was so nervous I'd be late so I ended up being here early.'' Naruto scratched the back of his head while smiling widely.

'' you sound like you have a crush on him.'' At that Naruto's eyes widened a bit. Did it really look like that?

'' god I sound like I have a crush on you but just so you know I just want to be friend not that there's anything wrong with you but…'' and at that Naruto trailed of.

'' but your saving yourself for Sasuke?'' Kyuubi teased and Naruto barely managed not to blush. 'Shut up you stupid furball!'

'' I understand.'' Gaara was slightly smirking at Naruto. The blonde was even more amusing that he had first thought he would be. '' I feel the same.'' He said and handed Naruto a sheet of paper.

'' Temari found out about our meeting today and its purpose. She made a list.'' Gaara explained while Naruto looked over the list.

'' wow I have to thank her for this. I really had no idea what to buy so this makes it a lot easier.'' Naruto could tell that the list was really thought through. That was just so like Temari to plan everything perfectly.

So they went shopping for all the thing on the list and god Naruto was happy that he invited Gaara because there was no way he could have carried all the stuff on his own. The pot's and pan's weighted already more than all the things he had bought yesterday. Not to mention the tableware and cleaning supplies.

In the end they just decided to make a stop at the tattoo shop to leave everything there while they went to buy the rest. Naruto also thanked Temari for the list before they left and Kankuro offered to drive them home with his car when they were finished. Said he needed a short break from work anyway.

They finished the last shopping around four a clock just like last time. All the things barely fit in Kankuro's car and Naruto was pressed between the car door and his new things on the back seat of the car.

Stopping in front of Naruto's apartment building the three of them carried everything to his door.

'' thanks guys! I never would have managed to get everything on my own in one day.'' Naruto chuckled motioning to his new belongings that took up most of the hall.

'' so you have time to come in? I don't really have anything to offer you since I haven't got around to the food store yet if that's O.K.'' he said opening his door.

'' yeah sure id like to rest a bit after all the stairs.'' Kankuro said and Gaara just nodded.

Kankuro let out a low whistle when entering. '' sweet! You live here all alone? You must be filthy rich if you can afford this.''

'' nah I'm not paying for it my uncle is. He's supposedly a famous author or something but if you ask me he's just an old pervert.'' Naruto was carrying everything in to the apartment from the hall while Gaara and Kankuro sat down on the coach in the living room.

'' still you should appreciate this ya know. Not everyone's as lucky as you.'' Kankuro said and Naruto looked at him wondering about the sibling's pasts.

'' believe me I know what you mean and I do appreciate it. I haven't always lived like this. I actually lived in the slums until my tenth birthday. '' now Kankuro and Gaara were both looking at him with interest and Naruto felt a bit uncomfortable under their looks. So he tried to change the subject.

'' where the hell am I supposed to put all this?'' he looked around him at all the items scattered around him on the floor. '' this is going to be a long evening.'' He groaned.

'' ha don't envy you there kid.'' Kankuro said and stood up Gaara following him. '' well I must go back to work now. Hopefully I'll see you soon.'' Naruto waved both of them off and turned back to the problem at hand. He didn't even know what some of the things were for that he had bought and so he decided to put away only the items he knew what they were for. Again he made some shadow clones and instructed them to put away everything they knew what it was and to later learn about the things they didn't know about.

He was almost finished when Jiraiya arrived. He looked quite awed at the multiple Naruto's running around the apartment. '' I don't think I could ever get used to this. '' he muttered to himself.

'' hey ero-sennin what you got there?'' The real Naruto asked motioning to the box in Jiraiya's hands.

''These are the books of what you have to know before you can take the test to enter Konoha-High. You lucky the principal is an old friend of mine and owns me a lot or you would have had a lot more trouble in even getting a chance to take the tests. Especially only a week before school starts. '' Jiraiya said and handed the big box with book over to Naruto. '' by the way you only have about a week and a half to look them over. That's as much time as I could get so you better be a damn fast learner.''

'' heh learning fast is no problem at all. See all the clones? I can make hundreds of them and all they learn I learn when dismissing them so learning fast is no problem at all. '' Naruto gloated and put the box down at the table in the living room.

Jiraiya didn't look too reassured at that.'' Still if you don't know the basics you can try all you want but you won't understand what's written in those some of the books. Are you sure you're smart enough to do this?''

'' yeah, yeah I'm sure. Stop worrying about it I'm smarter than I look.'' 'At least I will be. Kyuu you sure you can do this?' he asked the fox again just in case.

'' of course I'm sure. I'm thousands of years old and probably smarter than most of you humans anyway.'' Kyuubi growled.

'' O.K if you say so.'' Jiraiya shrugged and walked around the apartment a bit looking at the things Naruto had bought.

'' wow you sure knew what to buy for someone who's only been in this world for less than a week.'' He mentioned.

'' heh yeah got some help from Gaara's sister you know the redhead you saw me with yesterday. '' Naruto said and looked over the stuff that was left on the floor. '' I still don't know what some of the stuff is for.'' He motioned towards it.

'' well good luck with that kid I have to go now and remember one and a half a week. That's all you have so if I were you I'd study hard. '' and with that Jiraiya left.

'' stupid lazy pervert. Couldn't he at least have helped explain some of the things?'' Naruto muttered and then motioned for his clones to start studying the instructions of the things that were left on the floor he himself going for the box with the books. There was no way he was going to fail the tests.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-


R&R

Kyra