How orphan boys play

Hey Guys. Your patience has been reswarded!!! It's the new chapter!! I had my best mate go over this part with me to make sure it was all lovely and pretty just for you lot ^_^ I took the advic of Zimmrie Kanoah and just took my time with this. it was good advice. It took me while to get all this done but it was worth it.

I also have a little game for you guys too. This chapter is rated NC-17. your challenge is to spot all the hints that lead up to the final part LOL Anyone who figures out the initial clue will be given a prize of a spoiler of future chapters(if they want) Plus, my emial has been broken for a good while so if you guys have been trying to send pictures for teh AMV i might not have gottent hem. if you stil want to take part, plaese send me a note on my DA account please. CYA!!!!


Oak and pine as tall as towers. Vast and glorious mountain tops. Streams of crystal water. Glimmering evening skies. Roared red fires and warm, rosy sunrises. At least, that’s what it said in the books. But little Gaara was becoming a bit sceptical, despite the numerous volumes of text he accumulated over the last few days since Naruto’s announcement; they were all going camping this weekend. Not just the boys but, the adults too. Schools were out for summer already but the teachers stay and extra week to finish off paper work. When this is over, it marks the beginning of Iruka’s annual camping rip. Normally, it was used as a getaway from the village for a while; to relax, enjoy the calm of the wilderness and not worry about a single thing for a whole week. Things were going to a little differently this year and most likely for years to come. Iruka was looking forward to it all but had a feeling he was he was going to need a new getaway. When Iruka told Naruto they were going camping for a weekend, the kid hit the roof. He ran in a mad circle for nearly ten minutes before Iruka had the chance to ask if he wanted to bring his friends too. Word of mouth got around and soon, not only were his friends going but, so were their parents too. Not that Iruka it bothered Iruka, just so long as they brought their own equipment.

When Gaara heard the news, he realised little to nothing about camping or what it was like. So, like any time Gaara came across something he wasn’t sure about, he went straight to the library and got hold of anything that could fill in the blank. If it did anything, it confused him even more. There was just so much controversial information. While one text boasted about the health benefits of the outdoors, other were brandishing it as a waste land with the sole purpose of housing smelly beasts and biting bug. Some even went to the extreme of poetry to express their opinion. Which, didn’t make much sense to Gaara either. The closest mountain was nearly a kilometre away according to the maps and he couldn’t imagine how it was possible for the sky to look so different in so many words, it’s the sky, how different can it get from day or night. Gaara realised how close it was to dinner time when Lee finally found him.

“There you are!” There was a wild shush from the librarian who looked like she could kill with a single stare if she took off those glasses. “Have you been here all day?” Lee whispered as he tiptoed to the table where Gaara had boxed himself in. He looked a little tired, even for him. Lee glanced over the small stack of books, not quite believing Gaara could have read all these but then, not quite ready to throw out the possibility.

“I want to know more about camping. We’re going tomorrow and I still don’t know that much. These books don’t really coheres with the landscape around here and I think this poet believed a mountain was talking to him” Lee just blinked as Gaara let his heavy head sink to the table. Even with that quiet voice, that was more familiar to the rules of this place than Lee was, is was easy to tell the red head had worn himself out with research. Lee bent forward, arms folded across the table with two towers of books on either side of his bowl cut head.

“Gaara, you don’t need to know about camping to go camping” Dark eyes peeked up, with an obvious, ‘I’m not convinced’, look.

“That’s like saying you don’t need to know how to jump to play jump-rope.” Lee just grinned

“But you don’t. If you knew how to do it before you did it, then where would the fun be? It’d be boring that way” The sudden lack of dark eyelids indicated to Lee that he managed to get his point across. There was a silent moment between the pair which Gaara occupied by sucking his index finger.

‘Hmmmm. He doesn’t quite get it’, Lee thought to himself. “Tell you what,” said Lee, standing proudly with a hand on his hip and one pointing in the air, “Give camping a try without knowing a thing about it. If it turns out I’m wrong, I’ll eat raw eggs and spinach smoothies for a week.!” There he goes again with those weird challenges. There’s be no point in arguing, he’d do it anyway even if Gaara didn’t give Lee a reason. Gaara had no choice.

“You’re on” Lee struck the air but kept the cheer to himself.

“Let’s go home now, Oji-Gai’s making spaghetti and meatballs” The second those words left Lee’s lips, Gaara scrambled with as many books as he could carry and hurriedly put them back on their shelves. “Can’t you leave them on the table?” While balancing three thick ones, Gaara pointed towards a sign with bold, red letters, PUT THEM BACK. I’M NOT YOUR SLAVE. Not daring to look over his shoulder, Lee grabbed a bunch of hardbacks and quickly helped his little brother before they could head home

XXXX

Sai had never been camping before but, he’s seen enough pictures to have a good idea what it would be like. There used to be an old magazine in the orphanage, full of large ponds and old men fishing. Sai used to copy the pictures when he could. At the time, he was too young to wander too far from the orphanage, let alone the village, and Kurenai was strict about where you could play. So, that little magazine was probably the first real experience at landscape. There wouldn’t be much difference. It’d be no different from there private play park, just bigger puddles and more trees. It wasn’t until he and Yamato got past the main gates of Konoha that Sai realised how wrong he was. Towers of leaves that must of stretched for miles, gaping holes in the land the size of a hundred houses and filled to the brim with sky blue water. All around him were tree that he would never learn the names of but would gladly stand between them all day and breath in those amazing smells.

“You don’t get outside the village much do you?” Sai’s head must have been somewhere else. Weird, he didn’t normally day dream.

“No. Not really” It’d been a few weeks since Sai had moved in by now, Yamato was getting used to those short sentences. It was interesting to see the boy’s reaction to all this though. As they walked, Yamato kept looking over his shoulder, making sure Sai didn’t fall down a hole while starring though the canopy with an open mouth. Yamato remembered Kurenai’s old rule about going outside the gates when he was little. She couldn’t have her little ones wandering around half the village or in a forest and disappearing every day. It wasn’t as if there weren’t plenty of high places around Konoha that allowed you to see over the grate gate. However, Yamato was also growing accustomed to Sai’s perception of the world; the kid didn’t really bother or pay attention to anything unless it was happening to him. Suddenly, there was a loud screech that shook several birds from their nests.

“HEY SAI!!” Every time Yamato had to endure the presence of the loudest creature known to man, he felt like he needed a new set of eardrums. A quick flash of orange and yellow zoomed by the tall and deafened adult and slammed to a halt in front of Sai. “You’re finally here! Isn’t this place amazing? Gaara’s here too and so is his family. Wait ‘till you see these guys. They’ve got eyebrows the size of my foot. C’mon!” The flashed zoomed by once again along with a short shirted follower. Yamato stood perfectly still for a moment, knowing to certain extent this could be his last moment of peace for the next week.

‘That kid’s got some set of lungs on him’

By the time Yamato caught up with the pair, eh found himself wandering into some sort of clearing at the end of the foot eroded path. It was one of those crop circles that seemed to pop up in the newspaper every week; a wide barren circumference of land, surrounded by thick trees apart from another small path that looked like it might lead to a lake. From what Yamato could make out, the place had been used frequently; several stones of different sizes were arranged into rectangles, there was a patch of black ash that had soaked into the ground after weeks of rain and parts of grass no longer grew after the repeated foot patterns that had crossed over it. There was a brief exchange of waves between the adults, followed by the massive bellow from a giant of a man with a bowl cut for hair-do. Sai had warned Yamato about this guy after coming home one day with sore ears and a headache. Once Yamato was granted the freedom to move again and could unload his things, he met Naruto’s guardian, Iruka. This guy seemed friendly enough and polite as hell. It didn’t bother Yamato too much though, he was used to having the girls in the tea houses address him formally. Iruka was just about to offer a helping hand with Yamato’s tent when he suddenly dashed towards the boys after hearing a loud yelp. From the corner of his dark eyes, Yamato had seen Naruto fiddling with the support rope at the top of the tent while Sai secured the ground hooks. Gaara had been inside, holding it all up so they could put it together faster. Now, it was like there was a ghost rising from the ground and was quickly getting tangled. It was an innocent enough accident but the red head didn’t look too pleased at the blonde who had let the ropes slip. Yamato just shrugged it off, not knowing this was only the start.

Yamato had already witnessed Naruto’s hyperactive nature before and lack of volume control but he’s yet to see the clumsy side. The next day started with a bright, crisp morning and a fishing lesson. Iruka only had one rod though but the Sai and Gaara didn’t really seem to care much for it anyway. Sai was happy enough to just watch and Gaara has nose in a tattered old book he had brought with him. Yamato was surprised to say the least to see Naruto picking up fishing so well and by the look on Iruka’s face, he was surprised too. The afternoon rolled around and the sun was just perfect for lying under. While Yamato found a comfy spot underneath a fresh pine, the boys seemed quite content on a massive log that must have been a something splendid in it’s prime but had now become a bench that lay a few meters out into the lake. The scent of the morning catch, being cooked by Iruka and Gai, was strong in the air. Apparently those two worked in the same school together but because they worked on different sides, they had never really interacted much. However, they were getting along like they had been friends since childhood. Iruka turned from the fire, “Lunch is ready!”

It was one of those moments where you can just predict the next few seconds but your mouth and body can’t quite catch up. Naruto had risen to his feet, excited as ever to try his first ever catch but, as he spun around, the rod went with him. Sai had ducked in time but little Gaara hadn’t. The red head was literally smacked right out of his own little world. The metallic tube thwacked the back of his head, sending the poor kid flying face forward into the water. While the book somehow managed to land safe and sound, little Gaara scrambling for the surface. Thankfully, the water wasn’t exactly deep but the kid was soaked from head to toe. Yamato couldn’t see it but he could sense a fierce glare being thrown Naruto’s way from behind that wet mop of red hair. While all this was going on, Yamato had noticed Sai’s lack of reaction to it all. He knew the kid didn’t exactly care for much but to just sit there while his friend was half drowning and the other was begging for forgiveness seemed a little inconsiderate, even for Sai. Similar mishaps just seemed to continue throughout the week. All because of Naruto, just being Naruto. The blonde digs a hole, covers it up to look like a trap in a cheap cartoon, forgets about it and manages to case Gaara straight into it while playing tag. It took an hour to get Gaara back out again, mainly due to a certain someone forgetting where the hole was. Yet, through it all, Gaara didn’t say a word and Sai didn’t do anything. There were trips and falls, scrapes and bruises but the true disaster was on the forth day with the squirrel. Gai’s eldest, Lee was it? He had a strange…..connection with the furry creatures. They seemed to pop up where-ever the green clad teen went. He’d be doing push-ups and one would sneak under him for some shade, other times they would just jump on his shoulder for no apparent reason and once, when Yamato went to go wake Lee and Gai up, there was little ball of brown sleeping soundly on the smaller bowl cut. The bizarre affinity caught Gaara’s attention. From Yamato’s point of view, the two made a really odd set of brothers; they couldn’t really pass off as blood relatives and their personalities seemed to go in opposite areas. Yet, something about them just clicked when the were around each other. The ‘skill’, as Gai had put it, looked like it was on the contagious side. The bushy tailed critter happily hopped from bowl cut to red head, chippering away like nothing bad could ever happen. Of course it did though, and big guess what it was.

“Woah! Gaara! You can talk to squirrels just like the bushy brows!” That voice felt like it growing louder every god damn time this kid spoke. The massive pitch scared the living crap out of the squirrel to the extreme where it’s fur stood on end. The little brown critter shrieked madly and leapt at the first thing it could get it’s claws could find. Gaara’s face. Yamato bolted for Gaara as fast as he could, the other adults right behind him before the red head’s eyes could get torn out. As luck would have, whether good or bad, the boys had been standing by the small dirt cliff that over-hanged the water edge. Same result in the end. Poor Gaara was soaked again, with a couple of scratches to add. Once again though, without fail, Sai hadn’t really done much to help. He’d gotten up at the sound of that cry for help. So that, at least indicated he showed some concern but it was like Sai could care as much for Naruto and Gaara as someone would a dead plant.

When dinner came by, not even Gai’s razor sharp sushi knife could cut through the tension. Two massive logs sat on opposite ends of the fire. Yamato, Sai, Lee and Gaara were on one and Iruka, Gai and Naruto were on the other. They were in the middle of dinner, during which Gai was doing his absolute best to break the silence with small talk. Naruto’s personality was pretty open so, when his usual animal appetite drew to a slow halt, the worry became quite evident on Iruka’s face. The blonde may not have been interested in his food but he kept both eyes on his skewered fish. Yamato wouldn’t look up either if he had that look being fired in his direction either. It had to be the deadliest glare Yamato had ever seen and no wonder; none of them had exactly brought a lot of clothes since they’d be getting grubby most of the time and it would save on big wash when the trip was over. Poor little Gaara though, had been going through a bit more wear and tear than the rest of the group. As a result, all he had left that wasn’t torn, ripped, burned or lost was drying over the fire place. All the kid had left to his name were a pair kaki shorts, a baggy white t-shirt and the underwear he was wearing. Needless to say, the kid had to be a bit embarrassed having to sit to sit like this with people he didn’t really know too well. Gaara ripped a shred a scale from his trout, never taking his eyes off the blonde. Were they going to be like this for the rest of the week?

Since boys will be boys, Iruka had taken the initiative to bring a bottle of ketchup. Yamato wasn’t really too fond of the stuff since it often dulled the taste of the actual food. He passed it around and it appeared Iruka’s plan ahead attitude was going to be in vain. No-one wanted so much as a drop which really surprised Yamato. He suddenly had a childhood flash back of the numerous fights that had been caused by ketchup back in the orphanage. Maybe that’s where his distaste originated? The bottle reached Naruto, who was probably the least interested. Nonetheless, it was another excuse to keep his head down. Yamato attempted to help Gai ease the tension and Iruka followed pursuit. At the same time, Yamato was keeping watch from the corner of his eye; Sai just continued to nibble in peace, Gaara had actually let down his glare a little to talk to Lee and Naruto seemed to be struggling with the bottle of red sauce.

Uh-oh.

Yamato could feel it happening again; his eyes were seeing those few seconds into the future but, once again, his body was fixed in place. He could only watch as Naruto shook the bottle once, the twice with no prevail and a final slam against his knee. A massive, red worm flew from the nozzle that Naruto had stupidly directed away from his food. It made a clear, splat-landing directly on Gaara’s face. Naruto winced as if he were in great pain. Everyone, even Sai, had stopped at the sound of the squelch. They all watched anxiously as Gaara wiped the red mess from his eyes with both hands, revealing the green eyes glared once again. The read head held out his hand and gestured for Naruto to him the bottle. The blonde obliged without a second thought. With Gaara’s free hand he handed his half eaten fish to Lee. Everyone waited. Then, Naruto gulped. Like the sound off shot at a race, Gaara sprung from his post like a streak of red lightning and struck Naruto to the ground with a fierce roar. The pair rolled like a cascaded dice until Gaara had the upper hand. Using his feet, Gaara had pinned Naruto’s ankles down. The boys were roughly the same weight and build so that was a struggle for dominance but, Gaara used every ounce of power he had to keep Naruto flat on the ground while pulling that bright, yellow mess right back and shove the ketchup bottle right up Naruto’s nose. Everyone sprang from their seat to attempt to separate the pair, except for Sai how just held his hand up at the rest of them.

“Don’t bother” Sai went back to nibbling on his fish. This was actually starting to peeve Yamato right off now. What kind of friend just sits and watches while his two best friends nearly killed each other? “They won’t forgive you if you stop them” Despite the sheer lack of tone, Sai’s words struck a chord of worry. Yamato placed his massive hand on that tiny head of black hair and turned Sai to face up.

“What is going on with you today? They’re about to knock each other’s teeth out” Yamato tried to keep his calm but a hint of frustration was breaking through.

“This happens all the time”, Sai replied. “Naruto’s clumsier than duck on ice. Gaara knows that too so he tries not to get angry over it. But, you know, sometimes you just gotta let it out. So Gaara might as well throw it at Naruto. This way, Naruto doesn’t feel so guilty. They’ll be back to normal soon” Yamato looked back at the others and just shrugged. They all knew it, but hated to admit that Sai knew those two better than they did and the kid’s blunt and direct approach made a lot of sense. Reluctantly, the adults and Lee sat back down. While most of them tried to distract themselves, Yamato tried talking to Sai more. The kid had just spoke more in the last two minutes than he had in the last few weeks. Might as well try and get more out of him and work out that head of his.

“How come you never tried to stop them? Or all the stuff that’s happened this week?” Sai took another bite, not even making eye contact.

“Cause. If I did then Naruto would have felt bad for weeks for ruining the trip. I can’t stop him doing stupid stuff and there’s nothing to do when it’s already happened.” He took another bite and shrugged his shoulders. “I’d make it worse if I got in the way” It was smart, logical and there was nothing wrong about it. It was just….weird to hear such a rational response from a twelve year old. But then, Yamato was learning every day that Sai was a little on the weird side.

A scenario was playing through the older man’s head. What would have happened if he and the other adults had broke up Naruto and Gaara from their fight? Obviously they would have never gotten to finish and, if Sai was right, Gaara would have continued being pissed off while the guilt would have ate Naruto up. It might have even swallowed their friendship. They’d end up avoiding each other and stopped being friends altogether. Yamato retrieved his own fish that he had tossed on the fire. It was nearly burnt to a crisp but he liked it that way. This just gave him the excuse. After taking a bite, he gave Sai a pat on the back, That got the kid to take his eyes of his food. “What was that for?”

“For being a good friend. Word of advice though,” he took a chunk a chunk of charcoal into his mouth, “maybe trying to stop the stupid from happening might not be a bad idea”.

“Tired that. Besides, it’s more fun to watch. And look, Gaara’s winning this time” By now, Gaara had Naruto in a pretty mean head lock, still trying to shove the bottle up the blonde’s nose. It was sharp dig of the right elbow between the shoulder blades that made Naruto squirm just long enough to fill a nostril with half a bottle of tomato. The stuff went everywhere! All over Naruto’s face and front and when he tried to pin Gaara back down again, the sauce spread all over the red head too. Just when it looked like the blonde was getting the upper hand, Gaara managed to slam his shoulder right into Naruto’s chest. The second the guard was down, Gaara grabbed the forearm and threw Naruto’s entire weight right over his head. It looked like it was over. The pair huffed and puffed until Gaara stormed off in the direction of some thick trees. Naruto raised his limp hand in the air.

“Wad de kedchup nedessary? I’ll be sneeding dis stuff for a weeg!” A blackened fish lay half eaten on the ground. Dropped from the mouth of a dumb struck adult who had just witnessed madness. How often did Sai put up with this? This kid was braver than he was.

“Where’s he off to?” Yamato asked.

“To pee,” came the answer, “he does that after every fight” The man couldn’t even finish chewing what was left of his meal.

“Did I need to know that?”

“No”. Maybe there was a reason Sai didn’t talk much in the first place.

Lee was keeping it to himself but, he felt an immense sense of pride right now. He’s taught Gaara that elbow trick a while ago and was feeling pretty proud about how well his little Brother pulled it off. Gaara really had a lot of strength in him when he was angry. Lee had the feeling that his Uncle has the feeling that his Nephew was responsible for that victory. Before he could be scolded for teaching moves without supervision, Lee grabbed Gaara’s clothes from the wire over hanging above the fire and rushed off to give his little Brother something warm to dry to wear before the cold, night air swept in. Lee quickly took off in the direction Gaara had stormed off. It didn’t take long to that bright head of hair.

“Hey Gaara! Your stuff’s dry!” Lee beamed inwardly, excited about congratulating his little Brother on a splendid victory. It was a little grittier and messier than normal but it was still a victory. Gaara could hear the rustling of nearby bushes but he didn’t need that to know Lee was close by. The red head often wondered if he would be able to hear Lee even if they were at opposite ends of the village. Gaara called out just as he was reaching down to pull his briefs up from his ankles.

“Ow!” Something sharp yanked his hair. ‘Ah! Must have got caught on a branch or something’. But, now he was stuck in a position that he really didn’t want to be seen in. ‘This is gonna hurt’. He braced his heels and yanked his head up hard. Lee passed by a tree when a sudden flash of red came and went in the blink of an eye. There was loud thump, followed by a very displeased grunt. Lee leaned over the wall of bushes and found his little Brother fighting again. Only this time, it was with a large patch of green stars.

“Uh-oh” Gaara managed to sit up right, trying to pluck these annoying leaves from his underwear and where else they managed to stick.

“What’s the ‘uh-oh’ for? What am I sitting in Lee?”

XXXX

That night, Sai’s premonitions were, well indeed, on their way. Everyone seemed a lot cheerier now that Naruto was back to his old self. The tension had really lifted.

“You still itchy, Gaara?”

“I’m covered in a Poison Ivy rash. YES! I’m itchy dammit! Ow!” Gai just gave Gaara a sharp tap on the head, probably the only place that didn’t itch.

“Language, Gaara”

“Sorry”. Gaara meant that. He wasn’t fond of swearing himself but the urge to scratch was driving him nuts.

“Tilt your head forward, Gaara” For the last half hour, Gai had been applying some sort of pungent cream to the nasty red rash. It helped to cool the skin but Poison Ivy loves a fight. And Gaara wasn’t going to be able to put up much of one with dish towels taped to his hands. That Iruka guy is way too prepared. Sai had been given the job of making sure they stayed taped. So far, Sai had thwarted three attempts at escape.

All the ‘excitement’ must have been pretty tiring. Not long after the sun had set, the boys were dozing off by the heat of the fire. Eventually they were so out of it they had to be lead to their beds. The adults let the trio sleep in the one tent to keep it simple. Yamato and Iruka agreed to bunk together for the night. Even little Gaara looked like he’s be out for the count, which was a relief for Gai. For the last few weeks he’s been keeping an eye on Gaara’s sleep pattern as best as he could, worried about the boy’s health. He’d never personally know anyone with insomnia before he knew Gaara, but had heard plenty of stories of physical deterioration and severe mental distress. It took Kurenia three solid hours to convince the hot headed, bowl cut that Gaara’s sleeping habits were normal for him. He’d been that way since he was very young and they had faced the health problems long ago. The red head was very resilient against doctors expectations. There were a few fever and migraines but the immune system adapted to cope over the years. Gai still worried though like the doting parent he is. Soon Lee was yawning like the younger boys and found his own tent in good time. Although, his eyes didn’t appear to be open the whole time he had sat up, wandered to his sleeping bag and changed into his sleeping clothes. Maybe Gai should be a little more worried about that.

The fire crackled with an orange glow, spreading waves of warmth into the surrounding darkness. Three cans clanked together, toasting another day gone fairly well. Two cans were chugged while the third was sipped. But all three holders slumped in the end, feeling pretty exhausted. Yamato sighed aloud, “What. A. Day”

Gai raised his can into the air, “You said it”

Iruka craned his neck to the sky, eyes closed. “And I bet they’ll be back to normal first thing tomorrow” He looked back the other with an almost lazy expression. “Are Sai and Gaara half as much work as Naruto is?” Gai brought the can to his lips, thinking how he could put this lightly. He disliked having an honest conscience sometimes.

“Well, in his own way. At least Naruto’s not shy about what’s on his mind”, he laughed. Gai admired anyone who was openly spoken but had never met anyone as young as Naruto with such enthusiasm. Except for Lee of course. He could see that quality lurking in Gaara somewhere but it still finding it’s way out. “I can never really tell what’s on Gaara’s mind sometimes. He does this really cute thing where he sucks his finger and tilts his head when he’s trying to buck up the nerve to ask something” Gai grinned.

“I rather that with Sai sometimes”, Yamato added after a quick swig. “I know what’s on his mind and I’m half scared to leave him because of it” Iruka raised an eyebrow.

“Why?”

“He doesn’t like how blank the walls are in the house and I know he keeps a marker tucked away in his pocket. There’s this creepy look in his eye when he think I’m not in the room” The three of them sat in silence for just a moment before bursting into fits of laughter. Iruka nearly spilled his can over himself and Yamato had even doubled over. It looked like parenthood with these boys was going to be very interesting.

XXXX

Naruto is a pillow biter. Every morning, without fail, you would find him either chewing, biting or cuddling the feather filled delicacy. It was usually a sign that he was having a happy dream and Gaara really didn’t want to take his friend away from it but he really needed Naruto’s help right now.

“Naruto”, he whispered. “Naruto” Dreams of hot and spicy ramen with extra pork were slowly bring drained away from the blonde’s dreamy eyes. The puddle of drool soaking into his pillow was leaving a hot and sticky patch against his cheek. A moment later he was aware of the hand shaking him.

“Wha…Gaara?” He rubbed his eyes while rolling onto his back. It was still dark. Naruto took a long yawn before he could shake more of the sleep off. “Is something’ up? Did you have that nightmare again?”

“It wasn’t the nightmare” Sai was up too? That got Naruto sitting upright. Sai had that look, the one that usually meant he was being serious about something and Gaara looked spooked out his mind. “I heard Gaara talking to himself. I asked what was wrong and….” Sai never stammered. “We…think it might be the Poison Ivy”

“What is?” Gaara and Sai glanced at each other. The red head looked like he was about to cry. What the hell was going on?

“Show him”, Sai said firmly. It wasn’t until now that Naruto noticed how Gaara had been covering the front of his underwear. The white of Naruto’s eyes grew wider as the white of the briefs was revealed. It didn’t take a genius to figure out was pitching a tent in the tent. Gaara’s lip trembled.

“S-something’s wrong with my ochinchin”. Naruto’s throat squeaked, not exactly helping Gaara’s worried state.

“Do you think it was that cream?” Sai asked. Gaara turned his head swiftly.

“it couldn’t be. Gai said it was to help the rash. He would have told me if it did something like this” Gaara suddenly scrambled to the front of the tent, fidgeting with the zipper and failing to get it open. “I’ve got ask him! This might be really bad. I need to-”

“I know what it is” Gaara stopped and looked back at Naruto. His face changed its expression various times, as if Gaara couldn’t decide if he should be relieved or not.

“Naruto…?” The blonde couldn’t bare to look into those green eyes. Not since he’s been the cause of another disaster for Gaara.

“I….think you caught it. From me” Idiot. IdiotIdiotIdiotIdiot. Just when things were getting better, Naruto felt like he’s ruined it all over again. The thought of why Gaara was even friends with him in the first place often plagued Naruto’s thoughts. Gaara nearly flinched Naruto suddenly looked up. Naruto’s eyes could be really scary sometimes, especially when he was mad. But, these were the eyes that made him feel safe when he was younger; nights where demons of forgotten times used to keep awake for days at a time. There are times when they still do but knowing his friends were just two beds away made the long nights easier to bare. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re just….”Naruto fumbled for the right words, “blocked up”.

“What?” The other boys said in unison. Naruto crawled out from beneath the covers and instructed Gaara to sit down with his legs out. For some reason, Sai had to behind the red head to make sure he wouldn’t move around too much? Too much for what? What was going on?

“I need to take your underwear off okay?”

“What?!” Gaara swiftly shuffled back, nearly crushing Sai against the back of the tent and the rock holding a hook down. “You’re not……going to touch me there are you?”

“Well, yeah. We gotta get it out”

“Get what out?”

“The milk” There was a long, deafening pause. Gaara couldn’t even move his lips and Sai wasn’t sure what to believe. The dumbfounded pair could only watch as Naruto tugged on Gaara’s briefs. They travelled as far as the knees when Gaara yanked his legs close to his chest.

“What are you going to do?” Naruto sat back on his knees with his arms folded, trying to think if how to explain this. He didn’t quite understand it himself. For some reason, on old commercial popped into his head.

“It’s kinda like trying to get the last of the toothpaste out of the tube” Sai leaned over Gaara’s shoulder a little.

“You once squeezed the toothpaste so hard it hit the ceiling”

Jeez. Thanks, Sai. You’re a big help.

“I promise that won’t happen! Gaara.” Piercing blue eyes looked directly into watery emerald orbs. “I just wanna help. I swear” Those blue eyes dipped to the floor. “Please”, came a sheepish voice. “I’ve ruined this trip enough already. Please let me fix it” A pair of feet came into vision. Naruto looked up in surprise. Even though Gaara was looking away, Naruto could tell he had been given the O.K.

A strange, tingling sensation was prickling through Naruto’s finger tips. His chest felt tight as his heart pumped erratically. It just felt so weird doing this. Even though Naruto wasn’t exactly the type to worry about getting his hands dirty, this just felt a little wrong. There was dirty and then there was the place you pee out of. But, Naruto made a promise and Gaara needed his help. Raw, red patched blossomed over Gaara’s legs, the heavy scent of cream rising in the air. A large lump was swelling in Naruto’s throat. He knew what he had to do. He tried to wrap his fingers around the base of the shaft but all they could do was just gently poke the hardened skin. Gaara gasped, unconsciously clutching Sai’s hand and burying his nose against the watchers neck. Dark, serious eyes looked down at the fidgety blonde.

“Naruto. Hurry and get it over with. You said you knew how to do it so, do it” Naruto swallowed. Sai always managed to get Naruto fired up for a fight. This time, he had managed to get the blonde to find his nerve and actually focus. Naruto took control of himself and told his hand what it had to do.

“Ah!” Gaara’s hips lifted slightly when Naruto touched him like that. A strange feeling, almost ticklish, pulsed each time that hand moved up and down. He could hear voices but couldn’t make out the words. Breathing was feeling heavier and everything felt warmer. It was like he could feel everything but forgot what he actually feeling. The soles if his feet were building up friction burn but he couldn’t feel how hard he was squeezing Sai’s hand.

“G….guys. I think….it’s nearly out!” Coils of heat wrapped themselves around the gasping red head. Toes curled and leg muscled felt tight. “Naruto…..Sai…..”. Pop. That’s what it felt like. Gaara had felt it swelling inside him, knowing it was coming yet, it was so unexpected. Lungs inhaled almost endlessly which the back arched in the neat crescent. Gaara felt like he was coming down from one cloud on to another. A warm, fuzzy feeling spread over his cheeks. Half lidded eyes wandered aimlessly along the tent rooftop, slowly drifting into a darker place. The voices were back again but, once more, they couldn’t be heard.

“Ewwww. Sticky again”

“What is that stuff, Naruto?” Naruto wiped his hand against the sleeping bag, sticking his tongue out and looking away as he did.

“The milk. I think. This happened to me too. I didn’t fall asleep this quick though” The briefs were gently pulled back up. Naruto and Sai were just about to put Gaara back into his sleeping bag. “At least he’s all better now. We don’t have to worry anymore” just as Sai started to shift, he felt as something stung him.

“Ow!” When he looked down the where the pain came from, a look of worry took over his once serious face. “Naruto. We need to see Dr. Hatake about this”


Was it worth the wait? ^____^ I'm afraid it'll a be while 'till the next installment. College work is at it's highest priority right now. Does not help when my best friend keeps giving me awesome ideas for chapters!!!! But, once again, I really hope you guys liked it.
Zimmrie Kanoah- a special thanks to you. Seriously, you have given me some of the best and most helpful reviews ever. You give your own opinion as well as pratical adice on wher to improve. I can honestly say you are an inspiration for this. A wirter can't improve or become motiviated without critisism and a spell checker LOL