Naruto stopped on the way back to the Hidden Leaf village, looking back the way that they had come. The hand shake that he had shared with Gaara had gotten him thinking on the ways that he had dealt with him in the past. He wondered what it was like to lose the demon inside of you the way that Gaara had – he had so many questions. He didn't know when he would be able to go back or if he would meet the same fate that Gaara had. He wasn't sure that he would really mind the fox demon inside of him being gone. He turned to start to go towards the Hidden Leaf village again and nearly ran into Guy carrying Kakashi on his back. "Hey!" He said, a bit angry at himself for not seeing either of the older ninjas there.
"Kakashi sensed that you had stopped and made me come back," Guy said with a shrug. "So why did you stop?"
"Thinking," Naruto said with a bit of a shrug.
"That's a new thing for you," Kakashi said, his voice quieter than normal from all the energy he had used up. "Is that why you needed to stop?"
"No – I just – May I go back to Sunagakure?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this. He thought that Naruto might do that, considering the fact that he has sensed his young student might be full of questions that nobody could really answer. He thought about what harm it could do, considering the fact that he would be under guard while there due to Gaara's other two siblings. There would only be the question on how to make sure that Naruto got there without any of the Akatsuki noticing that the young Jinchuriki was alone. "How fast do you think you could get there, Naruto?"
Naruto blinked at the question, thinking about it and scratching his head. "Before the end of the day. We're only half of the way back and I could use stored up energy in order to get there faster. You're worried about the Akatsuki?" He asked honestly.
"I am," Kakashi admitted. "Guy, do you think your team was enough left in order to make sure that Naruto gets there safely?"
"Yes!" Guy said happily. "Lee, Neji, and Tenten!" He said.
Lee came up quickly to his master's side. "Yes Master!" He said. Neji and Tenten came up to Guy's side only a few moments after Lee's appearance.
"You three are to accompany Naruto to Sunagakure. He is to get there before the day is over," Guy ordered to his team.
"Yes sir!" Lee said as Neji and Tenten nodded in agreement. "I will be more than happy to do so!"
"As will the both of us," Neji said, speaking for Tenten at the moment.
"Thank you," Naruto said with a smile to Team Guy. "And thank you," he said to Kakashi.
"Just get back within a week, week and a half at the most," Kakashi said to Naruto. "You have to give me some time to heal."
Naruto smiled at that. "Yes Kakashi-sensei," he said as he turned and started back to Sunagakure with team Guy following him closely.
*~*~*~*
Gaara looked out at his village from his balcony, glad to be done with the small bit of business he had to deal with. He was happy to be alive, even though it had cost his village one of their oldest members. He knew that there was something missing from his being here, but he was afraid to voice it. He wasn't sure if he could voice it, due to the fact that it might be seen as odd. He sighed softly as his shoulders slumped just a small bit. It was odd to be able to listen to himself, even though he was able to hear some of what the sand wanted to do. He would have gone insane if he had lost all of the voice of the sand. He felt it made him more of Sunagakure's leader than anybody before or after him. "Thank you Naruto," he whispered to the wind, not aware that his brother and sister was behind him until he turned around. "Hello," he said to the both of them.
"Are you doing alright?" Temari asked, showing a bit of worry.
"I'm fine," Gaara said, letting a bit of his usual griff come through in his voice. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You died and came back to life," Kankuro said with a shrug. "I don't know if I would be alright after doing that."
"I really am fine," Gaara said and shrugged. "I wish Naruto could be here but he had to go back."
"No, he didn't," Temari said with a grin.
"What?" Gaara asked, raising an eyebrow as he did.
"Naruto is nearly here to the city, along with the team that I believe is called Team Guy," Kankuro explained.
"They are," Temari said with a smile. "So you get your wish."
"Oh," Gaara said quietly and smiled a bit. "I wonder why he's coming back."
"You can ask him soon enough," Temari said. "We just thought that you should know."
Gaara nodded a yes. "Thank you, Temari. And you as well, Kankuro."
"You're welcome," Temari said with a chuckle. "I like you as you are, Gaara. You seem better."
"I wish I could share your sentiment, sister," Gaara said. "I feel that part of me is missing and it feels odd to hear my own thoughts. I wish I could say more than that, but I am not sure if the two of you would understand."
"Then it is good Naruto is coming back," Kankuro said.
"Why brother?" Gaara asked.
"Maybe he'll be able to understand what you're going through in a way," Kankuro explained. "He has a demon inside of him, maybe not as active as yours, but he might be able to answer some of your questions."
"Maybe," Gaara said with a nod. "I do hope so."
"We'll leave you alone until he comes," Temari said, taking Kankuro and leading him out of the room.
Gaara nodded a yes, turning to look back out at his village again. This time, he smiled and stood up a bit straighter as he thought of Naruto coming to see him. He liked Naruto the first time he was able to fully understand the ninja and that had taken a while. He was happy thought and that was a new sensation that he would keep hanging onto for a while. He turned and left the meeting room, going out to the entrance of the castle in order to better greet the visitors.
*~*~*~*
Naruto smiled as he entered Sunagakure, looking up at the sun that was only half way through setting. "We made it!" He said happily and looked to the rest of Team Guy.
"Of course we did!" Lee said with a grin. "There was no way we were not going to make it."
"Could have fooled us," Tenten said with a bit of a sigh. "Let's see Naruto the rest of the way there and head back."
"Agreed," Neji said as they started to walk through the village.
"Thanks," Naruto said as he led them to the biggest building in the city. He grinned as he saw Gaara waiting, moving quickly and glomping the man. He hadn't meant to, really, but he did it without thinking. "Hi again," he said with a grin.
Gaara let out an oomph as they fell onto the sand that acted as a cushion for the both of them. "It's good to see you again too," he said as he looked up at Naruto. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Naruto said with a smile. "Although I'm not sure what for," he said and looked a bit sheepish as he got up off of Gaara.
"For coming back," Gaara said with a smile.
"Don't thank me yet," Naruto said. "I've got questions for you."
"It helps that I have questions for you as well," Gaara replied as he saw Temari ask Team Guy if they wanted to stay or not. He was happy that he didn't have to play host all the time. He knew that Kankuro was close by, but far enough away to not have to deal with them. He led Naruto inside and towards his own private chambers. "I'm not sure if you we are going to be able to answer them though."
"Can I start with my questions though?" Naruto asked as they walked in the hallway towards the private chambers.
"Maybe," Gaara said with a grin as he got to the chambers, letting Naruto go inside first before closing the door behind the two of them. "Do you want something to drink?"
"Sure – whatever you think is good," Naruto said with a shrug.
Gaara nodded a yes and picked a drink a bit at random for the both of them. He brought a glass of it over to Naruto, sitting down on a couch and watching as Naruto sat down in the middle, a bit close to him. It made him smile and he made no effort to move. "What are some of the questions you have?" He asked.
Naruto took a sip of his drink before answering Gaara. "I feel like I have a lot of questions but the best one to ask is how do you feel now that the Shukaku is gone from you?"
"Better," Gaara answered truthfully. "I can hear myself think and that scares me a small bit because I'm not used to it. I still have control of the sand, so I am happy about that. It seems to be a bit of something leftover from the demon, but I like it. It makes me feel more connected to Sunagakure."
Naruto nodded a yes to that. "You feel more at peace?" He asked.
"Yes," Gaara said with a smile and gently touched Naruto's arm. "I am not sure that I am glad at it is gone though. Only time will tell with that. For now, I am better than I used to be before. I feel less on edge and less that I'm going to snap at people who are only trying to help me. It means that I can sleep without fear that I'm going to destroy my home. There are a lot of things that are better but I'm not sure if it's all better. Does that make any sort of sense?"
"It makes a lot of sense," Naruto said, smiling a bit at Gaara's touch. He looked down into his drink. "I'm not sure I would be happy or even survive if they did to me what they did to you."
"I think that you would survive," Gaara said quietly as he looked at Naruto with a bit of a smile. "At least your body would. I wonder how much of your playfulness is you and how much is the fact that you're fox like."
"In a good way or a bad way?" Naruto asked, lifting his head to look at Gaara.
"Good way," Gaara said with a grin as he put his drink down, softly kissing Naruto's cheek. "I've know that it's a good way for a while now."
Naruto put down his drink as well, wrapping his arms around Gaara as he rested against him. "I was scared," he whispered. "When I learned that you were kidnapped and what they would do to you. I didn't think that you would survive," he added on as he closed his eyes shut to stop the tears that were coming.
"Oh Naruto," Gaara said quietly as he hugged him back. "I did come back though," he said quietly. "You helped to save me, just like you did when you first met me. I owe you so much that I will never be able to repay."
"You don't have to repay it," Naruto said quietly as he rested against Gaara. "Just pass it on from time to time."
Gaara smiled as he heard that, softly kissing Naruto's hair. "I will then," he said quietly. "And pass love back to you when I can."
Naruto opened his eyes, moving his head to blink at Gaara with eyes bright with tears. "Love?" He asked quietly.
"Yes," Gaara said quietly.
"How? Or why? Or are you sure?" Naruto asked, staring a bit at Gaara. He could easily admit that he felt the same for Gaara but never thought that he would ever be able to say it.
Gaara chuckled at the questions. "Does it matter for the how or why? Yes, I am sure but thank you for asking."
Naruto nodded a yes. "I love you too," he whispered with a soft smile.
Gaara grinned and moved his head down, softly kissing Naruto on the lips as the two of them shared a long kiss. For the next week, the two were never from each other for long until it was time for Naruto to go back home. Before he left, Gaara gave him a vial of his personal sand to be remembered by as Naruto promised to come back when he could. They shared one last private kiss before he watched Naruto go back to the Hidden Leaf village with his sister. He could feel the loss that he knew would be temporary and focused on the love that he had for Naruto. He knew that Naruto would do the same when he could or remembered, where as Gaara would do so always.
Naruto turned to look back, waving good bye to Gaara as he did so. He kept the vial closed to him as he traveled back with Temari. He wasn't happy with the fact that he had to go back – he would rather stay with Gaara for as long as he could. He knew that he had a destiny to fulfill but, when it was done, he could be with the one he loved. He looked forward to that day with all of his heart and all of the part of his powers that were not a part of the fox demon.