'Ello! This is Itsuru (eh, call me Raquel, that's my real name…but whatever. Call me what you want). I know the sequel to Words has been…well, laid off and it is mainly because of: a) lack of interest from me b) lack of interest from you guys. Oh, and From Across the Waters is on hold from the above ♥ so now I'm coming up with a Naruto fic, which I actually have a developed plot for. Huuzaah! Okay, please review and tell me what you think. I took a Mary-Sue test and it gave me a non-MS score, so I hope you agree that my new OC is not a Mary-Sue.

Hope you like, and I hope Gaara and everyone else stays in character. I will strive for that throughout the fanfiction and it is definitely my priority; forget romance or whatever OC junk that most people come up with; A Gaara IC is much more important. ) Ohh, yeah…I can write mild shonen-ai now so…-rubs hands together- If you'd like a shonen-ai pairing, I'd be happy to write it for you.

Summary

Between KazeKage duties overwhelming his life, and resisting the urge to utter "Sabaku Kyuu" to (at least) scare away his newfound fan club, Gaara's ever-changing life jumps another 360 degree turn when he gains an assistant who doesn't mind talking to him when he's looking the other way, starts chasing after Sasuke and his fishy friend (Suigetsu) with the Konoha posse, and learns secret knowledge about the Shukaku—and the eternal bond that binds them.

Pairings

Gaara x OC (weird friendship or something o0 romance ?) MAIN

Ino x Shikamaru x Temari (please tell me which you'd prefer) SIDE

Sasuke x Naruto x Sakura (friendship-wise, unless you'd like it to develop) SEMI-MAIN

Feel free to suggest one. Remember, I write by your interest.

Warnings (will change)

Light language (mostly Gaara's), Kakashi's books, Naruto's perverted Sexy no Jutsu, SPOILERS

Genre

Comedy/Angst/Romance/Adventure

Ages

General: Gaara 16 // Hinata 16 // Ino 16 // Kankuro 17 // Kei 17 // Lee 17 // Naruto 16 // Neji 17 // Sakura 17 // Sasuke 16 // Sai 18 // Shikamaru 16 // Suigetsu Old // Temari 18 //

Key

Flashback, end flashback, dream

♥♥♥ scene change

Italics Thoughts, letters, excerpts, contents of a flashback

Note (use CONTROL+F and type in the number and search. The second time you find it, it should lead you to the note)


The Paths That Bind Us

Chapter 1: A Path Begins

Dear Gaara-sama,

I've watched you from afar, and think that you are absolutely HOT. Your beautiful red hair is like the rose petals that I long to kiss and keep to myself. Your milky white skin looks paler than the rising moon over Suna. Your beautiful greenish-blueish-purplish-sandish eyes twinkle brightly across your—

"What—the FUCK—is this?"

"It's a fan letter, Gaara."

"BWAHAHAHAHA."

"…Shut up, Kankuro."

Temari gasped, inhaling a long breath of air to prevent a long stream of laughter to escape from her mouth and into the ears of the KazeKage, her dear little brother. Kankuro, on the other hand, unsuccessfully (or rather he was not trying at all) released a loud, continuous chortle into the air. This was definitely one for the books: Gaara's first fan letter.

Gaara scowled at them (was he scowling; he always looked like that), his flaming red hair matching the fiery temper that he had hidden deep beneath. Though frequent encounters with Naruto and his friends had corroded some of the former Shukaku holder's aloofness and blood-thirsty mentality, Gaara was Gaara, and he certainly did not appreciate the sounds of laughter that threatened to fly out of his big sister and the loud guffaws that erupted from the puppet master.

"Hn," was all that Gaara said (if you could count that as a word) and the young KazeKage promptly got up from his chair and proceeded to crush the letter in his hand, "Get rid of it, Kankuro." He advised his brother monotonously, "…and don't keep it, if you know what's best for you." Dropping the crumpled paper into the shinobi's hand, the KazeKage walked back to his overly large kage chair and folded his arms, his eyes in narrowed slits, taunting Kankuro to do otherwise.

"Heh, heh," Kankuro laughed nervously, slipping the piece of paper into his pocket, "I will, Gaara…just let me go get something to eat."

Temari's eyes followed Kankuro's shape as he shuffled nervously out the oaken door of Gaara's office in the Kage Tower. The blonde's eyes tilted downward as a hefty sigh escaped her lips. She allowed a small smirk curl; she knew that there was no way Kankuro would throw away something so 'precious'. Gaara knew that as well, and the lack of response to the action made Temari smile softly as she turned back to her little brother, who did not seem at all pleased with the results of what had happened. Gaara had really changed. Before, girls were too scared to see Gaara for anything but the demon inside him. He really has changed…

"Gaara," Temari said gently, strolling over to her brother. He gave her a quick questioning stare before resuming to the almost one half foot tall stack of papers he was currently working on. "What?" the response was quick and sharp, though a hint of concern slipped through in his tone.

"You've been working for hours. You need to get some sleep." Gaara flinched at these words, but relaxed; he was still not used to sleeping, though the man knew that now he could. Shukaku was inside him no more.

"Even if I wanted to, I can't." the KazeKage echoed, writing furiously with his pen, "Ever since Kurata's Team (1) found questionable remains that seem to belong to that bastard, Orochimaru, there's been non-stop chatter from the Elders, and everyone else."

Temari stiffened and nodded, the fan strapped to her back bobbing up and down with the jounin. Gaara despised Orochimaru greatly—partially for hurting Naruto, and for betraying Sunagakure during the attack to Konoha. Temari knew that now Gaara wouldn't stand to have someone betray the village he had grown to love—and he wouldn't forgive anyone who hurt the stupid blonde-headed boy who Gaara had grown fond of (among other things) (2).

"You're going to wear yourself out though," Temari told him tirelessly, "Shukaku," Gaara tensed as she mentioned the demon, and the woman flinched as well. The subject was extremely touchy, "won't be there to take over you, and he won't be able to revive you if you get too exhausted," this time her words were more of a plea, words that she chose to attempt to make her brother see that he was working himself to exhaustion.

"I'll be fine." Gaara growled, annoyance flashing through his aquamarine eyes. Gaara, even the new Gaara, wouldn't tolerate disobedience.

"Okay," she whispered in defeat, shutting the door behind her. I wish you would realize that there's only so much you can do...

"SASUKE!"

The blonde hair boy's cry echoed throughout the midst of battle, causing all eyes to fall upon him. Wild with anger, Naruto lunged towards the dark haired shinobi who wore an unreadable smirk on his face. It was the second time they had met with the Uchiha avenger and the void of hate in his eyes seemed to grow with each passing second.

The Suna land was hot and sweltered with the hissing and crushing of jutsus and bodies being thrown out and cast away. The pink haired kunoichi flailed her arms wildly to catch Naruto's attention. "Run, Naruto!" she shrieked, cutting down the Sound Nin that had attempted to slice her with his katana, "That's not the Sasuke we knew before!"

Sasuke's lips curled into a taunting sneer, his hand withdrawing the long katana from his belt. "You should heed her advice, Naruto." He taunted, the blade pointing at the Kyuubi holder's pale neck. "You might get hurt. Wait, scratch that; you will get hurt."

Naruto didn't flinch, his blue eyes narrowing, "You won't do this, Sasuke." He whispered harshly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He barely had the energy to stand. "This isn't the real Sasuke."

These words seemed to anger the Uchiha. His eyes flashed and started to spin. The sharigan…

"But this is the real me, Naruto!" He roared, his blade slicing through the air and then…

"You will stop now, Uchiha." The voice was dripping with malice; a hate so strong that the words oozed with the icy rage that the sand shinobi felt. Gaara stood tall, fist clenched before him, bidding the sand to crush the sword in the dark-haired man's hand. C-crack. The blades particles sank into the ground, becoming sand itself. Naruto was saved…for now.

The KazeKage's face should have been twisted into a mask of rage, but it was stone cold and driven of emotion. Behind him stood Kankuro and Temari, both posed in battle stance. It was by luck that Gaara and his siblings reached Naruto and Sakura at just the right time. Sai's attempt to go back for help against Sasuke was rewarded.

"The Sand Siblings," Sakura breathed in relief, tears pouring from her face. She stumbled and fell, the gash on her left arm rendering her immobile from the blood loss. The pink kunoichi was nearly at her limit as she collapsed onto the hard desert floor. Sand was scarce in this particular area of Wind Country.

"Gaara!" Naruto hollered to Sabaku no Gaara, jumping back from his former Team 7 comrade, " Don't hurt him!"

Sasuke gave a short laugh, returning Gaara's cold gaze and then focusing back on Naruto's. "You were lucky, that time," he hissed, "Next time I'll be sure to kill you!"

Gaara roared in anger, "Sabaku Kyuu!" causing a tidal wave of sand to crush onto the Konoha traitor.

"No Gaara!" Naruto shouted, but in vain. The sea of sand had engulfed the body, swallowing it whole.

But…there was no one there.

"A…clone." Naruto and Gaara whispered simultaneously, Naruto's in joy and Gaara's in anger. Sasuke Uchiha, traitor of Konoha, had escaped but not before heavily injuring both of his former teammates and giving the KazeKage of Suna another chip on his shoulder.

In Konoha…

Ever since the encounter with Sasuke a month ago, Team 7 had taken advantage of the time frame, recuperating and training harder than ever. Thanks to Tsunade's amazing medic nin abilities, and the Kyuubi's healing powers, Sakura and Naruto were almost completely rejuvenated in a week.

"Naruto!" Sakura snapped, smacking the boy across the head, her lips tugging from a look of disgust to one of amusement, "Eat neater! I don't want to be seen in public with a slob!"

"B-but, Sakura-chan!" Naruto simpered, wiping a slice of kamaboko (3) off his cheek, "I'm still injured! An injured guy can't eat neater than this!" he pumped his chest up proudly, grinning from fox whisker to fox whisker, "I'm incredibly neat for someone with a bunch of injuries!" This jest earned him a hard cuff on the ear and a loud scream of "BAKA!" from the pink haired kunoichi and a "Your lip is bleeding, Naruto-kun," from the ever-social Sai.

The rather loud shinobi group was at Naruto's all-time favorite restaurant, Ichiraku Ramen Bar, and Sai was quite surprised that they hadn't been kicked out by the point in time when Sakura dumped her bowl of miso soup onto Naruto's head. Luckily for Naruto, it was lukewarm.

"Sakura-chaaannn," the orange-cladded ninja whined, clutching his now wet orange locks. He gave her a wild glare that promptly said, "What did I do?"

He shouldn't have asked that.

The rather noisy meal concluded with Sakura stalking off, Sai running after her ("Wait, hag!"), and Naruto finishing up her egg donburi with ramen smelling hair.

Yes, it could be said that Team 7 was definitely recovering.

♥♥♥

Back in Suna…

Kankuro's bedroom was actually surprisingly normal. There was a dresser, a futon bed, a closet, a lamp, and a desk with the latest issue of Shinobi Babes (4) resting neatly on top.

Oh yeah, and the box; you couldn't forget Kankuro's box. Hidden on the top shelf of his dresser was a crudely made cardboard box where the puppet master put his "almost most valuable" possessions in. Among these items was the first puppet he had ever made (one foot long, five inches wide), Temari's teddy bear (which he had taken from her at age seven) and his journal, a simple cloth-bound book with 88 pages in it (he had torn out twelve of them).

Today Gaara got his first fan letter. Man, was he pissed. Heh, managed to sneak it out.

He scrawled the quick note onto an empty page and shoved the letter into it, quickly closing the book and sliding the box back onto the shelf. Mission Accomplished.

"Kankkuuuuurrrooo!"Temari's voice wafted into the puppet master's room, the tone of the holler designating that he should get downstairs. Pronto, or he'd find one of his puppets dismembered in the garbage. Rolling his eyes, he mimicked her as he trudged down the stairs, shouting back at her, "Coming, Temmmmaarrriii!"

"Shut up Kankuro!"

"You shut up!"

"No you!"

"You!"

Temari put a pale hand to her face and shook her head side to side, "Err, no, this wasn't what I was here for." Her face returned to a mask of blankness, "Kankuro, the Elders have been pushing Gaara harder and harder." The kunoichi explained, eyes stricken with a light sense of worry. Kankuro's own eyes widened in acknowledgement, "Do you think…" the puppeteer chose his words carefully and slowly, as afraid that any slip of his tongue would cause him grief. "I believe so," Temari answered for him grimly.

Kankuro grimaced. They both knew that the Elders felt threatened by the newly appointed and powerful KazeKage. After the Shukaku had been extracted from him, it was clear that the Elders' actions against Sabaku no Gaara were stirring. Gaara put the citizens of Suna's needs before anything else, many times ignoring the advice and instructions of the council. It was no wonder…

"Those bastards," Kankuro growled, cracking his knuckles, "I'm going to go get Sanshuou (5)," Kankuro started going back up the stairs but with a click flick of her wrist, she brought her fan crashing down in front of him, blocking his path. "Think logically, idiot," the kunoichi criticized, "We don't want to get Gaara into anymore unnecessary trouble."

"Then what do you expect us to do?" her elder brother snapped back, his finger jabbing towards her accusingly.

The blonde reached out her hand, pulling the heavy fan back into her grasp. "Simple," she smirked, earning a questioning glance from Kankuro, "we play their game,"

♥♥♥

"I…don't…need…this…" Gaara growled. The deliveryman came again for the second time that day, much to his misfortune, as the poor man witnessed the red haired shinobi tear up the packages his fan girls sent him. He didn't even want to bother to open them; not after what happened last time.

The contents of the letter still sung in his head, causing him to mutter to himself darkly, slamming the door of the Kazekage office. Gaara was truly trying to become a 'loveable' leader to the citizens of Suna, but he didn't know if he could take more of the disgusting letters that were sent to him. He drew the line at being called, "hot". What did that mean anyway? The young KazeKage certainly did not know, and he wasn't sure he even wanted to find out.

Despite meeting Naruto, Gaara's personality actually remained pretty much the same on the outside, still cold, aloof, and preferred to be alone. Many of the citizens didn't even notice a change at all, despite the fact that the former Shukaku host seemed to be more involved in Suna's affairs. Still, he hardly mingled with the 'regular people'. Of course, occasionally he was able to sit in a restaurant, but his tolerance only lasted so much.

Chikatsu's Noodle House (6) could be called the "Ichiraku Ramen Bar of Suna". Ironically enough, it sold, well, ramen. Perhaps under Naruto's influence, the noodle house had just recently opened, and many ramen restaurants were popping up all across Suna.

"Come on, Gaara," Kankuro laughed nervously, "Stop glaring at them. You're scaring the customers away,"

"Fine," the sand nin scoffed, eyeing the menu with a sort of malice that should only be seen in an Akatsuki member, "I'll leave,"

The KazeKage's complexion almost turned a dull shade of green as the memory played back and forth through his mind. Socializing…was too troublesome. It was better to just to do his duties from the shadows of his office.

He moved slowly and smoothly, sinking himself back into the chair that he had basically been living in for the past month.

If only he could disappear.

TBC…

Notes:

(1) Kurata's Team is made up by me. Kurata is a special-jounin, and his team consists of three other members, two male and one female. Their names are Setsu, Kamato, and Jin.

(2) By meaning that Gaara had grown fond of Naruto (among other things), I'd like to stop you yaoi fangirls here. I don't mean romantically. Gaara thinks of Naruto as a friend and still feels indebted to him.

(3) Kamaboko is a delicious fishcake, commonly eaten with soups like ramen, udon, soba, pho, and other Asian noodle dishes.

(4) Shinobi Babes is a pun on the real-life magazine, Bikini Babes. Since Kankuro is a boy almost of adult age, I'm sure he's feeling a bit hormonal. D

(5) Sanshuou is one of Kankuro's puppets.

(6) Chikatsu's Noodle House is made by me.

Preview:

In which Naruto gets ready to search for Sasuke, the contents of Kakashi's porn book is revealed, and Gaara gets a nice (?) little surprise.

Reviews:

I'd like to get at least one review per chapter. So please R&R.