Plaything Chapter 1

Warning for readers/This fanfic contains Yaoi just not in this chapter. Naru/Sasu doesn't appear here, this is just the lead up.

Gaara made his to Konahagakure; as newly appointed Kazekage, he had to make sure that the bonds forged between the Village Hidden in the Leaves and the Village Hidden in the Sand wouldn't waver. On his way there, he began to hum his favorite song to put him in a better mood. A wild thought occured to him as he crossed the boarder; what if Sasuke came back to Konoha? His one bond, with his one friend would be forgotten. Gaara tried to clear his head, Sasuke would never come back, he was with Orochimaru. Gaara grinned as he walked through the looming gates of the Leaf Village. Tsunade was there to greet him.

"Kazekage-sama, we didn't expect you to be here so soon. I called the meeting for two days from now." she said rubbing her face which was an angry red from where she had obviously fallen asleep at her desk again from drinking all night.

"Hokage-sama, I hope I haven't caused you any trouble by being her early but it was requested of me to try and strenghten my friendship with the people of this Village. My brother and sister will be joining me later on in the week" rasped Gaara in his usual grainy voice. he shifted the gourd on his back and set off to find Naruto. If he was here for a week then he might as well see what his friend was doing.

*It's what friends do, right?* he thought to himself as he trudged down the street. Unfortunatly, the first person he bumped into was Hinata, quite literally.

"Oww...oh, I'm so sorry, I should have looked where I was goi- oh, Gaara-san? Why are you here?" she asked tentatively as she reached for the hand Gaara had offered and pulled herself up. Hinata had gotten alot braver as she got older and it definately showed in her attitude toward Gaara as she greeted him in the way she would Kiba or Shino. Her confidence soon desrted her though and Gaara was left looking at the timid little mouse he knew from the chuunin exams. He hadn't met her all that many times since then even though he had been to the Leaf Village many times since then on missions and such.

"Naruto, where is he?" asked Gaara, his voice losing the roughness it had gained and taking on the more childlike voice that suited his body from his preteen years more than the one he had now.

"Na-Naruto-kun, he'd be at Ichiraku's about now. I don't even need Byakugan to know that much" she replied, calming down into a much more upbeat, natural self. Gaara kicked himself as she left, he should have known that after three years of being his friend, the most likely place to find him would be the ramen shop on the highstreet. He retraced his steps to the stall he had passed earlier and stepped through the banner that hung over the entrance. Inside, Naruto was perched upon one of the stools and surrounded by empty bowls and used chopsticks. As Gaara came up behind him, he managed to finish his 30th bowl that day.

"New personal record, well done" exclaimed the old man as he made to clear up the bowls that cluttered the bar.

"Thanks, Ojii-san" said naruto drowsily, rubbing his full stomach and paying for the food.

"Y'know, I'm amazed at how much you can eat Naruto" said Garra, making Naruto jump.

"Hehe, you'd be surprised, this kid alone keeps me in buisness" said the man, taking the money from the counter.

"Gaara!" yelled Naruto as he shot from his seat and mobbed Gaara with questions. "Why're you here? I thought you'd be doing Kazekage stuff by now" Gaara fiddled with the strap on the gourd of sand and shuffled his feet. He had forgotten how lively Naruto could be. Truth was, all the responsibility of being Kazekage was making him uncomfortable and he had used the meeting to get out as fast as possible.

"I felt like seeing my best friend...ok? And I have a meeting with the Hokage soon" replied Gaara defensively.

"Alright, no need to get all bitchy with me" huffed Naruto. He quickly forgave him though, as Naruto considered Gaara family, someone that shared his pain, although, while Gaara was still near secluded, Naruto was surrounded by people he had worked hard to befriend.

"Sasuke-kun, I see the results of your training are not going to waste" Orochimaru said as he and Kabuto entered the room. Sauke ignored the two and continued to build a chidori around the blade which he held, then projected it across the room, shattering the wall.

"Sasuke-kun, I have need of you today" grinned Orochimaru, picking up an air of suspicion that arose from Sasuke, "I need you to go to Konohagakure, and fetch me the nine tails boy; I don't care how you go about it, just draw him here." Sasuke stood for a moment, then sheathed his sword. No doubt he would be questioned on Orochimaru and his whereabouts but would he truely be able to leave Konoha twice?

"Hai, Lord Orochimaru" Sasuke said as he left the room. Orochimaru's eyes followed his movements.

"Kabuto, I have a feeling not all will go to plan this time"

"Do you wish for me to follow him?"

"No Kabuto, lets see how this plays out. We shall remain as spectators in this game of mine until the time comes."

As Sasuke left the compound, he couldn't hep but feel as though Orochimaru had been planning this. Perhaps his loyalty was undermined. He came across several ninja but only scouts from the Sound. Sasuke ignored them. He was busy forming a plan to make himself known. He opted for the 'stroll in the front gate' approach. He chuckled at his own arrogance as he dropped from the trees and ran across the boarder. As the walls of Konoha came into view, he slowwed to a walking pace and, just as planned, walked right on in. His attire alone immediately attracted attention.
Tsunade was informed of his arrival straight away, so was Naruto and they both rushed to the scene, but it was pretty obvious who was going to get there first. He just stood there for an age, unable to believe what was right in front of him. His best friend had returned to him at last and for once, Naruto was speechless. Sasuke noticed the boy clad in orange right away and padded over.

"Naruto...I'm home" he said, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Despite himself, he was happy to see the kid. Naruto was overcome and tears spilled down his cheeks.

"Good to have you back here...Sasuke" he managed to choke out as he wiped his eyes and returned the gesture.

Gaara was next to arrive at the scene...due to the fact that he'd been following Naruto non-stop all day. When he saw the two together, his eyes threatened to tear up, but he blinked them back into submission.

"Naruto!" he yelled as he wrenched him from Sasuke's reach. Sasuke just smiled coldly.

"Hello again...Gaara. It's been a long time"
"Naruto, get away from him, he's dangerous" Gaara pleaded as he pulled on Naruto's sleeve, motioning him to come away.

"Dangerous? Not half as dangerous as you are...or have you forgotten our fight at the chunnin exams?" Sasuke sneered at the redhead before him.

"That's going too far" warned Naruto, "If anything, I'm more dangerous than all of us"

"Naruto, you never tried to kill me or Sakura-chan" growled Sasuke defensivly.

"Maybe not you, but I've hurt Sakura and Ero-sennin when I've lost control" Naruto shouted as Gaara stood behind him, shivering uncontrollably. Sasuke stepped down, shocked at the words.

"Sasuke-kun, things have changed while you were gone, so try and deal with things as they come, not all at once" Tsunade said as she stepped out from the crowd with three ANBU Black Ops behind her. She motioned for them to hold Sasuke but Naruto intervened.

"Tsunade Baa-chan, What're you doing? Sasuke just got here" he shouted, stepping between Sasuke and the ANBU, his arms held outward so as to increase his area.

"He may have just got here Naruto, but if you remember he's been with Orochimaru. I need to make sure it's safe for him to be here so back off and let me do my job"
Naruto tightened his stance but was stopped in his tracks by Sasuke stepping out from behind him, arms held up in defeat.

"Sasuke?"

"Don't worry Naruto...I'll be back, they ain't got nothin' on me" Sasuke chuckled as he left with Tsunade and the ANBU.

"Sasuke..."