Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden.
Warning: rating may go up, yaoi, boyxboy
Pairing: NarutoxGaara
Please enjoy!
It has been three years since that fateful day… Three long years. At first, I'd refused to believe it. I'd thought everybody had to be wrong, they just had to be. I mean, hell, he was the strongest. The best. In my mind, I thought it was completely insane to think that it was true. He was fast, cunning, and bloody brilliant when it came to hand to hand. He'd completely mastered the Art of Fire as well. He had a rare trait, he had been poisoned, well, not him directly, but a member of his family.
This member had been infected and, though human, he carried a trait of them. A rare ability, even among the Firsts. As it turned out, he could even harbor this skill, causing it to grow and become… More. Of course, a human with the trait of a First was a dangerous thing, to be sure. An assassin was sent to annihilate them all. Only a few made it out alive.
He was one of them, my best friend and greatest rival. His name is… was, well whatever, Sasuke Uchiha, and the First trait he carried, was an ocular ability dubbed the Sharingan. It was a formidable technique that allowed him to defeat many strong opponents.
But he wasn't strong enough. Don't get me wrong, he was stronger than me, no question. But the First that took him out was stronger. It happens in the life of a Hunter, you just had to expect to die young. However, he was only thirteen. Even for us, that was young. His body was found in tattered pieces, so much so that they almost couldn't identify him. Almost.
They used his dental records to prove that it was him… For the longest time after that, I couldn't function right. I ran away. I'd convinced a man by the name of Jiraiya to let me tag along with him on his travels. He was one of the Sanin, a legendary Elder Hunter. Somewhere on our travels, I'd gotten the old man to train me.
I wasn't a huge fan of his methods, but they still got the job done. I mostly trained myself, with a few pointers from him. I felt like he wasn't doing anything, but now, in the aftermath of training, I see how much he really did.
I'm much stronger than I was… I wonder if my power could rival Sasuke's. I'm not sure. All I remember is constantly getting beat by him. It's hard to say really. I mean, If he was still alive, he would've trained these last few years too… Who knows how powerful he would be.
"Naruto!" The shrill voice of the blonde's childhood friend ripped him from his thoughts. He chuckled awkwardly and looked at her.
"A-ah! Sorry Sakura." He answered nervously, bowing his head slightly. It was a customary greeting in his culture. She bowed back and smiled.
"It's good to see you haven't changed that much!" She patted him on the back. He stood up from his seat and grinned broadly.
"I've grown!" He was proud of his height, he used to be such a pipsqueak! Now he towered over the pinkette.
"That's the only difference!" She giggled. Sakura knew very well that wasn't it though. Naruto had changed. His eyes were more mature, deeper. She'd never been very good at reading people, but age had changed her too. She was a bit more keen. She could see the isolation within those shining blue orbs. Something she'd completely missed as a child. However, it was too late to dwell on such matters. Naruto had worked it out himself, and they weren't as close anymore anyway. She didn't feel that it was acceptable to pry so intimately into his life.
"Anyway, do you need something, Sakura?"
"Huh? Oh right! Lady Tsunade would like to see you. She has a preliminary mission for you. You know, kind of like a test drive? To make sure Jiraiya and you weren't just goofing off."
"Me? Slack off?" He laughed. "Never!" He started walking towards the Shadow Hunter's office. The Shadow Hunter was the leader of this village's Hunters. She was, allegedly, the strongest in the village. Naruto thought that his original trainer, a man by the name of Kakashi Hatake, was the strongest. But Tsunade was extremely powerful, so he kept his mouth shut.
Plus, he hadn't been in to see her yet, and was looking forward to it. Naruto had no parents, and Tsunade was sort of like a mother to him, while Jiraiya imitated a father.
It made it even more interesting because the two actually had some romantic chemistry. Naruto stayed out of it though, knowing full well he shouldn't meddle with their lives from past experiences. The blonde grinned and threw the double door open.
"Granny! I'm back!" He shouted at a volume everybody was certain only Naruto would dare to use, not only indoors, but in the Shadow's office. He looked at Tsunade in all her glory.
The woman had long blonde hair, pulled back into two low pigtails, and a huge bust. Naruto never really noticed though. He did, however, notice how beautiful the woman was. She wore a deep purple lipstick and light mascara. The woman also had a small blue diamond tattooed on her forehead. It was a seal that was unique to Tsunade. It was used to restrict most of her powers. She wasn't that great at storing energy, so the diamond was there to help her out.
"Naruto." She growled, face contorted with a scowl.
"Hahha! Right, right. My apologies." He scratched the back of his head. "Sakura said you have a mission for me?"
"Yes. The sun's about to set, so I'd like you to prepare immediately." She said, going through the numerous papers on her desk, looking for something specific. She grinned, finding the paper. "There's this new hotspot. A back alley behind a popular club… Mystique Pink." She grumbled. Naruto thought it was kind of cool. Mystique was a cool word, and it rhymed with pink. "Just go down there and stand guard for a bit. I'll send Konohamaru down there later to relieve you." Naruto grinned.
"Kono! I haven't seen him! I wonder how big he is!" Konohamaru was a childhood friend of Naruto's. The little squirt always looked up to the blonde. It was nice to be admired.
"I'm sure he'll be equally as excited. Go now." She said dismissively.
"See you later, granny." He smiled and waved before exiting the room. He hadn't been in a real battle in a while.
Naruto huffed. He'd been sitting in the alleyway for so long. Nothing was happening. He checked his watch, again, wondering exactly when Kono was suppose to arrive.
"Damn it…" He grumbled.
CRASH!
The blonde's head shot up. Finally, some action. He jumped to his feet and ran around the corner. There.
"I, Naruto Uzumaki, by the order of the Hunters, demand that you, a First, halt!" He yelled. A pale man with black hair paused only for a moment. Long enough to flip Naruto off, before resuming his activities.
A young male, by the looks of it fifteen, was being pinned to the wall. The black haired man opened his mouth and leaned down, placing his teeth on the pale neck of the boy.
"You were warned!" Naruto yelled, jumping forward onto his hands, bringing his left foot down on the man's shoulder. The man faltered, but did not fall. The small boy under him took this opportunity to knee the man in the crotch. The First hissed in pain and grabbed his bruising genitals.
Naruto quickly got to his feet, steak at the ready. The First looked up at the boy, a look of betrayal in his eyes before the steak dug into his heart. Luckily for the teen, Naruto had not caught the look.
"Are you okay?" Naruto smiled at the boy. He had deep maroon hair and bright sea foam green eyes. He looked apathetically at Naruto and nodded.
"That was a good move you pulled! Thanks. Helped me out a lot." He chuckled. "You know…" Naruto commented, eyes hardening. "You seem awfully unruffled for somebody who was just attacked." The child nodded nonchalantly.
"I annihilate vampires." He said coldly. His voice was dark and icy. It made Naruto shiver, despite the usual warmth of that night.
"Are you a new Hunter? I don't remember ever seeing you." He chuckled. All suspicion dropped for the time being. He had been gone for three years after all.
"No." He answered, beginning to walk away. Naruto lifted a brow and grabbed his arm.
"Are you with an outside organization?"
"No." The boy yanked his arm free, but Naruto quickly went to step in front of him. He gently put his hand on the boys chest, to make it clear Naruto wanted him to stay.
"I'm sorry, sir. But I must take you in for further questioning." He said in an authoritive voice. The redhead knocked his hand away carelessly.
"No. You won't. I don't like the vampires and I hate Hunters. I was rejected from the academy and I don't care much for it's restrictions. Goodnight." He said monotonously.
"Well then, at least let me walk you home." He offered. The redhead simply walked around the blonde and headed off in the same direction he'd been trying to go. That wasn't a no. Naruto turned and started walking with him.
"What were you doing back here anyway?" The blonde asked nosily. He was still going to question the redhead.
"Hn." Was the response. Naruto frowned. That wasn't an answer.
"Why were you rejected from the academy?"
Silence.
"What's wrong with Hunters?" Still nothing. The blonde frowned. Questions clearly weren't going to work. Perhaps he could educate the boy. "Hunters are here to protect the world. Taking out as many Firsts as we can. We train our mind and souls to advance to being Seconds instead of Thirds like normal humans." He explained.
"It futile…" The boy murmured. Naruto quirked a brow.
"What is?"
"You can't beat them. The Firsts." His eyes looked distant, almost honest.
"That's not our goal." This earned Naruto a side glance from the apathetic teen. "Our goal is not to destroy evil, or rather, the Firsts, but to maintain them."
The redhead looked away.
After about ten more minutes of walking and Naruto prattling on about the Hunters and what they stand for, the duo finally reached the boy's apartment.
"Hurry." Naruto smiled. "I'm sure your parents are worried." The blonde waited. "What is it?"
"I'm afraid." The redhead lied. "I can't protect myself like you Hunters can." Lying was what he did best, next to fighting that is. Naruto looked contemplative.
"What's your name?"
"Gaara Sabuku." That was true.
"Well, I'll tell you what Gaara. I'll meet you here tomorrow night and teach you a few things. For self defense." The blonde offered. Gaara grinned inwardly. That was almost too easy. This one was clearly an idiot and it seemed pointless to go through al this trouble for him. But, he had his orders.
"Thank you." He said, before turning to go into his apartment.
The redhead stood on his balcony, looking in the direction the blonde had left. He rested his head on his hand and let the wind play with his fiery red locks. They only looked maroon in the dark of the night.
He waved his free hand around, mystical sand following the fluid movements. With a click of his tongue he sighed, dropping the sand. When was his leader going to return? He wanted to kill. He didn't feel very alive at the moment.
The reason he wasn't able to kill that night was because of his orders. His leader better be bringing him back some fresh food. That Naruto kid was annoying. The sound of his voice was grating on Gaara's ears. Still… the blonde fell for his trap, which was all he needed.
"Cold and raw the north wind doth blow
Bleak in the morning early,
All the hills are covered with snow,
And winter's now come fairly." He hummed.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!
Review! -Lunar