Revelations

§

"Uzumaki Naruto…"

The blonde gennin from Konoha seemed to be the only thing my brother could focus on. He'd mumble the name to himself occasionally as he walked around the village, lost in thought and staring blankly at the empty homes. Empty because of trickery on the part of our former allies. The majority of our village's finest ninja slaughtered in a single day, a day where the village of Konoha demonstrated just why their ninja were the most feared in the Great War.

We'd thought them willows, breaking before the wind of change and chaos we'd bring to their village. Instead they were sturdy oaks, unflinching and unyielding, solid before the treachery they encountered. No amount of self-deception could shield the Suna from the horrible defeat we suffered… Outnumbered and ambushed, the Konoha ninja remained victorious. Humiliatingly enough the key element to our attack, the One-tailed Tanuki bound in thrall to my brother, was foiled by a simple gennin.

I caught myself on that. There was nothing simple to him save perhaps his single-minded determination.

I still shivered, remembering the look on his face as he fought my brother. He'd gone from terror, to grim, and I'd almost swear he grew eager as the fight went through to that final clash. I'd thought my brother terrifying, but this one scared me far more. Where Gaara had been predictable in his power and the use of it, Naruto seemed to walk in the eye of a chaotic storm. He showed fear where clearly he need not feel it, and seemed to be able to dredge up the power to face down any foe.

I still remembered the feeling of his chakra being systematically destroyed in fight between the Hyuuga kid and Naruto. I remembered feeling the last of it fade away as the sixty-fourth point was struck and the blonde gennin fell. I'd written him off then, just as I had when we first met him. Then he stood back up, and seemed to break through the destruction in his circulatory system through sheer force of will.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Perhaps Gaara wasn't the only one who was more than a little focused on him.

§

It was no surprise that the rest of the village made my brother Kazekage in the wake of our father's funeral. While the people might have thought there were better candidates, I'm certain none of them dared to suggest anything else to Gaara… not that I thought he'd have done anything if they'd decided otherwise. He seemed to be more at peace with himself now than he'd been in nearly a decade, and accepted the duty of Kazekage almost as a penance for his past.

He also spoke with Kankuro and I, just like when we were kids. In a way I was thankful to Naruto for tearing down my brother's illusions of invincibility. He was no longer cold, thoughtless, and cruel. I felt more at ease around him now than I ever had in my life, and I could tell that Kankuro felt the same way. He even smiled, when nobody else was around the three of us.

Here, now… he was family. He was no longer the demon with a passing resemblance to our mother's face, he was our little brother.

It was no surprise when Gaara decided he wanted to return to Konoha to make amends, just days after the final ceremonies which cemented his place as Kazekage were finished. Of the old Gaara I never would have expected this… but for the person my brother was growing into, it almost seemed he demanded it of himself. Already he felt the keen weight of duty on his shoulders.

Kankuro and I both volunteered to go with him, and Gaara ordered the rest of our ninja to remain. Too many would be suspicious, and no doubt he wanted to be away from the fearful glares, if only for a few weeks. It was no surprise that nobody contested his order. No doubt it would take a long time for people to forget the sort of person he was and accept the person he was becoming for truth. I'd probably feel the same, if I'd not seen his face after the fight with Naruto.

I'd expected to some day find my brother dead, trying to remove the existence of someone far too powerful for him: I'd never expected to see him so defeated, so fragile.

Fragile had never been a word one could use to describe Gaara of the Desert.

When we arrived in Konoha we were immediately taken to see the village council… under guard, of course. Four of the village ANBU boxed us in, one in each direction. Under their cloaks, I'm certain I could hear the rustling of kunai on leather as they readied their blades to take our lives if we made any suspicious moves.

It was then that we arrived in the council-room proper, and seated in the Hokage's seat was a beautiful blonde woman who could only be Tsunade.

§

I don't blame her for disbelief that Gaara was the current Kazekage, nor do I blame her for her caution. Gaara was very patient as he answered her questions, and then we came to the heart of the matter: the reason we'd decided to make peace.

"Do you know what I am?" Gaara asked, almost wearily. Tsunade shook her head and Gaara slowly unsealed the left arm of Shukaku under the watchful eyes of ANBU. At first Tsunade recoiled from the terrible aura the Shukaku's chakra generated, but she recovered quickly. He let it fade. "Inside me rests the one-tailed demon, Shukaku. He and I… we are one. His power is mine, but my mind can be his if I sleep… but I never do. He exists only for destruction."

Gaara walked to the window, looking over the impressive site of Konoha. Already the signs of the battle had faded. He sighed.

"When we thought my father was directing us, Sunagakure's plan revolved around my… gift. I was the rock on which the offensive would rest… but that plan was foiled by one of your gennin. He defeated me in battle, alone. Without him, your village would be dust right now." Gaara turned to face her, his back to the window. I thought I saw some of the old Gaara in him, but I realized he was making a point: If he had been able to get back to Konoha the fight would have gone a different way entirely.

"I'm aware of him… Uchiha Sasuke." Tsunade nodded, gesturing to the papers in front of her. "Your fight with him and the way he led you out of Konoha is well-documented, as is the animosity you two had for each other."

"The Uchiha? Don't make me laugh. Even with that tattoo of his he proved to be nothing impressive." Gaara snorted, and Tsunade looked up sharply at this. The question was on her face, but I could see a sudden realization in her eyes as well, though she seemed to be waiting for Gaara to make it fact. He didn't disappoint her. "Uzumaki Naruto, not Sasuke, was the one to defeat me."

"How?" Tsunade mumbled, her eyes widening. She paused for a second and then continued. "He caught you by surprise, didn't he? He's actually quite good at that."

"Surprise? I suppose you could call it that…" Gaara muttered, turning his gaze from her and looking back out over the city. "I've never unsealed Shukaku before. Not once in my life, not until Uzumaki Naruto. I'm still not sure how he summoned that giant toad… his chakra seemed to be almost gone. He surprised me again by shattering my control over Shukaku's power. He surprised me by showing me what terror is. I've never known it before him."

"There is a reason, Gaara." Tsunade said, steepling her hands as she looked at him. She seemed to be deeply troubled by the words Gaara had spoken. "I'm sure you know of the Kyuubi, the demon fox our village fought and defeated many years ago. Naruto is the container for that, and he's demonstrated an ability to tap into Kyuubi's chakra. He must have used that to defeat you."

I'd accepted this as soon as she said it. It made sense, explained everything. Of course Naruto could defeat my brother if he had that monster fox's chakra… Shukaku was the least powerful of the nine great demons, and Kyuubi was on the other end of the spectrum. To pit one against the other would be a foregone conclusion… it would have been a surprise for my brother to win in that situation.

Gaara was already shaking his head.

"No. I know demonic chakra." He said, crossing his arms as he looked at her. "I feel it every moment of my existence. I sensed none for our fight, not in that Taiju Kage Bunshin technique of his and not in the summoning of that giant toad. If he had any chakra from Kyuubi at all, it was such a small amount that I couldn't feel it. He fought me by himself."

Now Tsunade looked deeply disturbed as she sat back in her chair and considered Gaara, and a great tremor swept through me as well. I don't think she would ever understand the truth of the fight between my brother and Naruto, not entirely. To have the sick realization that Naruto could have pulled forth a demonic chakra on top of what he'd already shown nearly caused my legs to buckle under me.

It also made me respect him all the more. My brother's power without the Shukaku would be limited, probably as little as an advanced chuunin or new jounin. He relied on that demonic chakra and he made no apologies for it. To know that Naruto stood against my brother and refused it for whatever reason was more chilling than the realization he could have used it.

"There is one thing you could do to help us, to prove that your words are true." Tsunade said, looking at us in turn. She pulled a sheet from the pile in front of her. "Uchiha Sasuke has left this village and we've sent a team to retrieve him. I'm not sure the assembled team is strong enough, and I'd appreciate it if you'd go along and see if they needed help."

"Naruto is on that team?" Gaara asked, and Tsunade nodded. He strode to the door. "We will go."

It took us half an hour to get clear of Konoha, and soon we were after the five gennin who'd been sent against Orochimaru's elite.

I almost pitied the Sound Ninja.

§

Author's Notes:

I got the inspiration to continue this based on the gap between the Chuunin Exam arc and the Sasuke Retrieval arc, while neatly tying in both the reason for the Hidden Sand to ally with Konoha following the fight and the explanation for Gaara and company's sudden arrival as Lee, Kiba, and Shikamaru are getting their asses handed to them by the remains of the Sound Five.

Also, the idea of Sasuke having defeated Gaara is one I believe would have been commonly accepted by the populace, especially given the fact he was still golden boy back after the Chuunin Exam arc.

I've got a humorous little Omake planned next, though I expect it will take a few days to materialize. I'm still working out the finer details and know I'll be busy for the next few days.

Since this is a pretty wordy Author's Notes, I'll end it with a plea for more comments and criticisms, please. They fuel the writing machine!