Warnings for This Chapter: Fighting. Violence. Cussing.
My Beta for This Chapter: Gleeker1985. Thanks again.
Chapter 4: Meeting Little Brother Gaara
Naruto's P.O.V.
"DAMNIT ALL TO HELL!" I yelled as I slammed my right fist into a nearby tree and watched it shatter before my bleeding irises.
"That son of a bitch is going to pay" I gritted my teeth at that thought.
It was all Orochimaru's fault. Everything that happened over the past ten years was all his fault. He's the one who locked my away. And while I was locked away, he had the nerve to rape Sasuke and treat him like trash. I shake and tremble whenever I think about it. Inside of my mind… I feel like I can hear his screams. When I get my hands on that bastard the first thing I'm going to do is make him experience the same pain he made Sasuke endure. It's his fault I felt so useless. Damn him!
I turned my head to glare at a stump next to me. Everything I see now reminds me of HIM. Everything I see has his scent on it and it makes me sick. I gripped the sides of the stomp before using my strength to yank it out and chuck it over the fence. I was heaving after that. I plopped down onto the ground, sitting cross legged with my chin on my fist and a glare pointed directly at the ground. It still felt weird seeing my hair pool around me. I felt like cutting it, but every time I went to do it, something stopped me. Eventually I just let it go.
I kept thinking about how different things would've been had I just killed Orochimaru from the get-go. I was nowhere strong enough to take him on when I was six and when I first came out, I was not in the right state of mind. I was completely oblivious to what was going on around me. And he knew that. Damnit all!
"Look at it this way Kit. At least you have me now." Kyuubi said from within me.
"Yeah, you're right. And with your strength I can use it to protect Sasuke. The snake isn't dead yet. And I don't think I'll be to sleep or rest easy until he is."
"What are you doing?"
My head shot up at Sasuke's voice. I raised my eyes to stare into his onyx ones. I could feel heat color my cheeks. I quickly turned my head to the side and used my hair to hide my blush. It was something about Sasuke's sixteen year old body that made me feel bothered.
"Just thinking."
Out of the corner of my eye I could Sasuke observing the damage I caused to his backyard. He smirked before sitting across from me with his legs crossed too. "What could you be thinking about that made you do all of this?"
"… … Orochimaru… …" I growled.
I could see Sasuke's body tense and his smirk fade after I mentioned HIS name. I felt like kicking myself for saying that name. "Naruto~"
"I tried training to blow some stem off, but the more I thought about HIM, the angrier I got. By the way, sorry for destroying you backyard. I'll fix it later." I tried to lighten the mood, but it didn't work. I thought my heart broke when I saw him fisting his pants with white knuckles. "Hey Sasuke." I called, snapping him out of his thoughts. He turned his gaze toward me. "Can you braid my hair again? It's getting annoying having it drape over me all the time." He nodded before moving to settle behind me.
I had to bite back a light moan from the nice feeling of having him run his fingers through my hair. He weaved them through my golden locks before braiding the lower half. After he finished I stood up and started walking toward the house.
"Where you going?"
"Shopping." I turned to face him.
"Naruto, you dobe, you don't know the first thing about shopping." He sighed as he stood up.
"That's why you're coming with me." I smirked before turning back to continue walking toward the house.
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When we went shopping, Sakura and Ino managed to tag along. They drag me into almost every store. I got practically everything measured. It was horrible. I felt exposed, especially when the tailor told me to strip down to my boxers and she could get an accurate measurement.
"Yeah right. She was checking you out."
"I know. I'm not stupid. But I think the fact that she kept 'accidentally' touching my chest and arms were more than enough hints."
"But she wasn't the only one."
"She wasn't?"
"Sakura, Ino, and anyone who passed by. And let's not forget little Sasuke. Who could blame them? I gave you one of the sexiest body any man would want."
"Sasuke? Ok, now you're being ridiculous. Why would Sasuke be looking at me?"
"Oh I don't know. Maybe because he likes you?"
"You're crazy."
"True, but I'm right about this. Sasuke Uchiha has a crush on you. And you like him."
"Yeah right. Sasuke is the most beautiful person I've ever met. He can have any girl he wants. Why would he want me? And besides… I'm not even sure if Sasuke swings that way."
"It doesn't matter if he swings that way or not. All that matters is that he swings your way." What Kyuubi said made my blush. There was no way in hell Sasuke would ever like me. I'm not even sure if I like him. I mean he makes me feel weird whenever we're together, I find myself staring and thinking about him constantly, and I enjoy his company, but that doesn't mean anything… right? "Take it as you want. But I'm telling you… you two like each other."
Kyuubi's voice faded into the back of my mind. I mulled over what he said before lowering my gaze to the ground with a frown and my hands in my pockets. "Tsk. That stupid fox doesn't know what he's talking about. Sasuke doesn't like me, and I don't like him… I think."
"Naruto?" My head jerked up to see Sasuke standing beside me with confusing on his face. "You ok? You're cheeks are red. Are you hot or something?"
"I um~"
My eyes widen and my heart started to pound against my chest when Sasuke reached up to feel my forehead. "You don't have a fever. Are you dehydrated?"
"Awe. He's blushing." Ino cooed.
"Ohhh who ya thinking about Naruto? Is it someone you like. I bet it's someone you like." Sakura interrogated.
"Ohhhh Who is it? I wanna know. After all, it's my job to play cupid." Ino smiled with her chest poking out.
"Ok first of all, you're not Cupid and never will be. Secondly, Cupid's job is to bring people together, not tear them apart and get with the guy." Sakura huffed with her arms crossed.
"Details. Details. The point is, is that if Naruto likes someone it's our job as his friend to help him get together with said person."
"Agreed, but that's a subject for another day. Come! It's time for more shopping!" Sakura cheered with Ino right behind her.
I couldn't help, but to smile at my friends' silliness. After all this time, those two haven't really changed at all. But my smile faded away when I saw a sad expression on Sasuke's face. "Hey Sasuke?" His head shot up at my call. "You ok? You seem sad."
"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm perfectly fine." He threw a small fake smile my way.
"No you're not. I know you." His smile fell when he realized that he had been caught. "Why don't you tell me why you're really sad."
He turned his gaze away from. Trying to think of a lie no doubt. "I'm just sad that those two are dragging us around for more shopping. Don't you think you have enough stuff?" He fake smiled again.
My heart seemed to clench at that smile. The thing I like most about Sasuke is that he's real and he can tell me the truth… It hurts me when he tries to hide things from me. I wish he would just tell the truth. I opened my mouth to say something. "Sasuke-kun! Naruto-kun! Hurry up or we'll leave you behind!" Ino yelled.
We looked up to see that Sakura and she were ahead of us by several feet. Sasuke turned to me with a small smile. This one was tittering between being sincere and sad. "We better go." He started walking away.
I wanted to reach out for him, but quickly drew it back out of fear. I was afraid that if I were to grab him, I would pull him into me and never let go. So instead of acting, I straightened out my back with a slow nod. "Yeah. Right behind you."
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It was around five in the afternoon when we finally stopped shopping. Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, and I had ten bags in each hand when we went to Sasuke's house to drop the stuff off. After that, we went to Ichiraku's, my favorite ramen place. The old man was happy to see me and his daughter too. She was ten when I was six. She was too little to work with her father like she does now, but she still managed to have two bowls of my favorite ramen prepared each time I can around.
Since Sakura and Ino took me shopping, Sasuke was the one who treated us to ramen. The bowl in front of me was only my first. I played with it more than I ate and it was starting to turn cold.
"It must be a cold day in hell." Sasuke whispered with a smirk.
"Huh?"
"You haven't even touched your ramen." He stated.
"Oh. I'm not really hungry." I mumbled as I pushed the bowl away from me.
"The devil must be wearing snow boots." He smirked again. I didn't really say anything. I just stared at the counter. "Why do you look so sad?"
"…" Again I said nothing.
"Come on. I have something I want to show you." He lightly smiled.
We said our goodbyes and promises of coming back before I followed Sasuke to only he knows where.
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…
"This… these are our parents' and Itachi's graves. Auntie Tsunade and all of the villagers helped make them. They felt like our family needed to be honored the right way." Sasuke explained as he rubbed his hand over the tombstones. He turned toward me before reaching for my hand. It felt slightly smaller and cooler compared to mine, but still nice. He led my hand to touch the tombstones. I felt tears spilling from my eyes, but I didn't stop them. "We built them a week after the incident. As part of Orochimaru's torture, he made me bury the same people he murdered before my eyes. I cried the whole time. While you were sealed away in that capsule for ten years, I talked to you… about everything. I don't know if you heard me or not, but it helped keep the nightmares away."
My heart ached at his story. I was filled with so much grief for Sasuke that I didn't have enough anger to be mad at Orochimaru. Without even looking at him, I extended my arm, pulled his back to my chest and held on tight. He brought both set of fingers to touch my arms. I buried my nose into his crown. Sasuke found comfort in talking to me, even if he didn't know if I could hear him. The contact we share is how I found my comfort. I don't know if Kyuubi was right about Sasuke liking me, but the fact that he's encouraging this maybe a sign to me.
"COME OUT AND FIGHT ME, KYUUBI VESSEL!" I heard someone call to me through a mental connection inside of my head.
"Kyuubi. Who was that just now?"
Sasuke must've felt my body tense. "What is it Naruto?"
"An intruder." I growled before turning him around to face me. I could feel Kyuubi's chakra leaking into me. This intruder must be dangerous. "I want you to hold on tight and don't let go." Sasuke nodded against me before gripping my clothes. When he was secure, I took off toward the village's gates to meet my challenger.
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Normal P.O.V.
"Where are you? Show yourself!" Naruto hissed as his grip on Sasuke tightened.
"I'm right here big brother." A menacing voice announced before a whirlwind of sand formed. After whirling around a few seconds, the sand died down and left a pale skinned man with short brick red spiked hair and the kanji sign for 'love' above his left eye.
"Gaara." Naruto sneered with red eyes and jagged whisker marks on his cheeks.
"In the flesh." The short man smirked evilly.
"Who's Gaara, Naruto?"
"He's another jinchuriki, like me. He's Shukaku's, the one-tailed raccoon dog, vessel. During my imprisonment, Kyuubi sent me He's also considered to be the youngest sibling of all the jinchuriki. Just like how I'm considered the oldest of the two, because Kyuubi's the strongest out of all the tailed beasts." Naruto explained.
"You mean… there are more jinchuriki?"
"Seven more to be precise. Now… onto business…" Gaara's smirk widen when he reached behind him and unscrewed the cork on his gourd.
"What business do you have with me, Gaara?"
"I've come… TO TAKE YOUR LIFE!"
And with that, Gaara slammed his hands onto the ground. Volcanoes of sand erupted from the ground. There were three coming at them from each side. Naruto griped Sasuke tightly before jumping out of the way of a sand volcano. They landed safely on a branch and out of Gaara's range.
"You stay here." Naruto ordered as he set Sasuke down next the tree's bark.
"No. I wanna fight too."
"You'll die out there. Gaara's ruthless and doesn't think twice about killing his victims. You have never fought against someone like him before."
"You haven't either." Sasuke protested.
"True, but I have an advantage… I have Kyuubi."
"I have my Sharingan."
"That means nothing to him. Gaara can control and manipulate the sand anyway he pleases. He'll snap your neck before you could even get close enough to strike him."
"And how do you know all of this?"
"Kyuubi told me. He can tell me things about Gaara and Shukaku as I fight. I have more of an advantage in this battle than you do. You have to trust me on this."
Sasuke looked in Naruto's eyes, searching for anything else he could argue but found none. He sighed in defeat, knowing that Naruto was right. With the Kyuubi, Naruto had somewhat of a chance against the psychopath. Sasuke, on the other hand would probably die before he jumped off the branch.
"Alright Naruto you win. I'll stay here."
"Thanks Sasuke."
Naruto turned to jump off, but stopped when he heard Sasuke talking to him. "You better not die out there."
Naruto nodded before smirking and giving the thumbs up. "You got it."
Right when he jumped down, a pile of sand shot up and tried to grab him from his right side. Naruto did a flip in the air before using the rushing sand to propel himself to the ground. "I'm right here Gaara! Come out and face me!"
The only thing Naruto heard was his opponent's evil laugh in the rustling in the leaves. "There you are." Naruto smirked as he raised his leg and kicked backwards. His smirk fell when he realized that his foot was caught in one of Gaara's sand clones. Naruto screamed in pain as the sand started to tighten around his ankle and foot. Thinking quickly, Naruto summoned some of Kyuubi's chakra to two of his fingers before jabbing the sand. A hissing noise could be heard as the sand started to dissolve from his foot.
"Very resourceful." Gaara commented as he appeared from a sand doom.
"Thanks. I'm learning as I go."
"Oh really? Well then, let's see how you fair against this." Gaara raised his hand, causing sand to cover Naruto's body from head to toe in sand before lifting it into the air. Naruto's grunt's were muffled by the sand.
"NARUTO!" Sasuke yelled from his tree branch.
"You like it Naruto? I can this my Sand Binding Coffin." Gaara smirked.
Before the red haired man could finish his attack, Naruto busted out of the sand coffin with a cloak of Kyuubi's chakra covering his form. Naruto then flew toward Gaara in an attempt to strike him. A sphere of sand surrounded the red haired vessel, but that didn't stop Naruto. He delivered a borage of punches and kicks. With each punch and kick, Gaara's sand dissolved because of Kyuubi's chakra. With his defense almost gone, Gaara launched a pile of Sand at Naruto. Naruto flew back and landed on the ground with a thud. The blond grunted as he got up. He had to end this soon. He wasn't fully used to Kyuubi yet and he was running out of chakra. Naruto summoned the rest of his chakra to his feet before racing toward the sand sphere. Gaara didn't know what Naruto was doing, but he wasn't going to wait around to find out. Gaara raised his hand before throwing it down. This caused sand bullets to fly out of his sphere. With blinding speed, Naruto was able to dodge them all. When he came to Gaara's shield, He jumped up, did a front flip and slammed his right leg down onto the sphere. There was a big explosion of sand and chakra.
When the dust cleared, Sasuke could see Naruto was standing tall with his spiked hair and long braid blowing in the wind while Gaara was kneeling and panting in front of Naruto. Sasuke jumped off the branch and raced toward Naruto, checking to make sure that his best friend/crush was unharmed.
"I'm fine Sasuke. I won." Naruto said in a calm voice as his eyes and whiskers returned to normal.
"What about him?" Sasuke asked.
"Gaara's done for this match. He won't be attacking right now." Naruto glared as they watched Gaara's sand fill into his gourd. "Now tell me. Why did you come all the way here to kill me?"
"Our brothers and sisters were approached by a pale snake like man named Orochimaru. He hired us to kill you and bring Sasuke Uchiha to him. Why he asked us to do it, we didn't know. All we cared about was the large bounty he's willing to pay to have the jobs done. I'm not telling you this because I like you. I'm telling it to you so you know why you two maybe attacked constantly. You may be the strongest of us, Brother Naruto, but remember that old saying 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall'. Our siblings will be ruthless and will not take pity on you just because you are the newest addition. You better watch your back. And trust me when I say that this isn't the last time you'll be seeing me." And with that, Gaara turned into sand and disappeared from their sights.
They both waited until Gaara's presence was gone before they said anything. "Damn that snake." The blond's claws dug into his skin.
"Orochimaru needs you dead, but he needs me alive. That doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't matter. I'll protect you no matter what. That snake will not get his hands on you. Not if I have anything to say about it." Naruto said as he turned towards Sasuke and placed his hands on the raven's shoulders. "But this means that we can't stay in this village for too long. We have to leave. It's the only way to protect everyone. When we get home we have to pack. We'll leave by midnight." Naruto commanded, but when he looked in Sasuke's eyes he saw hesitation and disobedience. "What's wrong Sasuke?"
Sasuke shook his head viciously before looking at Naruto with sadden eyes. "I can't… I can't go with you Naruto…"