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Don't Look Back

Filled With Love

(Part II)

''Sasori.''

The missing nin woke up with a shiver at the sound of his name. He had been captured on his first Jinchuriki retrieval mission. How pathetic. With his incompetence, he had brought shame on the Akatsuki. He doubted their leader would easily forgive that. Still, he wondered what was worse: to die from the leader's hand after his potential escape, or to die under capital punishment in his native village. He would have to debate this later; the Kazekage had decided to grace him with his presence. He looked up and saw Rasa, barely distinguishable with his robes and the darkness of the prison. Bright gold dust rotated menacingly around the man, but Sasori did not let that intimidate him. When you were under Pain's command, nearly everyone else looked perfectly unimpressive.

''You will tell me all there is to know about your group,'' Rasa ordered much in the same way he would have ordered him, had he not been a missing nin. Sasori smiled.

''I didn't know you had a sense of humour, Kazekage-sama.'' Sasori thought the ridiculous reply befitted the ridiculous request, but the Kazekage didn't seem to agree with him. He felt the gold dust creeping into his clothes and infiltrate his articulations. In this predicament, he could easily be taken apart in an instant. Sasori stayed unshaken. The Kage would be a fool to kill him without having revealed any information. Did he really think this kind of petty display of power would work on him?

''So does your organization. You seem to think I will let my most powerful weapon leave this village.''

''A weapon which you can't even control.'' Rasa smirked, though it was hidden behind his white mask.

''This small technicality will be taken care of shortly.'' He walked closer to the cell. In the dim ray of light, Sasori could see a rather off-putting glint in the Kazekage's eyes.

OoOoO

Minato and Kushina stood behind a half-opened door from their provided office to their room. Their son was working quietly on a practice scroll which Hiroto-sama had given him to keep the boy busy during his trip.

''I was incredibly stupid,'' Kushina whispered, eyes locked on her only son. Minato turned worried eyes on her. If Kushina was to call anyone stupid, it should be him. He had been the one who let Naruto get involved in one of the Kazekage's twisted tests. ''You and Hiroto-sama were right. I shouldn't have insisted on bringing Naruto along. Naruto was supposed to enjoy himself and learn... and look what a mess it turned out to be.''

''Kushina... don't be so hard on yourself. How could we have possibly imagined this would happen?'' Kushina shook her head furiously.

''We should have. We know the Akatsuki is out there and that they're after the Jinchuriki. What was I thinking? He's in constant danger just by being my son... and I go and bring him closer to another prized target? And I shouldn't have brought Naruto along, knowing what kind of man the Kazekage is.'' Kushina clenched her fists so hard her nails drew blood. ''Incredibly stupid.'' Minato stayed quiet for a while. He understood his wife's frustrations but...

''Naruto is safest when with us. That's what I think. Imagine if he hadn't come and the Akatsuki had decided to attack Uzushio instead, thinking you were there. If that had happened, I would have preferred him to be here with us. So I am glad you insisted. You wanted to keep him close; you can never be wrong with that motive.'' Kushina released her grip, fingers now stiff from the strain. She smiled a little. Her husband never ceased to amaze her. No matter the situation, he always knew what to say to bring peace of mind. From the events of that other night, it seemed Naruto had inherited that trait.

''Naruto?'' Kushina called out to her son. The little blond looked up from his work and gazed curiously at his parents. ''Would you like to see us work on the seal?''

''Yes!'' Naruto literally sprung off the chair, his whole face illuminated from sheer excitement. He ran into the office adjoined to their suit. He sat down in front of the large piece of paper on which Kushina had carefully reproduced Gaara's seal. The parents chuckled and took their seats on opposing sides of the paper.

''The rules don't change just because we're not at home, understood?'' Minato reminded his son. He smiled when Naruto nodded silently with the most serious expression in the world. At home, whenever Minato and Kushina allowed their son to watch them discuss seals, he was strictly forbidden from talking, or distracting them in any manner. He was only allowed to speak when his parents specifically asked for his input. Naruto, though, had learned that lesson at his expense... Like pretty much any other lesson, now that I think about it. Minato mused.

''The main problem with the design is its intimate connection with Gaara's psych and lack of proper protection when he's unconscious.'' Minato nodded in agreement. The Kazekage had informed told them Gaara did not sleep. Apparently, the Ichibi threatened to take over his body if he did. The Kazekage, lacking proper education in fuinjutsu, had unknowingly strengthened the Ichibi's influence over his son's mind. By turning his son into a weapon, he thought the opposite would happen; that with a heart and mind of steel would better control the beast. The outcome was catastrophic, to say the least. He had only managed to disrupt Gaara's mental health, making it easier for the beast to exercise his influence on the child. All three fuinjutsu users took on a comical pensive expression and looked carefully at the seal. Suddenly, a thought struck Minato.

''But knowing that... doesn't it seem strange to you that Shukaku would always protect Gaara with the sand? Wouldn't it work in Shukaku's interest to let Gaara getting knocked out and just take control over him?'' Kushina blinked at this observation.

''Hm... that's true.'' Kushina grabbed her chin together in her fingers and squinted her eyes in deep thought. Naruto decided to imitate her, which didn't fail to bring up a little smile on Minato's face. They looked exactly the same. ''Ah! I guess that would explain the anomaly in the seal,'' Kushina punched the palm of her hand.

''Anomaly?'' Minato looked down on the seal again and finally saw what Kushina was talking about. ''Right.'' Both of them had assumed that particular part of the seal was simply another error caused by amateur skills.

''Can you find it, Naru-chan?'' Kushina asked her son, who did her best to find it. It last several minutes, but nothing came out of his analysis.

''I can't see anything special. The whole seal is a big mess to me,'' Naruto admitted, feeling a bit disappointed with himself. Minato ruffled his son's hair comfortingly.

''Don't worry, kiddo. You're still young and learning. Any sealmaster would have a hard time finding it.'' This cheered the little boy up.

''It's right here, honey,'' Kushina pointed the exact area. ''This part looks like it was modified by someone else. If my reading is accurate, this part is in charge of the sand protecting Gaara. That's odd, though. You'd think the Kazekage would have informed us about something like this.''

''Maybe he doesn't know, or doesn't want us to know,'' Minato offered.

''Should we bring it up?''

''I don't think so... I'd prefer having the upper hand on this and keep that information to ourselves. At least until we find out more.'' Kushina smirked approvingly.

''At any rate, we need to separate the Ichibi's and Gaara's spirits properly... but how?'' Minato added. There was a long silence. Both jounins thought deeply on a possible solution. Naruto looked between the two quietly, then back down at the seal. He had no idea how his parents were able to understand the seal before them. It was the messiest seal Naruto had ever seen and it wasn't even written in the Kobun. He didn't even know it was possible to make seals without it. He was startled by his mother's loud exasperated sigh.

''There's no way we can repair this seal. The more I look at it, the clearer it is to me. It's impossible to modify it. I thought the biggest challenge would be to find a way to make the seal compatible with the Kobun, you know? But I was completely off track. If we modify this seal, we risk modifying Gaara-kun's mind itself. And who knows what the consequences would be? I won't be able to live with myself if I did something that could possibly debilitate Gaara-kun or worse, let the Ichibi take complete control over him.''

Both blonds looked at her with aghast expressions. Naruto looked down, crestfallen. He had promised Gaara they would help him... He really thought there was no seal which his mother couldn't break through.

''So there's nothing we can do?'' Minato said with similar thoughts.

''I didn't say that.'' Naurto looked up to his mother, eyes full of hope. Kushina's face suddenly turned grim, which sobered up Naruto's own. Mom looking like this couldn't mean anything good. Minato, on the other hand, was simply confused.

''So you found a solution?''

''I did the moment I was given the mission. So did Hiroto-sama. He didn't choose me just because of my proficiency with seals. I don't have a design yet, but I have the procedures.'' Minato carefully weighted each word for their meaning. He stared at her almost defiantly.

''You mean to say...'' Minato trailed off. ''No,'' He stated loud and firm, frightening Naruto. ''It's too risky.''

''We don't have a choice, Minato. This is an S-ranked mission.'' Minato knew she wanted to add Risking my life is part of the deal, but obviously did not want to alarm Naruto. The little blond opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but stopped himself and simply showed his distress on his face. Kushina saw this and laid a comforting hand on his son's cheek and smiled at him.

''You can help, you know?'' The little boy blinked, now just plain confused.

''I can?'' Kushina nodded.

''Yes. By being Gaara's friend. It makes him stronger, and that makes the Ichibi weaker.'' Naruto's face lit up.

''Alright! Leave it to me, mom!'' Kushina chuckled.

Minato, however, did not share their enthusiasm.

OoOoO

Naruto looked on anxiously as his parents entered the Kazekage's private office. He tried to beat himself out of his worry. He didn't get much from listening to his parents about the seal, but it was clear that this mission was much more serious and dangerous than he thought. His parents had told him it was extremely important before they left Uzushio, but his childish mind had not really realized it. Living it was another thing entirely.

Nevertheless, he had to show that he was strong and that he believed in his parents. He refused to let this situation get the better of him, especially since he had a mission of his own to accomplish! With new-found determination, Naruto turned around and followed the two Suna jounins who were escorting him into the room right next to the Kazekage's office. It was a spacious room, but modestly furnished. It was an odd sight that Naruto beheld at that moment. Several guards were stationed in the room, and others he was not aware of were also guarding outside of it. He spotted Gaara first, who was sitting in a corner, his back to the rest of the room. Temari was sitting on a sofa, further away in the room. She looked up from her book to see him come in. Temari then looked towards her little brother with a sad expression before returning to her book. Lastly, Naruto noticed that Kankuro had chosen the spot furthest away from his brother. Using chakra strings, he was playing with his puppets, an angry expression on his face. He was making one of his puppets beat the other savagely. Naruto wondered who he was imagining in the place of his puppets.

Naruto trotted to his friend and sat down beside him.

''Good afternoon, Gaara-kun!'' he greeted happily, startling everyone in the room. Gaara, who had ignored his arrival, decided to spare him a glance at last. Naruto was disappointed to find that the little light he had seen in Gaara's eyes the other night had vanished completely. Always keeping his positive attitude, Naruto went on to cheer his friend up. Perhaps the guy needed to have renewed encouragement.

''Do you want to go play with your brother and sister? I'll ask for you if you're shy.'' At that moment, Gaara wondered if Naruto was nice to him simply because he was an idiot rather than out of genuine benevolence. Maybe the two came hand in hand.

''I told you already,'' Gaara whispered darkly. ''They hate me.'' He looked at his siblings a short moment, then back at Naruto. ''They avoid me and get far as soon as they see me.''

Temari, who was close enough to make out some of what her brother said, looked down in shame. She willed herself not to feel guilty; she had every reason to be scared of her younger brother, no matter how much she wished things were different.

Naruto saw all of this. For all his cluelessness, there were times when he could be very perceptive of other's feelings.

''And I told you that they don't,'' Naruto whispered back very seriously. ''You just have to show them you care.'' Gaara watched stoically as Naruto dig into his pocket. He took out a little piece of paper with a simple seal on it and handed it over to Gaara with a smile. Gaara took it with idle curiosity.

''I make those for Karin-chan all the time. Especially when she's angry at me, you know?'' He snickered to himself, remembering some of the pranks he had pulled on his cousin. ''It's actually a very basic doton jutsu sealed up on paper. You'll see, it's really sweet. Give it to your sister and tell her to put just a bit of chakra in it to activate it, alright? I'll show you how to make them later.'' Gaara stared at the little piece of paper, and gave it a long look. He doubt something as small and insignificant as this would help with his situation. He shared his thoughts with the blond and was surprised by his answer.

''My grandma once told me: No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. Now come on, let's go!''

Always the impatient one, Naruto pulled Gaara up to Temari, who was staring at them with a prudent expression. She was gripping her closed book tightly, her knuckles turning white, to help her keep her cool.

''Temari-chan,'' Naruto said in a soft and kind voice that Temari found strangely calming.

''Y-yes?''

''Gaara wants to give you something, but he's too shy to do it.'' Temari stared with an unreadable expression.

''Too shy?'' Temari repeated softly, incredulous. Was that really how the boy perceived it?

''You need to help him a little, you know?'' Naruto whispered not-so-subtly to her. Temari swallowed thickly and gathered her courage.

''Gaara?'' she said carefully.

Gaara stiffened but stubbornly kept his eyes glued to the ground.

''Do you really have something for me?'' she added in the gentlest voice she could conjure.

In the far corner of the room, Kankuro looked on the scene with what could be read as nothing other than suspicion.

At last Gaara looked up from the ground. Insecure, he looked at Naruto first for encouragement and found plenty in the blond's confident and determined presence. He handed over the seal, looking directly into his sister's dark green eyes.

''You have to put a bit of chakra into it,'' Gaara said hurriedly, a great change compared to his usual slow, uncaring speech. The blond girl took the paper with slightly trembling hands and did as told. Gaara watched, fascinated, as his sister's expression melted into genuine wonder. Once activated, the seal's characters had shone a bright beautiful gold, then a small white marguerite shyly made its out of the paper. It grew fully and stood straight like it would if planted in rich soil.

Temari smiled, closing her eyes to appreciate the moment. This was the first act of kindness Gaara had ever shown her. She felt like even if he one day ended up killing her, she could forgive him. It sounded excessive, but it was true nonetheless. Unlike Kankuro who was too self-centred and easily influenced by their father, Temari had always seen Gaara as the true victim. She had always pitied him rather than resented him.

''Thank you Gaara,'' She said, looking at her brother intensely to make sure he'd see the honesty in her words. ''I love it.''

Gaara smiled, a small uncertain smile, the first since Yashamaru.

OoOoO

''I'm afraid Sasori refused to divulge any information,'' Rasa told his guests, not sounding very apologetic at all. ''But today was the first day of interrogation, so we will get there.''

Kushina, Minato and the Kazekage were all sitting alone around another copy of Gaara's seal. It had already been two days since the attack. The Uzushio couple knew the Sand leader expected some sort of update. He was in for quite a surprise.

''Regarding my son's situation...'' Rasa trailed off. Kushina nodded ad proceeded to lay out the plan, much to Minato's dismay. He had complete faith in his wife's capacities, but as her husband, he could not help feel grim about it.

''My husband and I came to the same conclusion. We can't temper with the seal. Doing so would undoubtedly alter Gaara's psych and it's impossible to predict the effects of that.'' Kushina took her eyes off the seal to look at the dull redhead directly. ''While this might seem a minor inconvenience to you, know that this could actually weaken Gaara's control over the beast rather than strengthen it.''

Rasa raised a judgmental brow at the accusing tone of the woman's voice.

''What is the alternative?'' he asked without preamble. Minato and Kushina shared a look.

''To destroy the seal and release Shukaku,'' was Kushina's reply.

There was a long silence.

''I am not amused,'' Rasa deadpanned.

''I am not joking,'' Kushina smirked. Minato decided to intervene and offer more details. Kushina seemed to enjoy putting the Kazekage in suspense a bit too much.

''We will relocate in the desert far from the village. I will create a barrier which should be strong enough to keep the Ichibi at bay for the duration of the operation. Kushina will be inside the barrier with Gaara, who will be put under genjutsu to spare him the experience. Once Shukaku is released, she will use her chakra chains to immobilize him. The Ichibi is the weakest of the tailed beasts, so she should be able to both restrain him and re-seal him inside your son with a new design. If she can't, I'll dispel the barrier and seal him myself. It's risky, but not impossible. Kushina has restrained a tailed beast before, so I know she can do it.''

On second thought, Rasa would have preferred it to be a joke. He considered all the possibilities and wondered if it was worth the risk. If anything, Shukaku being free and attacking them was the least of his concern. With the beast unleashed and a sealmaster being able to restrain the beast so near... For all he knew, the woman might try to seal it into someone else - her son maybe? - And keep its power for themselves.

No. It was impossible, Rasa thought to himself mockingly. Konoha and Uzushio are way too self-righteous for that kind of backstabbing act. Regardless, he would be there to make sure all went smoothly.

''I see. It seems to be the only option. I put this matter into your capable hands.'' It impressed Minato how the Kazekage could express himself so fluently without putting any weight or depth in his words.

There was a knock on the door, and once Rasa had given his permission, a jounin came in carrying a message scroll. It wore both Konoha's and Uzushio's symbols. That did not fail to stir up the couple's curiosity. The Kazekage quickly read through it. If Minato's acute facial reading was correct (a feat, considering the Kazekage's getup), the Sand leader didn't look very pleased. Then again, he never really showed any other emotion.

''I suppose you must have reported the attack to your respective villages,'' Rasa deduced from the message he read. ''They are sending a squad here so they can escort you back to Konoha once your mission is over.'' Kushina and Minato shared a look. They were grateful for the extra attention since Naruto was with them, but they also suspected it had something to do with the Sound ninja they captured. The Akatsuki attack was the perfect excuse to justify the squad. Rasa, for his part, was far from happy to have these extra intruders in his village.

''I have the names of each member of the squad, if you're curious.'' Rasa handed them the scroll.

Minato took the scroll and tried to hide his little smile at some of the names on the list. The squad had six members, two of which were from Uzushio.

Uzumaki Risa
Seiwa Kenichi
Hatake Kakashi
Maito Guy
Nara Shikaku
Hyuuga Tokuma

It was rare to see the infamous Ino-Shika-Cho team separated, but knowing each member's abilities, it did make a very effective escort group for them.

The three powerful shinobis made their way to the adjacent room where their children were. What Rasa saw felt more like a genjutsu than reality. The blond child was sitting beside his youngest son and both of them were listening quietly to Temari, who was reading her story aloud. Further away, even Kankuro, who had forgotten about his puppets, was looking questionably at the scene. Once the children took notice of their presence, he saw the older Uzumaki flash a bright smile and a thumbs up at her son, who returned the gesture with equal enthusiasm. Rasa frowned at the scene. Those Uzumakis, for all their bizarre and hot tempered behaviour, were turning out to be an even scarier clan than he imagined.

OoOoO

Coming up with the new design for the seal had been, without a doubt, the hardest task Kushina had ever been given in her life. Right after giving birth to Naruto, of course. Finding appropriate restrictions for the seal and applying them to a design meant to contain a tailed beast was not easy, even for a sealmaster such as herself. Minato was a great help, of course, but there wasn't anything he was capable of when it came to sealing that she couldn't do as well, with the exception of the Hirashin. So it was mostly his input she wanted. The rest of the time, Minato mostly took leave of her to check on their son.

Speaking of which, Minato was impressed with Naruto's dedication to his little mission of bringing Gaara closer to his siblings. It seemed to be working very well with Temari, the eldest, but less so with the older brother. It reached the point where Naruto's attempts were starting to annoy the brown haired boy more than anything else, which in turn caused the Jinchuriki to draw back to his angry self.

''Gaara,'' Temari said that day when she noticed Gaara's sand getting restless. Her tone, though still careful, was much more confident than the other times Minato had witnessed interactions between the two siblings. ''Everyone is different. Kankuro needs more time, and you have to respect that.'' Gaara was taken aback at first, but his frustration didn't diminish.

''You dare tell me what to do?'' he whispered darkly between his teeth. Temari swallowed thickly, but decided to stand strong. Naruto was about to intervene, but Temari beat him to it.

''That's what big sisters do, Gaara. They give their advice so their little brothers can learn from them. Kankuro will come to us, but you need to be patient.''

Minato nodded approvingly; he was glad to see Temari was taking the initiative and building a relationship that did not depend on Naruto's role as intermediate. Gaara was shocked by his sister's words, but reacted positively to them. He seemed to appreciate that his older sister was treating him more and more like a normal human being, and not like a monster.

OoOoO

''Yo.''

''Kakashi nii-san!'' Naruto cried out excitedly and proceeded to tackle the young man with a fierce hug. Kakashi chuckled and petted the young blond's soft hair affectionately, while the rest of the group properly introduced themselves.

''Such a youthful display of affection!'' Guy exclaimed with disproportionate thrill. ''Who knew my most impassive rival was such a softie after all! I am moved! So much, in fact, that I could run a thousand laps around the village!'' Kakashi lifted a lazy brow at his self-proclaimed rival.

''I just don't bother with the people who aren't worth the trouble, you know what I mean?'' Guy froze in his dynamic pose, his face suddenly crestfallen.

''A-arent... worth the trouble?''

The Uzushio ninjas, who hadn't had enough time to adjust to Guy's intense personality, looked at the man like he was deranged. The Konoha nins ignored him; it was the reaction that was least damaging for their brain.

The escort party had arrived a week after the Kazekage announced their arrival. They were brought directly where the Uzumaki family was staying to greet them. Naruto knew Kakashi would be part of the squad so he had noticed him first, but looking at the other members, it seemed his parents had forgotten to mention his school teachers would be there as well.

''Risa-sensei? Kenichi-sensei? What are you doing here?'' Naruto squinted his eyes suspiciously at them. ''I hope you're not here to give me more summer homework.'' He had plenty enough to do. Not to mention, he had Hiroto's own assignments to do as well!

''Ha!'' Risa burst out laughing. ''No worries kiddo. What do you think we teachers do on our days off? We can't let our skills get rusty, so we take on missions! Plus, I don't need anymore correction, and your work is always a pain to correct.'' She turned to his mother. ''No offense, Kushina-chan.''

''None taken,'' Kushina sighed, knowing her son's messy methods all too well.

''Thought you liked my doodles...'' Naruto muttered to himself, pouting.

''Risa-chan, since you're here, I'd like to have your thoughts on the seal design I came up with.'' Kushina certainly wouldn't pass the opportunity to have another Uzumaki's input on such an important mission, especially one as skilled as Risa.

Once the two women moved to the other room, the Hyuuga approached Minato and shook hands.

''Minato-san, it's been a while,'' Tokuma said politely. Minato was perplexed at first, but suddenly the memories came back to him.

''Right! We did a couple of missions together when I was still in Leaf.'' Minato smiled. He was still a Chunin back then. It had been, what, over ten years ago? ''Man, time sure flies.''

''It does. It's nice to see you again. You got yourself a nice family. Congratulations.'' Minato grinned widely.

''Thanks!''

''Um, so... Do you know Uzumaki-san well?'' Suddenly, Tokuma's face turned slightly embarrassed, something Minato had never seen in a Hyuuga.

''I do. I taught at Uzushio's academy for a few years. She was my co-worker.'' Tokuma checked behind him and saw the others were busy chatting together. He lowered his voice and continued.

''Do you know if she's... unattached?''

''Eh?'' Minato kept an awkward smile on his face. That was unexpected! He tried not to laugh at the poor guy's face, thinking back on the conversation he and Risa had about Hyuugas a couple of years ago. ''N-not that I know of! I'm pretty sure she's single.'' Not that he didn't know where the Hyuuga was coming from; the Uzumaki clan was very prestigious and Risa was very attractive, even if a little tomboyish with her obnoxious personality, lean figure and stylish short hair. Minato didn't know it yet, but falling for obnoxious Uzumakis would apparently become a Hyuuga trait.

OoOoO

Today was an awesome day for Naruto. He felt like an actual, full fledge-shinobi right now. His parents and the members of the escort squad were having a super secret meeting, and he was allowed to listen! His dad had even put seals around the room to keep Sand ninjas from spying on the meeting! He'd have to learn that technique later.

''Are you sure your kid should hear what we have to say?'' Shikaku asked the blond boy's parents suspiciously. Minato grinned, ruffling his son's hair.

''Naruto was there when it happened anyway. He knows it's a ninja from Sound village and knows he was probably after some information. He also knows he can't speak of the event to anyone, not even his new friends.'' Naruto nodded fervently to back up his dad's words.

''Trust the new generation of shinobi!'' Naruto exclaimed, brandishing a victorious fist in the air. Shikaku let out a long sigh.

''What a drag, but alright. He would have found out sooner or later from you anyways.'' Shikaku took out a sealed scroll from his pouch and showed it to everyone in the room. The scroll contained the Sound ninja's profile, as depicted from what Konoha's reputed T&I was able to find out.

''It turns out that Otogakure was founded by none other than Orochimaru.'' Kakashi revealed, taking over the report. Kushina and Minato gasped at this new piece of information.

''Wow, Ibiki's skills really have gotten more impressive with time. Not even Jiraiya-sensei's spy network uncovered that information.'' Minato felt his sleeve being pulled and looked down at a confused Naruto.

''Who's that Erochimaru guy you're talking about?'' Naurto whispered to his dad. Minato had to laugh at Naruto's accidental pun.

''A missing nin from Konoha. I'll tell you more later,'' Minato winked, earning a firm nod from Naruto.

''Do we know why they were spying on us?'' Kushina interjected.

''Well, the shinobi you got is a low-ranked among Orochimaru's nins so we don't have thorough information. What we do know is that this particular nin went on several recon missions and is investigating several ninja villages' activity in general. The scroll he had on him contained a summary of his findsings on different villages. He also confessed that he received unique abilities as 'gift' from Orochimaru,'' Shikaku explained.

''Knowing Orochimaru's past with human experimentation, it's safe to assume that all the ninjas in his village will be enhanced in some way, and will become more and more dangerous as his experiments go on,'' Minato said, holding his chin between his fingers in thought. ''And those recon missions sound like they're meant to analyze each village's strength by checking their activity and the ninja's skills.'' It brought Minato some reassurance to know that they really weren't after them in particular after all.

''As sharp as ever, Minato,'' Kenichi said, smiling. Shikaku nodded and continued.

''I came up with the same conclusion as you, but you saying it makes me even more convinced.'' The older blond scratched the back of his head sheepishly, not knowing how to react at the praise. Beside him, Naruto was looking up at him with unabashed admiration. It brought flutters to Minato's heart to see it.

''The enhancement is implanted through a cursed seal. We found the same on Mizuki, which means he's already infiltrated our village before. You might want to watch out for suspicious behaviour in Uzushio,'' Shikaku informed the Uzushio nins, who blinked in curiosity.

''Who's Mizuki?'' Kushina asked.

''An academy teacher who tried to steal a forbidden scroll from our library. Fortunately, we were able to stop him before he could leave the village.''

Once the meeting was adjourned, Tokuma surprised everyone by asking Risa out for dinner. It surprised Kushina and Minato even more when she accepted.

After witnessing such a youthful display of passionate love (Guy's words), the green-clad ninja challenged Kakashi to crab-race across the desert until sunset with him. Kakashi naturally refused and instead offered Naruto to train together. Guy instantly asked to join in, but Kakashi was pleased to hear Naruto -bless the child- refuse bluntly, affirming that Bushy-Brow-san (Naruto's words) would just get in the way.

Crestfallen, Guy swore he would perform a thousand push-ups and a thousand sit-ups while holding his breath to prove his worth.

All was well in the ninja world.

OoOoO

The day of the Demon Sealing Ceremony came soon after the squad's arrival. Minato and Kushina were grateful for that. They didn't feel very comfortable leaving their precious son alone in Suna while they were gone, and bringing him along for the ceremony was out of the question.

At the gates of the village, Naruto watched his parents, along with Risa who would serve as backup, leave with the Kazekage, Gaara and several Suna nins. He held Kakashi's hand much tighter than necessary, but Kakashi didn't complain. Beside him, Temari was watching as well. She looked more composed than Naruto, but the boy could see the worry in the older sister's eyes.

''Don't worry, Temari-chan. Mom will take good care of Gaara-kun. Once they're back, he'll feel better than he's ever felt before!'' Naruto said encouragingly, clenching a determined fist. Temari looked down at him and offered him a cheeky grin. She ruffled his hair in a way that reminded him of Karin. As he got to know her and as she loosened herself around him and Gaara, he found that she and his cousin were kind of similar. Both were kind and strong, but Temari didn't have Karin's rather fluctuating personality. She was more stoic, but maybe a bit more arrogant as well. He kinda liked it; she was a pretty cool and reassuring kind of older sister.

''I have no doubt about it, pipsqueak.''

''Hey!'' He took back his thoughts. Temari wasn't that cool after all.

OoOoO

Once they had reached an appropriate distance from the village, the party stopped and got in their positions. As instructed, Minato and Risa took their place closer around Kushina and Gaara and proceeded to elevate a powerful barrier. If Gaara had to be honest with himself, he'd have to admit he felt a bit intimidated. So far away from the village with strangers, and worse, with his father, he felt himself already losing his cool. He would have preferred Temari or Naruto to be there, but the adults were against it. He looked around at the barrier with justified distrust. Kashina, obeying to her maternal instincts, took upon herself to reassure the little boy.

''Gaara-kun.'' It almost startled Gaara how alike Naruto and his mother sounded. ''I know this is a bit intimidating, but we are not doing this because we don't trust you. We are doing this because we are worried about the prisoner that you hold.''

''Mother is not a prisoner,'' was all he could think of as a reply. It took Kushina off guard, but she discarded the emotion quickly.

''Well, she is very powerful. We want to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone. You understand?''

''Yes,'' Gaara replied after some hesitation.

''I'll let you on a little secret that Naruto told me, okay? But don't tell anyone.'' Gaara nodded. ''Temari-chan prepared a little surprise for you once you come back.'' Gaara's eyes widened a fraction.

''Really?''

''Yeah!'' Kushina smiled widely. ''So let's get this over with quickly so you can get that surprise, you know?'' She winked at Gaara, who nodded more fervently this time. Kushina took that as a good sign. ''Now, I'll put you under a genjutsu. You'll see, it'll be over in no time.''

''Alright.'' Gaara was a little suspicious of that but decided to trust the woman, since she was so much like Naruto.

Kushina caught Gaara's unconscious form and carefully placed him on the altar that had been previously set up by Minato. From the slowly changing appearance of Gaara's sin, Kushina could tell that Shukaku was already starting to take over Gaara's subconscious state.

''So it can influence him even when under genjutsu... The seal is even more fragile than I thought,'' she muttered to herself. ''Alright,'' she said, louder this time. She looked at Minato and Risa. They both nodded, signalling that they were ready to proceed. She then looked at the Kazekage, standing further away from the site along with his shinobi. He gave his approval as well. She took another look at her husband, who offered her a reassuring smile.

Kushina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She played the chain of events quickly in her mind to better prepare herself. She, as well as Minato and Risa, had gone over hundreds of case scenarios and thought of the most appropriate response for each of them. She could do this. She had been through war, she had faced the Gobi's jinchuriki almost fully transformed; she could do this.

Minato watched attentively as Kushina started gathering her chakra. Seal marks started to appear along her right arm, then moved to conglomerate into the palm of her hand. The marks then ran up to each of her fingers. A bright blue flame lit up at each of them with the Kobun characters for the five elements found in nature: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth. Kushina opened her eyes. She had a fierce look like Minato had rarely seen in his life.

''Five Elements Unseal!'' she shouted out and planted her fingers firmly into Gaara's stomach. An incredibly bright light flashed around Kushina and the child and grew until the whole space within the barrier was swallowed, blinding all those around. Time seemed to stop. For Minato, the moment felt like an eternity. He could see nothing of what was going on and couldn't hear anything either.

Suddenly, a loud, dark, inhuman laughter emerged.

''Finally free! Hahaha! You fools!'' The laughter sent shivers down Minato's spine. He couldn't believe his beloved Kushina was in there with such a monster.

The light finally subsided. He let out a deep breath he hadn't known he had been holding when he saw his wife standing in front of Gaara, looking as strong as ever. She had placed a barrier around Gaara's sleeping body to protect him, just like they had planned.

''Not for long, scumbag!'' Kushina yelled out mockingly before launching her chakra chains.

Minato's jaw dropped. Trust to Kushina to act completely out of line in even the most dangerous and tense situations.

Shukaku roared as the chains encircled each of his limbs completely. His roars were so powerful, it literally dragged Kushina backward until the barrier around Gaara blocked her path. Clenching her teeth furiously together, she sent a large amount of chakra through her chains and pulled them down with all her strength, making the tailed beast fall submissively to the ground.

The proud beast roared again with unequalled rage. Shukaku seized some of the chains and planted his sharp fangs into them. He swung the chains to the side with all his might, propelling Kushina right into the walls of the barrier.

''Gah!'' Kushina cried out in pain. The impact was so great, her chains instantly dispelled. She fell several meters down before hitting the sand head first.

''Kushina!'' Minato screamed in panic, causing his focus on the barrier to waver slightly. Risa quickly counter-balanced the effect by adding more chakra into the wall.

''Stay focused, Minato!'' she screamed out to the blond man.

Kushina weakly probed herself up onto her trembling arms. She coughed several time, then spit out a large amount of blood.

Shukaku took this down time to literally smash himself against the wall to weaken it. This certainly woke Minato out of her stupor, especially since he knew Kushina could still fight. He shared a quick look with Risa and both infused a large amount of chakra into the walls to keep them strong.

''Heyyaaaa!'' Shukaku let out another piercing, maddening laughter then took a deep breath, filling his stomach round with air. Minato and Risa knew what was coming. They reinforced the walls even more, bracing themselves for the impact.

''Wind Release: Air Bullets!'' He raised his arm high up in the air, then smacked it against his stomach, releasing a gigantic ball of air, infused with demonic chakra. The tailed beast repeated the jutsu until the wall in front of him started to breach. Minato and Risa were putting all their might into the barrier, but they couldn't hold it for much longer now. Only a few more of those, and they were done for.

''Kushina!'' Minato screamed once again, begging his wife to tell them what do to. The redhead was panting heavily, blood streaming down from her forehead, nose and mouth. She extended her arms for more chakra chains and infused all the chakra she could into them. The chains caught their target and held the creature from performing his jutsu. She sent the monster down again, her breathing erratic. She had completely underestimated the beast. A grave, unforgivable mistake. The difference in power between a tailed beast when in a jinchuriki and when it was free was considerable, regardless of which stage in his or her transformation the Jinchuriki was. As things were now, she could keep the beast at bay, but she would never be able to keep it up while performing the Sealing Ceremony. With every second that passed, she could feel her chakra reserve drop drastically. However, Kushina refused to have Minato and Risa break the barrier if she could help it. Hence, she closed her eyes and entered her mindscape.

Her mindscape was a bright yellow space of seemingly endless proportions. She stood, as if floating in the air, and looked at the pitiful sight in front of her.

Crucified on an immense round boulder, was the Nine-Tails. His paws, feet and tails were each pierced through with steel rods, which were all linked by Kushin'a chakra chains, which in turn were wrapped all around the Kyubi's body. At the sight of his container, Kurama let out a low growl. It was low and deep, nothing like Shukaku's insupportable screams. However, if you asked Kushina, Shukaku's screams paled in comparison to Kurama's infernal growls.

''Hey, furball,'' Kushina declared in a ragged voice. ''Lend me your chakra.'' Kurama let out an enraged growl at the impertinent command. How he longed to get out of this prison and tear each of the woman's limbs apart with his fangs.

''You are a lot stupider than I thought if you think I'll just hand it over to you.'' Kushina stayed completely unshaken. The seal holding off the beast had been designed by Mito herself. It was by far the most sophisticated and powerful Jinchuriki seal and her chakra chains made it especially effective.

''You know I have complete control over it. If you don't hand it over to me, I'll simply extract it from you. The process will just be more painful for you,'' she replied, crossing her arms defiantly.

''How considerate of you,'' the Kyubi replied in a low voice, dripping with sarcasm. Then, he angrily huffed large amount of air through his nose, which lifted up Kushina's hair. ''I'll pass. I still got my pride. I'll die before I lend even an ounce of my chakra willingly to a human,'' he said with every bit of disdain he could invoke.

Kushina opened her eyes, now back into the real world.

''Fine then,'' Kushina muttered to herself before taking a large breath. She braced herself, clenching her fists tightly and let out a loud battle cry. Red chakra suddenly flared from her body. Minato watched, awe-struck, as her hair danced in the air in the manner of nine fox tails. Her fangs grew longer and sharper, so did her nails, which could now only be described as claws. The most dreadful change however, Minato thought, was her eyes. Normally so kind and beautiful, they had turned blood red and her pupils were slanted like those of a fox. Kushina lost no time and infused her chains with the powerful, demonic chakra, restraining Shukaku more securely. Then, she performed a quick series of hand signs.

''Yin Release: Jigokumon, The Great Gate of Hell!'' Even her voice was distorted, demonic.

She raised her hands and shadow sphere appeared far above in the sky. It shaped itself into an colossal Torii. The Torii was made of deep dark ebony, burning with the black flames of hell. Kushina brought her hands down violently, and the gate fell down onto Shukaku's neck, bringing him down submissively to the ground with a large gust of wind and sand. The tailed beast screamed from the sheer pain and humiliation. It lay, unmoving.

Minato stared, awed by Kushina's new technique. He remembered her mentioning a new powerful sealing technique she was working on back in Uzushio. She had created it specifically for this kind of situation. She had been inspired by the First Hokake's own Sealing technique; the Gate of the Great God. Though since Kushina could not enter into the sage state, she had to use her creativity to make it compatible with her own affinities. The result truly was a sight to behold.

The Kazekage watched, speechless, the events unfold before him. For the first time in his life, the Kazekage found himself trembling with fear, clod sweat falling freely from his temples. Beside him, his subordinates couldn't contain their terror either. Some even fell on their knees, unable to bare the awe that was overcoming them. This... this is what the Kyubi Jinchuriki is capable of? It can't be... How is it possible to possess such power?! Suddenly, the Kazekage's plan of making Gaara his village's prized weapon felt like a big joke to him. The Ichibi, it was even clearer to him now, was the weakest of he tailed beast. With this and the state his village was in, he could never hope to become the strongest Shinobi village. He clenched his teeth and fists together, shaking with pure, brazing rage. He would have to rethink his plans once this hell was over.

Panting heavily, Kushina turned her back to the beast to face the sleeping child. It was a miracle the boy hadn't come out of the genjutsu with all that was happening around him. Kushina suspected it was thanks to the barrier she had placed. She advanced toward him, chains extending as she walked. She knelt, still panting, in front of the child. She undid the barrier and raised her hand right above the boy's stomach. A blue flame lit up at the tip of her index and she began to carve in the new seal. Gaara was squirming in pain at the burning sensation, but Kushina made sure he stayed under the effects of the genjutsu.

''I'm sorry,'' she whispered, feeling ashamed for hurting the poor child.

''Noooo!'' Shukaku screamed, eyes bulging from desperation. ''I won't be sealed again!''

Once she was done with the design, Kushina performed the long, complex series of hand signs.

''Sealing Art: Altered Eight Trigrams Seal!''

Shukaku abandoned himself to final screams of outrage, the only form of resistance he was allowed to express. Just as he had appeared, the tailed beast disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

Minato was the first to react when all was over. He instantly broke the barrier and hirashined to his wife before she could fall to the ground. He caught her in his loving arms, not surprised to find her unconscious. Her skin, naturally pale, was now frighteningly white. Blood was still streaming down from her face. She had put so much energy into all the techniques she had used that the Kyubi's power hadn't even healed her wounds yet. Still, although she was completely drained and injured, she was very much alive, and Minato was infinitely grateful for that.

The second to react, barely an instant after Minato, was Risa, who made her way directly to the unconscious boy. She proceeded to examine the seal on his stomach. It was flawlessly executed and was obviously working seeing as she could not sense the demon's influence at all. However, Risa noticed a small alteration to the design which had not been there when Kushina had shown it to her. Her heart began to pound furiously at the sight. Had she made a mistake in the heat of the moment? She willed herself to calm down. Impossible. Kushina was much too skilled of a Shinobi for that. There had to be an explanation for it. It would have to wait until she was recovered. For now, the beast was securely held at bay and Kushina was alive. That was all that mattered.

Risa broke the genjutsu, though it would take a couple of hours before Gaara came to himself again. She carefully picked the boy up and looked at Kazekage and his nins.

If the situation hadn't been so grave, she would have laughed at the faces she saw. The Suna nins were frightened out of their wits: They had witnessed the power of the Uzumaki clan.

OoOoO

Naruto, the poor child, had cried his balls out when he saw the sate his mom was in. It took a lot of consoling and reassuring hugs on Minato's part to calm the child down. The two of them spent the entirety of the following week at the hospital by Kushina's side, with the members of the escort squad visiting everyday. Risa sometimes visited Gaara as well, to monitor the seal.

It had taken three days for her to wake up, and another three days for her to begin to eat and walk properly. There was one time when Naruto allowed himself to leave his mother's side. It was when he found out that Gaara had also woken up and was well enough to have visitors.

When Naruto entered Gaara's room, only Temari and Kankuro were present. But to Gaara, they were more than enough. Naruto smiled at his friend who returned it much more genuinely than he ever had before. He later found out through Temari that when Gaara had woken up, he had shared with her the fact that he could no longer feel the ominous weight on his shoulder nor hear the constant evil whispers in his mind. He had felt so free that he had cried from the beauty of the sensation. It had moved Temari to tears to even retell it. Naruto, who was highly empathetic, shed his fair share of tears as well.

He also found out what Temari's surprise for Gaara was; while he was recuperating in the hospital, Temari had ordered for Gaara's belongings to be moved to the empty room next to her own bedroom. Gaara would no longer live in a different building than his family. From now on, he would be living near his siblings.

On the seventh day, it was time for the Uzushio and Konohs nins to depart. It deeply saddened Naruto that he had to leave his new friends so soon, but he knew they would only become happier from now. The Kazekage, out of sheer political duty, had made an appearance at the gates for their departure, but had let his children do the talking. Gaara gave Kushina a crystallized desert rose which that, as he told her, he had made himself. Kushina was very touched by the kind and genuine gesture. Temari gave Naruto a small toad purse (she knew it to be Naruto's favourite animal) which he was absolutely thrilled about. Temari was honestly taken aback by the disproportionate reaction. It had seemed like a really lame gift to give considering what Naruto had done for them, but the intention was there and Naruto was very easily pleased.

Later that night, when they had reached a safe distance from the Sand village, Risa made her way to the Uzumaki family's tent. With Naruto fast asleep, she finally felt it was the time to address an issue which had been bothering her for a week now.

''Kushina... when I inspected Gaara's seal, I found a small alteration which wasn't on the original design you showed me,'' Risa confessed, trying not to sound as anxious as she actually was.

''Oh that?'' Kushina smiled good-naturally. She turned to her husband. ''Minato, remember that anomaly we found on Gaara's old seal?'' Minato nodded. ''When I destroyed Gaara's seal, I found out what it was.'' She turned back to Risa to pursue her explanation. ''Gaara's mother died shortly after she gave birth to her son. However, before she did so, she was able to imbue a part of her spirit, her will to protect her son, into Gaara's sand -or Shukaku's if you will. Isn't that beautiful?'' She smiled to her husband, who returned it tenfold. Gaara's instinct to call his prisoner 'mother' hadn't been entirely wrong after all.

''Amazing,'' Risa whispered, dumbstruck. ''So she basically modified the seal to make sure Shukaku's sand would always protect him? It sounds impossible.'' Kushina nodded.

''I myself don't understand how she was able to accomplish this. I guess there is no power greater than a mother's desire to protect her children, you know?'' As she said those words, she gently ran a hand through her child's soft hair. ''When I broke the seal, I briefly came across Karura's spirit, but I understood her intentions instantly, as if she had communicated with me through my mind. So when the time came for me to perform the seal, I made a last minute alteration so Karura could continue protect her son. I made it so that when Gaara reaches sixteen -the age at which he will access Shukaku's full power, he will be able to meet his mother in his mindscape and she can finally tell him that she loves him.'' There was a long, serene pause after the confession.

''You are the most amazing person there is, Kushina.'' Minato told his wife, his eyes conveying all the love he felt for her.

Risa smiled, moved by the scene. She had to agree, Kushina was something else.

OoOoO

After being neglected for such a long time, Sasori came to the conclusion that the Kazekake had decided to let him rot in his cell for the rest of eternity. It was hardly the most honourable demise he could have met, but he supposed there was worse. He was proved wrong, however, by the Kazekage himself visiting again.

The first thing Sasori noticed was the Kazekage's aura, so thick and heavy with fury that Sasori could feel it a miles away from his cell. Once the man came into view, the off-putting glint in Rasa's eyes had turned to sheer madness.

''Change of plans,'' Rasa said darkly through his teeth. ''You will put me in contact with your leader. I would like to propose a deal.''

To help situate yourself in the timeline, here is how old everyone is in the ''Filled With Love'' chapters:

Shikaku, Kushina & Minato: 31
Risa & Kenichi: 26
Kakashi & Guy: 21
Hyuuga Tokuma: 28 (I made him older than in canon)
Naruto & Gaara: 7
Kankuro: 9
Temari: 10 (Gaara thinks she's around 9)