Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Precious
"No, absolutely not. "
Minato winced as the cupboard across from him was slammed shut with more force than what was necessary. The blonde haired Hokage followed his wife dutifully to the stove, where she was cooking dinner.
"Please, Kushina. Think about-"
The red-haired matriarch whirled around so suddenly that Minato immediately took a step back to safety, and away from her as she brandished the chopping knife with an exaggerated flourish.
Kushina was angry.
Scratch that, she was livid.
"How dare you! My son is not a tool for you to show off-"
"That's not what I intend to do," snapped Minato.
Kushina's nostrils flared and through gritted teeth she replied, "It sure as hell looks like it."
Minato exhaled loudly and ran his fingers through his already messily spiked hair. He had a long day and the Village Elders had undoubtedly made it worse with their suggestions.
It didn't help that Kushina had heard their suggestions and had flew into a rage before Minato had a chance to explain himself.
Minato slowly pried the chopping knife out of his wife's grasp. He eyed the rest of the cutlery on the countertop and for fear of bodily harm, he gently pulled Kushina away from the copious sharp and pointy objects in the kitchen. He wanted to survive the night without injury, and with his wife's fierce temper— anything was possible.
Kushina didn't pull away as Minato clasped her hands in his.
He took this as a good sign.
"You know I would never put Naruto in danger," he murmured, his cerulean eyes beseeching and kissed her hand.
Kushina rolled her eyes at the gesture. She huffed loudly and pulled out of his grasp and went back to the stove.
Minato followed her unquestioningly and stayed silent, handing her ingredients when she needed them.
"I know-ttebane," Kushina replied. She stirred the ladle haphazardly, her anger coming through as soup sloshed over the edge of the pot. "It's just the way in which those baka Elders said it made me angry."
With the alliance between Konoha and Sunagakure rocky at best, the Village Elders had not so subtly suggested Naruto's presence with Minato at the next visit to Suna would be beneficial and serve to remind The Village Hidden in the Sand of whose military prowess was superior.
Except, Minato did want to take Naruto along with him to Sunagakure, not for the reason the Elders suggested, but rather a different reason all together.
He had received a rather troubling report from Jiraiya about Suna's jinchuuriki of the Ichibi. To hear such disturbing stories about the little boy left Minato with a bitter taste in his mouth. He couldn't help but draw parallels between the boy, Gaara and his own son.
Naruto was the same age as Gaara as well as being a Yondaime Kage's son. They both held a tremendous burden that they would carry throughout their lives and there was nothing they could do about that. Naruto's seal however left him safe from the influence of the bijuu whereas Gaara allowed the Ichibi's malignant influence to seep through and drive the young boy insane.
He had to do something.
Kushina eyed him warily but spoke bluntly, "Minato, you can't just go up to the Kazekage and ask to fix his son's seal."
Minato sighed and leaned his head on his wife's shoulder. "I can't just do nothing."
"He'll think it's a trick."
Minato nodded unhappily. "I know. But I have to try. That's why I want to take Naruto with me."
Kushina laughed without humour. "So your solution is to take my son with you to a village with an unstable jinchuuriki in it."
"Our son," insisted Minato.
Kushina glared at him.
Minato quickly backpedalled. "You know how Naruto is and how quickly he is able to win people over. It's a show of faith to the Kazekage too, that I mean no harm to him or the village and that I'm even willing to bring my own son with me."
Kushina wasn't happy with the idea, it was plain to see but she was slowly relenting.
"He'll miss school."
Minato laughed. "I don't think Naruto will mind."
Kushina smiled and bit her lip to stop herself laughing alongside Minato. Naruto was a bright ball of hyperactive energy and confining him to lessons at the Academy for seven hours a day was difficult. While he enjoyed interacting with his friends, sitting and learning for hours on end bored him tediously.
"Alright fine, take him with you," said Kushina.
Minato blinked, bewildered at his wife's uncharacteristic reaction. He expected her to fight him on this and that he'd have to convince her to agree.
Kushina continued, "And if one hair on my baby's head is hurt, I will storm into Suna and reign terror on whoever is responsible and pay them back tenfold."
Minato grinned. That was the Kushina he knew.
Kushina saw the look on his face, and threw a dishcloth at him.
~0~
Naruto was thrilled to join the visit to Suna.
He made this more than evident to everyone from even before they left the village's towering gates.
Kotetsu and Izumo grinned and laughed at Naruto's enthusiasm as they signed them out and Minato couldn't help but wonder what the chunin duo had done to warrant them guard duty so often.
Despite Minato being Hokage, he didn't handle scheduling and rosters of every shinobi in the village. He delegated the minor tasks so he could focus on the important duties that arose. After all, he had a family and he wasn't about to sacrifice them just to be Hokage.
Joining them on their trip was Nara Shikaku, Minato's most trusted advisor along with three others who were versed in the politics between Konoha and Suna and they were tasked with making sure the trip went smoothly and accomplished the purpose of solidifying the alliance between the villages.
The Hokage's personal ANBU guard as well as additional ANBU were also joining them on the trip to make sure no harm came to the Yondaime Hokage and his son. Before their departure, Kushina had given the ANBU guards a little heart to heart in promising severe pain to anyone of them if anything happened her precious baby.
When one of the guards had mistakenly asked if she was worried about her husband too, Kushina snorted and waved her hand airily and told them that if there was danger, they were to protect her son first.
One of Hokage's personal ANBU guards had opened his mouth to protest that technically their job was to protect the Hokage at all costs, Kushina had shot him a glare so intense he trembled. Kushina said that if Minato was attacked and actually in any real danger, he was too much of a pansy and should pass the Hokage hat to her instead.
Suna had sent an escort to ensure the group would not get lost in the vast desert during their trek. He was an austere man and couldn't quite handle Naruto's boisterous nature and had quickly separated himself from the little boy, much to Naruto's distress, to confer with the ANBU and lead the group.
An unwilling participant to the mission who made his annoyance palpable was, Kakashi. He knew his dear sensei had brought him along not as part of the ANBU guard but as a babysitter for Naruto.
"I'm not a damn nanny in case you've forgotten, Minato-sensei," grumbled Kakashi, a scowl evident on his face despite his mask.
Minato bit back a grin at his ex-student's aggravation.
"I'm quite aware, Kakashi-kun. However, Naruto asked for you specially."
Kakashi snorted. "Oh, did he? And must you always do everything he asks?"
Minato gave his surrogate son a pointed look.
Kakashi continued nonchalantly, "It looks like Naruto has you wrapped around his little finger."
Minato quirked an eyebrow. "Perhaps you should eat your own words, Kakashi-kun."
Kakashi eyed him suspiciously. "I beg your pardon?"
Minato grinned, oh he had him now. "I do believe you enjoyed a darling little tea party with Naruto last week, didn't you now?"
Kakashi paled.
From behind them, Naruto let out a cry of indignation. "Tou-chan! It wasn't a tea party, dattebayo! It was a Gokage Summit."
~0~
Their journey had started out well enough…at least until the sand storm.
The Suna escort wasn't fazed by the turn of events. Having lived in Kaze no Kuni for his entire life, he was used to the weather conditions and their fickle nature. He swiftly sought out shelter to wait out the sand storm or at least until the conditions were better to travel in. He warned against trying to navigate in a storm which could turn you off course and to your death.
Their group took the opportunity to rest and recuperate after their arduous trek through the sandy desert and the intense heat. Thankfully it was not yet summer where the temperatures would become unbearable to travel in.
During the evenings, however, the temperature dropped quickly and became colder than what one expected of a desert.
With a light katon jutsu a roaring fire was built and everyone was soon warmed from against the chill. The added comfort lifted the mood and the tense atmosphere disappeared. Even the ANBU who were on guard were more relaxed and chatting amongst each other, a feat which went against their protocol. Minato didn't mind, his ANBU worked diligently and he didn't want them to turn into emotionless shinobi.
Before their departure, Naruto had exclaimed loudly that he was going to pack his bag for the mission and wouldn't let anyone help or take a peek inside. Minato was curious to the contents, after all it wasn't as if his son possessed many weapons or owned mission gear.
Regardless, about an hour into their travels, Naruto had hefted the bag off his shoulder and given it Kakashi to carry. He grudgingly took the bag and carried it alongside his own.
It was only now, during their stop in the caves did Naruto open his bag. From the angle at which Naruto opened it, Minato couldn't see anything. He couldn't help but notice Kakashi curiously eyeing Naruto secretive posture as he hunched over his belongings.
Naruto grinned suddenly and pulled out a bento box. Minato supressed a chuckle, is that what his son was so protective of? Before they left, Kushina must have slipped in some food for Naruto, not wanting him to have to endure the bland ration bars they all had for dinner.
Minato couldn't help the pang in his chest. He already missed Kushina. They had been apart for much longer periods of time, but this was the first time he had travelled with Naruto alone. They had gone on trips outside the village as a family before and those precious moments were wondrous.
He would have loved for Kushina to join them on the visit to Suna but there were extenuating circumstances. During the last war, Kushina had led a team against the dissenting Suna forces. She had made a name for herself in conquering the rebellion and which helped in bringing the war to a close. There was still those who held a grudge against her. It was for the best that she stayed in the village.
After dinner with the winds howling louder than ever, Naruto's slim patience had run out. He had already spent the last couple hours talking to the various members of their travelling party and had attempted a couple of pranks, only to be thwarted by Kakashi who was watching him carefully and taking his role on the team comically seriously.
"Tou-chan," Naruto huffed, draping himself dramatically over his father like a cat, "I'm borrred."
Minato stroked his son's spiky blonde hair fondly before trying to appease him. "Why don't you try and get some rest, Naruto-chan. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
Naruto scrunched his nose at his father's address only to pout and cross his arms.
Minato suppressed a smile. Even when he tried to look angry, Naruto only came off looking adorable.
As if suddenly remembering something, Naruto scrambled to his bag and pulled something out.
"What's that you got there, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto grinned and flashed him a small book.
"See Tou-chan, it's a book Ero-jiji gave me before we left."
Kakashi and Minato both simultaneously froze and shot a look at each other. Minato was ready to grab the book out of his son's hand, lest he scar himself for life, only to relax when he read the title.
"Oh good, it's only a joke book."
"Uh huh, it's awesome!" Naruto sat back to read his book and Minato hoped it would give him a reprieve from Naruto's hyperactive energy for a little while. Minato loved his son dearly, it was just that Naruto was little much sometimes.
Within minutes Naruto was chuckling, his eyes watering from the mirth of the book which captured his attention so well.
"Hey Tou-chan, do you want to hear a joke?"
Kakashi groaned under his breath and Minato shot him a dark look.
"Sure, Naruto. I would love too. Kakashi-kun especially would like to hear them too."
Naruto beamed and moved closer to Kakashi, almost crawling into his lap. Kakashi opened his sole eye slowly and off put expression was almost enough to make Minato laugh. Nevertheless, Kakashi wordlessly covered Naruto with his blanket and positioned his comfortably away from the rocky terrain of the cave.
"So what did the pig say in the desert?" Naruto prodded Kakashi when he gave no reaction.
"What did he say?" drawled Kakashi, swotted Naruto's hands away.
Naruto grinned, a few snickers escaping before he answered, "I'm bacon out here."
Minato snorted at the joke and Kakashi couldn't help roll his eye.
Naruto ruffled through the book, looking for another one which would illicit the reaction he wanted.
"What did the one cactus say to the other?" Naruto peered over the book at his audience, his eyes wide.
He paused for dramatic effect.
"I'm ready to stop being cacti and ready to start being cactus."
Naruto pouted when neither Kakashi nor Minato reacted the way he wanted.
"Fine, lemme find a good one…" Naruto stuck his tongue out as he flipped the pages, searching intently.
"Enough, Naruto. Go to sleep," groaned Kakashi.
Naruto glared at him. "Shush, I'm trying to make you laugh. You don't have enough humour in your life."
Minato chuckled as Kakashi blinked owlishly at his son.
"What?"
Naruto nodded sagely. "Yup, that's what Tenzo-nii says."
Kakashi scowled, next time he saw his mouthy little kouhai, he was going to have words with him…and maybe a lovely sparring practice.
"Ohhh, I found a nice one! Why will you never starve in the desert?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi sighed. "Why?"
Naruto grinned. "Cuz of all the sandwiches there."
Minato laughed, ruffling Naruto's hair. "Are all your jokes about the desert?"
"Yup," punctuated Naruto with a thumbs up.
It was going to be a long night.
~0~
Thankfully the rest of their journey went smoothly and they made to Sunagakure safely and in good time.
Upon their arrival, they weren't given much rest before Minato was rushed off to meetings with Sungakure's councillors and officials.
This left Naruto bored for most of the day, at least until Minato came up with a suggestion. "Naruto-kun, why don't you go visit the park, maybe run off some of that energy of yours?"
Naruto stopped in the middle of building a pyramid of items which included a toy snake, frog and slug along with several kunai and shuriken. Kakashi eyed the wobbling tower warily, Naruto had demanded live weapons to play with…
"Kakashi-kun will take you," Minato said, patting Naruto's head.
"Hmm?" questioned Kakashi, his head shooting up at the sound of his name.
"Yay, the park!" grinned Naruto.
Sungakure's park was not anything like the parks Naruto was used to back home. Naruto scowled as he kicked a stray tumbleweed blowing toward him. There was sand everywhere, obviously Naruto wasn't oblivious to the fact they were in a desert, he just didn't expect it to get in every nook and crevice.
The sand left a gritty feeling throughout his whole body and made him scratch idly. There was sand in his shoes again too, despite him emptying it out just a couple minutes ago. As Naruto huffed and bent down to remove the offending grains, he caught something out of the edge of his eye.
A redheaded little boy in the distance was hunched over himself, his face covered by his arm.
As Naruto edged closer to get a closer look at the boy, the redhead froze. The little boy was smaller than Naruto and had sea foam green eyes, the enchanting colour set off against the dark rings around his eyes. Naruto watched him closely but the boy didn't react.
"Why are you crying?" Naruto asked.
The redhead sniffed once and scowled. "I'm not crying. I had sand in my eye."
Naruto shrugged, it was a plausible reason- they were after all in the Village Hidden in the Sand.
Naruto eyed the boy for a few seconds before speaking, "What's your name?"
The redhead's face betrayed no emotion, but his seafoam eyes were wary. "Sabaku no Gaara."
Naruto blinked. "Gaara of the Sand? That's your name?"
Gaara gave a slow nod.
Naruto beamed, his face lighting up at the confirmation. "That's so awesome! I wish I had a cool name like that. My name is Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, dattebayo!"
Gaara stared bewildered at the blonde boy. Naruto was actually talking to him even though he knew who he was. Most children ran away after they found out his name.
"I suppose I could be Naruto of the Leaf, but that doesn't sound as cool," Naruto rattled off, oblivious to Gaara's lack of response.
Naruto stopped suddenly as if suddenly remembering. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Gaara."
His mother had instilled manners in him at a young age and he feared her fiery temper too much to disobey her orders even if she was miles away.
"So Gaara, do you wanna- watch out," Naruto broke off.
Before Naruto could react, a green ball appeared, flying through the air toward the space Gaara was occupying.
Before the ball could hit Gaara in the face, a wall of sand arose from the ground surrounding his feet, deflecting the ball harmlessly away from him.
Naruto's mouth dropped open.
Gaara tensed and risked a glance at Naruto, waiting for him to inevitably run away from the incident he just witnessed.
"Whoa, what- huh-" he stuttered.
Gaara held his breath. This was it.
Naruto was terrified of him.
Just like the others.
" ...amazing!" Naruto punctuated, whooping loudly.
Gaara blinked. Naruto wasn't afraid of him?
How…peculiar.
Naruto eyed the green ball for a second before picking it up and searching the direction it had come from. In the distance, a group of boys stood huddled, tense as if waiting for something that would send them fleeing.
"Wait just a second, Gaara. I'll be right back, lemme give those kids their ball back and then you can show me that trick again."
Gaara opened his mouth to protest but Naruto had already took off to return the wayward ball to the rightful owner.
Despite his young age, Naruto had been exposed to a variety of different types of jutsu and shinobi. He had seen Itachi-nii with his Sharingan execute the kunai trick, he'd seen Sasuke attempt it too—but that just ended with his best friend hurting himself and crying and Itachi-nii had to carry him home.
He had also seen Hinata's father's Byakugan and even seen Kakashi-nii's friend Tenzo perform Mokuton. But so far, Naruto had never seen a jutsu like Gaara's before.
As Naruto approached the group of boys, they scattered quickly save for the tallest boy who looked a couple years older than himself. The boy had sandy brown hair and violet eyes that kept darting in the direction Naruto had come from. The boy's fingers twitched unconsciously to the kunai he had kept hidden in the folds of his tunic so Naruto slowed his jog to a trot and kept to a slight distance.
"Hiya," grinned Naruto, rubbing the back of his head.
The tall boy eyed him warily before relaxing when he realised Naruto meant him no harm.
"Is this your ball?" Naruto asked, gesturing to the worn green ball.
"Yes it is," the violet eyed boy answered. His voice was hoarse as if he had a screaming match with someone sometime before. He didn't make an attempt to retrieve the ball.
Naruto set the ball down and rolled it gently to the boy in front of him. The boy knelt down and picked it up, keeping his eyes on Naruto the entire time.
"Thanks."
Naruto grinned. "No problem. Just be careful where you throw it next time, m'kay?"
The violet eyed boy made a move to leave but stopped himself before hurrying over closer to Naruto and dropping his voice a couple octaves.
"You're not from here, are you?"
Naruto shook his head. "Nope, I'm from Konoha."
"Hmph, I figured as much. Your clothes give it away."
Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but the older boy cut him off.
"Look, you probably don't know this, but you should stay away from that boy." The violet eyed boy signaled with a nod of his head to the direction of Gaara.
Naruto frowned, not liking the tone of the boy but said nothing, waiting for him to finish.
"If you see him, run. He's a monster."
A strange look passed Naruto's face as he took a step back, away from the violet eyed boy. Naruto turned to stare at Gaara in the distance. The redhead hadn't moved from where Naruto had left him a couple minutes prior. It was too far away for Naruto to see the look on Gaara's face but he seemed to be watching them intently.
When Naruto turned back, the violet eyed boy suppressed a gasp. The cheery blonde exuberant visage had vanished and a solemn on had taken its place.
Naruto's voice was low and carefully hid the bubbling anger he felt deep within his heart. "His name is Gaara and he is not a monster."
And without another word, Naruto walked away.
.
.
.
~0~
Kakashi was tense as he eyed the jinchuuriki of the sand. Of course, Naruto had to pick him to befriend. In an entire playground of kids, Naruto had singled out the most dangerous person in the village. Kakashi stayed hidden from the pair as he watched them closely.
He wouldn't interfere, not unless Naruto was in danger.
~0~
"So how did'ya do that that thing with the sand?" Naruto's face was a light with excitement, no trace of the dark expression from before.
Gaara tried not to think of what that boy said to Naruto earlier. He was too far away to hear the conversation, but he imagined quite how it went. Only Naruto's reaction was what he couldn't understand. The blonde has returned to him, no change in demeanour despite whatever obvious warning was offered to him.
"Can you do that sand thing again? Please, lemme see," Naruto begged, and unconsciously went to grab Gaara's arm.
Before he could, a stream of sand stirred to guard Gaara from Naruto's touch.
Naruto's face was alight with excitement. "That's so great, Gaara!"
Gaara couldn't believe it. This boy, Naruto wasn't scared of him even after he saw his sand. What was wrong with him?
"Really?" Gaara asked in a small voice. "You're not scared of it…or me?"
Naruto blinked, bewildered by the question.
"Nope. I think it's really cool. How does it work? Is it a jutsu?"
Gaara's smile was tentative, barely noticeable but he answered Naruto's question anyway.
"No, I've always been able to do it… The sand protects me from harm, almost like a shield. It's not something that can be learnt."
"So it's like a kekkei genkai?"
"I suppose," Gaara answered, never having thought of it that way. His father after all could wield Gold Dust Style.
"You're going to make an awesome shinobi someday, Gaara."
Gaara didn't respond. He didn't quite know what his role in the village would be when he was older. A monster to be caged within the village walls, a killer when assassins were sent after him, or a tool to be used against the enemies of Suna.
He'd always taken it for granted he's be a shinobi, but nobody had ever encouraged him, not like the way Naruto had.
"Thank you," Gaara answered finally.
Naruto grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "I'm going to be Hokage one day-ttebayo, so I'm going to have to be awesome too. Let's promise to do our best, okay?"
Gaara's eyes widened. "Hokage? You want to be Hokage? Why?"
Naruto's face took on a serious look but still held his bright exuberance. "I want to protect my precious people."
Precious people? Gaara thought of his family. His father was a stern man, distant toward him but always softer with his siblings for a reason Gaara didn't understand. Gaara's siblings were kept away from him but during the times he did see them he always wished they could be closer.
There was one person though. Yashamaru.
He was Gaara's uncle.
He was the only person who didn't treat him like a monster. Yashamaru was kind and always had a smile on his face. When things got bad, he would bend down to Gaara's level and with gentle words assuage his bruised soul.
He knew Yashamaru's kindness toward him came at cost from the rest of the village. Yashamaru could have acted like everybody else towards him but he didn't, for some reason he was different.
Gaara wanted to protect him.
"If…if I was Kazekage, I could protect my precious people?"
Naruto grinned. "Of course. You want to be Kazekage? Let's do it together, Gaara."
Gaara hesitantly nodded.
Naruto was strange, he thought. But somehow, Gaara knew he could trust him.
And for the first time, Gaara felt like he wasn't alone in this world.
