Hello readers. I know the chapter took awhile, but it was hard to get this one out. I have had alot of tests these past few weeks in Calculus, English, Economic, and Engineering.

But fear Not! I have a new chapter today.

Here is the pairing list so far. The votes have been coming in, so let me know who you think they should end up with. I am impartial to Hetero or Yaoi so don't be afraid of a ship you would like.

Here's the list so far:

NaruHina: 11

NaruTema: 4

NaruFu: 2

NaruFEMHaku: 1

NaruIno: 1

GaaFu: 7

GaaHina: 3

GaaKarin: 3

GaaIno: 2

F-OC: 1

GaaMatsu: 1

Yaoi:

ItaNaru: 16

KibaNaru: 3

NejiNaru: 3

ShikaNaru: 1

GaaNaru: 9

NejiGaa: 7

ShinoGaa: 6

ShikaGaa: 1

ItaNaru in the lead for little Naruto! NejiGaa and GaaFu are tied!

Keep the votes coiming if you haven't voted yet.

Thanks for reading and please follow and review.

*I do not own Naruto or any of its Characters*

Last time:

"The elders, the clan heads as well as the civilian members all came to an agreement. By a vote of 9 to 3, with a 3/4 vote, we decided in exchange for missions and resources, that Sunagakure is willing to release the Ichibi Jinchuuriki over to Konohagakure under a treaty of peace. It is up to your judgement if you accept or not."

...

Chapter 12: Long Road Ahead

The room became deathly quiet. No one dared to move from their positions. Both Kages were in shock over the fact that the Suna council had been deciding everything since they left to investigate. The Sandaime internally smirked at the unexpected victory he had over the Kazekage.

The two young boys broke the silence when Naruto his friend tighter and whispered to him.

"Did you hear that Gaara! You get to come home with me and jiji. Now we can still be friends." Gaara was stuck in shock.

He had a friend, his first and only friend, hugging him, a demon in him, and was now leaving him village to go somewhere new. He had a new chance in life, away from the hate and fear. And a friend to be there with him along the way.

Gaara wanted to but refused to cry in front of the Kazekage and the Council, so he simply hugged Naruto back with all the force he could muster from his tired self.

The Sandaime smiled at the turn of events. It seemed to him that the council came to a decision without their village leader. He was surprised that they got enough votes to let this pass without their Kage's orders.

He understood how they did it though. While villages all had a monarchy under the reigning Kage, some laws were created by the people in order to protect them from unfair living and from the power of the Kages. Especially in Suna, where leaders in the past have been less than kind to the non ninja population.

The Hokage was happy and started to think about the kinks that would need to be fixed in the new treaty, so that it would benefit Konoha but also assist Suna. He didn't wanted starting a war over this whole situation because they didn't win anything.

The Kazekage was trying to keep hold on his temper but his face easily showed that he was displeased by what happened. His council went behind him and stopped him from controlling not only the Ichibi but now the Kyuubi, who was only 10 yards away from him.

He wanted to just kill the boy and be done with in now, but he knew that the Hokage would step in at an instant, and so would the Konoha ANBU. That and it could lead to a new war. Suna wasn't ready for that. Not Yet at least.

So he simply looked at his council. His council. The some ones that ruined his budding plans. They would find themselves out of a job and maybe even their lives very soon for what they had just done.

"Well..." everyone turned to the Hokage. "It seems that the council has spoken. I will agree to these terms, but we shall need to fix the kinks and little problems later on. I have been away from Konoha for a good while and I believe it is time for me to take my grandson and my new charge with me. Thank you for agreeing to a treaty. I believe that this will benefit both Suna and Konoha." He stood up and gestured to the hugging children.

"Now we should get ready for the journey back to Konoha. Please come with me both of you."

The boys untangled themselves from each other and walked with the Hokage with ANBU surrounding them. Gaara looked nervous but Naruto kept reassuring him everything was okay as they walked towards the hotel.

The Sandaime smiled as they talked, as it was mainly Naruto consoling Gaara, and let his thoughts focus on something else.

He knew that the boys were in danger now. The council might have agreed to the treaty but the Kazekage didn't. He knew the man would be willing to do anything to get his hands on more power for Suna and now that he knew that Naruto was also a jinchuuriki, his grandson had a target on his back. Jinchuuriki were the untimate symbol of power for a village and now Suna had none.

He had to get them out of Suna. He had to get Jiraiya. He had to make sure the boys would be safe in Konoha. He had to prepare to boys for the future. He had so much to do in such little time.

-(line break)-

Naruto and Gaara got in Naruto's room, which still had burn marks all over the walls and scorched ramen cups and furniture. Gaara looked at Naruto, who had the decency to blush.

"Don't ask." Gaara nodded with a small smile on his face. He began to look around the room he would be staying in. Despite the burns, it looked very nice and wondered if there was a catch.

"Hey Gaara, do you want to play a game?"

The redhead in question looked up to see Naruto holding a pillow in each hand. He wondered what was going on until the blond threw it at him. He caught it with ease. "What do I do with this?" Naruto smiled.

"We can have a pillow fight."

"What's a pillow fight?"

"I'll show you. Me and Anko-neechan have them all the time." He then pulled a reluctant Gaara onto the bed. The boy had no idea what a pillow fight was. He was afraid he or Naruto might get hurt. The 'fight' implied they might get hurt so he was scared. He still wasn't used to touching people of things when he didn't expect them.

"Okay, we lightly hit each other with these pillows for fun. Trust me, we won't get hurt."

Gaara nodded but didn't look fully convinced.

Naruto knew that Gaara was scared. Scared that he still didn't have full control. The blond hoped that the seal was strong so Gaara could be normal. Gaara was like him. He knew that Gaara wanted someone there for him, and for now, that person was him.

"Are you ready?" Gaara nodded slightly but got tense at the situation.

"Go!" Naruto went up to Gaara and tapped him lightly with the pillow, causing the boy to look at Naruto.

It didn't hurt. It didn't cause pain. It was for fun. And it felt kind of funny too. Like a cloud hitting him on the side. Gaara looked to see Naruto smiling at him with a cheeky grin, so he smiled back and tried to hit Naruto. They little fight escalated to where Gaara wasn't scared anymore and simply fought with all he could against the blond combatant. The battle became more fun by the second until both boys got tired and land back on the bed. Gaara was sprawled out across the bed with Naruto right next to him.

He felt great! The first time he had ever had fun with a friend. It made him feel like he was on top of the world. He hit Naruto again with his pillow, still flat in the bed and got a funny whine in response. "Alright... you win."

Gaara felt something in himself stir, like a feeling of happiness but more. Like a bubbling tingling in his chest that wanted to get out. He didn't think it would hurt, and he felt too happy to care. He had no idea what it was so he let it out.

With that, Gaara laughed for the first time in his life.

Naruto looked at his friend laughed along with him.

It was a fast growing friendship.

-(line break)-

Naruto got up in the morning to see the Sandaime standing there next to the bed. He shook Gaara awake from his slumber, as his jiji probably had something important to talk about.

Gaara rubbed his eyes and looked around to see he was still in the burnt room with Naruto, his friend.

It wasn't just a dream.

It was real.

He felt ready to cry at this.

He really was getting a new chance in life, but this time it wasn't just a dream. A dream he would wake up from in the morning. It was all real.

It felt too surreal to him last night. He was afraid he made it all up and he would wake up in his bland room back at Yashimaru's house.

Yashimaru...

He for got to tell him that he was leaving. He decided he would go and tell his uncle before they departed. He didn't want to see his uncle upset.

The Sandaime spoke, getting Gaara's attention.

"Good morning Naruto-kun, Gaara-kun. How are you doing?"

"Good morning jiji. We're doing alright." Naruto said yawning.

"That's good. I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things. This involves both of you. Would you be okay with that, both of you."

"Sure thing jiji."

"Hai Hokage-sama."

The Sandaime smiled and sat down on the bed with both boys. They were now sitting criss cross next to each other, looking at the old man.

"Now, I know you explained everything to me and the Kazekage inside, but I want to hear anything you left out."

Naruto began to think about anything he left out when he told them. He went over everything. The deal, the fight, the sealing. He thought he explained everything until he finally thought of a little detail. He wasn't sure if he should but he knew that Jiji was trustworthy so he decided to tell him.

"Did I tell you about foxfire?" The Sandaime was curious of what 'foxfire' was. Judging by it's name, it probably had something to do with the Kyuubi. He wanted to find out so he lightly shook his head. "No, you have not told me. What is foxfire?"

Naruto then held out his hand palm up and closed his eyes. Gaara and the Hokage wondered what he was doing. They waited there for a few second until a ball of crimson fire burst forth from his hand.

The Sandaime was surprised by the flame. It radiated heat like no other fire despite only being the size of a ramen bowl, and it looked very dangerous. Dangerous yet beautiful. The crimson fire danced around in Naruto's hand as if it had a mind of its own.

Gaara realized what the fire was when it came out. It was the same fire he used to get passed his sand so he could save him. Gaara wondered what else there was to Naruto.

He realized that he didn't know much about the boy and that made him alittle sad. But he had alot of time to get to know him now. So he decided he would create a stronger friendship between them and get to know the blond better.

" Naruto-kun, that is amazing. I'm guessing the Kyuubi gave you this?" The Sandaime asked.

"Yeah, he gave it to me in exchange for a better place to run around in. So I gave him a forest and mountains and a river. He seems to like it."

The Sandaime didn't know how to respond to that and simply stared at the new kind of fire. "Is it a bloodline?"

"What's a bloodline?" The blond asked curiously.

"A bloodline is a skill or trait that can only be passed down through family. If you were to have family, then it would be passed down to them." The Sandaime explained.

"Uh... I don't know."

"Oi! Brat! It's me. I was listening in on the conversation. No, It's not a bloodline, but I can make it one, for a cost of course." He could tell the swindling fox was smirking in his head. He sighed at the conversation that was bound to happen later on.

During the pause of mental talking. The Sandaime studied Naruto. He seemed to be meditating in a way and looked of into space. About a minute later, he focused again.

"Kyuubi said it's not but he can make it one in the future."

"You can communicate with the Kyuubi no Yoko?!" The Sandaime asked. The blond was able to talk to the most powerful being on the planet by simply closing his eyes. That was going to be a headache later on. He just knew it.

-(line break)-

Suna was bustling around at the information that was repeased earlier that day. One of the council members told a few people about the decision and the news spread like wildfire, The demon was leaving. Many had cheered at this information, happy that their lives would no longer be threatened. Civilians and lower ninja cheered in the streets and smiled at the news.

Others were less happy, mainly older ninja. They knew that the loss of a jinchuuriki would make them look weak and they were already considered the lowest village. This would be a blow to their power. They needed to show their pride as a village by having a tailed beast. Many of them hated the jinchuuriki, but that didn't mean they wanted him leaving with such a valuable asset inside him.

While the news was quickly spreading all over, the Konoha group was finalizing their packing for the long trip.

The group was getting ready for the journey back. It would be quite strenuous on the group, especially the two young boys, but the Sandaime knew they were strong and could make it.

Naruto let Gaara borrow some of his clothes, so now Naruto was wearing a red shirt and Gaara tan one, both wearing shorts and new beige cloaks for the journey.

The ANBU were split up now so they could protect the boys and the Hokage. While they were in an allied village, the Sandaime told them that they should be alert in case someone makes a move on them.

The squad was just inside the gates when Gaara looked at the his village. His former village.

It was never home, but he would miss it. The sand, the breezes that came now and them. The buildings he would sit on to watch the sky.

Naruto noticed his friend zone out and put a hand on his shoulder. Gaara took notice of it but didn't move.

"You okay Gaara. Are you sure that you want to come with us?"

"Yeah..." he said quietly. He tried to visit Yashimaru earlier but he wasn't home. He tried to find him, but he was not in any place that he would usually hang out, so Gaara was forced to leave a note on the table explaining what was happening. He didn't like it, but he didn't have much time to do anything else.

"Suna was never my home. Maybe the sand, but not the people or the village." He looked to his friend with a soft smile. "Now I have a new chance in life. I have you as a friend, so that's a great start."

Naruto smiled grabbed Gaara's hand. He led the redhead to the Sandaime so they could leave.

The Sandaime watched the whole thing with happiness. They seemed to have formed a strong bond rather quickly. It was good for both of them and would help with the lack of relationships in their lives. Even if they weren't jinchuuriki, he could tell they would still be friends.

"Alright, we are heading out. The ANBU will be around both of you for protection so don't feel scared about the closeness. We have a long way to go if we want to get back to Konoha in time for you two to get some sleep."

"Hai, jiji"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Gaara was still uncomfortable around the village leader. The Kazekage was very harsh and would try to get him to train his sand. He subconsciously wondered if this man would do the same. While Naruto trusted him, he was still unsure.

"We are heading out then. Make sure you have plenty of water for the trip and food to eat. I want to make sure you are both ready for it."

Both boys checked their bags for anything they might need. Food, water, clothes, cloak, and ramen. The last one for Naruto.

Gaara was also fortunate that one of the Konoha ANBU made him a storage seal that held sand. He loved sand and realized that there was very little in Konoha, so he asked the Hokage if there was anything he could do. With a snap of his fingers, an ANBU jumped down and was asked to help him. She not only made seals for him but helped him move the sand into all them, so he could carry as mush as possible without weight. He thanked the cat masked ANBU repeatedly for her kindness, and put them in his bag.

"You ready Gaara?"

Gaara sighed before looking at the village one last time. This was not his home. He had a new one to start in Konoha. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Both boys strapped their bags to their backs and walked towards the gates with the Hokage and ANBU also ready to leave. The group walked out of Suna, leaving behind a village that will soon demand revenge for their loss of jinchuuriki and a drive to destroy Konoha.

((End Chapter 12))

Yay!

I know. I was short, but I had to do the transition chapter. The next chapter will be about settling in Konoha. The upcoming story after the time skip can either be a new story, like a sequel, or I can continue writing chapters for this same story. I'm leaning towards a sequel though to get more viewers though.

Please let me know what you think in the review and thank you for reading.