A/N: Quick note. I don't know if you guys have noticed but sometimes I underline things. Usually, the emphasis would be in italics just like it's written on the note before the chapter starts. Keep in mind, underline is the emphasis on thoughts or flashbacks since they're italicized. Also, this might be the last chapter that I post this week. I've been procrastinating on the homework that I'm supposed to do on break in order to write this... plus I need time to create an emotional chapter muahahaha

Now, onto the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

"Talking"- Normal speaking

"Demon/Summon" talking

Thinking (Normal)/ Thinking (Demon/Summon)

Mindscape talking and emphasis on a certain word

Chapter 13

3rd Person POV

Ibiki looked around the room and his eyes landed on Naruto. Ibiki wanted to sigh but he kept a poker face. "Now then, we will start the first test of the Chūnin Exam!" Said Ibiki. People started being on guard and gathered into their teams.

"Turn in your applications, and take one of these number cards in exchange and sit in the seat matching that number!" He explained as he took out a small piece of paper with the number 1 in it and put in inside a box that one of the many Chūnin that came with him held.

Everybody started making a single line and grabbed their numbers and looked for their seats. Naruto approached and saw Ibiki looking at him. He only smiled, grabbed his number and turned away. Ironically enough, he sat in the same seat, and 2 rows ahead of Gaara. Naruto sighed dramatically as he saw his team being so dispersed through the classroom.

Once everybody was seated, he heard a small voice. "Naruto-san.. let's do our best." Said Hinata who sat next to Naruto. Naruto only smiled and nodded. "You too Hinata. Do your best." Replied Naruto. Hinata looked away towards the front of the room. Naruto looked around and saw Kabuto all the way on the back of the classroom on the opposite side.

Naruto turned to pay attention and Ibiki started explaining out loud as well as written how the exam would work. "You guys are given 10 points each from the start! The written test has 10 problems as well. Each problem is one point. And this test is a point reduction system. You are deducted one point for each problem you get wrong!" He said as he finished writing on the board.

While he was explaining, the Chūnin started handing out the test upside down to each of the participants. But Naruto's mind was elsewhere. 'Ibiki... even though you are explaining... why did you have to turn and pose like that?' Thought Naruto as he bit his lip in order to not laugh. Ibiki turned to the examinee with a hand on his hip.

Kurama was chuckling because it seemed alright when everybody did that, but Ibiki with his body build and scary looking face... not so much. As if Ibiki knew what was going through Naruto's head, his eyes lingered slightly on Naruto and Naruto cheekily smiled.

"If you get 3 wrong, you'll have 7 points! Pass or failure will be determined by the total points of the three-person teams. There may be some who will be dismissed during the test without waiting for test grading." Explained Ibiki.

'He's planning something...' Thought Naruto as he looked at Ibiki. Ibiki put his hands in his trench coat pockets as he spoke again. "Keep in mind that if you cheat, 2 points will be deducted from your score. Also, in the case that even 1 person on the team gets 0 points...everyone on that team will fail!" Said Ibiki, causing an uproar in the classroom with people asking what he means by that.

'Wait... if you cheat you get 2 points deducted? Usually, it would be a failure the moment cheating is... I see. Sly... you're so sly Ibiki.' Thought Naruto with a chuckle. Ibiki snapped at the people yelling. "Silence!" He yelled. "The time limit for the test is 1 hour." He said, and the clock kept ticking until it exactly hit 12. "Begin!" Yelled Ibiki and everyone flipped the test and started answering it.

The clicking of the clock, pencils scribbling and an eerie silence of concentration ran through the classroom. Several proctors were seated through the back and the sides along with the front of the classroom. All of them had a clipboard at hand as they watched every examinee with hawk eyes.

Sasuke and Sakura were not paying attention to the test at the moment, instead, they thought of the rules that Ibiki had explained. Sakura in specific was pulling her pink locks of hair as she thought deeply and looked at the questions.

'This... the teams will get reduced anyway. These questions are difficult and are not the type that genin can answer easily. It's like a system inviting us to cheat... wait that's it!' Thought Sakura as she saw Naruto being relaxed while answering and Sasuke who had activated his Sharingan. 'We have to cheat without getting caught... this reduces a lot of competition.' Thought Sasuke as he started answering what he could at first and then started cheating.

Naruto looked at the questions and answered them with ease. Within a few minutes, the examiners started writing down names and then people started getting called out by their seat number. If one member was called out, the whole team was kicked out of the room. However, there was one question, the very first one about coding.

'I can easily answer this but... maybe I should reply in code as well and then a translation that omits my message. What do you think Kurama?' Asked Naruto as tapped his pencil on the desk. "Are you going to leave that other type of coding so he knows what to look at?" Asked Kurama.

'Yeah. I will leave it on the paper in places that are the most often touched.' Replied Naruto. "Then go ahead kit. I think it will work. Just in case though, make a small note." Said Kurama. 'Ok, will do. Thanks, Kurama.' Replied Naruto as he started writing the answer to the question coded with an extra piece in the middle.

While he was doing that, he was making bumps and creases on the corners. Just to be safe, he made them more prominent by using his pencil. Once he was done, he covered his paper and face as if he was going to take a nap but actually went to his mindscape.

Kurama? He asked as he walked around the pond. Kurama was resting on a branch near the pond. "What is it kit?" He asked as he kept his eyes closed. Can you... Can you please hug me...? Asked Naruto as he looked at Kurama. Kurama opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow, but got down in a flash.

"What's wrong, kit?" He asked. There are so many things... Gaara... that Kabuto guy... the exams... bad premonition. What should I do? Asked Naruto, his voice raising in time higher and higher as he almost went into an anxiety attack. Kurama hugged Naruto and started to rub small comforting circles on Naruto's back as he patted Naruto's hair with the other hand.

Naruto came back a few seconds before Ibiki yelled that time was up. When he said that, people stopped writing and turned their papers to the blank side. "Alright listen up!" He said. "The written part of the test is over, as you would have noticed, there were only 9 questions. Now we have the final question. Listen carefully because I will not be repeating myself." Said Ibiki as he walked around the front of the classroom with his hands in his pockets.

"You guys will decide whether or not you will take the 10th question!" Said Ibiki and team 7 immediately noticed the room got a few degrees colder. "If you choose not to take the exam, then your score will be zero. In other words, you fail! And of course, the same goes for the two others in the same group." Said Ibiki with a sadistic smile. Naruto wanted to sigh and roll his eyes at Ibiki, but he didn't want to tick off the man.

"Now... If you choose to take it and are unable to answer it correctly... then you will have to...relinquish your right of taking the Chūnin Exams forever!" Said Ibiki, dramatically but not that anyone would notice as he said it since he spoke in a serious tone. When the words registered, a lot of the ones taking the exam flipped and started asking why should they.

"Shut your traps!" Yelled Ibiki. "Those who will not be taking it, raise your hands! Once I confirm your number, I'll ask you to leave!" Said Ibiki. It was silent for a few seconds... until someone raised their hand.

It was the person next to Naruto. The person that raised their hand stood up, and so did their team. At first, it was a guy from Konoha, then more people started to raise their hand. 'Are you serious? Are they really falling for THIS? Not that I'm complaining since it reduces competition either way.' Thought Naruto, to which Kurama just laughed.

Naruto looked around and saw almost half of the classroom empty. 'Should I be dramatic? Because I feel like Ibiki might call on me anyways.' Thought Naruto. "Do it! Make a great speech kit!" Said Kurama while laughing his ass off. Naruto wanted to laugh too but instead opted for shaking his shoulder as if he was crying.

He started to raise his hand, and the rest of team 7 looked at Naruto worriedly. Ibiki tried not to look amused but wanted to smirk so bad at what was gonna happen. Naruto kept his hand up for a few seconds and then slammed it into the desk while glaring at Ibiki.

"Don't underestimate me! I won't run away! I'm not a coward. I'll take that damn 10th question even if I end up being stuck as a Genin forever! I will become the greatest shinobi I can be, hell! I will become Hokage if I so wish to do that! I will accomplish my goals no matter what it takes! Because that is my ninja way, and I never go back on my word!" Yelled Naruto.

The other examiners wanted to smile as they saw that the cloud of fear and doubt that surrounded the remaining exam takers, was suddenly gone after Naruto spoke. "I'll ask again. It's a choice that will alter your life as a shinobi. If you want to quit, now is your chance!" Said Ibiki while looking intimidating.

"Like I said! I'm not going back on my word! So beat it Scarface!" Replied Naruto, adding a taunting tone on the nickname. "Kit! Did you really call bear man Scarface? He is so gonna kill you afterwards!" Said Kurama as he started laughing and rolling on Naruto's mindscape.

Naruto's teammates had smiled at first due to Naruto's speech... but calling the proctor, Scarface... they would only sigh as they hoped that Naruto did not get them kicked out. Ibiki's eyes twitched slightly as he looked at Naruto. 'Just because I have to act like I don't know you, doesn't mean I don't know where to find you brat!' Thought Ibiki as he glared at Naruto for a few seconds.

Ibiki kept his cool as he looked around the room. Determined gazes were directed at him. He nodded to himself slightly. "For those who are still here... the first exam... you have passed it!" Said Ibiki as he slightly smirked. Everybody in the room was shocked.

Temari had stood up after he said that. "What the hell do you mean!? Then what was that stupid written test for!?" She yelled, getting several comments that agreed with her."The objective of the nine questions has already been accomplished. It was to test your individual ability to gather information." Said Ibiki.

"Would you care to explain boy?" Asked Ibiki as he looked at Naruto. Naruto sighed and nodded. "In other words, this test specifically was designed under the premise that we would have to cheat without getting caught. Those that caught were disqualified and kicked out." Explained Naruto.

"And why is that?" Asked Ibiki. Naruto glared at him. "Test wise, 2 points were taken off every time you were caught. Get caught 5 times you get a 0. Now... shinobi career-wise, if you are caught stealing information during a mission, you will get tortured or killed." Said Naruto, grimacing a bit because he saw several torture sessions as a bystander, as an interrogator, and as a victim. The latter made him shudder involuntarily, which Ibiki noticed.

"Alright, that's good enough. Thanks for the explanation." Said Ibiki. 'This sadistic bastard... He knows I hate that topic the most.' Thought Naruto as he looked at his team. Ibiki then took off his headband that covered his whole head and forehead.

People jaws dropped in awe as they saw a few of many scars that Ibiki had. "Information, depending on the time and situation, it will be more valuable than life. And in a mission or on a battlefield specifically, just like explained by this boy, will get tortured to get that information out no matter what method they have to use." Said Ibiki as he pointed at the dents and huge vein like scars that he had.

He was going to speak more but he looked out the window as a figure approached. Rolling and crashing through the window, 2 kunai's were thrown to the ceiling as they hanged a mantle. Just below it was a crouched figure that stood up and showed her... ahem.. feminine assets thanks to her clothes.

"Listen up boys and girls, I'm the second exam proctor, Anko Mitarashi!" Introduced the woman in front of the banner. "Anko... You're early... too early." Said Ibiki as he sighed. "What's the problem with that?" She asked as she started to scan the classroom.

She started counting without paying attention to who was there. "81 people passed!? You've gone soft Ibiki! Well... not that it matters. Less than half will make to the next test." Said Anko. People screamed at her in outrage since they felt insulted. However, this time she scanned the faves of the participants and found Naruto looking out the window. His face showed worry.

Anko looked over to where Ibiki was and he shrugged. She sighed. "You know... I was going to make you guys head to the location for the second exam right away but... I'm feeling generous right now! So meet me at Training Ground 44 tomorrow at 10 am. Don't be late!" She said as she jumped out the window.

"Prepare yourselves for tomorrow. The next part won't be easy. You're dismissed." Said Ibiki as he started collecting the exams. He saw how when the Suna team with the redhead left, Naruto started chasing after them and ignored the calls from his teammates. 'I wonder what got his pants in a twist...' Thought Ibiki as he approached Naruto's desk. There he saw the paper and grabbed it but felt the bumps and ridges.

He checked around to see the room empty and that nobody was outside. He felt the bumps and edges and understood the message. "Read question 1." It said. So Ibiki did just that to find right away a sentence that wasn't translated. "We have a rat in Konoha, horseshoe crab. Tell Hokage about this." It read. He put the paper at the very bottom of the stack and went into his office.

When he got there, he saw Anko eating her dangos and sitting on his desk. "What's up with the brat?" She asked. "You tell me." Replied Ibiki as he handed her Naruto's exam. Her eyes widened and turned to Ibiki. "I'll tell the Hokage right now!" She said before crumbling the paper and putting in in a safe place on her trench coat as she ran to the Hokage's office.

Meanwhile, Naruto had started to chase Gaara around the village. He had separated from his siblings and was walking all over Konoha, getting into crowded places in order for Naruto not to catch up with him. So Naruto had taken the roofs.

Kurama felt the conflict that started to build up in Naruto's mindscape, so he ended up helping him find that raccoon boy. "He's heading to a less populated area. Catch him there. Now!" Said Kurama, to which Naruto followed.

He landed right in front of Gaara. Gaara looked at Naruto with a poker face and turned away. He started walking away but Naruto grabbed Gaara's shoulder. Gaara shook him off and walked away even faster but Naruto grabbed Gaara's arm.

"Leave me alone!" Said Gaara as he took his arm away from Naruto's grasp. The sand never reacted to Naruto and Gaara was having trouble with not getting grabbed by Naruto. "No! Tell me what happened! Why do you hate me!?" Yelled Naruto, tears brimming his eyes. Gaara felt guilty for a second but he then glared daggers at Naruto who flinched.

He was used to those glares but he didn't mind after a while, due to it being people who didn't understand his pain. But coming from Gaara, another Jinchuuriki who also experienced the same things to a certain degree... It hurt. Really badly, that his heart just clenched painfully as if someone was squeezing it with all their might.

Kurama tried to soothe the pain by whispering comforting words and spreading a feeling of warmth and concern through the chakra that flows in Naruto's body. "Gaara... please... don't look at me like that... Not you too..." whispered Naruto, loudly enough so Gaara could hear him but not the people that were walking around them on the street.

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow until he saw Naruto's shoulders shaking really badly, a slight sniffling sound coming from him and when Naruto raised his head just slightly, through the gaps of his hair... Gaara saw Naruto full on crying. Shukaku was yelling with all his might from where he was sealed but could still be heard by Gaara, telling him not to believe Naruto, that he will betray him just like years ago.

However, Gaara ignored Shukaku's yelling and approached Naruto who flinched and looked away. Gaara stopped abruptly also... Not because of how Naruto reacted... although that was about half of it. The other half was the villagers that stood behind Naruto. They were smiling, and their eyes showed that happy mirth at seeing Naruto cry.

Gaara frowned as he looked at the villagers and then at Naruto. Shukaku's yelling was giving him a headache but he withstood it and grabbed Naruto's hand pulled him into his chest. His insides were just screaming "protect him!" And that's what he did... sort of. He was the one that caused it, but this needed to be solved. He engulfed himself in a cocoon of sand as he hugged Naruto, and teleported away to a random training area.

Kurama would usually interfere but since he is basically inside Naruto, all of his feelings were portrayed in his mindscape. The sky that Naruto had made was cracking and instead of blue, it was turning gray. Even though he tried to soothe him, his kit... He knew his words wouldn't reach him when he is in this state. But Gaara's might, so just this once, would he let Gaara be close to Naruto.

When Gaara landed safely with Naruto holding tightly onto Gaara's shirt and silently crying, Gaara couldn't help but comfortingly pet his head. "Don't cry Naruto." Said Gaara as he pulled Naruto's face away. His lively blue eyes were dull. Hurt and sadness were obviously shown in his usual hopeful and lively cerulean blue eyes.

"Then... please tell me what I did wrong... I'll fix it. If I need to change anything I will..." said Naruto, his voice breaking with his heart-wrenching sobs. Gaara had to look away as his face also showed pain. "If you insist. I'll tell you." Said Gaara, Naruto nodded in response.

Flashback

During Naruto's mission that he did while working for the old man Hokage, he had visited Suna for a 2-week mission. Naruto hanged out with the sand siblings when he didn't have to follow the orders of the Kazekage and just had fun playing with Gaara on the sand dunes outside the village. When he left, however, he hadn't thought of the malicious plan that was being worked behind him when he was gone one day during his stay.

Naruto's mission consisted of killing any potential dangers to Sunagakure and help the supplies that came from Konoha into Suna across the desert. Within the 2 week stay he was constantly gone for up to 2 days every so often, maybe even half a day. But during one of those days he had to be gone for 2 days during his 2-week long mission, he was framed without knowing.

A day after Naruto was gone, Gaara was going to ask his father for material to study in order to become a shinobi, just like Naruto was one at his age. When he approached the door, he was about to knock until he heard voices. One from his father and another that sounded very familiar bit couldn't quite point from where.

"Did you do it?" Asked the Kazekage. "Get Gaara attached to me? Then I surely did." Replied "Naruto" as he bowed in order to show respect. "Does he suspect anything at all?" Asked the Kazekage yet again. "No. He really believes that he is my friend. He's really naive for even thinking that. And he says he wants to be a shinobi, what a disgrace." Replied "Naruto" with venom in his voice.

"Thank you for acting so naive in order for him to grow attached to you." Said the Kazekage. "It is no problem. Ninjas are tools, those that are not useful should be disposed of. That is also a rule we Konoha nins follow." Explained "Naruto".

"It is sad that your mission didn't entail that you could follow my orders. Otherwise, you could have easily killed Gaara since his sand doesn't act up again you... right Naruto-kun?" Said Rasa the Kazekage as he smirked when he glanced at the closed door.

"That is right. I could kill that monster if you ordered me to Kazekage-sama." Replied "Naruto" with an evil smirk as he looked at the door. Rasa knew Gaara was listening into the conversation by accident, but this would work well for the future plans he had in mind.

On the other side of the door, Gaara who had deeply trusted Naruto started crying. He was silently crying but didn't want his father to hear his breakdown, so he ran away into the sand dunes outside of the village. When he got there, the only thing he could do was scream in agony as he kneels on the sand, clutching his head as he heard a voice.

"Nobody loves you. So why don't we take revenge? Just like they turned their back you, turn your back on them when the time is right." Said the voice, which Gaara recognized as Shukaku. Gaara stopped whimpering as he questioned the voice.

"Nobody... loves me? Why... why is it always me...?" Asked Gaara in a broken whisper. "No. Nobody does or ever did. It's all an act. In order to use you... and in the end, use me." Replied Shukaku. "What should we do? I don't want to be used and then betrayed just like now... what should I do Shukaku?" Asked Gaara.

"First, abide by your own quote. Live for yourself, and prove your existence. Kill those who hurt you!" Yelled Shukaku. Gaara was listening and his heart was slowly being pulled into the darkness as he heard Shukaku's ramble on how humans are rats and greedy for money, fame, and power.

"Trust no one but yourself. Live for yourself and prove your existence. Eradicate any and all who harm you or look at you wrong." Whispered Shukaku, taunting Gaara even more. "Yes... I shall do that Shukaku. But I need strength, will you lend it to me?" Asked Gaara.

"Yeah. I'll make you strong, but take this damn seal away and we have a deal." Said Shukaku. Gaara was a bit afraid, but he decided to make the deal. He went to his mindscape and pulled the paper seal that was located on the chains tying Shukaku down. While Gaara was taking the seals off, Shukaku spoke.

"You know... there is a ritual that can bind people to you. Demons or holders of said demons like yourself can do this too." Said Shukaku, making Gaara pause. "Ritual?" He asked.

"Yeah. A mating ritual. If you mate with this person, no matter how much you hurt them for them to kill themselves or try to run away and leave you, they won't be able to. Because they're bound to you. If they try to kill themselves, their body automatically will stop them even if they don't want to. If they leave, they can't have a relationship with anyone else." Explained Shukaku, while hiding his mirth and smiled.

"Isn't that basically making them prisoners?" Asked Gaara as he took off the remaining seals except for 2. He wanted to know Shukaku's intention before he finished the whole releasing process. "It is... but don't you think it's a nice revenge? Against Naruto that is." Replied Shukaku.

"What do you mean?" Asked Gaara confused. "He hurt you, so take revenge. I can feel the adoration the fox has for that Naruto kid. So, fight with him to make Naruto your mate. Make him fall for you and when he accepts the mating ritual with you... crush his mind and heart. Make him an empty shell. Just crush him and when he becomes like that... kill him." Said Shukaku, letting the joy be voiced for his plan.

Gaara looked at Shukaku and took another seal off. One more paper seal to go. He started peeling it but stopped halfway. "You better keep your part of the deal then Shukaku." Said Gaara as an evil glint took over his eyes as he smiled maliciously as he finished taking the seal off.

He was immediately kicked out of his mindscape and started to scream in agony as he grasped his head. The sand around him moved crazily in spirals until a specific strand of sand made it's way towards Gaara. Gaara screamed some more as he felt the pain of the sand piercing his forehead and engraving something.

The symbol being engraved was "love". Once that was done, Shukaku laughed maniacally as Gaara passed out on the Dunes. A day later, ninjas were ordered to find Gaara who hadn't come home. They found Gaara passed out and started panicking but that precise moment Gaara started to stir awake.

When he woke up, they took him back to the village for a checkup. Once that was done, he started training. Training and more training with his sand as he smiled. But it wasn't the kind smile Gaara had a few days prior, it was sinister. 'I have to act like nothing happened.' Thought Gaara as he started planning his revenge on Naruto.

A/N: This smile basically while he trained but imagine a small Gaara around the age of 8 or so. (Once again, picture is on the actual site I publish first in aka Wattpad). XD but it's that creepy maniac like smile Gaara had during the Chūnin Exams.

When the real Naruto returned, Gaara had started to act a bit clingy and started to show his "interest" and that is when Kurama had explained about the mating and also confessed his interest for the kit, causing the war between Kurama and Gaara.

Flashback End

"That is what happened. And since I didn't know how different the chakra was to yours, I assumed it was you." Finished Gaara, and Naruto looked so furious. He was not mad at Gaara but whoever used him as a bait, in this case, Gaara's father the Kazekage.

Although he knew that they framed him thanks to Temari and Kankuro, he didn't know what Gaara had heard and now everything made sense. "So then... this whole fight with Kurama and everything due to the mating was due to you trying to get revenge on me by following along Shukaku's plans?" Asked Naruto. Gaara looked away guilty.

"Yeah. It started off like that but my mind was always wavering on whether to continue with Shukaku's plan or not. I've been confused for years so I don't even know anymore." Replied Gaara as he looked at the blue sky above them. When Shukaku had suggested on mating with Naruto and then tell him about the invasion to hurt him, he knew that was wrong.

That is because somewhere in the deepest part of his mind, he had another horrible idea that could hurt Naruto just as bad as that betrayal. And when Gaara noticed how to hurt Naruto, which was due to him rejecting Naruto and glaring at him just like the villagers had dome to both of them, that evil thought just resurfaced. 'Keep your friends closer but your enemies closer. I don't have friends, but I do have an enemy. Naruto.' Was the train of thought Gaara had at that moment.

He shook his head and hugged his knees. Naruto was watching him but the feeling that Gaara's thought held, did not vanish fast enough. Naruto felt the evil intentions towards him but he also felt the confusion. "Gaara... I really wasn't lying when I said you are precious to me and that you are my friend. Even more so because we are so similar." Said Naruto, as he held Gaara's hand.

Gaara tightly shut his eyes as he took deep breaths. 'Don't act up... please... don't resurface...' He thought. "Gaara... please look at me... don't do this... I'll tell you something very quick. I'm a pretty bad liar. I will tell you my story before I met you and what I've done. That includes some classified information. Please look at me in the eyes and tell me at the end... If you tell me that I'm a liar..." Said Naruto before his voice broke.

Naruto gulped down a sob as his voice shook. "If you say I'm a liar... I will disappear from your life... this will probably be the last time I see you in Konoha if this happens. I will avoid anything related to you if that is what you wish for. So, please... let me explain myself... And get to know me..." Said Naruto.

Naruto knew, that he was hurting. Although Sasuke was his first friend, Naruto carried almost half of the burden that Itachi did. He knew that he could get killed if the Old Man Hokage finds out about him spilling the S class missions he had done.

He loved Gaara, he really did... but he didn't know which type of love it was. He had shut down those emotions to get attached so he wouldn't be weak when someone was in danger. Naruto didn't think he deserved to have emotions, but to say that all the smiles he had given and good deeds were fake, it was about 90% lies.

While he did cherish some people, he couldn't trust them 100%. And he knew, that once he explained all of his flaws and all the lies he has said and done, that the friendship he actually wanted to keep, was more than likely going to disappear. "Ok... then, tell me Naruto, what are you so guilty of?" Asked Gaara as he looked into Naruto's eyes. Fear was obviously in his cerulean eyes. "I..." He started.