Another long one huh? Looks like this morning update thing is really working out. Hell, I had this thing finished yesterday evening. That and I picked up my schedule of one page of writing per anime episode/manga chapter. Anyways, here it is, fresh from the creepr corners of my mind.

Disclaimer: I'd hate to be around Terumi Mei when she's drunk. That girl throws up and the entire place collapses.

What lies within

The afternoon sun hit the brown earth, leaving the road with a stuffy air that allowed for little to no comfort. The trees hanging over the ledges high above seemed to visibly droop under the sweltering heat. Even insect life seemed to have a tough time doing anything productive, though they were usually so efficient.

The small procession moved through what looked like a miniature valley, with earth walls on both sides and the plants above increasing the height. If there was a word to describe this place, it was "damp." The servants' feet sunk a little into the ground as they carried the carriage with their precious cargo inside. The single platoon of thugs acting as guards were constantly wiping sweat from their brows, stains appearing on their cheap clothing and causing a smell in the air.

"Man, why the hell am I here?" Naruto grumbled, walking with his arms folded in front of him. As much as he had emphasised how dull this mission sounded, he had been the one chosen to take it anyway.

"Yagura-san will be looking for more missions while Utakata-san checks the bounty files."

Naruto was seriously beginning to regret supporting the motion to make Gaara the unofficial leader. True though it was that he was probably the only person who could fulfil that role, but it was annoying nonetheless.

"Hey, I should be the one complaining." Fuu mumbled, pouting into her folded arms as she walked alongside him. Of all the people she could have been paired off with, he was the last person that she would have wanted.

They had trudged along for an hour now, if the mission itself wasn't bad enough the snail like progress certainly added to their displeasure. In that time they had only covered a few miles, to which Naruto could easily have made several trips by now. And judging from the looks he received from the big figures padding through the trees above, this was also one of the most disappointing "walks" the dogs had ever been taken on.

"Hey, Ojiisan!" Naruto called, walking alongside the carriage and rapping his knuckles across the wooden corner. Though they had arrived early as instructed, they had not met with the person they were escorting as they were told they would be. In fact, that person didn't show up until it was time to leave, and by then he already occupied the fancy box he now sat in, "Think we can move a little faster?"

The veil of bamboo that stood between Naruto and his employer shifted as the person inside moved it. A hand appeared and lifted it aside, a face appearing from the shadows. That face looked straight at Naruto's, his expression deadly serious.

"Yo." Said the thug Naruto met yesterday. Naruto stared back at the man, his brow both rising and creasing at the same time. Then the penny finally dropped, and he took a step back with a startled look on his face.

"EH?!" he exclaimed, his eyes bugging out in shock. The thug maintained his set expression, raising his free hand into the two fingered salute Naruto had given him just the other day.

"Please take good care of me!" the thug proclaimed, in an overly enthusiastic tone. He seemed to be rather pleased with Naruto's reaction, his smile was much more than a greeting. Naruto however was still too surprised.

"Y-y-y-y-y-you're the guy we're escorting?!" he demanded, disbelievingly. The thug gave a gratuitous nod, before giving the veil a hard enough shove to lay it across the roof of the carriage. He then sat in a cross legged position, his hands on his knees, looking almost like a respectable person.

"Mokamoto Kensuke, pleased to make your acquaintance." He announced, giving Naruto the peace sign. Despite his perceptiveness of Naruto's shock, he seemed blind to the rising killer intent emanating from the glaring boy's body.

"I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna kill him!" Naruto hissed, trying to claw his way towards Kensuke with Fuu gripping him from behind. He dragged the girl along, his fingertips digging into the earth as he moved closer.

"Calm down, we won't get paid if we kill our employer!" Fuu said, putting all her weight into slowing Naruto down.

"Tch." Naruto grumbled, rising to his feet. He brushed dirt from his clothes and stomach, fortunately the earth wasn't that damp, "I guess you're right."

"You're going to be really troublesome, aren't you?" Fuu asked, giving Naruto an exasperated look as she got to her feet too. From the carriage, which had already moved a considerable distance ahead, Kensuke leaned out to look at the two ninja.

"Hey, if you lovebirds are done rolling in the mud, you think you can get back into position?" he called out, using his hand in a ditch attempt to make his voice as clear as possible. This time it was Naruto's turn to hold Fuu down as she made for Kensuke, her killer intent even more venomous than Naruto's.

"Hey hey, he's our employer remember?" Naruto said, gripping Fuu's ankles and keeping her from progressing.

"Like I ca-" Fuu began in a whining voice. But then Naruto's hand clamped against her mouth, muffling her words before she could finish, "Hmph?!"

He had almost missed it, seeing Koyane perk up like he did. The large dog had turned his head to the left in a sudden motion, fixing his eyes upon something out of Naruto's sight. But after a few moments of slight glances, Koyane just looked down at Naruto, it seemed like it was nothing after all.

"Never mind." Naruto said, as he began to move off. He halted however, as he felt something strange. Fuu was unseasonably hot. He glanced down at her, failing to interpret her embarrassment, "What's up with- HEOW!!!"

He leapt back from shock, falling on his ass as he grabbed his hand. He could see the bite marks clearly, there was no doubting Fuu's dental hygiene. He looked over to the girl he had pinned just moments before, seeing her shoot him a glare as she rose to her feet.

"What did I do?" he thought, as Fuu stormed off after the convoy. He got up to his feet, brushing dirt off himself again as he walked on too. He stared with a deep frown, who the hell bit people these days?

"You do realise you were just on top of her right?"

Naruto paused, his eyes glazing over as he thought back to just a few seconds ago. His eyes suddenly widened to their fullest extent, and he came to realise the reason Fuu's body had been so warm.

"EH?!" he exclaimed again, wearing the same expression he had given Kensuke with the added bonus of a full face flush to top it off. A couple of the guards glanced back at him with wary looks, but Fuu did her best to completely ignore him.

"Sometimes you make me wanna cry."

"Come on!" Utakata said, lightly shoving Yagura on the back. The short boy stumbled into the lounge of the base, shooting a nasty look to his close friend who simply returned a smile. They both turned their faces to Gaara, who had been looking through some bounty files on the sofa up until their arrival.

Now however, the three Jinchuriki were watching each other, the two stoic ones waiting for someone to speak. Utakata looked between the two boys, realising he would have to take initiative here if they were to get anywhere. And so he let out a sigh, before speaking up.

"Niisan and I have been talking, and we've come to an agreement." He said, ignoring Yagura's objecting look, "If we're going to improve, then it's best to make use of the advantages we have over everyone else. I think it would be a good idea if you and the others learned to control your Biju."

Gaara's eyes narrowed doubtfully as he looked at Utakata, then to Yagura. It was true that he had thought about such a thing, especially after reading Yagura's file. But he had put off doing so until they had a more secure way of living and could afford to take time training. However, recent developments made him reconsider that idea, Naruto's contribution to Yoinokuchi's account was one such example.

"You think it can be done then?" he asked, leaning on his knees and raising his hands and holding them in front of his face. Utakata nudged Yagura, who took a step away in annoyance.

"Yeah, it's doable." Yagura said, his furrowed brow and averted gaze suggesting he didn't really want a part of this. But he knew the point had been stressed too much, and Utakata had been right in what he had said, "But it won't be fast, easy, and definitely not fun."

"As far as I'm aware, we aren't in this for entertainment." Gaara said, sitting back and picking up another sheet of paper. He began looking it over, even while his thoughts were still on the current conversation, "Wait until Naruto gets back then, we'll have him train first-"

"No, that's a bad idea." Yagura interrupted, earning Gaara's eyes once more. The red haired boy stared at the former Mizukage, who bore a look that was both serious and unwilling, "This process has a high chance of letting the Biju within take control. If it comes down to that, I'll have to step in and probably take the Biju on myself. But I possess only the Sanbi, so that means…"

Gaara watched Yagura for several long moments, long after the boy fell silent. He understood now why they waited for such a time to bring this up, when Naruto wasn't present. They intended him to be the one to learn, that was what they were getting at.

He put down the piece of paper he was holding; such a thing held no importance right now. He slouched forward again without taking his eyes off of Yagura. In those few, silent seconds, Gaara had an idea that he understood that person a little better. For him to have that worried look, clearly the Sanbi wasn't as docile as Gaara had thought.

"All right, I understand." He said, rising to his feet. He stepped towards Yagura and Utakata, standing just in front of them with the look not of a leader, but of a fellow Jinchuriki, "What shall I do?"

Even though Gaara had given his consent, Yagura still wore a reluctant look. He said nothing though as he turned around and descended the pathway, with both Utakata and Gaara close behind.

They made their way out of the building and towards the earth below, where they continued on away from the base to somewhere appropriate for the coming task. They walked on in complete silence, Utakata was the only one who would be willing to converse with the other two, but he could sense the atmosphere and so kept quiet as well.

It wasn't long before they reached a suitable clearing, stepping out into a small lagoon in the midst of the trees, almost completely separated from the sea outside by the earth ridge running around it. Gaara looked around this murky place, Yagura had certainly taken quite a look around. He had been unaware that this was here, and he had spent the last couple of days researching maps of the area.

"With this sort of terrain, the Sanbi should be able to stop the Ichibi if things go too far." Yagura said, as they left the earth and stepped down onto the sand that was a very small beach.

Gaara noted the quality of the sand, it was hardened by the moisture, but that could be remedied. He made a mental note of this area's location, it was handy to have a natural store of sand in mind. However he didn't let that distract him from their purpose, he stepped down beside Yagura and looked out to the lagoon.

"Now what?" he asked, turning his eyes over the rolling waves that set out to the distant horizon. Though they were considerably calmer than what would be at the sea itself, it had that same soothing fashion that calmed many people. Gaara however, had his attentions set on other things.

"The training I went under can't be perfectly replicated, I don't think there is a place like that anywhere else in the world." Yagura explained, setting his staff down on the sand and moving so that he stood several metres in front of Gaara, "This will have to be improvised, we don't have much choice. I'm going to place you under a Genjutsu, it should do the same job even if to a lesser extent."

Gaara folded his arms, improvisation didn't exactly appeal to him. However he agreed that they were starved for choice, and in truth he also had a desire to see this thing through, to quieten that voice which had troubled him for so long. Yagura motioned for Gaara to sit, which he did, placing his hands on his knees as he crossed his legs on the sand. He then closed his eyes, just as Yagura began weaving through hand signs.

"Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu!" he called, his hand held on the rat seal.

Gaara listened as Yagura's voice echoed away, keeping his eyes closed until he was sure there was no longer any noise. When this was the case, he slowly opened them, coming to realise that both Yagura and Utakata were now gone. From the looks of things, he was the only person on this entire beach, the only person anywhere around.

However, his gaze came to settle on the sand before him, his eyes drawn to them by some mysterious force. The sand was steadily drying, the moisture fading away as if it had never been there in the first place. The area around also seemed to grow hotter, and the sun shone brighter too. Gaara lifted his gaze long enough to realised he was in the middle of a vast desert, before settling back onto the place he had been watching.

A light breeze came by, growing into a gust that scattered the sand away to the side. Gaara watched as that sand seemed to reveal something which lay beneath, pair of black ellipses and a red lettering sitting above the left side, the kanji signifying "love".

"Sabaku no Gaara." Gaara said, addressing the sand without the faintest flicker of a reaction.

The two ellipses slowly grew, white and green appearing inside as they became perfect, albeit much larger, apparitions of Gaara's own eyes. Those eyes watched Gaara, narrow and accusing, but at the same time familiar.

"They are alive." Spoke Sabaku no Gaara, his voice coming from nowhere and at the same time all around. It had been a long time, Gaara was certain now that this was the voice of his younger self, "Why are they alive?"

"Their death would be pointless." Gaara replied, folding his arms as he spoke to the him of the past.

"Foolish." Sabaku no Gaara said, his voice barely audible as his eyes narrowed, "Since when do I need reason to kill? To kill every living person other than myself, that is the world I seek."

"Killing insignificant people does nothing to prove my existence." Gaara replied, speaking in terms his old self may understand, "At the same time, there are those who I cannot allow to die."

"Do not deny yourself." Sabaku no Gaara murmured clearly, as an odd sheen appeared in his eyes. He then looked suddenly intense, and almost pleased despite his maintained persona, "Acting as though I am protecting others, when really I am using them to my own ends. When did I trade the joy of killing others for manipulating them?"

Gaara came to a pause, lifting his eyes to scan the area around him. It occurred to him that in this place, blind though he may be to the outside world, that Utakata an Yagura could very well be aware of him. To that end, he decided to choose his words with care.

"Who I am is for me to decide, and what I do is also that." He answered in as calm a voice as ever. Sabaku no Gaara listened closely to his words, but didn't seem to like what he was hearing, "Right now my focus is to complete the task given to me, and then take what has been promised."

Sabaku no Gaara and Gaara looked at each other, waiting to see which one would yield first. But it was a useless contest, they were one in the same after all. Sabaku no Gaara was far from convinced however, in fact he seemed even more confident in his own way of thinking than when he'd started.

"It looks like I really am still as selfish as ever." He said, his eyes narrowing again. Gaara looked up from the eyes to the distant dunes, he wasn't sure whether to agree or disagree with that. Sabaku no Gaara took his aversion as something else however, and acted on it, "Even though I act like a different person, do I truly feel alive?"

Gaara tensed, a very slight thing that was almost unnoticeable. As much as he wished to deny it, the Genjutsu was having an effect on him. He met the gaze of his former self once more, and remembered something he had heard a long time ago.

"The wind blows…" he said, speaking of the passing breeze.

"The endless sand stirs." Sabaku no Gaara continued, with a content look, "And settles-"

"Never the same again." they finished, in perfect unison. Sabaku no Gaara watched his older self for a few moments, before the wind picked up and he was scattered away. The sand that had created his form whirled around Gaara in a small tornado, steadily growing smaller until it settled on his skin. Slowly, he closed his eyes, and waited for the Genjutsu to end.

Naruto glanced over at Fuu, his brow furrowed in an uncertain look. Fuu had continued to ignore him since the earlier incident, not even looking his way as he stared. The convoy had been moving for several hours now, with no disturbance made as of yet. The only sounds were that of the small marching group, four men carrying the carriage while four others acted as guards. Overall that made up a group of eleven people, including them and Kensuke. However, with the only people looking remotely worthwhile to converse with being Fuu and Kensuke, he already knew what he was going to do.

"Sorry about… before." He said, keeping his eyes dead ahead as he spoke. He knew Fuu was listening, even if she refused to look at him, "I'm kinda out of touch, I didn't know what I was doing until it was done."

He waited for any sign of acknowledgment for his words, but after a few moments he began to think that she was still mad at him regardless of an apology. He was just about to say something that might have had the opposite effect he had earlier intended, but then he noticed Fuu's mouth open.

"Just forget about it, ok?" She asked, her pouting expression suggesting a desire to do just that. She kept her eyes away from Naruto, but he was pretty sure he could see the pink tint in her cheeks that revealed that moment was repeating itself in her head, "It was an accident."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief, he was glad that there wasn't a problem. Fuu looked up at him uncertainly, but when he flashed her a broad grin she couldn't help but smile back. Though it certainly didn't help with the colour of her cheeks.

"Phew, glad that's over with!" Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling inwardly, "Sorry again, guess I just thought of you as one of the guys, so-"

"Baka."

Naruto blinked in confusion, looking from Eko to Fuu. A ball of sweat dripped down from his brow as he found he could almost visibly see killer intent rising from Fuu again. This time however he realised his mistake, and quickly made to correct himself.

"I mean- uh-" he began.

"Hrrrrr!"

Naruto and Fuu both whipped their heads up to the right, looking directly at Kunimei. His growls drew the other dog's attentions, and soon all six of them were snarling in the same direction, their fur rising on their hackles as they bared their teeth.

"What's going on?" asked one of the guards, looking back to Naruto and Fuu with a wary frown. The other guards had come to a stop as well, and soon the carriage followed. All eyes were looking up at the dogs up on the right. Even Kensuke peered out to look curiously.

"I'm gonna check it out, stay close to Mokamoto-san!" Naruto ordered, grabbing Eko and running off. He bounded up the wall and joined Kunimei, leaving Fuu to take care of the task given.

"Right!" she said, hurrying over to the carriage. She leapt up onto the roof of the small box, taking a kunai and gripping it tight as she looked around. Kensuke looked up at her curiously, "Get this thing moving, and- STOP LOOKING THERE!" she yelled, throwing her Kunai down at the blushing Kensuke and clamping her knees together. Fortunately Kensuke ducked back inside just in time, before barking out an order for them to move.

The servants and the guards each got back to their march, increasing their pace as the guards slowed to surround the carriage. They each gripped their katana tight, prepared to unsheathe them at the slightest sign of trouble. But none of them were confident, they all knew of this cursed place and the rumours surrounding it.

"Hey, Naruto-san!" Fuu called, looking for the blond boy who had disappeared, "You find anything?"

She waited for a reply, but to her unease none came. Several moments of silence passed, she came to realise that even the dogs were no longer making any noise. In fact, she couldn't see anything up there at all, "Naruto?"

"Hey, what's happening?!" another of the guards demanded, his eyes set high above with a panicked expression.

"It's the curse!" yelled another, unsheathing his blade even with a trembling hand. Fuu looked between them and realised they were looking at the same place. Her head whipped up high, and she came to discover what had them so afraid.

There was an eclipse, a large dark orb blotting out the sun. Fuu had failed to notice because the light was already hindered, but when she found out what it was she immediately averted her gaze. She knew it was no good to look directly into an eclipse.

"Isn't this strange?" she thought, as visibility slowly diminished, "Why is there an eclipse at a time like this?!"

"Naruto!" she called out again. It almost felt like night now, the orb blocking the sun had now completely obscured it. That was impossible right? How could something be far enough away to obscure the sun, and then move close enough to completely hide it? Nothing could get so close so fast, and nothing was large enough in any case, "Is it… Genjutsu?"

Before she could really think it over, she was suddenly glared by an intense burst of light. For a moment she thought someone had thrown a flash bomb, but that turned out not to be the case. Whatever it was that had blotted the sun had suddenly disappeared, and they were all bathed in a light stronger than what they had started with. Almost as confused and dazed as the others, Fuu only managed to look up in time to find out the reason for the sudden disappearance of the darkness.

The leaves of the trees exploded in every direction as a figure burst forth, leaping back through the air with immense skill. He was a person dressed in a ragged black cloak, his face obscured by his arm. He held in his hands a short staff with a pair of curved blades on either end, gripping it tight as he raised his eyes.

Naruto came after him, leaping higher and descending down with the Ekokaeten raised above his head. The figure with a double bladed staff whirled around as the giant blade was swung down at him, defending just in time with a strike from his own weapon. Two blades made solid contact, and sparks flew as their owners recoiled and followed up.

The cloaked man was quick and flexible, able to defend against Naruto's swings even as gravity brought him back down. But Naruto was far from at a disadvantage, with each attack he would change his grip at a speed that was impossible to follow, and succeeded in giving his opponent absolutely no room to counter.

"Wow…" Fuu thought, as the two fighters disappeared into the other side of the valley. In that moment, she had seen Naruto fighting for the very first time. And in that moment, she realised he was a thousand miles out of her league.

Naruto and the figure crashed through the bushes, the former rolling while the latter slid back and kept his footing. The two met in a deadlock that caused a resounding clang, and their eyes met for the first time.

The person he was fighting was a man with a heavily scarred face, slash marks running across his eyes, nose and mouth. He looked like he had fought a wild animal, and had been at the worse end of that beast's weapon of choice. One of those scars ran straight through his black goatee, leaving hair unable to grow there. But his steely grey eyes were hardened, his resolution absolute. He broke the deadlock and swung around, just missing Naruto's midsection.

"So you're the guy behind this "curse" huh?" Naruto asked, as he dodged back and stepped in again with a swing, "Pretty complicated scheme for raiding travellers don'cha think?"

"Hmf, it's hardly travellers that I seek." His opponent replied, dodging the blade and jumping back, "This situation isn't profitable, I'll take my leave for now."

He stabbed his weapon into the ground and threw his hands into his cloak. Before Naruto could stop him, he whipped his hands back out, one holding a taut cord and the other gripping a gas mask.

"Shit!" Naruto thought, as purple smoke spilled from the man's cloak. He came to a stop and raised his sleeve to his mouth, holding off the smoke that already stung his lungs. He threw his other hand out to the side as he heard the thumping sound of Akira and the others moving to follow, and cried out, "No, stay back!"

He quickly leapt back out of the smoke, falling through the air until he landed back in the valley below. He kept his eyes fixed on the place above, feeling some relief as the six dogs leapt over to the other earth wall and away from the toxic smog.

"Naruto!" Fuu called, jumping down from the carriage and running towards him. Once he was sure that man was gone, he straightened up and slipped Eko onto his back again, "Who was that?!"

"… Dunno." Naruto replied, his eyes still fixed on that place. He was troubled by something, hence the serious look he now wore, "But I get the feeling he's alone, and he's been here for a while."

"Will he come back?" Fuu asked, looking in the same direction. She felt a little worried, this was the first time she had come so close to a Shinobi who was a possible danger to her. Though she didn't want to admit it, her heart was pounding. She looked at Naruto, remembering how easy he had made his fight look. He almost seemed to enjoy it. But right now he had a particularly intense look, one that she was sure she had never had to wear for a moment in her life.

"Yeah…" he said, in a low voice, "Definitely."