Chapter 54- United Front
Chapter Soundtrack: "Back & Forth" by Electric Guest
Naruto did not think it unusual when one of Suna's Sealing Corps commissioners dropped by the house to tutor him, per Gaara's invitation. He did not even think it particularly offensive that she, Maki, came over 15 minutes earlier than anticipated. He'd been awake for a while that morning, eating a vegetable-heavy breakfast and sampling exotic teas that Kankuro had brewed.
However, Gaara appeared quite annoyed that the commissioner showed up earlier than expected and had been invited into the home by Naruto, and consequently Maki beheld the Kazekage trudge into the kitchen in his pajamas, half-awake, taking a droopy-eyed swig of oolong before he even noticed she was standing there at the dining table.
Gaara sprayed his drink in surprise and yelled something incoherent, mostly at Naruto.
"We've got some baked carrots and stuff, if you're hungry." Naruto offered the guest to partake of the breakfast spread on the table.
"Thank you, Naruto-san, I'm fine." Maki detected that Gaara was overcoming his startlement, "I apologize that I arrived sooner than we agreed upon, Kazekage-sama. I just thought I should start the lesson as soon as I could, since the Sealing Committee might have an unscheduled meeting today…"
"…it's alright." Gaara sat down and accepted that he was underdressed and eating mushy carrots in front of someone who ought to have the most professional view of him possible.
Naruto was more personable, "What was your name again?"
"Maki." She was smiling.
"Yeah, that's right. Kankuro told me." Naruto remembered cheerfully.
"He is a very good friend of mine." Maki confirmed.
"Yep, he said that too. So you're a Sealing Commissioner? Isn't that the highest position in the Corps?"
"Short of the Director's position, the leader who oversees everyone in the Sealing Corps, yes. I preserve the most complex Sealing Techniques that protect our village, and that may be required for delicate missions." Maki politely helped herself to some carrots with a spare set of chopsticks.
"And it's okay for you to teach me a bit more about Prong-Seals?" Naruto was hopeful.
Maki glanced at Gaara again, who was bunched up in his seat and chewing sleepily, "It is if the Kazekage says it is."
"Yes. I want him prepared before he applies for a position in Leaf." Gaara granted.
"You seem better prepared than most applicants I've seen anyway." Maki estimated, "I've heard that Gama-sennin has been teaching you."
"He has been. He would've given me extra pointers today, but he went to check on a tip with Old Granny Chiyo first thing this morning. He said he'll be back by lunchtime and then bother Suna's council again." Naruto relayed the whereabouts of Jiraiya, since he and Temari had returned to the Sand Village.
When Temari did saunter into the room wearing a pretty dress with her fan tied in a sash at her back, her jaw dropped at the sight of Gaara, "Hey, why aren't you dressed? We have company!" She turned to Maki, "I'm sorry, he's usually ready—"
"No, no, I was early, Temari-sama!" Maki was contrite.
Gaara sighed theatrically to interrupt their chatter, "I have a few things to take care of this morning at the office. I'll be going there shortly."
"Right." Temari rested a hand on her hip, "And I'm heading south for an escort detail coming from the Land of Waves. I should be back in a few hours since he'll meet me half-way."
"Half-way?" Gaara scrunched his face curiously, "Who are you escorting again?"
"I'll be back by lunch. Don't get into trouble." Temari pecked the top of her brother's head affectionately, "See you later, Naruto, Maki." She waved farewell before trotting out of the room.
Naruto noticed, "She's energetic…"
"She's hiding something." Gaara assessed flatly over a final sip of tea.
"Maybe it's not my place to comment…" Maki contributed, "But why is it when a young woman is happy it's immediately considered suspicious?"
"If you lived with her you'd know." Gaara defended.
"She looked so pretty in that dress…" Maki muttered, as if she were rethinking her own practical, muted outfit.
Naruto paused in his chewing, "What if she got a boyfriend?"
"She's sworn off that sort of thing." Gaara recalled.
"As far as you know."
"…I'm going to get dressed." Gaara did not entertain the subject, "You can begin your lessons in the sitting room now." He retreated sleepily upstairs to change.
And so a rather pleasant morning commenced, at least in Naruto's opinion. He and Maki settled in the living area to go over the fundamentals of prong-seals, how to manifest them, their purposes, and in Naruto's words, "The best way to balance a bunch of 'em on your fingers…"
"Well…" Maki smiled dubiously, "I'm not sure exactly how to describe how it's done…to make multiple seals at once…it's like balancing a stack of plates on my head."
Naruto stilled and stared at her as he sat on a floor cushion, thrown by the suggestion.
"What I mean is that it's tricky that way, managing individual properties simultaneously to create a complete technique. You know that I didn't mean you should practice balancing plates on your head, right, Naruto-san?"
"Uh…no— I wasn't thinking that!" A swift denial.
Maki's lessons got clearer, and Gaara eventually reappeared downstairs in his staple Kage attire.
Then came the knock at the door. Gaara exchanged a wordless, quizzical look with Naruto and the tutor before answering and signing for a very strange-looking package. Maki's face grew slate serious when she asked Gaara, "The postal service delivered that directly to you? Shouldn't the Intel Corps clear it first, Kazekage-sama?"
"I don't think it's a bomb or poison." Gaara gave the puffed envelope a shake and heard something rattling inside.
Naruto was intrigued, "Want me to open it?"
"No, you're several degrees more fragile than I am." Gaara tore the perforated top off of the package and out slid a battered-looking VHS tape with a label reading: Friends from Kumogakure.
"Ohh, the Intel Corps should definitely check that." Maki muttered.
"Why's Hidden Cloud sending you something outside of an official channel?" Naruto wondered, getting enthusiastic with his theories, "Gaara, whoa! What if it's a bribe? Or like a dirty movie—? Maybe a kidnapping or ransoming thing—!"
"I doubt it." Gaara crossed over to an entertainment cabinet and turned on a dusty tape player.
Maki's worrying persisted, "What if it's a broadcast of a Genjutsu technique—?"
"Maki, those never work. Illusions are transmitted through live chakra, not these stupid recordings…"
Naruto sidled up to the television screen, far more excited than he was concerned. A front-and-center recording began, showing a peaceful courtyard with mossy stones surrounding a tall kunoichi in Cloud's black and white fatigues. Beside her was a bulky, dark-skinned man dressed similarly, standing with his arms crossed.
"That's Nii Yugito." Gaara informed his companions, "The jinchuriki of the Two-Tails."
"—!" Naruto's eyes went wide as he sat and vibrated with anticipation.
Maki chose not to speak over the recording as Yugito commenced a greeting.
"Kazekage-sama, I pray that you've been well. I hope you and your Tailed-Beast are having an easier time understanding one another. I put in a request with the Raikage to pay you another visit, but A-sama forbade me from leaving the village." Yugito extended her hand to the man standing beside her, "This is my comrade, B, and the guardian of the Eight-Tails. He is also under orders not to travel outside of Kumo, or associate with the jinchuriki of other villages."
Killerbee explained gruffly, "My big bro's being a punk about this!"
Yugito nodded, "Yes. We need to be able to communicate with each other. The Akatsuki can capitalize on our dividedness, and continue targeting us as individuals."
"—we are not messin' around! I don't normally do recordings for free, and I don't shrug off orders! This is some rebel shit—"
"B, please."
Killerbee coughed into his fist and settled down.
"When last we spoke, you told me that you are close with the Nine-Tail's jinchuriki, Naruto-san. Make sure that he is aware of what we are trying to do, Kazekage-sama." Yugito went on, "I am horrified that we lost Utakata-san so abruptly, after he was able to open up trade and discussion channels with the great villages through the Tide Village. We also believe that the Akatsuki has extracted the Three and Four tails thus far. As our villages seek to sequester us more for safe-keeping, we all know that it leaves us more vulnerable. It is unlikely that any council would ever agree to a coalition of jinchuriki banding together to defend themselves, in fear of what kind of result our combined defeat could entail…"
"No way we'd lose. They've got no sense of vision, only trust in division…" Killerbee did not agree with the assessment, "My dudes…we could even wear matching uniforms."
Yugito seemed to be mentally collecting herself after the suggestion. Naruto was squealing at the screen, as he evidently liked the idea. Gaara told him to pipe down.
"I am suggesting we take the lawful route first, petitioning our leaders to consider an emergency meeting of all Kage and jinchuriki." Yugito explained, "And if such a request is rejected or hung up indefinitely in bureaucratic traffic, we can organize ourselves in secret. Though I'm no fan of vigilantism or treason, we must consider the bigger picture. If we lose the fight against the Akatsuki, that organization will wield a force that will eventually crush all of our villages. Our way of life will be lost."
Gaara was muttering, "…Yugito. Do you really think my council is going to entertain an idea like that?"
"Like I said: rebel shit." Killerbee was grinning, "We'll do what we've gotta do, even if our leaders are fools. Ya hear me? I already sent a new rap to Han and the Five-Tails. We go way back. No way he's skipping out on our team—"
"B, there is no team yet."
"Yet? How do you hedge your bets?" He turned from Yugito to the camera again, "Yo, Sand-Tail, Gaara! There are no leaders younger than you— who see as far as you! I know you've got this. You and your pal— I know you're in this fight with us." Killerbee added, "Next we've got to find the Seven-Tails and extend our invitation…"
"Fū!" Naruto craned his neck to look back at Gaara, "We've got to tell her!"
"Tell her? What would we tell her?" Gaara sniffed, "I'm the Kazekage. Before I resort to unsanctioned, harebrained co-ops with other jinchuriki, I have to try to organize this the right way."
"But you just said your council won't listen!" Naruto barked.
Maki's eyes darted between the two of them. She was taking in way too much information.
"Naruto, I need to make the case to my advisors that their fear of confronting the Akatsuki now pales in comparison to their fear of facing the Akatsuki at a later date, with all of the power of the Tailed-Beasts behind them. Not everyone will agree. Maybe a majority vote could be reached."
"Yeah. And well…I don't know if Baa-chan would like this idea either…"
"I have to advocate for something like this properly. Even if it were approved, I don't think Suna's council would be enthusiastic about me parading around on an inter-village Counter-Ops squad and shirking my responsibilities here." Gaara imagined, "And if, in the worst case scenario, I died while supporting such an effort…it'd be prudent of me to recommend a candidate as my successor."
"Why do you have to think of that morbid stuff?" Naruto groused.
"Because I don't want my village hurled into chaos in my absence." A perfectly reasonable wish, to which Gaara tacked on, "I should put thought into who can lead Hidden Sand after me. I don't think my brother or sister would be interested, though they can handle most everything I already do."
Maki reminded them, "Uh, you're missing the video."
Gaara and Naruto snapped their attention back to the screen, watching Yugito give her closing remarks.
"We will be in touch soon, Gaara-sama. We won't give up on our villages seeing reason, and we will never stop resisting the Akatsuki." Yugito urged him, "Please, correspond with A-sama when you can. He is a proud and stubborn man, but his eyes are also trained on the future. He can't ignore this threat."
Beside the kunoichi, Killerbee began an impromptu rap:
How many times did I tell my bro-?
That the war ahead is the one ya don't see!
Idling over grudges— shit from long ago
While the biggest sacrifices are made by jinchuriki!
We'll love and bleed, build and feed our homes
'Til they let us go
Careless! Black-out! They don't see a Red Dawn
Like we do.
We're not pawns
We're born free!
Clapped in shackles
Lost shinobi.
The man then pointed a finger at the camera, "Are you feelin' me? We'll meet up soon."
When the footage ended in a crackle that seemed to suggest the video had been edited, Naruto slowly about-faced to address Gaara.
Naruto confessed quietly, "He's amazing. That "B" guy."
"Amazing is not the correct description for him. His spoken word poetry was unnecessary." Gaara disagreed as he extracted the tape from the player.
"You never really did appreciate performance stuff." Naruto nodded and folded his arms, "But that's fine, he and I can hang—"
"There will be no "hanging out" until I have this sanctioned. If I get this sanctioned…"
"Gaara, don't you feel a bit hopeful? Seeing jinchuriki much older than us— more experienced—!" Naruto's joy propelled him back up to his feet, "We've got a shot too! And they want to help us!"
"They do. Most other jinchuriki are reasonable, empathetic people." Gaara acknowledged, and he then turned to Maki, "Can you keep this to yourself for now, Maki? At least until I make any formal announcements."
She pantomimed an imaginary key locking in front of her smiling lips, then rose from her seat on the couch, "Who would I tell? I don't peddle in gossip. Besides, this is for you to figure out. I've always been willing to fight the Akatsuki, so I look forward to a more united front resisting them."
Gaara sighed, "We all do."
Naruto was a ball of eager energy, "So how do we draft an agreement? Oh! Should we make a tape of our own too? I'm stoked meet 'em—"
"You are going to stay here and study."
"Fine! But then afterward—!"
"I am not drafting this proposal until I've handled everything else waiting for me at the office." The Kazekage was striding toward the door, while Naruto and Maki waffled behind him uncertainly.
"Actually…I was thinking of bringing Naruto to the Text Office on the first floor of the Administrative Building." Maki explained, "I can show him how to use chakra paper to practice balancing multiple prong seals at once."
Gaara halted in the doorway, "You didn't bring that with you?"
"Well, not enough of it."
Gaara repeated, "I don't want him going outside without a suppression tag."
"Relax already, I've got my disguise. Ero-sensei is back in town anyway, and he said we'll be leaving in about a day…so just tell anyone who asks that I paid you another visit." Naruto fitted a pair of ratty sunglasses to his face, "No one's gonna ask."
Grumbling, Gaara allowed the two to accompany him several blocks through town to the Administrative Building, and they parted ways at the Text Office before he continued upstairs.
Maybe there was no point in fretting about Naruto being noticed in Hidden Sand. He'd been nervous while Jiraiya was away in the Water Country, but like a faithful boomerang the perverted Sage was back. Jiraiya was also making himself useful and investigating Suna's peripheries, intent on sniffing out any hint of enemy treachery. Gaara felt that they were in much safer hands at present. As it stood, Naruto needed to cram any study time he could now that he was set to leave for Leaf.
In the Kazekage's office, he flipped the light switch on, and even heard an errant comment from Shukaku in the back of his mind, Quit stressing out.
'That is easier said than done. Why don't you try handling my job?'
Heh! I've been unemployed for hundreds of years! Or rather, if you count me supplying brute force chakra to your village, then my work's been uncompensated for that long.
"Hush." Gaara said out loud as he took a seat, reaching for the stack of correspondence and documents in the inbox tray. There was sealed envelope with a return address he recognized right away: the Haruno household. Gaara opened it immediately, discovering a large photograph with a note attached.
Hi there Gaara!
I'm sure my daughter will be writing to you soon to explain her latest accomplishment, but I thought I'd send you this snapshot we took today at the celebration brunch. Sakura completed her hospital residency as a Medic-nin and can now choose a fellowship! Like a real physician! She studied until her eyes crossed, but at least in her Medical Corps portrait she looks presentable. Please enjoy this copy and celebrate with us even though you're far away. We very much look forward to your next visit, and hope all is well with you.
Fondly,
Haruno Kizashi
How strange it was to feel a constricting pang in his chest, as though being acknowledged by a father, even if it wasn't his own father, was the most meaningful thing in the world. Gaara inhaled and then examined the photo, which depicted Sakura in all of her blush beauty, donning a white doctor's coat over her red qipao. Her smile was a vision of spring. The commemorative degree plaque in her hands was gold-plated and well-deserved. His heart was fluttering and Gaara could not help but smile at the face he was missing so much.
'I would have liked to have attended her graduation ceremony at the Corps, but it's unthinkable for me to leave Suna right now…' Gaara thought as he slid the photo into a spare transparent frame, settling it on the corner of his desk, 'We have more catching up to do. Lots of celebrating to do…' His thoughts drifted onward as he worked on auto-pilot, 'Her father does seem to like me…'
Gaara free associated from there, 'Both of her parents like me. I think…I…don't think they would object if I asked.'
Asked what? Shukaku drawled nosily.
'If I can marry Sakura.' Gaara concluded the thought.
Psh! Who needs permission? Isn't that something humans just decide to do?
'There are traditions that should be respected.'
Or else they won't like you anymore. Right? Who cares! Parents will always nitpick something or get ruffled.
'Did your father ever get upset with you?'
Well…not really. When he was around me and the others we were pretty docile, and he was a patient teacher.
'But you'd never want to deliberately disappoint or disobey him.'
Within the inner workings of Gaara's seal, Shukaku tittered and crossed his arms, No, but we didn't get to be with him for long! So it didn't matter. I'm sure me and my Tailed-Beast siblings have done plenty to disappoint him since— while he sits in the Pure Lands watching, shaking his head at our stupidity and weakness.
'If I've learned one thing about you, Shukaku,' Gaara told the Biju, 'It's that you aren't weak.'
Heh! You know, I've really grown to like you, Gaara. Keep up the flattery.
'Quiet down, now. I have work to do.'
The conversation ebbed. Fluttering sensations tickled Gaara's insides until late in the morning. Between his readings of proposals and reports, his thoughts reached for Sakura. He tinkered with the idea of what it would like to be a part of her family, and what it would be like when she was a part of his.
Gaara stopped for a cup of tea before reviewing the print copy of a slideshow to be presented to Tide's Council, explaining the extent of Suna's responsibility in the Tide Village's repairs and so forth. The head of Sustainable Gardening and Resources department stopped by with his update on the desert greenhouse, and was eventually booted from the office when several teams of Sand Genin showed up to accept mission assignments.
Once all of the youngsters were given something to do and sent away, Gaara sagged back into his seat and sighed. He glanced at the clock on the wall that reflected the hours of early afternoon. How did time escape him so easily these days?
Maki knocked once before poking her face past the door, "Gaara-sama, I have a committee meeting to get to! Naruto-san did wonderfully today! He's a quick learner."
"I knew he would do well. Where is he?"
"Still on the first floor in the Text Office. He's made himself comfortable and is practicing with two Prong-Seals now." Maki reported proudly, "The office manager likes him already. You can let Naruto stay there, or ask Wamu-san to escort him back to your home."
"Thank you. I think I'd rather pay Naruto a visit downstairs and find out what he wants to do today." Gaara pushed up from his chair, "I appreciate your help, Maki."
"Anytime!" She hustled away.
Shortly after that, Gaara did find his friend downstairs in the building and got a sense of what Naruto's daily goals were.
By the time Kankuro and Baki frittered into the Administrative Building and made the climb up to the Kazekage's office, the Kazekage was no longer seated at his desk. They did discover, however, Jiraiya settled in and scribbling a letter to his book editor whilst smoking a pipe.
"Hey! This is a no smoking area, put that out!" Kankuro crossed the room to crack a window and fanned tobacco smoke with his hand, "Gama-sennin, what the hell—? Where did Gaara go?"
"Out." The pipe stem hung precariously off of Jiraiya's lip.
"That's not helpful." Kankuro crossed his arms and stood beside the desk.
Jiraiya held up a finger to pause the exchange or risk losing his train of thought as he wrote, "No way I'm going to allow a whole chapter deletion just because my editor felt I got redundant!"
Baki, who was still at the entryway of the room, cleared his throat to remind the Toad Sage that maybe he was a bit too comfy within the stronghold of Sunagakure. And, uh, Sand ninja were within their rights to ask where the hell the Kazekage went.
"Sorry. I just got back from some reconnaissance in the desert, AND I had to rip my editor a new one for insulting me." Jiraiya set his pen down, exhaling another line of smoke, "Gaara said I could relax in here while he and Naruto went out for a bit."
"Okay, but if he said you could relax I'm sure he didn't say you could smoke too." Kankuro reasoned.
Jiraiya was not apologetic, "Didn't say I couldn't."
"Twisting things for convenience much?" The young man growled.
"Take it easy, Painted Cheeks. You know when this will be a non-smoking building? When I walk out of it." Jiraiya sassed, "Because once I leave, I'll be tempted to watch my students duke it out in the desert. And frankly I'm not excited to see the outcome of Gaara and Naruto brawling because they're like my kids, and I wince a lot. So I'm wasting a bit of time—"
"Brawling?" Baki repeated the concerning word.
"Maybe not exactly brawling." Jiraiya allowed, finally extinguishing his pipe because he was still a rule-abiding man at heart, "Gaara accepted Naruto's challenge, so they're going to have a contest of strength just outside the village gate. Supervised by some high-level ninja of Suna, of course, for safety."
Once that information passed Kankuro's ears and was processed, he was the first one out the door, making haste to locate the two supposed warring parties.
Beyond the sunken Buddha effigy outside the walls of the village, Naruto stretched theatrically. He was ramping up for a fight after all, but Gaara clucked that he didn't have to be such a ham about everything. The shadow of the statue stretched long over them, and several Jounin of Sunagakure gathered (at Gaara's request) to keep an eye on things from a vantage point on the next dune over.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll stretch too." Naruto gave him a toothy warning.
Gaara's rebuttal was standard, "I am well aware of what is good for me."
"Bet Sakura-chan would tell you to. You 'ol stiff."
Boggled by the statement, Gaara reconsidered his stubborn position before folding down into a runner's leg stretch. Desk work had definitely tightened him up. One false move and Naruto could probably break him in half like a board.
And it was that notion that was so distinct— that Gaara could tell behind Naruto's smiley, rambunctious exterior there was a profound talent that could trounce any unwitting opponent. It was a feeling that stood Gaara's arm hairs on end. That there was something unspoken and formidable in Naruto. He could look at his friend and just know it.
"So, uh…are we supposed to set up any rules?" Naruto rubbed his chin while he thought on it.
"Don't cause any destruction to my village." Gaara counted off sparring parameters on his fingers, "No unnecessary risks, no summoning creatures for help, no juvenile tricks…"
"What about slightly humorous tricks-?"
"None of your tricks."
"Come on, I'm not going to embarrass you in front of all the citizens who respect you here!"
"I will need that in writing." Gaara said flatly.
Naruto paced back and forth, "If you're gonna patronize me like that then I get to make some rules too: no bad attitudes, no condescending—"
"Naruto, those aren't sparring limitations—"
"-no interrupting, limit two time-outs each if we need 'em, and let's wrap this up before the sun goes down, because that's when the shave ice place closes and I want to try the blood orange flavor…"
Sun down? How long did Naruto expect to fight? Gaara rolled his head on his neck and decided he didn't need that answer.
Naruto clapped his hands, "Great! Anything else?"
"No." Gaara confirmed.
They charged.
Jounin watching from a few dozen meters away flinched at the abrupt crash of the two ninja that meet in a volley of Taijutsu combinations. It was clear right away that Naruto had the advantage of dexterity and brawn, marching Gaara backwards, careening around with blink-and-you'd-miss-it speed. But Gaara's sand was a pest. It fluttered in defensive tendrils around the Kazekage, staving off multiple hammer-arms, round kicks, and classic one-two punches.
"So your sand is quicker these days, that's nice!" Naruto gave him that, "But man you need to lift and do some high intensity training, Gaara, you hit as hard as a baby blanket-!" More sand began to angrily surge, so Naruto added, "And I'll get you an agility ladder so you can work on physical speed—"
Not standing for any more cheeky banter, Gaara popped the section of sandy ground up from beneath Naruto like a geyser to send him whizzing through the air upwards of 30 meters. The chatterbox shinobi tucked into a ball to somersault down like a show-off, softening his landing with several backwards flips.
And if Naruto was not mistaken, it seemed as though Gaara had sped up, maintaining a fortified defense that was starting to make Naruto's close-quarters efforts null. All of the environment was a traitor. Naruto realized it as the ground slipped in different directions like the trick-floor in a fair's funhouse. The subtle motions of sand nearly tripped him half a dozen times when he came too near the Kazekage. With his approaches hampered so, Naruto could no longer get a good whack at his friend, 'Crap, and his sand shield is faster and sturdier than I remember. I guess he's not gonna let me punch him anymore! Bet he was just curious to see how hard I can hit…'
Gaara had quite a time trying to accurately nail his friend with a Sand Bullet, his effort becoming a veritable barrage while Naruto kept his distance, slipping between projectiles. It would have been more efficient to coagulate the scattered remains of sand he attacked with, but it hadn't taken Naruto long to assess what Gaara's working range was. If an imaginary circle extended around Gaara, he being the hypothetical point at its center, then Naruto wizened up enough to tread just beyond the radius within which Gaara's attacks were at their most bothersome. Any further, and he'd be dithering chakra away at a foolish rate just to have a hope of catching Naruto in a Sand Coffin.
But Gaara did have that option in his back pocket. Something had to give, after all. Either Naruto would take the risk to get close enough for a direct strike, or Gaara would expend chakra in a burst to extend his range and speed.
'Since traditional means aren't serving him well, Naruto is going to use a more advanced jutsu to—' Ah, Gaara had called it. In that same instant, Naruto let fly his Hiraishin anchor knife, sailing for Gaara before it stuck like a dud in a wall of sand. Except, what Gaara had seen was a falsified transformation; a distraction, he realized as he detected a blip of movement from behind. Naruto had snuck around, hurled the kunai, and reappeared in a flash to successfully land a sucker-Rasengan that viciously bashed Gaara's spherical sand shield.
What a gimmick… Gaara chewed on the inside of his mouth, aggravated that such a plain ruse had caught his blind side. And what was worse: his retaliating Sand Coffin boosted with chakra wrapped swiftly around Naruto…only to snare a Shadow Clone that Naruto had seamlessly replaced himself with.
Hah! Gaara, he's zipping all around you like a fly! Shukaku was highly amused.
Withholding a retort to that comment, Gaara stretched his awareness out of his working area of effect, sensing a tremble of sand as Naruto retreated while out of sight, but whoops— Gaara shifted the underfoot patch of dune and may have rolled his friend's ankle to slow him. Naruto's yelp was the giveaway that Gaara had guessed correctly, and the Kazekage rounded about with a hefty column of sand that collided with Naruto like a battering ram. Or, it would have collided with him, if Naruto had not flashed away to safety.
"Phew! Nearly had me!" Naruto was jubilant on top of a rock pile.
"I did have you. You may be able to use the Flying Thunder God technique, but your application is sloppy." Gaara had to point out that Naruto had been grazed by the last jutsu, dusted with sand and limestone chips.
Naruto was shaking the debris off, "My application would have been fine if you didn't try to trip me with your shifty-ground bullshit."
"How do you expect me to slow you down? I can't move like you do."
"Maybe you could if you weren't so dang conservative with your chakra!"
"I don't need to match your speed to win. I just need to outlast you, and I have no doubt that I will." Gaara's smile was a small crescent of defiance.
The taunt dripped down Naruto's spine; competitive irritation sent him off speeding, and in between each breath he may have heard the faintest murmur of his inner spectator— the Nine-Tailed Fox, saying nothing as he watched the contest with perked ears.
He was not as liberal as he could have been with Shadow Clones, but Naruto wanted to convey that he too could operate with limited resources. That he could grind Gaara down. A few Shadow Clones proved to be a worthy, chaotic distraction as Naruto dipped back into his friend's blind spot, which was still defended by Gaara's ever-present sand shield. But it was a maneuver twice repeated, so Gaara felt it coming, and he buffed apart the clone onslaught before meeting the real Naruto's Fireball Jutsu with a fireball of his own, exhaling a sphere of flames just in time.
The techniques would have canceled under ordinary circumstances, but Naruto's spite goaded him into plunging an excess of chakra into the jutsu— growing the flame and intensifying the heat. It overtook Gaara's countering Fireball Jutsu, to his surprise, and Gaara could only resort to cloaking himself in half a dune's worth of sand to protect against the about-faced inferno. Even if the momentary euphoria of overpowering his Kage-level friend was cheap, Naruto still feasted on the ego trip as his Tailed-Beast muttered about it being a truly "childish escalation."
Following the brief gloatfest, sandy walls rose high to enclose Naruto in a tubular space, only offering a distant exit ahead and no escape to the rear. It occurred to him, 'Crap, Gaara's willing to use more chakra now…he couldn't reach me that quick before…!'
Airflow in the trap was rather good, Naruto noticed, surprised that he wasn't being smothered, 'What's he-?' At the far end of the tube Gaara exhaled another fireball, which Naruto might've called modest by their standards. But— the Kazekage added a Wind Jutsu, another foundational technique by most counts, but it combined with the rolling ball of fire to create a furnace. The residual, stomach-clenching fear and sheen of sweat clung to Naruto as he promptly flashed out of the sand trap into open air. He had only thought to mark a rock pile earlier with his formula, and as such it was easy for Gaara to anticipate where Naruto would reappear.
Before Naruto could chastise Gaara about creating a literal oven (though he was still silently in awe of the ingenuity of it), Gaara swept a huge, bulky arm of Shukaku's that he had manifested. By a hair's breadth Naruto avoided the arcing blow, flipping up and over to reach a better vantage point. Better being the hypothetical word as Naruto ended up in prime position for the gigantic, sandy tail that Shukaku had also loaned his host. Gaara thwacked Naruto with the tail like a home run ball. POW. He rocketed through the air and struck the broad cheek of the sunken Buddha's face, gouging an unsightly crack in it.
Onlookers gasped audibly from the lookout. On the ground, Gaara hung back and wondered how Naruto would respond. He seemed to be hobbling dizzily, correcting his sightline of the desert as his eyes spun in his head. It had been a serious blow.
"…that's enough time." Gaara estimated, though he'd only given Naruto five seconds to recuperate. He knew who he was dealing with. It was why he felt no remorse sending in two Sand Clones to position themselves. Gaara's precognitive inkling assured him that Naruto had a trick up his sleeve, and indeed he did— Sage Mode markings appeared on Naruto's face.
Three Shadow Clones had been hidden away behind the effigy well in advance to collect Nature Chakra. Naruto released one of the clones before engaging Gaara again, frustrated that his friend had no trouble controlling partial transformations of the One-Tail's body, 'How!? How does Gaara do that? In an instant he can change his shape with Biju chakra and flick me like a bug…'
The pair of Sand Clones harassed Naruto, drawing his attention away from Gaara as he occasionally lashed out with Shukaku's tail and limbs. To avoid the sandy onslaught, Naruto employed the help of a single Shadow Clone, weaving away on light feet, anticipating the motion of sand tendrils. Naruto propelled himself off of his clone's back, feinting in multiple directions to scramble his attackers, wheeling and coordinating with his Shadow Clone.
In the beat between two Sand projectiles that missed, Naruto seized his clone's wrist, spun, and hurled it at the nearest Sand Clone…a move which impacted the surprised replication before the Shadow Clone detonated. Gaara's other Bunshin, momentarily distracted by the kamikaze explosion, met its end when Naruto flashed behind it with a Sage Chakra-fueled Rasengan, demolishing it and gouging an enormous pit into the shifty ground.
And Gaara's counterattack came on cue, a flutter registering in air that Naruto's Sage Sense warned him of a few milliseconds before it closed in. He ducked below the swing of a large tanuki paw, racing around Gaara's defenses as he spun another Rasengan to life in his palm, 'I'm not messing around!' At the last second, Naruto flashed away from the double hammer-fist smash Shukaku's arms tried to club him with— too slow. Gaara couldn't even see Naruto reappear or bear down on him with the Big Ball Rasengan from above…but thankfully his Sand Shield rose up to buffer the blow. The defense was incomplete, Gaara realized, as Naruto plunged downward with momentum and clipped Gaara in the mouth with a rebellious kick.
Tumbling back, the two scuffled for a few ragged breaths, Naruto's Taijutsu superior, painful, and clobbering Gaara even as Sand Armor absorbed Frog Kumite punches. When the Sand Shield closed in to snare Naruto he was gone again in a flash, earning crows of surprise and awe from watching Sand shinobi. Though only for two paltry seconds, they had seen their Kazekage get absolutely pummeled within his own defenses!
Naruto had retreated to the top of the Buddha's head to tap another meditating clone, maintaining his waning Sage Mode, 'Heh! I bet Gaara hated that. He can protect himself if I hit hard or if I move fast, but not when I can do both!'
Oh yes, Gaara had hated it.
He was stock-still, concentrating on raising a vast area of sand that stretched just beyond the effigy but short of the observation deck. He was going to enclose Naruto in a vault to impede further retreats, at least, that's what Naruto thought Gaara was trying to do. Deserting his perch, Naruto charged at Gaara as he exerted himself to raise a wide desert dome. Gaara's defenses would be reasonably lowered at this time, a fact that occurred to Naruto as he came within several meters of his friend, partly aware that was exactly what Gaara wanted. The dome was a sham— it began to rain down in a meteor-shower of Sand Bullets. Naruto flashed out of harm's way and danced around the fusillade.
Then it seemed to Naruto that something in the air was wrong; was not tingling his Sage Senses the way it should have when he was simultaneously knocked askew by a generic Wind Jutsu and into the path of a Sand Bullet. Naruto hurled his anchor knife to flee while making sense of the miscalculation, 'What the—? Gaara's trying to throw me off-!' He had noticed two of Gaara's own Shadow Clones dedicatedly stirring up the area with Wind Jutsu, distorting air flow and whipping up a veritable sandstorm, 'If he's figured out how I can feel things coming at me in Sage Mode, he's going to keep mucking around!'
By then, Naruto was struck twice more due to the same gimmick, and sand bullets accumulated to trap him in a Sand Coffin. Naruto resorted to defaulting back to the rocky outcrop he had marked for the Flying Thunder God technique. He flashed right into a waiting Shadow Clone of Gaara's as it exhaled a Wind Jutsu at him, and Naruto backpedaled in shock as he rushed through hand signs. His Fireball Jutsu ignited the windy breath and turned it back on Gaara's clone, incinerating it as the air cleared of Sand Bullets and debris. 'Gaara's quite the trickster now, I guess…that was close—' A wheeze of air escaped Naruto as the fingers of Shukaku's manifested hand caught him from behind, and shot him like a basketball pass back to the ground.
It was outlandish how far the Biju limb could be extended— long and flexing with pure energy, a cloak that glowed around Gaara as he employed more of Shukaku's strength. The other Tailed-Beast arm came down as Naruto hit the dirt, smashing the young man beneath the sandy paw of the beast. Gaara folded his arms and huffed. Whenever it seemed like he'd caught Naruto, his dear friend kept slipping away with the Hiraishin. What trouble it was to hold him still. Admittedly, Gaara was more surprised to see Naruto hold his ground and lift the Tailed-Beast's heavy hand off of him, pressing up with Sage strength to rise and stand once again.
Wobbling, Naruto dashed away from the limb when he tired, and dissolved his last meditating clone to top off his Sage Chakra.
"Naruto," Gaara issued a warning, "I don't want to hold back. Senjutsu may not be enou—"
Naruto was incredibly ruffled at that point, "Don't think for a second I can't handle you, because I can!" Spittle flew from Naruto's mouth, "Why insult me and go easy on me?"
Maybe it was better to call this off. Gaara had detected that Naruto had clear limits— that Sage Chakra wore off after a few minutes, needed to be replenished (AND Gaara was too noble to tamper with Naruto's hidden clones as they meditated.) Gaara had also seen that Sage strength could lift one of Shukaku's arms, but that, the One-Tail sniggered, was a miniature baby-weight expression of what his true body and power was. To push Naruto further could quite possibly hurt him. If not physically, it would certainly scratch up his friend's pride. Not to mention Jiraiya would be displeased.
But Naruto's eyes were fiery, odd and golden like a toad's, and his mouth drawn into a resolute grimace. He wanted this chance to test himself.
Knowing that, Gaara withdrew his extended, nebulous Tailed-Beast limbs into a glowing chakra cloak. The aura was a blend of black and red, buzzing like static…until Gaara took a slow breath and let go. Anything that divided him from Shukaku at that point dissolved away, mental barriers down, his spirit at peace, and the Tailed-Beast did not take advantage of his trust. He gave Gaara everything he had in a flush of energy so great that a gale rolled over the dunes and whipped watching Sand ninja on the lookout. Naruto shielded his eyes from the gust and observed the aura fine-tune itself into an amber light, ruddy red at the edges.
He could feel it. All of it. The insane density of Biju chakra blaring off of Gaara made Naruto's stomach sink. What was more unsettling was that the volume of chakra had not disoriented the Kazekage or clouded his consciousness— he was lucid and in control. '…how? How can he-? Why isn't the One-Tail taking him over? I would've been tipped over the edge, stupid-mad and gone by now if that were me…' Naruto ground his teeth while he thought.
Gaara was on him in an instant, propelled by a new burst of speed— his Sand Armor having shed off completely. Naruto dodged the punch because he could feel it coming, and Gaara's blow shattered apart the rocky outcrop. The two reeled from inertia before turning back to meet with bulldozer blows, punches and blocks aquiver with force, hooking into each other. Sand tufted up in bursts as it was displaced by their stomps and kicks. Naruto slid his palm up Gaara's punching arm for a lock, a muscle-memory move from the bout against Huo that Hinata had shared with him. He dropped his elbow on Gaara's free arm before driving his knee into the Kazekage's stomach…and Gaara tottered for a moment before shaking it off. It had by no means been a weatherable blow, but Naruto refused to be discouraged.
Frog Kumite gave him an incremental advantage as Naruto handily dodged many of Gaara's swipes, paying him back for a few of his careless blows. He had half a mind to point blank mash a Rasengan into Gaara's face, 'Let's see how he likes that!' Naruto dodged another jab and stepped right into the abrupt extension of a chakra-arm from Gaara's cloak. As before, he was batted like a line drive straight into the lookout with a crash, frightening the daylights out of spectators.
Naruto's head was ringing. 'Oh. He. Got me good on that one…ow.' His mouth felt dry and his vision spun, 'I jumped into that whack. Ugh. Gaara can transform on a dime, kinda like Fū could…' Slowly, aching, Naruto rolled to his knees on the metal slats of the observation deck as Sand ninja gathered round. How he would've killed to use a combo attack with Gamakichi or Kinji against Gaara, but that option had been ruled out. They had said they would use only their own strength.
"Holy hell! You okay, kid?" A concerned Jounin was clucking at him, "What do you have to fight the Kazekage for? Are you nuts?"
Naruto staggered to his feet and waved off the concern, "Hey, I grew up beating Gaara's ass so this isn't that different…"
"He launched you just now…I mean, you're good! But why push it?" Most present were skeptics.
Something warm was running down the side of Naruto's head. He patted the sore spot and discovered a steady stream of blood. Ah. So this warranted reevaluation. Friendly contests typically excluded head gashes and other bodily damages. He waved at Gaara below to get his attention, "Hey! I'm gonna…call a time out for now."
Gaara held up the fingers of his left hand to count, "One of two we allotted. Alright. Are you injured—?"
"—don't act all concerned when you toss me around like a ragdoll, ya bastard!" Naruto barked and took a cross-legged seat on the lookout. Trying to relax was a chore. There were many sets of eyes on him. His muscles were wound like springs. Sage Chakra was slipping away, and it seemed fair to top himself off while he took a breather.
The wound on his head was rapidly sealing up too, which Naruto had counted on. It was an odd introspective moment as he wondered why he had a propensity for healing that he took for granted. 'Huh. Has it always been me? Is it the Fox? I don't know. It hurt like a bitch, but it won't in a minute…' Naruto frowned to himself, 'Gaara's on another level. He hasn't really fessed up to it when we spoke or wrote letters…but he's so strong I'm just not sure…'
There was a rumble from his subconscious, So you admit defeat?
'I'm not defeated yet, Fox. Anyone worth their salt takes a second to not fuck around with a possible traumatic head injury. Did you see what he did with the One-Tail's arm? What the hell?!'
How could I have missed it? That graceless thrashing was an underhanded ambush. Though it would've helped if you didn't walk straight into it!
Below, Gaara stood at the foot of a dune, his arms folded as he glowed. His eyes were shut. Maybe he was conferring with his Tailed-Beast as well? Naruto huffed in annoyance when he stood up, patting his head to find the cut had scabbed over. 'Okay. Now I've got to watch for when he pulls that Biju-team-up crap. He is a Kage, I get it! Gaara was never a pushover. I might've gotten more practical experience fighting in the wilds, but he said he worked on accepting himself and understanding his Tailed-Beast...'
Naruto hopped over the rail to resume the contest on the ground, still puttering in his thoughts during the last few seconds of the ceasefire, 'I know I've probably…been way too stubborn…and I just can't forgive it all…'
Forgive what? The fox gruffed.
'What you've done. If it weren't for you, I'd still have my parents! You nearly killed Ero-sensei and tried to blow up the Toad Valley while I was incapacitated—'
Why would I ever want your forgiveness for those things? I own what I did!
'Asshole. I…bah! What do you think Gaara had to do to forgive and understand the One-Tail? I don't know how they managed it. I honestly don't think I'll ever…get it.' Naruto felt his stomach twist as he confessed, 'But I think I need your help for this one.'
Ha! Kurama was amused by the entreaty, What do you need ME for? Can't you beat him on your own?
'Well, Gaara's not trying to beat me on his own! He's got assistance!'
And you don't. The Fox sneered.
Naruto exited his internal conference and locked eyes with Gaara, "I'm good to go."
"There is blood all over you…" Guilt crept into Gaara's tone.
"I'll change my shirt after this so I don't offend." Naruto shrugged light-heartedly. Red had also stained golden locks behind his ear, and a patch below on his neck.
"…I—"
"Hey! Don't get all cowed and mopey about bashing me around, you know I don't break easily." He didn't want Gaara to pity him or hold back.
Without further ado, Naruto flashed behind Gaara and successfully anticipated the projection of a huge chakra tail, bounding over it to get a clear shot at the back of Gaara's head. His round kick was lined up perfectly, but Gaara dipped to evade and counter with his own aerial kick. They were airborne for a short scuffle before a blast of sand hurled Naruto back, and Gaara took aim for another Shukaku-tail-swing. It was then Naruto planted his feet and grappled with the chakra appendage, twisting for leverage. In a burst of Sage strength, Naruto hurled Gaara by the tail like a discus.
When Gaara landed lightly, assisted by two radiant chakra arms, Naruto felt the corner of his eye twitch. He dodged a volley of sand bullets and thought, 'He's not really breaking a sweat. It'd be shitty of me to stick a prong seal on his arm to throw Gaara out of balance…but what else can I do?' He rolled and flashed away from a high tail thwack, thinking again for Kurama to hear, 'Maybe he will defeat me, and I've just got to digest that. Heh, but you know what, Fox? Gaara and the One-Tail smashing us tarnishes both of our reputations, doesn't it?'
Don't lump me in with you!
'We're a package deal, like it or not!' Naruto danced closer to his target, sending Shadow Clones ahead of him to create an opening for a Rasengan.
Never in a million years could Shukaku beat me. Never! Kurama insisted, He is beneath me in every way!
The pontificating was cut short when Naruto did connect a Rasengan, which Gaara had to hastily buffer with a Sand Shield…and one of Shukaku's glowing limbs simultaneously reached out to rob Naruto of his tool pouch. More specifically, where his Hiraishin anchor knife was clipped on his belt. In a desperate bid to retrieve it, Naruto charged a second time to make a grab for the tricky chakra appendage. A wave of sand pummeled him in response. Gaara then stowed the anchor knife in his overcoat pocket, stuffed with a nullifying seal to dampen Naruto's formula.
Tumbling, Naruto took stock of the moment that Sage Mode expired, and also determined he could not teleport to wherever Gaara had the Hiraishin anchor. Naruto sensed that the single Shadow Clone he'd left behind the lookout was still not done gathering Natural Energy. And, another chakra arm was lashing down from Gaara's cloak, flattening Naruto before he could sidestep the heavy blow.
His senses dimmed. Naruto was somewhat cognizant of the fact that he was pinned and rather oxygen-deprived. He also, for some reason, heard an argument. The Nine-Tailed Fox was railing angrily at someone.
You're a filthy, single-digit crook looking for vindication! Kurama spat, You infant! You spineless groveler! As if you gain anything by serving a human!
Hee hee! You're upset. Shukaku was pleased. Naruto realized that this was much like the instance Fū had established contact between Biju, and created a space for them to communicate.
I'm no servant. Gaara and I help each other because we want to, Shukaku added smugly, Although it is very satisfying to grind you into dust, you fat-bottomed egomaniac.
Ego—? A breathy, infuriated inhale followed, Who ARE YOU called fat-bottomed YOU CORPULENT GREMLIN?!
Gotta have a big ass to fit Nine Tails, Kurama. A gleeful retort, Does the truth hurt? I don't mind that I'm big-boned.
YOU—!
Naruto interrupted, 'Are you kidding me right now? I might be dying or at least I'm being smothered and you're linking up to call each other fat!'
Kurama's insecurities reached a fever pitch, Keep out of this! He KNOWS he's inferior to me!
Says YOU, the fat Biju-baby trapped under my fist! Shukaku cackled gleefully, Heh! Gaara and I have this in the bag! You're both way more pathetic than I expected.
For a moment, Naruto had to pray because it felt like Gaara wasn't at all participating in this pointless quarrel, remaining in the surface world and waiting for something. As if this moment were intended to incense the Nine-Tails and mobilize him in some way. Well, it might've worked. Naruto also might've stopped breathing and hallucinated it all. But he did distinctly feel the typical, black crackling chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox sizzling through him, full of rage and suppressing his will.
'No…can you just…take that back?' Naruto thought tiredly, 'We can't use that. It makes me stupid. Makes us both stupid and blind. Gaara is himself— you saw. Clear and calm and glowy.'
We should rip their ribs out so I can pick my teeth with them!
'Psh. Great idea.'
Take my chakra now! Crush that insolent—!
'I already told you I won't!' Naruto pushed back, 'This can't be the only way. You're not listening to me. Listen to me! Work with me! Don't push me away with that hate. That chakra doesn't help!'
It grew still as the Fox considered the idea, anger and buzzing energy retreating in increments, Why should I…
'You want to beat them? Me too! Let's actually work together this time.'
Why should I trust you? Why should I reject how I feel-?
'Because maybe it'll change something and it won't suck. You don't have to feel like you're in the blackest pit in the universe, I know you can feel other things! I try to. Try not to let the dark stuff swallow me.'
The idea seemed to have stuck. Kurama ventured, If it's just this time…if you don't double-cross me—
'Why would I, idiot?'
You said you can't forgive.The Fox reminded him. And how can I forgive?
'Maybe that is the fucking million Ryo question here! Truce?' Naruto brazenly extended his hand past the bars of Kurama's cell, 'Give me your best self in exchange for mine? If that's too hard, just think of something that doesn't make you feel like a rageful psycho. How about that?'
Moonlight. Kurama said in a small voice.
Perhaps it was a breakthrough, perhaps a fluke, Naruto wasn't sure. He felt an inexplicable reversal, as if the Nine-Tailed Fox had settled into a serene memory that took all of the bristle and bite out of him. And it felt…so familiar. The mutual feeling, whatever it was, soothed Naruto in the same instant. Chakra that Kurama exerted had a cleaner tint to it, almost overbearing in its Yang element, and Naruto made a point not to fuss at or reject what the Biju was suddenly willing to share.
That rising energy lent itself to Naruto popping up, fresh as a daisy, and tossing Gaara and his glowing loaner-arm over to the next dune. Distantly, he could hear Kankuro's voice from the lookout behind him (who had just arrived), bellyaching over Why the hell did they need to do this shit and scare the Sensory Corps with super-chakra levels?
There was a flood rushing through his veins, radiating in a chakra cloak that Naruto knew was still not as pristine as Gaara's. Prickles of anxiety, regret, and desolation still flowed from Kurama, but not at the deafening levels that Naruto had put up with before.
He closed the distance between himself and Gaara, lashing out in a whirlwind of Taijutsu, intent on snatching his stolen anchor knife back. After a flurry of punches, a chakra limb from Gaara's cloak caught Naruto's face in its palm and pushed him back childishly. Gaara clucked for Shukaku to quit messing around. Naruto still needed to get a feel for it after being out of practice with Kyuubi chakra.
'How do I make a chakra arm thingy?' Naruto demanded loudly in his head, 'He keeps grabbing me and I've had enough!'
You need more of my chakra, but I don't know if you can handle it yet—
'—we're gonna find that out!'
Though Kurama did as he was asked and flushed alarming levels of chakra into Naruto's system, he shared his doubts, Whatever you do, don't slide into the gaps…
Naruto joyfully sent a dozen Biju-chakra-bloated Shadow Clones ahead, all with Rasengans charged, to mob Gaara as he heard the Fox muttering about "gaps."
'Gaps between what?' Naruto wondered.
Us, you imbecile. This Seal still divides us. Our feelings, thoughts…many things divide us.
The Kazekage was busy defending himself and walloping the clone cavalry. And just as soon as Kurama had roughly outlined the potential problem while freely loaning his Yang-hued chakra, Naruto felt an anvil of a headache escalate with his stretching chakra supply. Tinnitus zinged his eardrums, blood pressure rocketing, as everything that was still so incompatible between Tailed-Beast and jinchuriki began to physically manifest.
Pay attention! Kurama barked. Naruto ducked beneath one of Gaara's hooking blows while avoiding the cascade of Sand pillars. Though it was only a moment of synchronization, the Fox and Naruto retaliated in unison, thinking of the same counter and thereby bringing the miracle to life— a chakra arm extended off of his own cloak, hand balled into a fist, and clocked Gaara directly in the snoot. Some sand softened the blow as Gaara skidded backwards, but his chin was definitely going to bruise. Naruto was astounded that he'd actually done such a thing. He was also feeling quite bleh.
Wide-eyed and delighted, Gaara regarded Naruto's dizzy steps, bearing the pressure of an expanding, refined chakra cloak. He'd known that his friend could get the hang of it. Practice was still key, of course. Naruto did not have the luxury of Yugito being around to walk him through the steps. But Gaara had hoped that some encouragement from one Tailed-Beast to another might get the Fox's attention. It seemed as if the Kyuubi was too proud to let Naruto lose to what it considered a junior, weaker Tailed-Beast.
Behind them on the lookout, Sand shinobi were quite riveted by the rare spectacle of two jinchuriki exercising control over Tailed-Beast chakra. Apparently, one competitor was alert and poised while the other was a hobbling mess with a half-assed, amber chakra cloak that would blink red in frustration from time to time.
Kurama could not help but backseat fight, Keep your eyes open, keep light on your feet! Naruto, move it!
'Light on my feet?! I feel like I'm gonna puke!'
And to think I didn't even give you all of my chakra…it would've flattened you. We are only two-thirds of the way through my reserves.
'…are you shitting me?' The wild abundance of chakra wreaked havoc on his focus, and Naruto could not for the life of him crack through Gaara's steady defense. The rage state creeped on the peripheries of Naruto's consciousness, as it only seemed natural for Kurama's influence to stir his darkest feelings. 'Not gonna lie…I'm a little too woozy for this. But! I've got a plan.'
Are you planning to pass out and let me take over this duel?
'No! Restraint ain't your middle name, so forget that!'
Then whatever it is make it happen. I'm not going to lose to these bottom-tier potbellies, are you?! Kurama was a competitive fiend, but in many ways Naruto could relate.
Naruto grinned as he and Gaara met again in an exchange of hand-to-hand blows, sheering dunes apart, and then Naruto feinted left with a Rasengan spinning in his palm. 'Fox, watch this! I'm going to blow your mind!'
I seriously doubt that—
Gaara's priority was stopping the Rasengan, which was what Naruto had been hoping for. Behind the Kazekage, Naruto had snuck his final Shadow Clone (charged with nature chakra and in Sage Mode) up from behind to pickpocket back his pilfered anchor knife. Before Gaara could utter an obscenity and catch the blasted thing, it loosed the tool and flashed to Naruto's side in the same moment Naruto passed off the inflated Rasengan to a chakra arm from his cloak. In those precious seconds Kurama acknowledged he was having his mind blown a little as Naruto loosed the anchor knife back at Gaara, reappearing above him, and crushed the Kazekage beneath a Biju-chakra Rasengan. The ground quaked. Kankuro was howling swears from the observation deck.
Well. Kurama sniffed, trying to play off the brilliant move, His nuisance shield must have caught that…
The Sage Mode Shadow Clone had closed in to drive its own Rasengan down on the crumbling Sand Shield, hammering the dome down into the ground like an abused nail. Such a follow up was borderline gratuitous and Gaara had not even reacted to stop it. The Shadow Clone dissolved in a puff. Afterward, Naruto fretted nearby and hoped he had not seriously injured his friend, 'That might've been too much…'
I'd say that was just enough. It was sublime.
Naruto restrained a laugh, 'Not what I'd call it, but okay. Wow. Did we just get our shit together?'
There was some hesitation before Kurama conceded, How weirdly satisfying.
From beneath the leveled mesa of sand came a tremble, and as Naruto and Kurama mentally congratulated each other on one small step forward, Naruto looked up in disbelief as Shukaku's true towering form rose up. The sight took him back to Konoha's invasion, when the same bulky beast had revealed itself during Gaara's impairment during the Chunin Exam. This time, however, the debut was intentional. Kurama railed in aggravation inside Naruto's stupefied head.
Before Naruto could come up with a game plan, the hulking Biju lunged at him. Further disconcerting were the confounding physics employed as Shukaku abruptly surrendered control and shrunk back to Gaara's small size, mass and velocity rearranged as Gaara shot down like a comet for a pencil-dive kick that struck Naruto frontside and pulverized him into the ground.
Black out.
Naruto! Are you awake? You're a fading mess— your soul was kicked out of you—! WHAT A DUPLICITOUS MOVE, I'LL CHEW HIS FACE OFF FOR THAT!
The clamoring kind of woke him up, but Naruto could hardly breathe.
That rotund trickster SLOB. I will RUIN HIM!
'Shhh. Please. Oh god, did he kill me?'
Not yet, so let's kill HIM!
"Erg…" Naruto came to and noticed that Gaara had divested him of all weapons this time, not just Naruto's anchor knife. He was dusting his hands.
"Are you ready to surrender?" The Kazekage asked.
"…pff. No. That…was the dirtiest move I have ever seen." Naruto sat up, chakra cloak still glowing as he gurgled in pain.
"It's an original."
"Careful. The Fox wants to chew your face off now. Or he wants me to chew your face off. I dunno, but don't pull that crap again." As Naruto staggered to his feet and dusted sand from his clothes, he wilted at the sight of his defiant friend expanding again to Shukaku's full size just to taunt him.
Naruto groaned as he made an effort to dodge, his head and body still ringing from the impact, but it wasn't long before Shukaku plucked him from the ground like a delicate flower. Pinched between the Tailed-Beast's fingertips, Naruto harnessed what strength he could to wriggle, trying to pry himself free. Eventually, he was imprisoned in a closed fist.
"So stubborn…" Shukaku chortled, "Surrender! We can wait. We've got all day."
"You're asking for it, tubby! You want to throw down with the Fox?"
"I know you won't let him out. With your type of Seal, you probably can't undo it on your own." The One-Tail estimated, "Which makes you a wee little ant lipping off at me."
Naruto thrashed, "Gaara said this was a one versus one kind of fight!"
"Clearly it isn't, since you both used assistance. Weenie whiner."
"What did you just say?!"
And the squabble carried on for a surprisingly long time. Gaara sort of lost count around the one and a half minute mark. On the horizon a small blot appeared, approaching Sunagakure.
Meanwhile, during the fisticuffs outside of the Sand Village's perimeter wall…
Temari's return trip had been pleasant after catching an ocean wind to propel her back over the desert mainland, aloft on her fan. She had told Gaara that she was on an escort detail requested out of the Land of Waves, which was mostly the truth.
She had just neglected to mention that it was Haku who had met her there, and asked to be ferried to Hidden Sand to see his dear friends. She had thought it a welcome surprise, 'So why spoil it? Those two are going to absolutely lose it when they see Haku!' She was smiling to herself, nestled beside her passenger who also appeared to be in high spirits.
"Are you sure Momochi isn't going to pitch a fit while you're gone?" Temari inquired for a third time.
"I'm…relatively sure." Haku sighed, "I agreed to go to the Keiseki House auction, and since I would be travelling northwest anyway…I decided to leave a few days early so I could see Gaara and Naruto." He granted, "Zabuza wasn't thrilled about my idea, but at least he didn't threaten me or anyone in Nanakusa when I said I was going."
"Because maybe he has to trust you'll be back to help out down there. That paranoid snaggletooth." Temari scrunched her nose.
"Right. It wouldn't make sense to go back on the plans we made with Jiraiya-sensei."
"It'll suck to see you leave again," She rested her head on his shoulder, "But I'm glad you took this chance."
Her displays of affection were small and covert these days, but Temari had been handsy since she located him waiting on the porch of her beachside cabin in the Tide Village.
Haku had to admit that he too was beatific and very welcoming to such attentions. He understood when Temari decreed that she was not going to give any indication to her brothers that they were dating again, at least not until Gaara adjusted to Haku being around. That requirement did not impede them, however, on the flight to Suna. Squished together, Haku kept an arm wrapped around her waist, his front pushed into Temari's side as he tried to guess the perfumed scents in her hair. She was humming, eyes gleefully shut, relishing soft kisses along her ear and neck.
The doting stopped abruptly and Haku shifted, trying to squint over the distant dunes as an object came into focus, "Do you see that?"
"See what?" The fan's conductor was alert again, scanning for landmark desert features.
"That." Haku emphasized a dark, shaded mass interrupting an otherwise flat and unremarkable landscape, "I've never been to the Wind Country before, so I don't—"
"No. No, that's not normal." Temari confirmed for him.
The nervy sensation racing up his arms and continuing up the back of his neck assured Haku that he wasn't overreacting. Apart from the distant eminence ahead, the air felt ionized with an excess of chakra. Soaring fast for another one hundred meters, the pair could finally see the definite shape of a Tailed-Beast. Or as Temari correctly identified in a low voice, "Shukaku."
Haku gave his head a shake, "This is…the most aggressive case of déjà vu I have ever experienced."
"You and me both."
Right. Because they had been here before. Not here, in the Wind Country, but Temari and Haku were simultaneously recalling the Invasion of Konoha in which the One-Tail had been unleashed, and together they had flown towards the danger in the hope of freeing Gaara. There was a marked difference this time. Haku blinked hard as he watched the giant tanuki suddenly shrink down in size, and the force of Gaara's drop from mid-air mashed Naruto into a dune with a reckless kick.
A frustrated rumble escaped Haku, "They're fighting! I can't believe it…"
"For the record, I swear they were on friendly terms when I left." Temari vouched for Gaara and Naruto.
"Don't they know better? What if they accidentally hurt nearby villagers, or damaged the city? The two of them!" The young man was bug-eyed as he further concluded, "Did it cross their minds that two tussling jinchuriki could broadcast vulnerability to the Akatsuki? Or informants? Why do I always—?" Haku flexed his fingers, wishing he could slap sense into his friends, "Why do I always have to do this? Their safekeeping shouldn't be my burden alone."
Temari patted his arm, "It's not. Let's remind them not to take for granted all of the people looking out for them, hm?" She too crackled her knuckles, "So they don't pull this shit again."
"What made them—?"
"Probably to spar or test their strength." Temari was reading his mind, filling in the blanks.
"They aren't out of control, are they? Gaara said in his letters that he's reached a sort of equanimity with his Tailed-Beast." Haku wondered.
"Eh…it doesn't look as destructive as it could be." Temari pursed her mouth, trying to gauge why the One-Tail was full size again and trying to pluck Naruto from the ground like a clover, "There's no Nine-Tailed Fox running around, which is a plus. How do you want to break it up?"
"Not the way I had to last time…" Haku thought back to using a tremendous Water Jutsu to get the One-Tail's attention, long ago, "Would you mind flying me overhead? If Gaara is still in control, then he'll hear me. I'll talk him down."
"Are you sure about that?" She arched a brow.
"No. I'd appreciate if you stayed close in case—" He gestured a squashing motion with both of his hands.
"And if that fails and you do get pancaked," Temari hypothesized, "I'll just get a team from the Sealing Corps to neutralize them, then straight-jacket them in a Black Ops padded room. They play bad ASMR recordings in there that Old Lady Chiyo specifically made to punish people."
"That is…" Haku mumbled, "A unique torment."
"Be careful." Temari smiled at him, arcing her fan over the rounded head of the Ichibi.
Haku dropped down and slowed his descent with a surge of his hand fan, cushioning the landing on the sandy, heavy brow of the beast with wind. He hopped down again to the Ichibi's blunt muzzle to stand on its nose. When he waved his tessen in front of the Tailed-Beast's eyes, they rolled to the corners in a cross-eyed stare to get a look at Haku.
"Enough! Shukaku, let go of Naruto!" He snapped the fan shut and pointed it like a regent, "Of all the foolishness to get up to in my absence, Gaara— I'm worn out and I just got here!" Haku opted for yelling directly at his friend, "Cease the antics and do as you're supposed to, as Kazekage!"
The response was immediate, and a sizzle of Biju chakra boiled off of Shukaku as he retreated, pulling in and condensing himself back into Gaara's body. With that matter settled, Haku plummeted and was able to catch Naruto by the wrist, controlling their fall with wind gusts from his fan. Naruto looked particularly disheveled and dazed, the soft glow of a chakra cloak fading away from his body when they touched down to earth.
"Naruto, are you alright?" He patted his friend's cheek, and then let Naruto fold backwards from a sitting position to be completely supine as he gurgled, eyes fluttering shut, desperate for rest. Haku thought to himself, 'How did he get to this state…?'
Then, he glanced over his shoulder to see Gaara standing a few meters away, gaping at Haku and somehow equally mournful over Naruto's debility. He was stonewalled with disbelief. Shocked and a little heartsick, swamped with dozens of questions. Haku had the courtesy to snap the Kazekage out of that funk when he crossed the way to brace Gaara with two hands on his shoulders.
Gaara blinked like a bewildered housecat, "You're here."
"I am. Take a breath. And then tell me—" Haku's tone was gentle but chiding, "What in Heaven and Earth were you thinking? Fighting Naruto like that? Look at him!" He gestured his head back toward their collapsed friend, "He's a mess. You have more sense than this!"
"We agreed…to. It might've…" Doleful and ashamed, Gaara folded his arms behind Haku's back to cement a true hug, and to lower his guard for the first time in ages, "Escalated too much. He didn't want to surrender or let me go easy…"
Haku gave him a squeeze, "That sounds like him. Is Jiraiya-sensei aware?"
"He didn't object when we told him."
"Ah. Then a word with Sensei is also in order. I had business on the mainland and I wanted to see you." Haku's expression grew considerably warm, eyes bright, "I hope my interference didn't—"
"Was more welcome than you can imagine." Gaara visibly relaxed.
"Good! I have today and tomorrow to catch up with you." Haku took a step back, "But first…" He didn't hear the soft patter of swift footfalls when he said, "I want to ensure Naruto isn't badly injured…"
"HAKU!" Naruto had caught him in a running bear hug from behind after waking (mostly fine) and since Haku had not steadied himself for it, the two went face-first into a sand drift beside Gaara.
After the running tackle Gaara blinked slowly again, hoping that this was reality. He was overwrought with emotions; surprise, joy— visceral nostalgia over missing his friend who was several centimeters taller than he, mature and lean in the same ways he and Naruto had grown up.
It was happening. If Temari landing nearby and looking very smug was not confirmation enough, Sand shinobi who had been gathered on the observation deck near the Buddha statue were trotting over to assess the situation. Among them, Kankuro was voicing some complaints.
"Haku—whoa! Sorry! Didn't mean to wail on ya!" Naruto contritely helped his friend up, giddily switching between dusting sand from his friend and hugging him. He pushed Haku in and out by arm's length a few times to reconcile how different he looked.
Gone were the days of soft edges and youth, as Haku's features were now tempered with something sharp and cogent. Looking at him felt like laying eyes on winter's first imposing storm cloud— quiet, drifting, and never to be underestimated.
In spite of that, Haku was still smiling an eyebrow-waggling smile, positively elated. Naruto's excitement was as infectious as it had always been. All of the old feelings, the sensations from when they had last parted, took their places again in the hearts of the young men.
"The both of you should know better than to brawl with Tailed-Beast chakra out in the open like that." Haku reiterated in his mother-hen tone of days past.
"Don't call it a brawl," Naruto wanted the term to be more flexible, "It was an exercise. You know— Gaara was trying to teach me how to handle Biju chakra!"
"I really wasn't." Gaara panned the assertion.
Naruto silently mouthed what the fuck? to Gaara as if Haku could not read lips, and Naruto tried to minimize the amount of trouble they were in again, "Well, you can't tell me I didn't learn anything from that mollywhop shit you do with a big Ichibi arm— that was pretty lame—!"
"It can't be called lame since you told me not to hold back—"
Haku raised a hand to halt the soon to be runaway train of bickering, "Fine. No more. If you're quite done here, I'd like some shade and something to drink. It was a hot crossing."
Puppy-like, Naruto brightened again, "How long are you here for?"
"Two days is all that I can spare. Then I have work to do in the Land of Mountains." Haku explained as they moved toward Temari and Kankuro, who were speaking amongst themselves nearby.
"Why didn't Temari tell me she was going to bring you?" Gaara was still stumped.
"She didn't?" Haku looked from the Kazekage to his girlfriend.
Temari shrugged a single shoulder, "Doesn't look like you hated the surprise."
"If you lie about an assignment, how am I supposed to know how to find you if something goes wrong?" Gaara contested as they walked. Kankuro clandestinely rolled his eyes, which Naruto also felt so profoundly in his soul, as Gaara once again set out on his overprotective (little) brother campaign.
"I didn't lie, Gaara. And I told you where I was going." Temari contested.
"And neglected to mention who your client was."
"You didn't question that omission this morning. I could have said Whoever-the-fuck's face from the Tide Village and you would've bought it." And really, Temari was quite right about that.
Then came the part where Gaara got very annoyed and forgot how happy he was that Haku was there, and he fumed in silence in his sister's general direction. Her demands for autonomy and independence were not out of line, but Gaara couldn't help but consider Temari slightly more danger-prone than others after Momochi Zabuza had nearly desanguinated her.
"I for one voted for full transparency. I wanted you to know I was on the way." Haku stood between the two grumbling siblings, "As it worked out, Temari is fine. It wasn't that treacherous of a route."
Kankuro had motioned for the ninja who had occupied the observation deck to leave and resume their regularly scheduled duties. He also threw in his two cents, "Gaara, you can't be mad at Temari for trying to do something nice for you. If her neglecting a mission detail is what you consider stupid, then you stomping around in Shukaku's form beyond the village perimeter was way stupider."
Gaara inhaled to retort, but Naruto interrupted with, "Gotta call it like it is!"
A mutter from Gaara teetered on the edge of defeat, "Naruto. You saw what it was like after Temari was attacked."
"I did, but she made it here fine today. And she has her—" Naruto regarded Haku and Temari from the corner of his eye, and remembered he ought not to out them as a couple, "Uh. Eh-hem. Haku was with her which, you know, benefits pretty much anyone who could possibly ever be in danger in the, uh, you know— platonic way."
The facial expressions of those listening contorted thusly:
Haku: Oh. And there you go talking yourself into a corner again, Naruto.
Temari: Don't be so goddamn obvious. Have you ever been nonchalant in your life?!
Kankuro's small smile of realization: Shit, they're dating aren't they?
Gaara: Platonic. Absolutely platonic.
"Anyway, you'll be fully aware of the next time you see me." Haku salvaged the conversation.
"Do you plan on making time for us in the future during your continued assignment in the Water Country?" Gaara's interest took a turn in the preferable direction.
"I would like to, but I deal in no absolutes. When I have a lead, we have to pursue it as quickly as possible and get information to Jiraiya-sensei. When I have no leads…it feels like we're twiddling our thumbs. So it isn't easy to judge how best to manage my time, especially when…" Haku wilted, "I would much rather see the both of you."
"Hmm." Said Kankuro archly towards the rear of the group, supposing what Haku had meant but not said was "the three of you." No one really paid attention to that input.
"Well if you're waiting on the whatever-it-was auction to start, it was smart for you to come here!" Naruto folded his arms behind his head and then promptly dropped his arms, realizing how sore they were, "Ow. Erg, ow…"
"You usually heal well enough on your own..." Haku recalled as he pressed a healing hand to the back of Naruto's head as they walked, "Though, I don't know the specifics of that ability."
"I'm mostly fine." Naruto guessed, "Overdid it a little. Hey, thanks! You've been practicing healing jutsu a lot?"
"As often as I can."
"You know Hinata-chan's gotten pretty good at it too, for an informal dabbler. Not the way Sakura-chan can, but it's still handy!"
"It is! Oh! How have they been?" The nostalgia was making Haku bubble over.
As Gaara tuned in his ears on the conversation beside him, his frustrations began to ebb. A few steps ahead of him, Kankuro and Temari conversed purely through eye gestures at one another.
Temari's flicking eyes and crinkling nose indicated: Gaara's just wound up. He'll feel better soon with his best friends here.
A pressing look from her middle-younger brother, You're not actually dating one of Gaara's friends right? Like, didn't you swear off of that?
A narrowed, impatient stare, There is no rule that says I can't.
O-kay, I don't know Haku well enough to give an opinion on this, so… Kankuro shrugged silently.
After a very talkative march through the gates of Suna (mostly Haku and Naruto catching up), at the gate's interior there appeared to be a response team of Black-Ops ninja speaking with Baki and Jiraiya. When Gaara's gaggle drew near enough, the masked Commander of Suna's Black-Ops division respectfully stepped up to the Kazekage, "Sir, may I have a word?"
Gaara gave a harried look to his friends before parting from the group to speak quietly with the Commander. Meanwhile, Jiraiya moseyed over with a closed-mouth, furling smile on his face, "Well, well…" He gently nudged Haku and Naruto's shins with his foot, marking how they stood side-by-side, "Long overdue, isn't it?"
"You could say that again." Naruto's eyes scrunched shut in a Foxy grin he just had to let out.
"It's good to see you again, Sensei." Haku was also jubilant and accepted a fond pat on the head from Jiraiya.
"How very nice of you to stop by, Haku. I know you had that auction coming up, so I suspected you'd make the most of a trip to the mainland. Hopefully Zabuza is not running amok while you're gone." Jiraiya wagered, "Most likely not, since he knows what hell I'd rain down on him."
"Ah, right." Haku added, "Though he won't…because I have in my possession a crucial element to his plans. Our truce is a shaky one, but I don't think he'd risk losing the Master Scroll."
Jiraiya shook his head and hand simultaneously, recalibrating, "Wha-what? You? How'd you get your hands on it? Honestly I was skeptical of that goal…"
"What's a Master Scroll?" Naruto wondered.
"I can explain later." Haku assured him, "It's a bit crowded here…" His eyes skirted back to Gaara, who had finished a hushed discussion with the Commander. The Kazekage returned to his jumbled family/friend group.
"I have a few other matters to attend to. I'd prefer it if you both stayed at my home until then— Kankuro will escort you." Gaara looked from Haku and Naruto to Jiraiya, "Go with them?"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry so much." Jiraiya waved a nonchalant hand, "I have some updates to write for Tsunade today, so I'll stick around."
"Good." Gaara rested a hand on the side of Naruto's head, where the gash had once been, "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed you the way I did."
A shrug, "It was kind of awesome."
Gaara wrestled a smile, "It was. I won't be able to do much to show you how to interact with your Tailed-Beast, at least not until you've come to understand each other more."
"Well, it was sloppy, but we sort of figured something out…so I won't be as close-minded as I was. I'll keep working on it…I know I have to." Naruto confirmed, "And I think the Fox knows it too."
"He does." Something in Gaara's face suggested he might have peeked into the subconscious conversation between Shukaku and Kurama after all.
"Did you get in trouble for that stunt? The Commander doesn't usually step into broad daylight to speak to you. I'm guessing he wasn't thrilled about mountains of chakra and liability wrestling outside of the village?" Temari ventured.
"He was…apprising me on best practices. I don't disagree with him." On that note Gaara added, "Temari, I want you to join me in a debriefing with Chiyo-sama. She has some thoughts on our investigation we need to discuss, and I guess I should mention the video to her too…"
"A video?"
The only person who seemed to light up at the thought of the recording was Naruto, but Gaara delayed the explanation. He assured his friends that he would be home as soon as he concluded his responsibilities, and Temari made no fuss as she dutifully accompanied the Kazekage for a meeting with the village's elderly puppet master. Kankuro ushered the remainder of the group along, "I'm thinking I need to pick up a few extra things for dinner. Never counted on the extra company…"
"Sorry for the short notice." Haku apologized, "My visit wasn't supposed to be short notice."
"Temari has her own definition of what notice is, and at what intervals it's acceptable."
"Accurate." Haku could certify that.
There was a small market on the way, so the gaggle stopped there briefly for Kankuro's additional dinnertime ingredients, and they then proceeded to the Kazekage's mansion. Once through the door's threshold, Jiraiya automatically reached for his pipe pouch, but Kankuro spun a plastic bag in his face to halt him, "Nuh-uh! Not in here, Toad Sage. Gaara's office is one thing, but our house is smoke free. End of discussion."
"Not even if I sit by a window?" Jiraiya playfully pushed his luck.
"Put it to you this way: if you accidentally burn our house down, or give us lung cancer, can all of your book royalties pay for that?" Kankuro inquired.
Naruto leaned into Haku and whispered, "He's savage. I'm really starting to love him." Haku nodded discreetly.
Jiraiya put his pipe away and announced, "Dibs on the couch."
"You two." Kankuro gestured to Haku and Naruto before they settled in to relax, "I'll bet you want to catch up, but no freeloading is allowed. Help me cook this. It's gonna be a big meal."
There was no dissent with the request because, as it turned out, Haku was already an avid cook dating back to his single-digit years and Naruto was a sous-chef in the making. They agreed cheerily and left Jiraiya in the sitting room to half-nap, half-compose his correspondence to the Hokage.
Sleeves rolled up, hands were washed, and Kankuro commenced his directions. Meanwhile, Naruto asked of Haku, "So what's it like being totally independent of a village? Is it nice to come back to something familiar?"
"Of course it is. For one thing, not every person and lonely street corner is suspect. I can't let my guard down when ambushes are so routine. Even Nanakusa isn't very safe." Haku halved mushrooms with a knife, hardly thinking about the task, "And I've wanted to take a break for so long…to not have to think about the people who've come to depend on me there, or being on the front line of threats."
"Signing up to be a spy doesn't give you much opportunity to take a break from that, no?" Kankuro supposed while mixing premade dashi with a bowl of other liquids.
Haku looked sidelong to Naruto, who was concentrating on slicing salmon into perfect filets, and then said, "I had a good reason to take on the role."
Kankuro was smiling to himself, "I know you did."
"But when it's all over, and we've got a solid counterattack effort in place for the Akatsuki, what do you want to do instead?" Naruto wondered, "You said you wanted to settle down, but you still need to make money. Gaara said he's already thinking about retiring and moving back to Leaf someday."
"Gaara said that?" Kankuro warbled, "He'd go back to Leaf?"
"He's thinking about it. But really, he's never going to completely move his business out of Sand is he? He'd be like a commuter. Hm." Naruto thought out loud, "Gaara should invest in one of those rail lines or something to make moving between villages easier. Crossing to Sand from Leaf gets old fast."
"Pff. He has other things to think about. Retirement! He's too young and strong to talk retirement!" Kankuro protested as he worked.
"Retirement sounds nice." Haku agreed sunnily.
"We've still got so much work to do." Naruto pointed out.
"We do, but there's no harm in planning ahead. I suppose it'd be easy for me to join the Medical Corps, or join an Advisory Council to lend expertise on Water Country affairs."
"You can make a living from either of those!" Naruto chirped. He'd moved on to other vegetables in need of chopping.
"I would probably…stay in Suna, though." Haku imagined in a soft voice.
Kankuro stilled at the stove, and Naruto's chopping knife froze. He stared in disbelief, "Would you really?"
Haku nodded, "To be with Temari."
Kankuro sighed heavily and dropped his shoulders; though not disapproving of the romance, he did not foresee the future of his sister's relationship working out so splendidly.
"That sucks. I mean, for me. Because I'd want to see you." Naruto was honest, "And I haven't been able to in so long."
"That sort of relocation would have to be sanctioned by the Hokage, and there's no guarantee Tsunade-sama would allow it. In her eyes, I've been working in Suna all of this time. I'm sure it would be a test of her patience. The only other way I could think of is…" Haku trailed off, because if he said such hopeful things aloud he was sure to doom them.
Naruto decided, "I am going to actively not stress about it. And I'll assume you'll be hanging around with me in Leaf as I hustle in the Sealing Corps and get my Tailed-Beast-stuff figured out."
"That sounds perfectly reasonable. And as you said, I also hope there is investment in fast-transport between Leaf and Sand." Haku concurred with Naruto's earlier imaginings.
"You're both overlooking the major possibility of there being no peace or stability in the coming years." Kankuro brought them back to earth, "Assume that's what will happen. There won't be any rest, or travel, or corps work, or settling down. You'll be conscripted to fight all of the time, if it's war."
"A war." Naruto repeated hollowly.
"You weren't there in the Tide Village…to see what I saw." Kankuro turned his back on a simmering sauce to look at them, "Our best laid plans are going to be waylaid by this— by the conflict with the Akatsuki."
"We can stop them." Haku was insistent.
Kankuro shook his head, "On one front, maybe on two fronts, we can stall them…but they have eyes and ears everywhere. They're watching every village and needling weaknesses. When the time is right, they strike, and it'll be hard to anticipate their movements even though there's an active spy network trying to keep on top of them. Even Obito got his ass beat by Pein, and he's one of the greatest ninja I've ever met."
"Jiraiya-sensei mentioned that spy." Haku acknowledged, "He said Obito was a sensitive asset."
Kankuro carried on with the topic, "That's because he's—"
"Wait, wait, wait— I didn't actually fill Haku in on this yet!" Naruto interrupted, "I meant to, but uh, I don't know if Ero-sensei explained—"
Haku arched an eyebrow, "Explained what?"
"That Obito is an Uchiha, from the Hidden Leaf Village." Kankuro loosed the truth like a wrecking ball, "And he's been a spy for Jiraiya for a hell of a long time."
Slowly, Haku pushed away a cutting board with various piles of vegetables, staring unseeing at the wall of the kitchen as he thought back to childhood— witnessing the aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre. It had left a deep and frightful impression on him as a newly settled refugee in Hidden Leaf; knowing that a respected and powerful clan could be gone in a single night. And now there was talk of another older, independent Uchiha whose primary concern was thwarting the Akatsuki? It was going to take a moment to digest the idea. It was both heartening and terrifying.
"Way to go..." Naruto muttered to Kankuro, handing off fish fillets to be baked.
"What? He might as well know what you, Gaara, Temari, and the Old Perv and I know. None of us are going to mishandle such delicate information." Kankuro reasoned.
"…if there is such a person…who's so reliable and respected…" Haku was thoughtful on the matter, "He's taking the Akatsuki very seriously as a Leaf ninja, and so should we. With that said, I can't help but wonder how he feels about what happened to the Uchiha clan. Something like that would be incredibly distressing, if I were in his position…"
"He…doesn't know about it." Naruto muttered, drawing two sets of anxious eyes.
Kankuro shook his head, frazzled, "He doesn't? I was talking to Obito in Tide, and he said that his clan doesn't know he's alive. So which is it? One or the other?"
"Both." Naruto supposed, "Ero-sensei told me he's been keeping it a secret— what happened to the Uchiha clan. But, it sounded like Obito ended up stuck outside of Konoha a long time ago…so he just…missed it all."
"There is tremendous risk in employing someone who isn't privy to such awful information. His sentiments about Hidden Leaf might change, or his prioritization of the Akatsuki may fall by the wayside if he chooses to hunt for the perpetrator of his clan's demise: Uchiha Itachi. Look to Sasuke for an example." Haku outlined the frailty of the arrangement, "If Jiraiya-sensei lied about something like that for so long—"
Naruto tried to interrupt in a soft hiss, "—he wasn't lying, he—!"
"A relationship with such an important spy can dissolve instantly. He'd be within his rights to sever all ties, if he were angry enough. Think about it." Haku's reasoning earned a few troubled nods, "What foolishness. Sensei was right about Obito being a sensitive asset, but he could have compromised the trust this man has put in us and the Leaf Village. It could all fall apart."
"Okay. I get why you're saying that, but I've met him." Naruto countered, "And he's not a fucking asshat like Sasuke was. Obito is a real grown-up who can think things through, even when times are hard. My Dad was his Sensei, so I've got to endorse what values he holds as a shinobi. Plus, he's a good dad— I've met his kid, a cute kid! Even if he's upset and learns about what happened to his clan, would he really toss everything else aside and forget about a child who's depending on him? No way."
"Hmm." Kankuro considered it, "Probably not."
"Then there's that." Haku conceded, pointing his hand in Naruto's direction, "His priorities may realign, but perhaps not in a drastic or damaging way. All the same, honesty is key. Things will have to change."
"Tell your Sensei that." Kankuro advised with a smirk.
Naruto and Haku sighed simultaneously. Jiraiya just couldn't make things simple.
"Good. At least that may not work out as catastrophically as it could, if our estimations are accurate," Kankuro had the fish baking and was dropping diced vegetables to simmer in an aromatic broth, "But I can't forget what Obito said, about what the Akatsuki may be trying to do."
"Take Biju away from the great villages, and any other village that has one." Naruto stated it as if it were so straightforward.
"But why?" Kankuro pressed him, "Have you thought that much about it?"
"They could organize their own state, with that much power." Haku dabbled in the hypothetical.
"Why would they bother?" Kankuro scoffed, "None of our villages would be a match, by then. It's more likely they'd impose a direct rule over every village and reorganize things. That's an optimistic scenario…" He closed the lid on a pot, "But I think what Obito said is closer to the mark: they might have someone in mind…someone they want to make into a jinchuriki for all of the Tailed-Beasts."
Naruto leapt from his seat, "That's just—! THAT— It's fucking insane! One is hard enough to handle! Who'd wanna subject themselves to that pressure?"
Kankuro stewed on the same thought as he gathered table settings. While Naruto muttered about the absurdity of such a theory, Haku spoke quietly again.
"Let's be rational. Why would Obito draw such a conclusion? He's the spy who works most closely with the Akatsuki, isn't that right? Then his intuition is valuable. By that measure, we need to consider how such a goal is achievable. The level of Sealing technique required for such a thing…is unimaginable. I couldn't contemplate a combined effort of all experts in every village sealing such a volume of Biju chakra into one person. If the Akatsuki indeed intends to do that, then we have to assume they have the physical capability to do so. What does this mean?" He inferred in a grave tone, "That we are dealing with an enemy who wields a power that is inestimable; not typical to most shinobi alive."
"No fucking shit." Naruto agreed breathlessly.
"Furthermore, a power like this would not have gone unnoticed in any of the Great Villages. We can guess that such a person has deliberately concealed his or her identity, and stayed on the fringes of shinobi nations. This individual will have enough knowledge to select and attack targets, to execute plans…but this individual does not reveal much about him or herself to avoid any village detecting a rogue threat. Of course, such a person needs to delegate certain efforts to others, hence the creation of the Akatsuki." Haku rambled in his assertions, "Akatsuki members willingly support this mystery organizer. Is it a leader's charisma, or coercion? Is it camaraderie? Fear? Why would subordinates agree with such a goal? Do they hold any stake in the future they have planned?"
"This is seriously…some fucked up conjecture for kitchen-talk." Kankuro admitted, "I mean, yeah, it makes sense for the one responsible for that end-game to be an unknown. But how can that be? How is it possible for someone to escape notice like that? I just don't get it! How can you be that powerful, but no one is aware?"
"Kinda stands to reason…" Naruto disagreed, "That someone's gotta be aware. Like, is it that Pein guy everyone talks about?"
"I really don't know. He was strong and frightening, but he wasn't a god." Kankuro recalled, "We knew how to beat him. We figured it out. Hell— Obito hit him in the head with a shovel, okay? And it worked."
Naruto laughed nervously at the visual.
"Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't…" Haku rubbed his chin, frowning.
Naruto helped set his end of the table before taking a seat, leaning on his elbows to stare at Haku, "You've seen some shit, haven't you?"
"I have. I was near the Mist Village recently, and I am aware that the Akatsuki controls it by way of a shadow regime. Authority has been completely corrupted there and holds the village hostage." Haku explained, "And Honesuki-sama…told me something…"
The name rang a vague bell for Kankuro, who had a running list of famous foreign ninja in the back of his mind, "Who's that again—?"
"She said that on a few occasions an individual named Tasū appeared to suppress uprisings and give orders to the regime. He keeps his identity a secret and prefers to use an alias. To her knowledge, he had no affiliation with Mist or an enemy village. Though his involvement with the Akatsuki was unquestionable. So, is this a subordinate who, unlike other Akatsuki members, is not a defector or bingo-book criminal? Could it be the unknown?"
"We could be completely off-base about all of this." Kankuro reminded him, "Might as well set up a cork board, tacks, and some string to link all of our evidence before we make further assumptions."
"Even if we're wrong about the goal, it's still sketchy that a complete rando is suppressing a whole village." Naruto acknowledged, "The other Akatsuki members don't really hide who they are, right? This matters. Did you tell Ero-sensei about that? About the "many" guy?"
"I meant to." Haku recalled squirrelishly, scratching his cheek.
"It's makin' me nervous." Naruto mumbled.
"It should. The prospect is daunting, and like I said, if we've got our hands full with an enemy like that—" Kankuro reiterated, "We are going to war. I'm not talking just the handful of concerned folks who repudiate the Akatsuki. I'm talking every village. A huge force needs to intervene in one burst. Or we're dead."
"How would we…ever get village leaders to believe any of this?" Haku's voice was faint.
"Tch. One of Pein's incarnations would make a believer out of any of them." Kankuro grumbled.
"Well…Gaara said it's going to be hard to convince other Kages. They believe what they want to believe, and they're reluctant to put their asses on the front line." Naruto recalled.
"Sounds about right." Kankuro was checking on his simmering vegetables.
"But then we got that video earlier today." Naruto perked up as he recalled the delivery.
"Yeah, Gaara mentioned that…" The puppet master glanced over his shoulder, hoping for an explanation.
Haku also gave Naruto his undivided attention, and the blonde man took a deep breath before stating, "If the leaders of the great villages don't wanna wrap their heads around this…we have options."
"Oh no." Haku smiled a small, concerned smile, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"So…Yugito and B in the Cloud Village, the shinobi who have the Two and Eight-Tails…sent Gaara a weird video tape that we watched today…"
Kankuro's disbelief sputtered in the background, "—! How was that not processed by the Intel Corps? What the—"
"AND," Naruto went on, "They said we need to be prepared. In case our villages are unwilling to respond, at least jinchuriki should be willing to work together! If there's a threat that wants to combine all Tailed-Beast chakra, why not combine ourselves as a group? See?"
"How perfectly reckless." Haku said, but he was nodding and totally getting it.
"Oh come on! You saw what Gaara could do, since he's got his Tailed-Beast relationship figured out, and those older jinchuriki— Yugito and B, have got it down! And Fū does too! And I'm working on it." Naruto championed the idea, "What I'm saying is that our best defense might be a planned and organized offense."
"You are using two words I respond very strongly to." Haku cupped his chin, zeroing-in on the words planned and organized.
"Pftt. Okay." Kankuro moved the hotpot to a small butane burner on the table to maintain the heat, "If you all team up without the permission of village leaders, the Akatsuki won't be your biggest problem. You'll all be court-martialed for treason and insubordination. That could mean prison time and being stripped of your shinobi credentials. Or worse."
"However," Haku chimed in, "A backup plan could save countless lives. Naturally, no one wants to disobey village leadership, least of all jinchuriki looking out for their homes. If Kage or other decision-making bodies stymie efforts to respond to the Akatsuki, and other villages are attacked…are you saying there's no merit to a force of jinchuriki reaching an accord to act in the best interest of their villages?"
"In lieu of a Kage's mandate? That's still treason." Kankuro had since moved on to scooping rice into bowls.
"Look, it's not our number one option." Naruto conceded, "But I've got to believe that working together is a smart fallback, since, you know, those Akatsuki shitheads have no problem combining forces."
Kankuro was amused, "Heh, well, let's see what the Toad Sage has to say. I don't think he'd support a coalition of jinchuriki jeopardizing themselves, or possibly subverting orders from their village leadership in order to form a crackpot team."
In an attempt to dismiss the poo-pooing of the jinchuriki team idea, Naruto gestured to the waiting meal on the table, "Are we going to eat, or what? This is some heavy stuff to discuss, so I say we change the subject before we sit down for a meal. Gaara and Temari are going to be here soon, right?"
Before Kankuro could share his estimate aloud, Haku, nearest to the dining room's doorway, heard a scuffle of returning siblings at the front door of the house echoing, "I think that's them now…"
"As I thought. Okay, for now, case closed." Naruto commanded.
"Are you trying to sound like my Dad? Because you're getting pretty close to his level of frantic evasion. If memory serves from my childhood…" Kankuro had entered a perpetual state of snarkiness that was eerily reminiscent of Gaara's behavior. Naruto noted the phenomenon.
The flow of traffic from the innards of the house scooped up Jiraiya (who had mostly been dozing) and transported the Sage, along with Gaara and Temari, into the dining area where the others were waiting. Most of Gaara's muted complaints about the day's work and criticisms fell on deaf ears as the family settled at the table.
"Where's Matsuri?" Kankuro asked as he took a headcount.
"When I saw her after the briefing, she told me was going out with a few friends tonight for dinner and the cinema. And I told her to make them pay for her, since kids in this village have been such asses toward her until now." Temari pulled up a chair, "She'll be home later."
Haku then mentioned as Jiraiya sat beside him, that he had a few new details to share based on reconnaissance in the Land of Water. He didn't want to outright drop the bombshell that he may have a rough idea of who was coordinating the Akatsuki's efforts, and what the group's overarching goal could be.
Kankuro returned with two extra seats for himself and Naruto, who squished themselves at the end of the crowded table. It turned out to be a charming ritual, for none of them were used to dining with so many companions and it was, as Naruto put it, pretty fun. When Naruto and Gaara once again brought up the proposition made by the two jinchuriki of the Cloud Village, Jiraiya listened as he spooned sukiyaki broth and vegetables into his bowl.
"I've already drafted a request for the Raikage, and by tomorrow I expect to have something written tomorrow for the Tsuchikage and the leader of Hidden Waterfall, Shibuki." Gaara explained, "I hope they'll see the value in a cooperative effort, even if they want something temporary as opposed to formal alliances. Jinchuriki that are prepared and unified with their villages backing them are going to greatly impede the Akatsuki's strategies."
"Hm." Jiraiya took a noisy sip of broth, "Hidden Waterfall, eh? That's the Seven-Tails."
"Yes, she resides there." Gaara confirmed.
"They'll be quite open to suggestions, I'm sure. Waterfall can use the extra protection. As for Iwagakure…they've already lost one jinchuriki, so I don't know what Ōnoki-sama plans to do to protect the Five-Tails. And the Raikage…" Jiraiya sighed heavily, "Is famously stubborn."
"I know." Gaara concurred flatly, "At least he responds to me. Sometimes he doesn't even grace Tsunade-sama with replies when she communicates with him."
Naruto made an agitated sound at the thought of anyone disrespecting Tsunade while Temari chimed in, "Why would the Raikage keep alienating the Hokage at a time like this? If she's extending an olive branch despite all those past grudges, is he just too dumb to accept it?"
"I don't think that he's dumb, but I do think that A-sama would prefer Kumo having a position to leverage its power against Konoha again. For example: he might like helping Leaf better if Naruto were kidnapped by the Akatsuki, say, to send Cloud's forces to aid in a rescue or counter the Akatsuki. That nets Cloud a weakened rival village and more bargaining power for future agreements, and also the combined effort is intended to beat back a worrisome enemy of the Cloud Village: the Akatsuki. So yes, he's probably waiting for a crisis. What can he gain by proactively striking deals?" Jiraiya put it into perspective.
"Jerk." Naruto grumbled.
Gaara added while chewing sauced beef, "I get the impression that is exactly what he's waiting for. But it shouldn't be about what he can gain. The Raikage ought to think of what might be lost."
"What about the Tsuchikage, then?" Kankuro wondered.
"Ehh…he's not much better." Jiraiya shared his time-tested opinion.
"Quite a hostile environment for Kage who want to get anything done." Temari griped.
"Okay…so if Leaf and Sand are friendly, and Cloud and Rock are friendly…and Sand is neutral to the other two but Leaf is kinda…" Naruto made a sour face, "Then another representative can help talk things out. Like the Mist Village—"
"The Mizukage is dead as a puppet struts around in his place." Haku reminded him.
"Yeah, but you and your rebel posse are working on prying the Akatsuki out of there, and then someone decent can take over, right?" Naruto restated the general idea, "Who are the contenders and do you think they can negotiate with other village leaders?"
"Well…" Haku looked up at the ceiling briefly to think about it, "To my knowledge, the most likely contenders for the position of Mizukage after a coup in Hidden Mist…are Terumi Mei and Momochi Zabuza."
Temari laughed viciously after hearing that.
Haku cleared his throat to quiet her and went on, "I have never met Mei and only know so much about her, but she is favorable. She possesses two Kekkei Genkai, is said to be ethically upright, a sort of folk-heroine throughout the land. As for how much clout she has with inter-village dignitaries…it can't be very much. But if she has a good personality, she can make an impression with the other Kage." He sipped his tea and compared, "If Zabuza were preferred by councils in Mist, and I don't know if that will happen…his ethics are slowly recovering. He will be more concerned about the internal welfare of Hidden Mist than external threats, although he has much knowledge about the Akatsuki and its connections. He might be a better negotiator at a Kage Summit…but he would be deeply disliked by citizens and shinobi who continue to associate him with the Demon of the Hidden Mist persona."
"Either way," Jiraiya interrupted, "There isn't much time. If Mist isn't back on its feet soon, there's no point in waiting on it to join talks with other Kage. The great villages will have to sort out their issues on their own."
Gaara nodded in total agreement.
"Seems like it." Naruto yielded.
Temari motioned for Naruto to pass an untouched bottle of sake, "Would you mind?"
Naruto handed off the bottle to her, and the woman wordlessly offered a drink to Jiraiya in an effort to not be rude. The Sage shook his head, "No thanks. I've been reducing my intake these past few weeks and I think it's for the best."
"That's admirable, Gama-sennin. This is just a hard topic for me to listen in on while sober." She admitted while pouring, "Kankuro, want some? Haku?"
Gaara snapped out of his deep thought processes again when he heard his sister address Haku, "You're going to exclude others at this table?"
"Gaara, you don't drink." Temari was not amused, "And Naruto, I didn't think you were interested since this was sitting right beside you."
"No, no. You're right." He confirmed while slurping noodles.
Both Kankuro and Haku did accept pours from the bottle while Temari and Gaara engaged in a vexing stare-off from opposite sides of the table. Jiraiya, who was the oldest peacemaker around for miles, waggled his chopsticks at Gaara, "You are making my dinner unnecessarily tense with your over-inflated brotherly responses. Sit back and eat, Gaara."
Jiraiya sort of knew the tension had something to do with Haku and that, perhaps, Gaara did not like these subtle indicators that Temari was displaying a preference for him. Haku had a remarkable poker face, though. He sat there eating and conversing with Naruto as if none of this was happening. As if he hadn't a clue how Temari and Gaara were feeling. 'But of course he knows he's at the center of their tug-of-war and Haku's not thrilled about it.' Jiraiya thought to himself.
The youngsters seemed to settle down when Naruto recaptured the conversation, and discussed the plans he had for when he returned to Konoha. Haku was tickled by the idea of Naruto joining the Sealing Corps, though Jiraiya cautioned that administration would most likely give Naruto a hard time during an entry interview.
"Whatever you do," Jiraiya warned him, "Don't let them trip you up and make you lose your temper. They're going to push your buttons on purpose during an interview. Sealing Corps members are required to keep a level head so that they can act during emergency situations." He added before a bite of salmon, "And they will be particularly rude to you, Naruto, since they're aware that you are a jinchuriki."
"Aren't there anti-discrimination and equal opportunity laws to prevent that sort of crap?" Naruto grumbled.
"Yeah, but good luck getting a legal team to take the case. It's not fair that the deck is stacked the way it is, or that you'll have to work harder to get your foot in the door while others cruise on in," Jiraiya explained, "But you can do it. I know you can, because I've seen what happens when you set your mind on something." The man boasted to the rest of the table, "Do you all know that Naruto set the record for becoming a Sage in the least amount of training time? No one has accomplished what he has at the same rate."
That got them going. A positive mood was restored to the table, and Gaara and Haku twittered praises over Naruto's remarkable feat. When the meal concluded, Kankuro and Temari generously waved off the other dinner guests to relax while they cleaned up. Kankuro settled at the sink to scrub a mountain of dishes and bowls while his sister frittered around, boxing up what scraps remained. The young man glanced over his shoulder a few times, curious about Temari's recent decisions and the subtle changes he'd perceived in his elder sibling. She was light-footed and efficient, wiping the table down, pleasantly quiet.
"So, is this it?" Kankuro wondered.
She looked back at him, "Is what it?"
"Are you gonna settle? It seems like you've made up your mind." Kankuro elaborated, "About Haku."
"I…" Temari waffled for a moment before retorting, "Kankuro, just mind your own business, alright?"
He laughed softly, "It's okay, you know. He's an improvement over the previous five."
Her sigh carried a hint of relief in it.
"Don't forget that I'm taking some time off tomorrow. I've got a few things to get done in the morning, then I am free and clear." Kankuro reminded his sister, "But if you need anything…"
"I'm not going to bug you on your day off." She couldn't help a smile as she moved to dry the mounting stack of cleaned cookware beside him.
As the dark of evening settled on the house, Temari exited the kitchen and stretched her arms above her head, listening for the echoes of where houseguests had ended up in the mansion. It sounded as though Gaara had taken his friends upstairs, and Jiraiya must have settled down in a guest room for the night. Also, she could hear scratching at the front door. It reminded her of the rare begging scratches neighborhood dogs attempted, and she crossed the living area to go shoo the beast, 'Maybe it smelled leftovers…' And when she leveled her face with the crack of the door, she saw Haku's white rabbit sitting patiently.
"Oh!" She opened up to allow Pua in, "Did we forget about you? Shoot. Haku says if you aren't fed you thieve like an unstoppable monster."
"Ramen." Pua confirmed, hopping into the house.
Temari watched in bemusement as the white rabbit tracked across the floor and stopped at Haku's travel bag, sitting forgotten beside a console table. Pua took the bag's zipper in her teeth and tried to tug it open.
"Uh, hold on a second there…" Temari pulled open the pouch so that the animal could munch on timothy hay Haku kept for her, "Good girl. Do me a favor and don't eat anything else in the house, alright? I've heard about your appetite."
Pua just stared up at her with big, glassy eyes, nose a-wiggle as she chewed, and Temari sighed. That look made no promises.
"Just give him a 'sec." Naruto motioned for Gaara to sit down.
Gaara said as he sank down on the edge of his bed, "You did it too…"
"Yeah. It's a gigantic, old house. Of course Haku's gotta go look at all the rooms for the ooh and aah show." Naruto was cross-legged on an area rug, smiley and content.
"I guess I just don't feel as fascinated by this place since…" Gaara supposed in a softer voice, "Sad things happened here."
"I'm sorry you feel that way…but for us it's something cool. To us it's exciting that this is your old and your new home, technically, like— we get to see this other side of you." Naruto tried to give it a positive spin.
When Haku returned he asked, "Whose room is that with all of the sea glass and shells on display? That's something."
"Matsuri's. She collects more with each visit to the Tide Village." Gaara plopped flat to his back to relax.
"Huh. I should do that too, when I'm there again. What a beautiful effect." Haku sat at the foot of the bed, cupping his chin, "The rest of the house…sort of lacks character and warmth."
"It was my father's house." Gaara snorted.
Soft noises of understanding echoed from Naruto and Haku, who took the simple statement as the overarching explanation of why Gaara could never fully appreciate his birthplace. While Naruto lounged on the floor, patting his full stomach and yawning, Haku glanced around and drank in the details of the room. Gaara watched as Haku reached to an adjacent desk and lifted an inconspicuous scroll up. How typical— since time immemorial, there never was a scroll that did not attract Haku's curiosity.
And so Haku predictably asked, "What's this, Gaara?"
"A classified communiqué full of unpleasant things that I cannot ignore." Gaara told him as Haku was part of the way through unwinding the parchment, but froze at the word classified, "Go ahead and read it. I don't intend to keep anything from you and Naruto."
"Is this is a report from Konoha?" Haku vaguely recognized it as his eyes scanned the text.
"It is. Some recent trouble that is non-Akatsuki related…near as far as we can tell."
"An attack…wait." Haku frowned, "What is a Tao Art?"
"Oooooh—" Naruto sat up and looked to Gaara, "Can I answer this one?"
Gaara shrugged with his face, mashing his pillows to get more comfortable.
Haku gave Naruto his attention as the explanation began, "Tao Arts are…not Ninjutsu."
When a silence persisted for a few seconds, Gaara decided to interrupt it with a patronizing slow clap to applaud Naruto's assessment.
"Fucking stop that." Naruto groused, "I wasn't finished! What was I saying? Oh. So, I've seen a couple…well, Hinata saw a guy using Tao Arts while I was overlayed with her, when she used her ability to link with me; you know I told you about—?"
"Yes, yes— when was this, Naruto?"
"At the most recent Chunin Exam in Hidden Leaf. The semi-finalist was a ninja from Hidden Rock…he had these abilities that didn't need Hand Seals or have the same kinds of limits that our jutsu do. They were different…like they were a part of him, expressed at-will or whathaveyou…" Naruto recounted the experience and it even got Gaara's attention, "He could still use Ninjutsu, sure, but the Tao Arts were way obvious, just— not the same. Ninja Arts can't counter them…we were lucky to be quick enough to get the jump on him, and he was tired…"
"His name was Huo." Gaara added, for Haku's benefit, "He is mentioned in the report as an escaped detainee…and he most likely rejoined the band of terrorists he was working for. As I too watched Huo's fights at the Exam…I can say that he is not to be taken lightly."
"Terrorists?" Haku crinkled the scroll in his hands.
"A rogue group headed by Dintei Bihokokuni. They splintered from Iwagakure after refusing to answer for their war crimes before the Tsuchikage…and are deliberately trying to sabotage Leaf and Rock…We have wondered if they could be partnering with the Akatsuki for certain endeavors. Tsunade-sama and I have been trying to determine just how involved these groups may be with each other, and what sort of intelligence may have been leaked to the Akatsuki in light of a recent ambush in the Leaf Village." Gaara pulled another pillow to his chest and hugged it, "As if we needed another enemy to think about."
Setting the report aside, Haku tenderly rubbed his temples and shut his eyes while supposing, "I never gave a thought to those who may willingly aid the Akatsuki."
"It fucking sucks." Naruto agreed from the floor, "You know that Ero-sensei and I ran into him once? That Bi guy?" He drew Gaara and Haku's flabbergasted stares as he went on, "He hated my guts— mistook me for my Dad. But he didn't want to mess with Ero-sensei…though I think he seriously thought about it. We were just travelling, minding our own business when he showed up out of nowhere…but I guess that's because they move through shadows with their Tao Arts."
"Through shadows?" Haku repeated incredulously, "How can they be tracked, then?"
"With a terrible amount of effort Black Ops units have been able to trace their whereabouts, but you can understand why pinpointing this group is a nightmare. They know better than to stay in one place, and maintain their distance from adversaries with relative ease." Gaara summed it up, "Though their numbers are few, maybe no more than a dozen…they are a particularly dangerous wildcard."
"How is there an ability like this? Why is it distinct from Ninjutsu?" Haku had to get to the existential crisis-type questions, as was his specialty, "What if there are other abilities in the world we are yet unaware of? How do we—?"
"Okay, stop, because you know we can't answer any of that." Naruto held up a hand to put the brakes on Haku's guesswork, "It just is. It's a problem."
"Can anyone else in shinobi nations use Tao Arts?" Haku posed a logical follow up, "That could help at least discourage these types of criminals."
"Not anymore." Gaara recalled, "Many were hunted down and executed by Bi's cell, according to what Tsunade-sama shared with me."
"Alright. So can Tao Arts be learned? By people like you and me?" Another thoughtful follow up from Haku.
Naruto laughed from the floor, "Wha—? How? We don't even know what they are or how they work!"
"Someone must know."
"No one in these lands could really explain it. Techniques like that come from nations far to the west, most likely in Han and Joseon." Gaara shot the idea down, "Unless shinobi are willing to travel abroad to study other abilities in this world…we are going to have to solve these issues on our own."
"What a complication." Haku shifted to sit cross-legged on the bed's edge, elbows to his knees as he held his chin in his hands and thought, "Why is there so much we don't know about? Every time I think I have a grasp of what's going on, there's another revelation to saddle my brain with. I'm tired of having to think about it all."
"Well, that's our life now. Just tryin' to keep up with all of the madness. It helps when you've got other people working on it with you…but…I really…" Naruto sighed and stretched himself wide on the floor, his eyes trained on the ceiling, "When I left Leaf to train, I never thought I'd have to face stuff like this. To really have to open my eyes to what's been going on. I didn't count on it. Didn't ask for it. But what kind of a shithead would I be if I tried to ignore it or let it be someone else's problem?"
Gaara raised his hand in solidarity, agreeing, "That. Exactly that."
Haku chuckled darkly, "Is this merely a part of growing up, or is this a torment unique to us? That we just happened to be the fools clued into the truth and dangers creeping in this world?"
"Oh it's just us, I'm thinkin'." Naruto lamented, "For some damn reason, it's us. Because I'll tell ya, Teuchi-san at Ichiraku Ramen sure as hell isn't thinking about dealing with this stuff. Which is good, I guess."
"Then if we are meant to combat the threats and injustices in this world," Gaara put a point to the line of thinking, "We had better not mess this up."
The young men collectively sensed a portent of calamity ahead, and though they may have been blind to it when they were younger, they were each absorbing the obligation in those quiet moments. That responsibility, by whatever probability and means, had fallen to them. To defend their homes and future from hegemony, devastation, and evil, unknowable forces.
"Hmm." Haku was the first to snap out of his processing, "The stakes have been raised. There is much to be done and dealt with, however…I'd like to remind you both of what we promised when we first met each other."
Sheepish, Naruto scratched his cheek, sitting up as he asked, "Uh…what did we promise each other, again? I mean, it was a long time ago!"
"That we would protect each other." Haku clarified.
"Pff. Well that's a given!" Naruto simpered.
"No, it's not." Haku disagreed, "Not anymore. The context of our lives is very different. We don't all live in the same place and do the same things. We have different needs and wants than we did. Gaara, for example, is a village leader. It would be unfair to ask him to compromise his commitment to Suna for our sakes."
"I do have a degree of flexibility in my decisions, when it comes to you both." Gaara said from his place surrounded by cushions.
"Even so, these times are turbulent. Within reasonable means, if it doesn't jeopardize a village or critical mission…we should prioritize each other." Haku suggested, "If anything were to ever happen to either of you, I would drop everything. You know that. You are my family first. That's the way it has always been."
It seemed like a silly thing to reiterate, after all, it was so fundamental— such a part of who they were! Naruto didn't think it bore repeating, but it made his eyes shiny regardless. Haku reached out a hand which Naruto took automatically in his own. He didn't have to say he understood what Haku meant. They both felt it. To Haku's left, lounging in pillowy comfort, Gaara did not stir but had heard the proclamation.
"You too, Gaara." Haku motioned with his other hand.
"I'm comfortable. Don't make me move, you know that I agree."
"Yeah, if things go sideways…I'll always put you guys first." Naruto cleared his throat, tacking on, "Gaara, the deal isn't sealed if you don't hold hands. It's like a magic bonding-thing."
"That is utter," Gaara over-pronounced his words, "Non-sense."
"Here, then." Haku wrapped his hand around Gaara's ankle, which was nearest to him since the lazy Kazekage was not willing to sit up and enter the friendship circle. At least they could tap Gaara's energy somehow, and that seemed to satisfy Haku and Naruto.
The sentiment pressed down on Gaara's chest like an anvil, and eventually he grumbled and scooched nearer, lending his hands to them as well. There. Another sacred pact— this time forged as young adults, hoping that someday in a bright and distant future they could look back on this moment and thank each other for it.
In the back of his mind, Naruto could hear the Nine-Tailed Fox muttering, If vows and hand-holding save the world I swear I will shave myself bald. This naïve pledging would make me die of secondhand embarrassment if I, you know, had the ability to die independently right now.
'Oh would you shut your face, you lonely asshole-!' Naruto mentally scoffed.
Your love alone can't save them.
A sharp retort, 'I'm not going to bother taking advice on that subject from someone who hasn't actually loved.'
Who says I haven't?
'Alright then. Go ahead and tell me about your loved ones, Fox. I'll listen.'
Tell you— I…ERG. You are the biggest blister in my life, Naruto.
'Just shut up and listen. Do you feel them?'
Feel who?
'THEM.' Naruto redirected Kurama's attention to the internal space that jinchuriki and Tailed-Beasts shared, where the fox finally noticed Gaara and Shukaku were also present.
How dare you goons eavesdrop! This is between me and my blister.
Gaara pointed out, 'I believe it makes more sense to call you Naruto's blister. Better said, Naruto has been an annoyance to me lately. So you are my blister's blister—'
'Okay, time for you to shut up too.' Naruto requested cheerily.
Wait, then what does that make me? Shukaku had gotten confused.
'You're my friend. Relax.' Gaara soothed the One-Tail, who settled down as both Naruto and Kurama clamored at the notion.
'Wow. Way to downgrade me, Gaara! I'm willing to put my life on the line for you and you—'
Gaara interrupted Naruto's blathering, 'It was a joke. You are my best friend. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you and Haku.'
'Ah.' Naruto simmered down, 'Okay.'
'And you,' Gaara addressed the Kyuubi, 'Need not be excluded from this. Shukaku and I saw how strong you and Naruto could be together. Your life may not seem so bleak and empty if you were willing to forge new bonds.'
As if I'd consider the dithering words that come from Shukaku's container, you condescending polyp!
Don't, Shukaku growled in warning, Mouth off to Gaara. You'd never know a good thing happening to you even if it came up and punched you in your shitty face, Kurama!
Aww, do you want to hold hands and make friendship bracelets with them, Shukaku?
Naruto stepped between the quarreling beasts, waving his arms like a baton-wielding ramp agent, 'Enough. Goddammit. Enough. Thought it'd be worthwhile to link up and have a sincere talk, BUT NOPE. I guess what we figured out earlier today didn't matter, Fox.' He paused to apologize to Shukaku and Gaara, who nodded coolly to Naruto before retreating from the dim, conscious space.
'Kurama.'
The Nine-Tails started in surprise upon hearing Naruto speak his name.
'That's your name, isn't it? The one your father gave you. Gaara told me.' He stood alone in the watery dark, 'Gaara's like a brother to me. And Shukaku is supposed to be like a brother to you. If you insist on pushing everyone else away, as if you know better than them or whatever…then the end of the world is going to be pretty dull for you. Just sitting around without all of the dumbasses you didn't need. That sounds fun.' Naruto's expression of disappointment put a twinge of regret in the fox's stomach, and he watched as the young man faded completely from view.
In the upright world within Gaara's bedroom, Naruto blinked and shook his head. He laughed in delight to see he'd only zoned out for a few seconds, and was still holding hands with his friends.
Haku gave him a perplexed smile, "What's funny?"
"We talked to our Tailed-Beasts for a second!" Naruto confessed, "It's easier when we're close together. Could you hear it? You were touching us, so I wonder if you could get there too. Maybe?"
"No, I didn't experience anything." Haku withdrew his hands and tucked them in his lap, "But I think…I can still feel a little of what you feel."
"How?" Gaara was gathering his pillows again, "You aren't a jinchuriki."
"I don't know." Haku rubbed his chin and thought about it, "Call it intuition. Or empathy. I've always been able to feel some of what you and Naruto feel."
"Yeah, that's about right. And Hinata can do that too, but literally with her powers. Some people can tap the frequency." Waggling his fingers beside his head, Naruto tried to illustrate.
"Some can. Though it may take a miracle to tap the frequency of the Nine-Tailed Fox." Gaara sniffed, "He's an insufferable brute."
Naruto sighed heavily.
"Naruto can do it." Haku encouraged.
"I don't know if I can. I've been trying to crack that nut for years, and he's still obstinate." Naruto twitched his nose, "I don't know if there's anyone he likes or is willing to listen to. I mean, sometimes at night I can feel him get calmer, but never when I'm trying to talk to him. It feels like something else is going on."
Gaara narrowed his eyes at the suggestion, "Something else?"
"I don't know. Maybe he thinks about when he was small, or when he was happier. Not that I'd know how to remind him of those things…"
"Maybe it's not you." Gaara muttered.
Before Haku and Naruto could further speculate, Gaara switched gears, "I want to sleep. You should both get some rest too. We can continue catching up tomorrow."
"I like the sound of that." Naruto stood and stretched, hearing his joints crack back into place, "So should I share my guest room with Haku? There aren't any spare ones left right now."
"If Matsuri weren't coming home later, I'd set up a futon in her room, however…" Gaara once again leveled a solemn stare on Haku, "I don't want you on the second floor."
Haku didn't know how much more assurance Gaara needed, "I just want to—"
"You sleep downstairs, on the couch." Gaara commanded, "I'd put Jiraiya there, but he'd be complaining all day tomorrow and I don't want to hear it."
Naruto also tried to placate his suspicious friend, "Haku can share a room with me—"
"No. Not on this floor. Period." Gaara said as he made no attempt to hide how he was keeping Haku very separate from wherever his sister went to sleep at night.
"That's fine." Haku rose up, "I don't mind. I'm exhausted and it makes little difference to me." At the door of the room he wondered, "Are you free in the morning for training, Gaara?"
An intriguing question to which he answered, "I can be."
"Please try to, if you can. If you're willing to test your strength against Naruto, why not me as well?" His smile was deceptively docile. Haku bid them goodnight before setting out down the corridor.
"Oooh, don't fall for it. I think he's super strong now." Naruto whispered.
"He's gone, he can't hear you. Stop whispering."
"Sorry. He's still the Haku we love, but there's something scary about him now."
"He doesn't scare me." Gaara said.
One thing Haku liked about the first floor of the house was that it was sufficiently dark. He preferred to sleep in dark, quiet places. It was about the only thing that helped his busy brain shut off. He had nestled on the wide sofa, adjusted pillows and a throw blanket and then clapped his hands softly, "Pua." She hopped up on cue.
"How was your trip out here? Did you eat?"
"Maybe." The rabbit meant this as an affirmative answer.
"Say: Yes." Haku corrected her, "I know you can say it."
"Y-y…ye…"
"Yes." He repeated.
"…yes."
"Good." Haku balanced his rabbit on his stomach and rubbed her ears, "I'm proud of you. You've learned so much…" He paused to yawn and Pua mirrored the gesture, revealing her long teeth.
He began to doze off, feeling the rustle of Pua's movements and nibbling on his shirt, doting on him in rabbity ways. Haku patted her absently, "Sleep now. I can't play. Tomorrow we can play…" Before long he was snoring and Pua bunched herself up on his stomach to rest.
Deeper into the night, Haku stirred when he felt rustling again, and assumed Pua had begun chewing again out of habit. When he sleepily tried to bat at the rabbit with his fingertips, he felt a human hand instead. He snapped a wary eye open.
"It's just me." Temari assured him.
"Oh. What time is it?"
"Just about midnight now. Why don't you come upstairs?"
"I was told not to." Haku informed her.
"By Gaara?" Temari sniffed, "He is just…" A sigh, "It's fine. This house is mine. Matsuri went upstairs and was surprised to see you down here. You can stay in my room."
Haku's chuckle was rough with sleep, "No, I can't. That…constitutes blatant disrespect of your brothers."
"I am the eldest and I set my own rules. No one gives a damn about any of the other guests staying here—"
"That's because they know I am the one interested in you, which makes a difference." He reminded her after a yawn.
"How nice of you to care about what they think. But if you'd rather stay down here, that's okay. Only if you want to, and not because of what my brothers said." Temari conceded, "My bed has the space and honestly…I just like feeling you there."
He could understand that; there was something irresistible and calming about falling asleep next to the object of one's affection. Since Haku had done so himself when Temari had last visited Nanakusa, he couldn't say that he thought she was being silly, irrational, or suggestive. He shifted to sit up and gently moved a snoozing Pua aside, "Alright." He watched Temari blink at him, half-surprised, "Just until dawn, and then I'll come back here before anyone else wakes up."
"Hm." She was amused, padding softly across the floor as he followed, "Are you sure you can wake up in time?"
"Yes. It's a skill I've picked up."
And while all of the house was snoring and unaware, the pair scaled the stairs with catlike treads. Temari felt a pang of triumph as she watched Haku toddle past her into her room, half-asleep, and then crumple frontways onto her bed and shimmy beneath the quilt like a flounder into seabed sand. She was about to pull her pajamas off when she thought better of it, 'No…this is a safer bet in case I have to explain myself later to anyone who gives me grief about a co-sleeper…' She sidled in beside Haku, sweeping long strands of hair away from his face, and pecked his lips. He was asleep again.
'Well, if you can wake up just as easily as you fall asleep, then it definitely is a skill.' She thought. The surge of excitement and satisfaction kept Temari awake for a bit longer before she too batted her eyelids shut and drifted off. Her dreams were the marvelous kind that rediscovered flight and joyful things, the kind of dreams that no one could ever remember when they woke again. All glistened back into light the next morning.
Upon waking up, she acknowledged that it was a good sign that Haku's space beside her was empty. That had been the deal, after all. She ran her hand along the mattress and pillow recesses left imprinted by his body. Ah, how nice. Just as she thought: his presence lingered around her like it always did. Echoing ripples of love. She smiled and rubbed her eyes, sitting up to toss her blanket off.
'I want to get used to this. I know he won't be here with us for long…' Temari fished through her closet for a dress to change into, 'When all of his spy business is over…I wonder if Haku would stay in Suna with me? I haven't asked. Maybe I shouldn't ask. He has his own home and friends to return to, so should I be keeping him from that?' She wilted as she pulled her outfit on, trying to project a future in which she did not selfishly dictate Haku's decisions, 'I don't really know what he wants. He loves me, I know that. I'm just afraid to ask where he sees himself down the line…'
She fussed at her reflection in a wall mirror, dabbing ointment beneath her eyes and along her nose, patting tinctures onto her face to protect against the desert's dry heat, and then tied her hair in its usual style. Temari huffed at herself afterward, 'If someday Haku and I part again…I think I'd rather just stay alone. I need to make my own way. There's plenty to keep me occupied.' And though she did believe those words to be true, she still felt the potential for disappointment gnawing at her stomach.
The aromas of breakfast food carried through the house. Temari collected her weapons holsters and fan before venturing out and hurrying down the stairs. In the sitting room, she discovered Jiraiya and Naruto sitting at a low chabudai table, cups of tea steaming between them as Naruto held up his hand in an attempt to manifest a prong-seal for his master. Temari greeted them in passing and received distracted salutations in return.
In the kitchen, Matsuri was alone at the table set with omelets, soup dishes, and other elements of a morning meal. She brightened at the sight of Temari, "Good morning, Temari-sama!"
"Hi, Matsuri." She slid into a seat across from the young kunoichi, "You were out late last night."
"The movie ran so long! And it was sad." The girl pouted, "I wish I could get my money back."
Temari snickered at her, "What did you think when you saw Haku sleeping on the couch when you came home?"
"I thought…he was a pretty girl." Matsuri admitted haltingly.
Temari cackled even more as she helped herself to food.
"He was very nice! I realized this morning that he, um, wasn't a girl." Matsuri explained, "And he made this breakfast for everyone! Naruto-san and Gama-sennin already ate."
"Yes, I saw. They're goofing around with Sealing practice in the other room." Temari tipped the tea pot over her cup, "So where did Haku go?"
"He went out with Gaara-sensei a short time ago." Matsuri reported.
"Hm."
The girls munched. Temari cut up an apple and shared it with her companion. Between crunchy bites she inquired, "Did Gaara assign you any missions?"
"I have to be to the armory in 20 minutes for an appointment…Then I will be on surveillance duty at the outpost this evening, and I might accompany a team for a mission tomorrow." Matsuri recalled, "But I'm most looking forward to the weekend."
Temari guessed, "You'll be going to the Tide Village, then?"
"Yes," She wiggled in her seat, "Menma has been recovering from his injuries, so I hope he'll be able to do more when I get back. Rebuilding efforts are nearly complete…"
"It's kind of hard to believe how many times that village has had to rebuild. None of the Great Villages have had to deal with that kind of stress since the last war."
"That's true. Large villages like ours can forget what hardship and violence are like after long periods of peace." Matsuri moved her place setting to the sink, "That's why Inari said he doesn't want to take any crap from other villages. Tide may be small, but it is very tough!"
"Like someone I know." Temari gave her a fond look, "I'll see you later?"
"You will!" The girl gave her role model a swift hug around the shoulders before darting out.
With most of the dishes empty and a single piece of apple remaining on the plate, Temari decided it was time to pack up. She called out to Pua to come over and dispose of the remaining apple slice. After what felt like an age the rabbit did not turn up. Temari rose from her seat, "Pua? Eat this apple. Where are you?" She glanced about and wondered if the bunny had accompanied Haku out.
Stalking past the sitting area and into the wide living room, Temari did notice the white rump of the animal sticking out of a shelf hutch on the floor. Temari crossed to the sofa to see what had preoccupied Pua and oh, oh no, the nicest throw pillow they had was in absolute tatters. The rabbit had torn it apart with her teeth to steal stuffing out of it, and was arranging the fluffy fill into a nest in the hutch.
"What are you doing, you destructive little marshmallow!" Temari snatched Pua up in her hands, prying fibers from her mouth, "I loved that pillow! What's compelled you? You don't need to make yourself at home here since you'll be hitting the road again tomorrow." She frowned at the rabbit's sweet face, "I could've gotten you a shoebox or something." Beneath her fingertips something felt off. With great care, Temari gave the rabbit a soft squish around her middle, trying to figure out if she was ill or had ingested anything she ought not to.
'This feels like…a bunch of grapes.' Thinking on it as she palpated the rabbit, Temari deduced possibilities, 'She doesn't seem sick. Didn't eat anything that I saw…what if…?'
"Oh. Great." Temari had a hunch of what the problem was as she arranged Pua in a football carry in the crook of her arm, and kicked the tattered pillow's remains into the hutch. She stormed out of the house and circled around to the back of the property, correctly assuming that Gaara had taken Haku to the courtyard there.
There she could see Matsuri concluding her pleasantries with Gaara and Haku, who looked as though they had paused their sparring to speak with her. With a wave, Matsuri was off again, and before the young men could resume training, Temari marched forward to interrupt them.
"Good morning," She greeted them both before setting her eyes on Haku, "Haku, did you intend to take Pua with you to that auction in the Land of Mountains?"
"I did." He confirmed with a wary lilt in his voice.
"Well, have you noticed that your rabbit is knocked up?" Temari held up the animal who was otherwise ignorant of what conversation was being had.
The revelation crashed over Gaara first, who flinched at Temari's words; just the mere suggestion seemed to send his mind swirling, free-associating other worries. Pregnancy betokened responsibility, and by God, he really did not need another stressor. Even if it wasn't his problem, or the fact that the single mother in question was a rabbit— it was still a sort of mental attack on the Kazekage. While Gaara stood in dubious silence, Haku reacted with acute, mortified disbelief, reaching out to take Pua into his hands, "What do you mean? She isn't—"
"Squish her middle a bit."
Haku's mortification escalated as he did so, "Nothing seemed unusual!"
"That is the quintessential thing a man would say right about now. Your rabbit is pregnant. So think twice about taking her on a mission." Temari leveled with him coolly, "I'm no animal expert so I don't know how far along she is or what she needs. But I can tell you she destroyed one of my favorite cushions in an attempt to make a nest."
"I…" Crestfallen, Haku locked gazes with Pua in his first moment of true parental concern, "Did you…really bring this unto yourself?"
Abruptly, Gaara scoffed beside him, "Are you actually asking an animal that?"
"Forgive me, Gaara, but until your pet does something like this I don't need your input." Haku sidelined Gaara's remarks, turning in a small circle as he held Pua in front of his face, "What have you done? We have work to do! Hold still." He tried feeling around the rabbit's abdominal area with a glow of green chakra, as he would on a human patient for a System Survey. There definitely seemed to be stowaways with beating hearts in there, just from a cursory check. He groaned in frustration.
"Anyway," Temari turned to her brother, "Do you have any assignments for me today, Gaara?"
His miffed look suggested that Haku's irresponsible pet ownership was grating on his nerves, put he pulled himself together to tell Temari, "I'll be going to the office in a short while and you should come with me. I have a few Chunin-level prospects who will be taking a Jounin evaluation in an hour and a half, if you don't mind overseeing them. Baki will be taking them out for a mission if they pass their initial practical." Gaara added, "I have no mission for you at this time, so you can take the day off." In between the lines she also read: You're welcome.
"Great. Thanks." She was pleased. Temari plucked Pua from Haku's hands as he muttered at his rabbit, complaining about how Pua had gallivanted with a common buck rabbit in the forest. "Let me take her for now. If you two were training, do you mind if I stay to watch for a bit?"
"I suppose not." Haku tried to shake off a sullen haze, "This is…so unexpected…and inconvenient."
"Pregnancy in a nutshell." Temari confirmed with a shrug.
"I never thought to get her spayed." Haku admitted, "Though in part that was because there are hardly any trained veterinary professionals in the Water Country."
"It's too late to fret over it now." She crossed to a stone bench behind the house to take a seat, keeping Pua in her lap, "This isn't the end of the world. Don't get hung up on it."
"It is my opinion," Gaara said as he and Haku faced off once again, "That this reckless disregard and proliferation, though by your rabbit, reflects poorly on you."
A mildly insulted gasp, "I've been working. Risking my life and limb for missions-!"
"You'd probably be a terrible fa—"
"I would be a neurotically attentive father, do not conflate pet ownership problems with parenting!"
Nearby, Temari was rolling her eyes as they argued.
Gaara's famous temper was right on schedule that morning, "Why are you even thinking of that sort of thing?"
"You've thought of such things too, Gaara!"
"My relationship is stable." As if it were fair to create a comparison, or that in saying so Gaara didn't think it would make Haku angry. But oh look, it did.
"—my relationship will be fine." Haku dared to say it.
"So you admit it." Gaara's nostrils were flaring.
"I don't need to admit anything."
Tufts of sand shivered around Gaara as he warned, "You do."
"Uh— how about you don't bitch about relationships while I'm sitting right here!" Temari barked a reminder at her brother, "What is with this hot-and-cold tough guy act? Haku is your friend!"
Gaara turned to bark back at her, "You haven't been very forthcoming either, Temari—!"
And then he whizzed backwards, suddenly propelled by a burst of Wind Nature that Haku hit him with. Gaara landed on his feet, stamping like a bull, and set his eyes on Haku again. The knave had his new war fan outstretched, poised for Wind jutsu.
Where before the contest had been cordial, Gaara let frustration get the best of him and allowed Shukaku to drip chakra into his limbs. He sped across the courtyard like a beast, divested of his sand armor, and crashed into Haku with terrible Taijutsu. Temari contained a yelp of fright, observing the tumult of kicks, fists, and light steps. An airy leap and low bend saved Haku from a crushing blow of Gaara's that gouged a hole in the ground. He kicked Gaara away and spun his war fan in his hand, conjuring a small dust devil of wind.
Gaara rounded on him and charged, determined to give Haku at least one good smack— to get his point across. Instead, he dropped to the ground flat on his face, straight and still as a wooden plank. Two senbon needles had sunk into the back of Gaara's neck.
Blinking rapidly, Temari was not sure how Haku had done it. No one had seen him handle throwing needles, however she suspected the ruse was a sleight-of-hand, distracting Gaara to be faced in one direction while Wind Release propelled the needles (cast airborne and unnoticed) to their intended target from behind. The task of aiming correctly with a Wind Nature did concern Temari. What if Haku had missed and seriously injured Gaara? Of that she was still unsure as her baby brother laid there unmoving. She did not need to direct Haku at that point; he was already crossing back to help Gaara.
This, Haku could admit, was not a friendly sparring session. Far from it— he had used techniques he would use against an enemy or assassination mark. A roiling guilt ate at Haku's insides as he knelt down beside Gaara, 'What did I need to prove to him, anyway? That I can end a battle before it even starts? None of this was fair…and I know he's been upset since I arrived…' He murmured an apology to Gaara, "I'm sorry. Let me remove these—"
A gritty, bestial claw seized him, wide enough to wrap full around his shoulders and neck as Haku looked on in pure bewilderment. Gaara may have been paralyzed by the attack, but Shukaku could express portions of his body through chakra alone. And, it seemed, the Tailed-Beast perceived Haku as a threat. As sand whipped wildly around Gaara's immobile body, Shukaku's manifested arm squeezed its captive.
Pua pelted frantically hither and thither in the yard as if to distract the menace that had taken her master hostage. It wasn't working. Temari descended upon the mess without an ounce of hesitation as she set her hands on Shukaku's limb, trying to pry it free, "Gaara! Snap out of it! You're not in danger-!"
Tilted, black and gold eyes peered up at Temari, "What do you know about danger?" Perhaps it was Shukaku who had done the talking, and maybe too had coiled sand around the kunoichi in an attempt to pull her away from her not-yet-publically-acknowledged boyfriend.
Where Gaara's feelings ended and Shukaku's began was an unknowable front, a confluence of frustration. It was not hatred for the two people sloughed in sand— it was a determinedness to part them. To prevent future heartaches or losses, all the likelier if they were bonded again.
From what little Shukaku could see through Gaara's eyes, prostrate on the ground, the Biju did see the desperate, haptic response of the captive, barely able to move— as Temari's hand reached and found Haku's, fingers sliding far enough to secure around the other's wrist. It was an emergency of touch, ruling out jutsu or violence completely, and their eyes stayed trained on Gaara all the while. Though Shukaku's education on bonds of love was limited, even he recognized the triptych of devotion before him. None of these three silly humans had any good reason to jilt each other, and nary a speck of true anger for one another.
So the Tailed-Beast retreated in a sudden and complete pop, chakra vanished, and sand slipped away from its hostages as if to sulk. Haku coughed violently before folding over, immediately plucking the needles from Gaara's neck to unchain his stunned pressure points. He rubbed the skin there and between Gaara's shoulder blades, "Are you alright? I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"
Gaara was but a few inches off of the ground as he regained mobility when Temari pulled him into a sitting position to hold him in a tight hug, "Gaara? I never thought I'd…have to worry about you being out of control again…"
A raspy answer, "I really wasn't."
Gaara moved to sit properly and couldn't help patting the two, who were dithering worriedly over him. Never mind that he could have crushed them with his sand, they were more worried about his defensive response and aggressive use of Shukaku's chakra.
"Gaara, forgive me. I never should have done that." Haku shook his head ruefully, "It made you feel unsafe."
"Haku…" Gaara told him flatly, "It was not fear so much as a matter of pride…Shukaku didn't like me being flat on my face."
"Ah, well…"
"My reaction was about as careless as your needlework. Stop apologizing." Finally, Gaara had worked up the nerve to explain himself clearly, "I've been frustrated. The two of you acting secretively— why not tell me if you're seeing each other? Even if you know I don't want you to?" He punctuated his feelings with, "Doing this means you might hurt each other again, which is the last thing I want."
Haku looked at him owlishly. Gaara's reasoning was quite sound, though he lacked the propensity for communicating his true feelings about matters right away.
Temari leaned back from the embrace with her brother, a resigned smile on her face, "I hear what you're saying, and I need you to know that I want to date him. I decided to. He decided to. Please try not to panic. Things are much better now."
There was something in Gaara's gaze that whisked her back into childhood, remembering the wateriness of her youngest brother's eyes, lit like a shallow sea, tightrope-walking to build trust with the one he was looking at. He had to digest her decision now that it was made plain.
One of the rear, ground-floor windows of the Kazekage's mansion opened once Naruto figured out the latch, and he began to climb out, "What the heck is going on out here? Ero-sensei and I felt a big spike of chakra!"
"Naruto, stop." Temari stood and crossed the yard to shove him back inside, "Don't leave the house like that— it's embarrassing—"
"—is everyone okay?" He was indoors again but still a-flutter with questions.
"Everyone's fine." Temari lowered her voice to whisper to him, "Those two just need to talk. You know?"
"Psh. About time." Naruto sniffed. He sealed the window again to return to his practice at the tea table.
The nervous rabbit had scuttled under the courtyard bench and Temari bent down to pet some reassurance back into the animal. She called over her shoulder, "I'm going to head to the office a bit early to see about that evaluation. Why don't you guys say what you need to say, then Gaara," She eyed him, "You'll meet me there?"
"I will." He agreed.
Temari set out from the property and Gaara sighed wearily as he watched her go. Haku stood beside him, contemplative.
"Gaara…why is it…" He rubbed his chin, frowning in thought, "That long ago when Temari first wanted my companionship, you thought nothing of it?"
"It seemed harmless then." Gaara rubbed the tender spot on his neck where needles had pricked him.
"And now—?" Haku wondered.
"Your absence hurt her. She changed." He didn't like explaining something he thought was obvious, "Haven't you noticed? I was the one who had to watch her struggle, and watched her go through phases of self-disparagement and pointless flings. I wanted to let you leave to do what you had to do…but at the time I didn't think of what would happen to her." Gaara snapped, "You didn't either."
These were the fumes of all that had gone unsaid over the last two years, omitted from their written exchanges back and forth. It had never gotten too blunt or bitter, but the implication had been laced through the words of Gaara's letters. To hear it aloud with his whole heart felt like a judge's gavel striking him right atop his head, miring Haku back in the guilt that had built up in him like plaque.
"If that weren't enough, maybe you could understand the anxiety I have for my sister's well-being, after she was nearly killed by your associate." Gaara poured another boiling pot of facts on his friend, "None of this is about me, understand that. I do not resent you, but I fear being put in a position where I will feel that way, if you cause Temari any hardship again. I want our friendship to be untouchable, and that is most easily facilitated by you not being in a relationship with her."
To finalize his point, Gaara's face capped it off with a There you have it look.
"I…do understand." Haku's acknowledgement was soft. His eyes drifted down to the ground, thinking, and Pua hopped over to rest on his booted foot.
"All of those things…I am responsible for. If not for me, she wouldn't have…" He waffled and cleared his throat, "I don't know exactly why she wanted to try again."
Me neither, Gaara's face said as he listened with his arms crossed.
"It did become very evident to me that…I operate in a morally ambiguous, crime-riddled field with little chance of career advancement…and most of this time my absence has been covered by lies, or the pain of friends who look out for me. My behavior was accordingly dismal." Haku shut his eyes and waved a hand, "And I failed miserably at what I originally set out to do. With that track record, even I wouldn't like me. I want love, but so what? Since the day I left the Water Country, I had a feeling I could never have such a thing. When I watched…them…die— I didn't know how I could ever do better."
Gaara held up a hand, "Leave it at that. I didn't invite you to self-immolate."
"You didn't." Haku smiled at him, "You can leave it to me. Believe me, I've struggled with this too. It might be misguided or ill-fated, but still, Temari asked me to try again. So I did. And I don't want her to be hurt, above all other things. So help me God— I would pull the sea aground if she needed me to. My other goals stultified long ago and she is, by far, the most important thing to me."
The flagrant honesty was a bit much and curses, Gaara thought, his squared jaw was softening and so was his heart. Yes, the risks and inconveniences were evident to them both, but Haku's self-awareness, though morbid, was a winning feature in Gaara's book.
"Just," Gaara turned away from his friend, "If it can't be helped…please. Don't fall short or disappear." A command, "Be there."
Haku wasn't precisely sure, but it sounded as if Gaara changed his mind. He was stilted and wanted to ask for clarification, but he figured he presumed correctly once Gaara made a dismissive motion with his hands. The Kazekage's irritation had evaporated.
"Look after Naruto today. I'll return by the afternoon." Gaara said before he left to assume his leadership duties.
Boggled, Haku motioned for Pua to fall in step and they rounded the house to enter at the front door, and discovered Jiraiya and Naruto hooting in delight as two prong-seals on Naruto's fingertips blinked as three prong-seals. Naruto lost his concentration and stopped when he noticed Haku, "Haku! Wow, I'm getting good at this! So what happened out there?"
"Well…" Haku joined them at the chabudai table, sitting on a cushion, "We had a bit of a spat."
"Meaning you and Gaara, or you and Temari were fighting?" Jiraiya furrowed his brows, "Because with those two, I've found them to be equally temperamental."
Haku nodded to his teacher's point, "True. I meant with Gaara."
Naruto's mouth formed a surprised "o" shape, listening with a riveted look.
"He's been…acting…a degree more passive-aggressive than I'm accustomed to." Haku began.
Jiraiya and Naruto nodded in unison.
"And I thought that perhaps it was because he realized Temari and I are seeing each other." He went on, "Which was correct. I finally got him to explain why it bothered him so much."
"So it's basically that you were in violation of the Bro-Code." Naruto surmised.
"No, not quite that. If it were, he would've objected years ago when Temari and I first went out." Haku tipped the contents of the teapot into an unclaimed cup, "He was concerned that I would be negligent again in some way that could hurt her. Which is a perfectly reasonable thing to think."
Jiraiya fished for more details, "Was that part of why we felt Tailed-Beast chakra coming from the back yard?"
"Our sparring did get…a little intense."
"It was fast though! Like it was there and then poof, he cooled off." Naruto recalled.
"Maybe because I didn't try to fight, then." He hovered his tea cup beneath his chin, "I just…tried to show them how I felt. That I won't abandon anyone, not in favor of any other person important to me."
"Huh. Who knew that would've worked a trick on a fella gassed up on Biju-chakra?" Jiraiya chuckled before sipping his tea.
The three gradually turned their attention to a ripping sound, and watched in stupefaction as Pua began to tear apart another cushion with her teeth in pursuit of stuffing.
"Is…something wrong with Pua?" Naruto asked.
With one hand Haku scooped the rabbit into his cross-legged lap to bar her from any further destruction, and with his other hand he palmed his face.
Note: I am alive! My apologies for such tardiness— I got married, worked on my graduate studies, and moved to a new home since the summer, so I've been preoccupied. Resuming a more regular update schedule is my goal, so please look forward to more juicy reading. I hope this chapter pitched some fun surprises at you, good reader.
Chapter 55- Keiseki House
