A/N: One last chapter till things heat up for real. Also, I forgot to mention it earlier, but this fic recently hit ONE THOUSAND followers. Thank you all so much for that!

Time for chapter 46

Enjoy


Gaara drummed his fingers on his desk impatiently as he awaited the arrival of Kankuro. The jinchuuriki had summoned his elder brother neary ten minutes previously, and he had yet to arrive. Despite the lengthy wait, Gaara was not especially irritated, nowhere near as much as he typically would have been. For what reason, he did not know. Eventually, nearly twenty minutes after his initial summoning, Kankuro walked through the open door of his junior brother's study.

"How kind of you to join me" the redhead greeted sarcastically. The puppeteer sighed and sat down in the chair Gaara had left in front of his desk for him.

"Sorry for the wait. I got distracted by something on my way here" he explained. The redhead arched an eyebrow at his brother's explanation.

"And what was it that caught your attention? As fine an estate as this is, very little about it is out of the ordinary. People included" he asked curiously. Kankuro shrugged and chewed his lip mindlessly.

"Nothing all that jarring, but Temari seems to be taking measures to keep Shikamaru in his room. That, and she stood by his door like a watchdog last night" he said casually. Gaara grinned and shook his head at the revelation.

"Now that is funny. Of all the turns I expected her to take as she aged, mother hen wasn't one of them" he joked humorously. His brother chuckled and stretched in his chair.

"Why's she doing it? My guess is that she's using him for stress relief, if you know what I mean" he said. Gaara shook his head again and spun a coin sitting on his desktop.

"No, nothing like that. Her reasoning is in line with the 'mother hen' metaphor I just used. She's trying to keep him away from me entirely, and that includes night patrols, apparently" he explained. The puppeteer frowned at the explanation.

"Why's that? Word around the house is that you and he stayed up drinking away your sorrows a few nights ago" he asked skeptically. The Jinchuuriki scowled and made a mental note to refrain from taking his weekly indulgences into the kitchen again.

"Because, I strangled our guest to the point of near-asphyxiation yesterday. She was present, and actually took action to save his life. In her mind, she's keeping him safe" he said as he thought back to his torture of the shadow user.

"Why'd you do that to him? Did he get on your nerves?" Kankuro asked. The Jinchuuriki thought for a moment.

"Temari decided to push her luck and get a bit mouthy, and since I'd rather not harm the potential heir apparent to the Kazekage's office, I decided to punish Shikamaru instead" he replied. His brother gave him an odd look.

"I have a few questions" he said. Gaara raised an eyebrow and sat up straight in his desk chair.

"Ask away, I suppose" he responded. Kankuro took a deep breath and gathered his words for a moment.

"First of all, what made you think that you hurting him would even bother her?" he started. The Jinchuuriki laughed a bit.

"Isn't it obvious? Nothing had directly indicated that such a thing would affect her, but I had a hunch that it would, so I decided to find out if my intuition was correct. It was, more so than I had predicted it would be" he said concisely. His brother nodded.

"Okay, now explain to me why you called her a possible heir to the office. We all know that you're going to take up that position inside of six months" he requested. Gaara remained silent for a fair stretch before answering.

"As I told Temari, I'll likely be dead inside of fifteen years. Suna is not on the best of terms with the rest of the Hidden Village system, and given my controversial image politically, there will inevitably be attempts on my life. I need options" he said. Kankuro studied his brother closely and frowned.

"Can I speak freely?" he asked carefully. The Jinchuuriki nodded and gestured for him to continue on with what he intended to say.

"If I had to guess, the reason you're suddenly all over these future preparations is because you feel like you might die soon. We both know who and when, if that's the case" Kankuro said honestly. Gaara stared at him blankly.

"I have no intention of dying when he arrives. I simply recognize that Naruto is indeed a threat" he replied. The puppeteer shook his head and scooted his chair forward towards the redhead's desk.

"Don't try to lie to me, Gaara. Be honest" he pressed. The Jinchuuriki shifted uncomfortably in his seat and momentarily allowed his stress to become visible. Lines seemed to appear on his face out of nowhere, and the always-present circles under his eyes darkened a shade.

"I suppose you could say that I'm stuck between what is necessary, and what I want" he said vaguely, prompting his brother to gesture for an explanation. Gaara sighed heavily and stood up, making his way over to the far window of the room.

"I suppose I should define what I believe to be necessary. For the most part, that simply means maintaining our family's grip on the political system of Suna. As you likely know already, I dirtied my hands a bit two days ago. I killed five members of the council, and I've been taking measures to control who is elected to fill their seats" he began. Kankuro nodded and awaited further elaboration.

"As for what I want, that's a bit harder to pin down, even for me. What I do know is that my upcoming contest with Naruto may lead to what I desire" the redhead said, more to himself than his brother. Before Kankuro could question the meaning of the statement, Gaara produced a scroll and tossed it to him.

"Before you ask, read that. It should answer any questions you may have. It's the original reason I called you here. To evaluate the distribution of the contents written in that scroll" he said. The puppeteer looked it over for a few moments, closing it after completing a sweep through it's writings. He looked up at Gaara, a look of mixed emotion on his face.

"I understand"


Temari struggled to maintain her consciousness as she leaned against the wall to the left of Shikamaru's door. It was nearly two in the morning, and it had already been nearly forty-eight hours since she had last slept. Her exhaustion was perfectly justified, but that did not alter its level of tediousness. As her eyelids grew heavier, her posture degraded further. Slowly but surely, she began to slump forward. Luckily for her, she was snapped back to attention by the sound of the door by her side creaking open. The tired kunoichi glanced up and to her left, catching sight of Shikamaru, who was staring down at her from the doorway.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a sigh. Temari turned an uncharacteristic shade of red and drew her knees up to her chin.

"I lost the key to my room, so I came here" she lied defensively. The shadow user shook his head and stepped out of his room fully.

"You're a terrible liar. If you were locked out of your room, you'd be on one of the lounge couches" he pointed out. The fan wielder groaned and tipped onto her side.

"Why does it matter that I'm out here?" she asked. Shikamaru stepped around the girl's body and knelt down in front of her.

"If this situation were reversed, you'd be asking me all the same questions, and you'd probably have kicked me by now" he said. Temari sighed and pushed herself back into a verticle sitting position.

"Yeah, probably. I don't really feel like explaining why I'm out here, honestly. It's stupid" she said. The Nara shrugged.

"Could you do it anyway?" he asked. Temari pursed her lips and leaned back against the wall to think of a proper explanation for her presence.

"I'm watching your door in case Gaara decides to come finish what he started" she admitted begrudgingly. The shadow user raised an eyebrow, a ghost of a smirk tugging at his mouth.

"You're right, that is kind of stupid. Not that I don't appreciate the thought. You'd know if he came to kill me. I'd screech to notify you" he joked. The sand kunoichi stifled a laugh as her ability to stave off sleep waned once again.

"You'd definitely be a screamer. Still, I'd rather not take chances. Think of it as my way of repaying you for the bruises on your neck" she said. Shikamaru shook his head and took hold of her wrists. He then heaved her to her feet and slung one of her arms over his shoulder.

"You saved me from being skewered, so I think you've done enough. Get some sleep, Temari" he said as he guided her along back towards her room.

"I don't need your help walking" she grumbled despite the weakness of her sleep-deprived body. After a minute of slow meandering, the pair reached her door, which Shikamaru opened. He then directed her through the entrance and released her from his grip.

"Stay in here, sleep for eight hours, and then eat some food. Get back on schedule" he ordered as he stepped away from the doorframe. The fan wielder rubbed her eyes and leaned against the side of her door.

"Yeah, sure. If you're dead by morning, that's on you now" she said through a yawn. The shadow user chuckled and turned to begin walking down the hall.

"I'll still be alive. No worries" he said as he disappeared around a hallway corner. Temari watched him walk away for a moment before slinking into her room and shutting the door. She then made her way over to her bed and collapsed onto the mattress.

'You'd better be'


Naruto shivered a bit as he stared out into the horizon. The lights of Suna were just barely visible, but they still served as an unignorable distraction from sleep. As the lights flickered, premonitions of the personal war to come swirled around in Naruto's mind. From the look of madness that was bound to be plastered on Gaara's face to the inevitable taste of blood. The Jinchuuriki was equal parts dreadful and greatly anticipatory of the clash. Dreading for the risk it presented to his comrades, and anticipating for the sake of his own desire to end Gaara of the Desert's life.

'I think this might be the first time I've wanted to kill somebody' he thought to himself. Much to his surprise and discomfort, a familiar voice chimed in from the back of his mind.

'It won't be the last. Grow used to this feeling' the fox said bluntly. Naruto frowned and turned his attention inward to better hear the demon.

'What makes you say that? I'm not much of a hateful person' he asked skeptically. The nine-tails audibly snorted at the question.

'Oh please. Human beings are naturally hateful creatures. You quarrel for the sake of quarreling, and you murder for the sake of murder. You'll find your reasons. Give it time' he assured the blonde. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

'You say it like you didn't slaughter thousands when you attacked Konoha' he countered. The fox sighed and shifted in Naruto's mind.

'There were things at work that night that you're far too young to understand. Besides, I've never made any claims that I don't enjoy blood and destruction. Humans are self-righteous and hypocritical. They always find ways to justify their atrocities' he said. Before Naruto could respond, the sound of shifting sand caught his attention, prompting the fox to disappear into the depths of his mind once more. The Jinchuuriki turned around to face the sound, spotting Kurenai making her way towards him.

"Can't sleep?" she asked tiredly. Naruto nodded and returned his attention to the distant desert village.

"We're a few hours out from Suna. I'm honestly tempted to just go and get this over with" he said. The jonin gazed out at the lights and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I understand the feeling, but I'd prefer if you didn't. It would cost me my job" she said humorously. The Jinchuuriki cracked a smile.

"Can't have that, I guess. Still, it's tempting. He's just waiting there. He's ready to fight, and so am I" he said. Kurenai chuckled.

"For somebody who might be marching towards their death, you sure are eager" she commented. Naruto shrugged and stretched,

"As long as he's dead by the end of this, I don't care if this is where I die" he said bluntly. The genjutsu mistress winced at the brutally cynical nature of his words.

"I understand that you want him gone, but being willing to die for that goal kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think? Correct me if I'm wrong, but your motivation for getting rid of him is rooted in your love of your comrades, right? You should strive to survive to see the peace you might bring about" she countered. Naruto thought for a moment.

"Maybe, but I'd still be satisfied either way" he said. Kurenai sighed and gestured back towards the tents, where the Hyuga clan members slept.

"The two of them would rather you lived, especially Hinata. If not for yourself, then survive for them. Be considerate" she chided him. The blonde gave her a hard look.

"I may not have a choice. Gaara isn't somebody that can just be run over. I'm a lot stronger than you are, weird as that is to say, and I'm not convinced I can win without crippling myself to do it. Even if I try to come out of this in one piece, I might fail anyway" he said rigidly. The jonin put a hand on his shoulder.

"All I ask is that you try. Quite hard, preferably" she said, removing her hand from him once his tenseness had subsided. Naruto nodded and lapsed into silence, prompting Kurenai to follow suit. After a few minutes, she brought up a topic that she had been pondering.

"Did you know that, originally, Hinata was meant to be a part of my team instead of Kakashi's?" she asked. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"No, I didn't. That's news to me" he said. Kurenai thought back to the meeting in which the alterations to the cells were made.

"Hokage-sama reshuffled the teams at the last minute. None of the Jonin liked it, because we had to change our curriculum, but it's worked out so far" she explained. The Jinchuuriki considered the possibilities for a few seconds.

"Who was originally supposed to be on my team?" he asked curiously. The genjutsu mistress searched her mind for the answer, quickly finding it.

"Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha" she replied. Naruto's face twisted into a look of dissatisfaction at the revelation.

"I should thank the old man, then. Team Seven as it is wasn't easy right away, but it's worked out in the long run. Those two would have been a nightmare" he said. Kurenai nodded in agreement.

"That was Hokage-sama's argument. He said that Sasuke would likely clash with you indefinitely, and that Sakura was likely too incompetent as a combatant to fit correctly. It was the right call, if you ask me. With his Sharingan, Sasuke has a great talent for Genjutsu, and Sakura is a natural at medical ninjutsu" she said. The blonde scratched the side of his face pensively.

"Hinata and I went at each other hard for the first few months. It wasn't easy at all, and even after we came to terms with one another, she reverted again. It's been a process, but we're perfectly happy as we are now. Seems like Old Man knew it would work out in the end" he said ponderously. The jonin smiled.

"Hokage-sama is a wise man; more so than he'll ever be given credit for. He has a way of predicting what's to come that I'll never be able fully understand" she said reverently. A look of reminiscent pain flashed across Naruto's face.

"Maybe he knew that things would turn out for the better, but there's no way he knew how dark and painful the way there would be. Not that I blame him. Nobody could have seen even half of what went down coming" he said quietly. Kurenai frowned.

"I saw what happened during the chunin exams between you two, and that was definitely dark, but you make it sound like there was more than that" she said. The Jinchuuriki stared up into the night sky.

"Lets just say that Hinata isn't quite as prim and proper as she comes off. She's a wonderful person at her core, but that rose has some poisonous thorns. Not that my issues didn't play a role too, because they definitely did" he said. The genjutsu mistress looked to Hinata's tent, and then back to Naruto.

"Maybe...Hokage-sama was aware of that darkness that she keeps under wraps. Maybe he thought you were up to the task of wading through it and finding her goodness" she suggested thoughtfully. The Jinchuuriki kicked around the sand at his feet.

"If that's the case, then he really rolled the dice. I almost broke multiple times along the way. It was all worth it, I came to love Hinata in the end, but if a few things had gone differently in my mind, I might have let Gaara kill me the first time around" he said honestly. Kurenai gazed at him, her eyes a tad wide.

'What in the world happened between them? Jesus Christ' she wondered to herself. She then forced herself to think positively once again.

"Well, through all of that, you can be sure of one thing. That girl loves you. The way she looks at you, the way her voice gets a little softer when she speaks about you, it's all so genuine. Never question her feelings. They're more real than anything else about her, that queenly facade included" she said reassuringly. Naruto nodded and rubbed his eyes, sleep finally seeming to have arrived to claim him. He began to walk back towards his tent, but stopped and turned around to say one last thing.

"I had reasons to before, but I don't now. There are some pains that'll never go away, but that's been my life story. Unlike the rest of it, though, Hinata's voice makes me glad I woke up in the morning, not regret that I did at all"


A/N: The final conflict of this story begins the next chapter, so buckle up. Gaara vs Naruto 2 starts in chapter 47. Hope you enjoyed this one too. Tell me what you thought :)

See you next chapter! Read and Review!