A/N: This chapter is going to be a doozy. It'll have a scene that I wrote a long time ago when thinking about this story's focus, so I hope you enjoy it.

Time for chapter 20

Enjoy!

Kakashi lightly tapped his foot on the ground as he leaned against the base of the Hokage monument. It was nearing sunset, and the air was beginning to chill. Luckily for those few who still remained outside in the waning hours of the day, there was no breeze to speak of. The drop in temperature was to be steady. The jonin's reasoning for being outdoors was simple. He needed time and space to think. The past four days had been hectic and conflicting. Naruto had been imprisoned, Gaara had been captured, and a large portion of the graduating genin were hospitalized.

And sadly, much of the blame, within his own mind, fell on Kakashi himself. In particular, Naruto's arrest and detainment. The memories of the suppressing of his student had haunted the silver haired ninja each and every night since the day of the invasion. The look of brittle defiance Naruto had worn, the kunai of the Anbu, all of it terrorized Kakashi in his sleep. He had not done nothing to aid his pupil, as he had brutalized two of the four Anbu reactively, but he still felt as though he hadn't done enough.

'I let him get beaten into unconsciousness before I really committed to helping him. Why was I so damn indecisive? He deserved better than that.' Kakashi lamented as his hands curled into fists. Beyond his failure to intervene sooner, another aspect of the situation ate away at him relentlessly.

'Why the hell did I go to the front lines? Guy and Asuma could have handled it up there. Letting Naruto engage Gaara was a terrible idea. He was stronger, sure, but I never should have counted on him to kill her. Not after all that he told me. Even if it's subconscious, her life still means something to him, whether it should or not.' Kakashi thought to himself as he recalled Naruto's violent reaction to the prospect of his fellow Jinchuuriki being killed. As he pondered it all, another piece of information crossed his mind.

'From what I've heard, he got shoved in a cell with Gaara, too. That could be good or bad depending on how seriously I take Sasuke's claims about her psyche. If I ignore them, then Naruto having something resembling a friend in there with him is probably beneficial, but if Sasuke isn't exaggerating, then he'll either end up maimed or raped inside of a month. My guess is that Danzo is flipping that coin on purpose.' he reviewed silently. At the thought of the bandaged old man, Kakashi's eyes narrowed angrily. The vile man had been under suspicion for a number of things for years, but had never been outright investigated. Now, with the Third Hokage gone, he was suddenly an active presence.

He was a snake. A venomous one. One that was not to be taken lightly in the least. He had friends in high places, and he was more than willing to bride and blackmail. He was ruthless. Past experiences had taught Kakashi that lesson more than once. Even more concerningly, Danzo's strength was a frightening beast to contend with should one choose to defy him, both politically and literally. With Hiruzen deceased, Danzo's influence within the council was increased many times over. He was effectively in control. Naruto's trial had exemplified this fact.

Under most circumstances, an act akin to assaulting one's superior would result in prison time ranging anywhere from six to eighteen months, but at Danzo's behest, the blonde's sentence was lightened to three months. It was blatantly obvious that his helping Naruto was all a ploy for something greater.

'He spoke with Naruto right before locking him up with Gaara. If I had to guess, he probably told him that he was the one that shortened his sentence. It's a good leverage to have. Naruto is tough to silence, but the threat of his imprisonment being lengthened would definitely do the trick.' Kakashi thought to himself.

Like Naruto, Gaara had been interrogated and spoken to before being contained, though in much shorter order. Ibiki Morino had carried out the questioning, and he had revealed an interesting bit of information to the silver haired ninja.

"She's a tough nut to crack. Extremely calm under pressure, a moral blankslate, and I'm convinced she doesn't feel pain. The only thing I was able to draw out of her is that, for one reason or another, she's tied herself to Naruto. She didn't even say it out loud, either. I had to infer it from her body language. Ninety percent of the time, she's tense and coiled, but his name relaxes her.''

'I don't know what the two of you did during that month, but it seems like you've tamed a monster. Somewhat, at least. She's still a loose cannon left to herself.' Kakashi pondered. As he considered the variables of the situation at hand, the sun finally hid itself fully behind the monument, causing the village to go dark. The jonin sighed and took steps to walk away from the monument. As he trekked away, he cast a look towards the prison facility that sat at the base of the cliffside.

'Keep your head up, kid. Things are only going to get harder from here.'

Naruto exhaled through his nose as he leaned back against the cold stone wall. The cell was cold, dark, and fairly damp. Try as he might, no positives could be found to describe his current, if temporary, living quarters. Included among these non-positives was his cellmate. Gaara sat across from him against the opposite wall with her knees drawn up to her chin. He and the redhead had been detained for nearly four whole days by this point, and meals had been scarce and consistently disgusting. There was little entertainment, especially for Naruto. Gaara, on the other hand, had a way to retain her sanity.

Despite having been robbed of her gourd by the guards immediately upon the pair's admittance into the lockdown block, she had managed to gather enough sediment from the dirty floor to fiddle with it.

"So, does it need to be a certain type of sand for you to be able to control it?" Naruto asked curiously. The redhead peaked at him over her knees and let the floating dust drop.

"It only needs to be made of some kind of earth. The dust on the floor is mostly ground-down stone" she explained as she traced her finger along the cold flooring. After a moment's silence, she spoke again.

"I wish we weren't stuck in a cold cell. If I had my gourd, those guards would be gone in an instant." she said casually. Naruto snorted and gave her a bored look.

"We're in here because of you, so I wouldn't complain." he replied bluntly. Gaara shook her head and studied the blonde.

"In what way is this my fault, Naruto? We both contributed." she asked skeptically. Naruto shifted a bit in place.

"We already talked about this. Even if you were under orders to do what you did, you still could've held back and retreated. You didn't, though." he said. The redhead tilted face to one side and stared at him further.

"True enough, but had you run from me for long enough, I'd have been far less destructive. I only destroyed infrastructure in my attempts to hurt you. Everything and everybody else was just collateral damage." she said with a matter-of-fact shrug. Naruto internally shuddered at his cellmate's words. Growing accustomed to her morbid musings would certainly take time. Especially for those pertaining to human life.

"You admitted halfway through the fight that I was stronger than you, so you destroying stuff to get to me isn't something you can justify. You knew you couldn't win. You didn't have to harm so many people." he countered. The sand kunoichi frowned and narrowed her eyes.

"I feel like I've asked you this before, but why would you want to avoid hurting those people? They've been far from kind to you. Awful would be the word I'd use." she asked, seemingly unable to understand the sentiment of mercy. Naruto pursed his lips and took a few seconds to consider his answer.

"Because they're still people. They don't deserve to die. Like you said at the end of our fight, there's more to life than blood." he said, his voice a bit shaky. Gaara easily sensed his uncertainty and settled into a more open posture with her legs crossed.

"You hardly believe your own words. When I said there was more to life than blood, I only meant it pertaining to those who have proven themselves to be kind and gentle. The rest can burn for all I care." she said, her tone colder and drier than the desert wind. The blonde tensed.

"How can you say that? Everybody deserves a chance. People can change." he asked rigidly. His fellow Jinchuuriki scooted herself away from the wall and stretched her back. Once she had relieved herself of stiffness, she eyed Naruto intently.

"Given that our lives seem to mean nothing to such people, why should we be inclined to give them quarter? I've had my teeth kicked in more than enough, and so have you." she said. The blonde's hands curled into fists.

"Stop trying to relate to me. I don't care if you're a Jinchuuriki too, we're nothing alike." he snapped weakly. Gaara sighed and rested her chin on her knees again.

"But we are, Naruto. Fighting you confirmed it without argument. Nothing has been given to us, and I think we have the right to take what we so desperately deserve. You know that I'm right." she said. Naruto stared at his cellmate, who had inched herself across the floor to the middle of the cell, and let his fists unravel into a jumble of fingers once more.

"Even if you are right in a way, it isn't right to hurt people. I won't do it, and neither should you." he said firmly. Gaara gazed at him silently for a few seconds.

"Am I supposed to just take a prolonged beating my entire life then?" she asked. The konoha genin scowled and lowered his eyes to the floor.

"You don't know a damn thing about taking a beating. Everybody in your village is terrified of you. They avoid you like the plague according to Kankuro. I've been beaten up, stolen from, and vandalized more times than I can count. Don't preach to me about suffering." he said angrily. Gaara scooted forward again.

"Solitude is torture in its own way. To be feared and avoided is painful. I dislike the citizens of Suna, but I wouldn't mind being acknowledged as one of them. Not to mention my inability to sleep, which is its own form of sadism." she countered. Naruto forced himself to meet her gaze.

"You've murdered dozens of people. They have every right to be afraid of you." he said insensitively. Gaara brushed a strand of hair out of her face and conjured up a hoard of dust.

"Perhaps, but I would consider all of those killings to be self defense. Every once in a while, somebody gets bold." she said with a chuckle. Naruto opted to quit arguing at this point, creating a long stretch of silence between the two Jinchuuriki. After nearly five full minutes, Gaara broke the streak of soundlessness.

"I have a question." she said out of the blue. Naruto, who had been bordering on slumber, groggily glanced up from the floor and rubbed his eyes.

"Ask away." he said tiredly. The redhead then manipulated the dust into the shapes of two people, one clearly male and one clearly female.

"Several times, I have witnessed a man and a woman entering one another's personal space, pushing their faces together, and remaining that way for some time. Kankuro does it with the women he tends to bring home with him. What is this action? Some sort of advanced greeting or handshake?" she asked curiously. Naruto gave her a dumbfounded look.

"You...really don't know?" he asked in disbelief. The girl shook her head and allowed the dust to dissipate into the air.

"I asked Kankuro to demonstrate with me once, as I wanted to develop my social skills, but he became uncomfortable and left me without an explanation." she recalled. Naruto laughed out loud at the story, earning a confused look from his cellmate.

"Well, that's good. Means your brother isn't a weirdo." he said through his chuckles. Gaara frowned and returned to her cross-legged position.

"Why would it make him a 'weirdo' to show me how to complete this handshake?" she asked skeptically. The blonde sighed and shook his head.

"It just isn't something a brother and sister should be doing. It also isn't a handshake. It's a way that people show each other love. It's called kissing." he explained. The redhead furrowed her eyebrows and pondered the information.

"What an odd way to express affection. Mouth to mouth resuscitation without the medical purpose. That sounds strange." she said in a puzzled tone. Naruto shrugged.

"I guess. I've never done it, so I wouldn't know" he admitted. Gaara was then struck with an idea.

"If it's wrong for siblings to 'kiss' one another, then perhaps you could demonstrate with me. We share no blood relation, after all." she said, sounding as though she had made a great breakthrough. The blonde immediately flushed red.

"Not in a million years. Even if we aren't related, you don't just kiss somebody. You only do it with somebody close to you. Besides, I don't really know how to do it either." he said quickly. Gaara then crawled forward, prompting Naruto to flatten himself against the cell wall.

"We may not be traditionally romantic, but we share a rare distinction as Jinchuuriki. That's a form of intimacy, don't you think?" she asked as she invaded his personal space. The konoha genin glanced to either side in search of an escape, but found no such thing.

"I don't really want to kiss you." he said bluntly. Gaara paid his declaration no heed and reached out for his hands. She then grasped them softly and peeled them off the wall.

"If it's supposed to be a show of affection, then I think we could both benefit from learning such a thing. We don't have to practice very much, but I'd still like to try it. " she said softly. Naruto glanced at her fingers, which she had threaded through his.

"Why are you holding my hands?" he asked nervously. The redhead then leaned forward, only stopping once they were nose to nose.

"I saw the man and women doing it. They were holding hands as we are now. I'm trying to mimic them." she explained. The nine-tails Jinchuuriki sighed internally. He was literally and metaphorically trapped. The wall to his back prevented an escape, and physically removing Gaara from him would likely result in unneeded tension.

'No way out of this, I guess' he thought to himself defeatedly. Sensing his unwilling submission, Gaara softly pressed her lips to his and closed her eyes. For a full minute, she fiddled around with the position of her mouth in alignment with his, finally settling ten seconds before the conclusion of the liplock. After that time had elapsed, she removed her mouth from his and gave him a bit of space to breath.

"Did I do it correctly?" she asked hopefully. Naruto, who was bright red and stuttering, tripped over himself several times before answering.

"I mean, I've never done it with anybody else, but...it didn't feel wrong to me, I guess." he said awkwardly. Gaara thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

"There was a dissatisfying feeling throughout. I think it was because you simply let me do all of the 'work'. What I witnessed between the man and woman was a mutual effort. Try using your mouth as well. Do it back to me." she said as she leaned forward again. Without warning or consent from Naruto, she linked their lips again.

'Why am I letting her do this? God, this is so weird' the blonde thought to himself. Sensing that he would be stuck in close quarters with his cellmate as long as he resisted, he gave in and returned the oral gesture. After a few moments of 'mutual effort', Gaara separated them again, this time leaving her forehead to rest on his. Their cheeks had brushed together during the kiss, and her gash had reopened. Despite the blood now seeping from her face, she looked utterly mystified.

"Yes, that was much more complete. Kissing, was it? I believe I understand its popularity now. How warm." she said as she scooted back again and returned to her post on the opposite wall. Once she was there, she tipped onto her side and curled into a ball.

"I'm quite tired now. I think I'll sleep. Wake me if I start to thrash about." she said. At those words, she closed her eyes and allowed her breathing to even. Still somewhat shell shocked by what had just occurred, Naruto shook his head rapidly and rubbed his temples.

'What the hell was that about? Bipolar weirdo. First, you preach about letting people suffer, then you're kissing me because you wanted to learn how to do it.' he thought to himself. He then followed her example and rolled onto his side. He squeezed his eyes shut and prepared to sleep. It was late, and rest was the only way to pass time.

Unbeknownst to him, and more humorously, Gaara, the redhead's cheeks were tinted pink with a smile tugging at her lips.

Gaara lay awake on the cold floor of the cell silently. It was nearly three in the morning, and the temperature had dropped to uncomfortable levels. It was still survivable, and the lack of a breeze made it fairly easy to adapt to, but winter was setting in for the year. The redhead was well used to the cold, as many of her nights had been spent in the frigid desert.

'A winter every night, as Father once put it.' she thought to herself as she gazed at Naruto's unconscious form across the stone room. Much to her relief, the blonde appeared to be maintaining a healthy temperature, even while he was unconscious. He was not shivering, and his breathing was even. Despite his clear health, Gaara still found herself slightly disappointed at the state of their position.

'I'm glad he's no longer paralyzed, but I must say, having him in my lap was heavenly.' she admitted with a slight redness on her face. The sedative that had been used to knock Naruto out had worn off roughly six hours after his initial awakening with Gaara, and the moment he had regained control of his body, he had scurried to the opposite side of the cell. His decision had saddened the girl somewhat, but she had fully expected it. In the three days that followed, Gaara had been entirely unable to move closer to him without the blonde adjusting to maintain the distance in between them.

The redhead had finally succeeded earlier in the present, however. The makeshift 'kissing lesson' she had more or less forced Naruto to give her had been a ploy, in a sense. While it was true that Gaara was unaware of what the action specifically detailed and what it exactly meant, she had been fully conscious of the fact that it required the two participants to be pressed against one another.

'I'm quite shocked it worked, but I'm not complaining.' the kunoichi thought to herself happily. She then brushed her fingers over her own lips and smiled. She had very much enjoyed herself despite her naivete. As she had said to the blonde before returning to her side of the wall, it had made her feel exceptionally warm. She had been quite tempted to try it again after the second try, but opted not to push her luck.

'He called it a show of love. One that's only for people who are intimate. In that case, were he and I intimate in that moment? Were we showing each other love?' she wondered to herself. This question raised several others, many of which pertained to Gaara herself.

'Is...that what I feel for him? Love? Why would I?' she thought to herself, her confusion mounting as she entered an entirely foreign emotional territory. As she grappled with the concept, she kept her eyes fixed on the back of his head. Unlike when he was awake, the leaf genin's body was entirely relaxed. There was no stress, no tension, and no exhaustion.

"You aren't a monster. You never were. You've done some awful things. Things I can't forgive you for, but I never thought you were a monster. You never got what you deserved or wanted, so you pushed back. I get it. Believe me, I do."

'I never knew what I wanted before, Naruto, but I did get what I deserved. I made my own bed, so I had to sleep in it.' Gaara thought to herself as Naruto's words returned to her. A sigh escaped her lips as her cellmate shifted in his sleep and turned over to face Gaara. He was still asleep, but his face was now visible to the redhead. At the sight, Gaara felt her chest tighten.

"But, I think I know what I want now." she whispered aloud. A slight shiver then rippled through Naruto's body. Gaara immediately sat up straight and gripped the bottom of her tunic and tugged on it. After a brief struggle, she removed it from her body. All that remained on her upper half was now a thin tank top. As quietly as she could, Gaara crawled over to Naruto and knelt down in front of him.

She carefully spread her tunic over him and laid it down on top of his shaking frame. It wasn't much, but it would likely help, even if only a little. Once the blonde's shivers had slowed somewhat, Gaara scooted back to the wall and hugged her knees into her chest with her now-bare arms.

'Always, my sweet friend. I'll always keep you safe. Be it from the cold, or from…' she swore silently, her mind trailing off as the image of Danzo Shimura crossed through her conscience.

'...the frigidness of man.'

A/N: That was cute, wasn't it? Naive as she is, Gaara knew what she wanted and took it. They aren't QUITE an item yet, but that comes soon. Tell me what you thought :)

See you next chapter! Read and Review!