"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Demon Talking"

"Demon Thinking"

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 24: Negativity

Naruto didn't understand why the storm stopped, but he was grateful. It was seriously starting to get on his nerves. He hadn't had any luck speaking with the boy, who was clutching his chest and his head as if in great pain. Anytime Naruto attempted to speak, sand would lash out, and he would have to back away.

This was a tricky situation he had found himself in. How was he supposed to help a boy tormented by betrayal and lack of love? He was no therapist – he honestly probably needed a therapist himself. There was no way that he could fill the boy with what he lacked the most.

"Gaara!" he exclaimed, hoping to get the younger boy's attention. It did happen to work as teal eyes met with violet.

The other's eyes narrowed. "Who are you? Why has Mother gone quiet?"

That statement confirmed his suspicions that Kurama had been able to handle his brother. Hopefully, the fox would be headed this way such that they could handle the boy together.

Approaching slowly, Naruto held out his hands in a placating manner. "I'm here to help. Let me help you."

"No…" The redhead began to back away. "NO! I only live for myself. I have to prove my existence!" With that statement, the sand became riled up again, and Naruto feared that another sandstorm would start.

"I want to help you Gaara. Settle down." It didn't seem like his words reached the boy anymore.

"You can't help me," the Suna nin spat out. "I can tell even without Mother here. You are just like me. How many times so far have you proved your existence?"

That question was as if asking Naruto how many times he had killed, for proving one's existence and killing were synonyms to Gaara. It caused the brunet to pause. How many people had he killed? How many people had he killed? There were too many to count. Technically, it was all Kodanuki's work, but technically Kodanuki was him, and how many people had he killed?

"I'm not sure…" he finally replied. The redhead gave him a look as if he had mildly disappointed him.

"You-" He was interrupted with a shout.

"Kit!" Naruto turned around and saw Kurama approaching while carrying a teenager. The look on his face was that of concern? Why would Kurama be concerned about him? There was nothing to be concerned about. Well maybe his near mental breakdown had sparked worry in the fox.

His eyes drifted to a woman following behind them. However, when she saw Gaara, she practically sprinted forward without warning. The boy tried to back away, but her arms grabbed his shoulders quickly before wrapping around him in a tight hug.

The emotions that were displayed in the teal eyes spoke loudly. The boy was somehow resisting the urge to kill the woman while still acting unbelievably surprised. Naruto could relate; something similar had just happened to him after all. Judging by the chakra of the woman, she was most definitely a close relative of the boy, and considering the seal used, she was most definitely his mother.

Kurama came to a halt beside him, and Naruto couldn't help but question the boy in his arms.

"My brother" was all the fox said.

"That's your brother? But he's so peaceful. Definitely not what I imagined."

The chakra construct snorted. "He's usually this sane. It's just that his cursed chakra was causing the container some issues."

"I see…" was the brunet's only response as he turned once again to the mother and son who had finally separated. It was truly intriguing to watch as the boy who knew not of love was now being filled with it by his mother of all people.

"Where did you find her?" he asked Kurama. He guessed that she had somehow left a strong chakra imprint on her son considering that her chakra was used to sustain the seal.

Kurama proceeded to explain the events that had occurred just prior to his finding of Naruto and Gaara. It seemed that the Suna kunoichi had a strong sense of protecting her son but had been doing it in the wrong place the entire twelve years of the boy's life. Hearing about how the previous jinchuuriki of the tanuki had also been plaguing him for years was also interesting. Naruto knew that there were seals to bind chakra together, but he had never heard of such a strong one that it was still bound when the chakra demon was resealed. Most definitely, he would need to research this when he returned to Konoha.

On a different note, he was irked to a degree that he hadn't been able to help Gaara. In a sense though, it made sense as he was still conflicted inside (whether he chose to admit it or not), and the Suna nin needed a strong support such as a mother with unconditional love and protection.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he should probably talk to someone about how he was feeling.

("Yes, you should.")

('Don't interrupt my thoughts.')

Perhaps he would seek out Cat-nee when this was all over, and he would finally be able to sort out his own mental dust devil that had been plaguing him for the past day. No matter how much he thought about it, he just couldn't figure it out by himself.

Well that aside, the mother and son duo had sorted out their issues and misconceptions. Clearly everything was fine now since Gaara was bawling his eyes out while letting himself be cradled in his mother's arms. That was good for him. He really needed a stable support system, and with his mother around in his mind, that seemed to be pretty simple for the Ichibi jinchuuriki. It was fairly heartwarming to watch as all the negativity seemingly vanished from the surrounding area and a warmth settled in.

A bit unnerved to interrupt the happy pair, Naruto stepped up and explained his plan to repair the seal. "Gaara, it seems like your seal was not the main issue, but that you had foreign chakra trapped in your system. I'm going to repair your seal such that it will not be a further issue." The boy clutched onto his mother's scarf and glared at the brunet. "Do not fret, your mother will not disappear as she is a cornerstone in the seal's working and her chakra has integrated itself very much to yours." The grip on the scarf lessened. "This will only take a moment okay?"

The once insane boy nodded, and Naruto set off to work. It was really easy to modify a seal, especially when he had direct access to the mind. His chakra could immediately modify the seal from within. It was a handy trick that he had discovered by tinkering with his own seal while within his mindscape. After years of studying seals, he knew exactly what he needed to do, and the boy's seal was soon free from any flaws or points of exploitation.

Allowing his excess chakra to return to his body, Naruto allowed a look of satisfaction to appear on his face. Addressing the mother and son duo once again, he told them that he and Kurama were prepared to leave. Before he could speak any further, something blond walked up next to him: Shukaku was standing next to him while holding Kurama's hand.

Kurama looked down at his younger brother sternly. "Now apologize."

The tanuki boy looked down ashamed and bowed. "I'm sorry for my actions. I had not meant to torment you all these years."

That apology had startled everyone else in the vicinity. A bijuu apologizing was unheard of. Kurama seriously worked wonders if he could get his brother to apologize for something partially not his fault.

Gaara stood up, which surprised his mother, and approached the tanuki. Instead of saying anything however, he looked straight at the tail poking out behind Shukaku and suddenly grabbed it. A yelp came from the Ichibi as he started chasing Gaara around the desert, no negativity included. Kurama and Naruto shared a glance and knew that everything was going to be fine here.

The brunet stood, bowed to the Suna kunoichi, and exited Gaara's mind. From there, he simultaneously teleported himself and Gaara back to their dimension, where he watched Gaara's body shed its sand and fall to the ground. Shifting his focus slightly, he glanced at his godfather, who was currently in a henge as the other of the Hokage's bodyguards. A nod signaled the Sannin to release the barrier.

Naruto couldn't help but smirk a little at the startled look on his godfather's face when he realized that Gaara had been crazy one moment and unconscious the next. Even if he hadn't blinked, he would not have seen any bit where the Suna nin was not present in the space. That's how perfect Naruto's seals and pocket dimension were. The seals allowed for instantaneous transportation, and his favorite pocket dimension actually did not move in time relative to this dimension. He owed it all to his parents' notes which described their own experiments with time and space jutsu which he then was able to replicate and improve.

Now that the worst of the finals was over, he could stand back and watch the genin beat each other to a pulp. Gaara had been disqualified for intending to kill the Uchiha after the match was called, and the Uchiha was in no condition to continue the tournament. Therefore, the matches continued without them. This resulted in a modified finals round: a battle royal between the Hyuuga boy, the Aburame boy, and Gaara's sister. It was an interesting match for sure, with the wind scythes not allowing either boy to come close to the girl. The kikaichu of the Aburame were skillfully used too, although with the wind and rotation, the others could block easily. In the end, Naruto was bored by the flashy display of attacks and had tuned out the battle.

He stretched his senses out to see if any forces were approaching the arena. It seemed as if there were none. Oto was not attacking; their forces were most likely disheveled by the loss of their leader and their second-in-command. Suna was not attacking, which meant they most likely discovered the death of their Kazekage. All was peaceful as the Chuunin Finals came to a close.

With the excitement over, he was finally able to allow his tension to dissipate. The thing he needed the most now was to seek out Cat-nee and to ask her for advice. She would understand these feelings that he had within himself. She would know why he was couldn't bring himself to disappoint his godfather.

Heading back to his room, he plopped down on the bean bag. Let it be known to all that bean bags are great places to land after a flash. Shapeshifting back into his original form, placing his mask on, and exiting the room, he sought out Cat-nee. At this time of day, hopefully she was back in her room by now.

Knocking on her door, he waited patiently. He didn't mind waiting for his sister, though she was one of the only people he didn't mind for. A voice from the other side allowed him to enter, and he opened the door.

That's when he saw it, and he really wished he hadn't opened that door. He just had to seek out Cat-nee. Finding out would have been inevitable, but his mind still berated him. There was no point in believing that he would have never known. When he opened the door wide enough to see, it had taken him only a microsecond to process what he saw before he had frozen in his tracks. A picture of Gecko and his katana were set out on a small altar; a small vase with flowers and a bowl of fruit accompanied it.

Gecko had died.

Updated: 1/6/20