"Sasuke, hurry up!" The blonde grabbed his friend's hand and dragged him through the crowd as Haku silently followed them. "Konohamaru is waiting for us."

"Why are you so fired up anyway?" Sasuke asked sounding a little bored although he was quite amused at his friend's excitement.

Naruto rolled his eyes although Sasuke couldn't see it "Because it's not every day that you get to see other Kage in Konoha."

Sasuke smiled as he looked at Naruto lead the way to the village gates. He noticed how Naruto became in time oblivious at the people staring their way and at the whispers when he was with his friends. He didn't avoid crowds when they were together anymore although he still didn't like entering stores if he could avoid them and Sasuke decided that he will ignore the villagers too as long as Naruto looked comfortable. He knew the blonde better than anyone else and he knew when something was bothering him although Naruto tried to hide it most of the time.

"I don't see what's so special about the Kages. They probably came to meet the new Hokage." Naruto turned around to give him an exasperated look.

"I know that's why they came. I just want to see them since they are Kages."

The three of them arrived at the gates where Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon were already waiting.

"Naruto!" Konohamaru waved his hand excited "Over here!"

"Hey! Didn't your grandpa come too?" Naruto asked a little disappointed. He didn't see the man in quite some time and he didn't have the chance to ask him about his sudden retirement.

"He's with the Hokage at the Tower."

It didn't take long until the Mizukage arrived. Naruto could easily tell who she was based on the robe that the Kages wore, hers being white and blue and the matching hat that she held in her hand. She was a beautiful woman with red hair that walked with grace and elegance rare in a kunoichi and Naruto was speechless. Two of the seven swordsmen were in her company, as bodyguards but they looked like soldiers escorting a princess instead of a powerful ninja of the Kirigakure. They stopped in front of the booth where two chuunin were writing in a register their arrival and a message was immediately sent to the Tower carried by a bird.

She looked in Naruto's direction before she went on her way and gave him a smile, making the blonde wonder if she knew what he was.

"She's beautiful." He said to no one in particular as he watched her disappear into the crowd.

"She's also out of your league, dobe." Sasuke pointed out.

"I know that and you don't have to be a bastard about it." Naruto pouted making Sasuke smirk. It was always fun to tease the dobe.

"Look the Kazekage is here!" Konohamaru pointed to the gates and they all looked that way.

They couldn't see the man's face because of his hat but Naruto's attention was caught by the three ninja in his company. The eldest was a girl with blonde hair and a huge fan tied to her waist and she was the one who went to register them. The second was a boy dressed in black with some puppets on his back that Naruto found kind of creepy and the third was a red head with piercing blue eyes carrying a gourd on his back. Their eyes met and Naruto froze under his piercing glare.

Sasuke came out of the bathroom after taking a shower with a towel in his hand. He took a seat on the edge of the bed that he shared with Naruto and began drying his hair with the towel.

"You're quiet this evening."

"So?" Sasuke turned to look at his friend but could barely see his golden hair from under the blanket in which Naruto had wrapped himself like in a cocoon.

"You're too quiet. Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing." The raven threw the now wet towel on a chair on the other side of the room and lay on the bed.

"If you don't want to tell me it's fine but don't give me that shit." He was a bit irritated but didn't want Naruto to think that he was angry so he tried to control the tone of his voice as well as he could. The blonde had sensed it though and soon a tanned hand rest on the ivory like one. Sasuke turned to look at Naruto and when their eyes met all the frustration faded away. "If you don't tell me I'm going to have to make you sing." Naruto smiled at him and he returned it. "I'm tired and I don't want to get up but if I have to then I'll kick your ass."

"Do you remember the red head that was with the Kazekage?" Naruto asked and his smile faded.

"What about him?"

"He's like me."

"What do you mean?"

"He's a jinchuuriki." Sasuke looked for a moment in Naruto's blue eyes pondering the implications of what the blonde had just revealed.

"Are you sure? How can you tell?"

"I can feel the bijuu's chakra."

"What was the Kazekage thinking when he brought him here? This can easily be considered a threat to our village. We have to tell the Hokage."

Naruto withdrew his hand under the blanket wrapping it tighter around his body "He reminded me of…"

"Of what?" Sasuke urged him to continue but Naruto hesitated. "Tell me."

"…of me before I met you. He looks like he gave up."

"Gave up on what?"

"On people…. He looked lonely."

Sasuke shifted his gaze upwards to the ceiling. Was this loneliness destined to be the fate of all jinchuuriki? Were they nothing more than tools of war or demons in the people's eyes? It was sad for him to watch Naruto being treated unfair by the villager's but the blonde had him. Then Haku appeared and became a close friend for both of them, then there were also those brats who worshipped Naruto more than they worshipped the kami. Naruto was fine because he had friends but what would have happened to him if he didn't have those friends? Would he have looked for revenge or would he have tried to kill himself? Knowing Naruto it would have been the later but he didn't want to think of such a possibility.

"I needed you to stop me become like that." Naruto brought him back from his thoughts. "Is it wrong for me to need you so much?" Sasuke shifted his position to face Naruto and whipped the tears that wet the scared cheeks.

"No, because I need you too."

Not knowing what to do the boys went to look for Jiraya but Naruto suddenly stopped in his tracks at the site of the Suna trio.

The red head was standing in their way while the other two were behind him looking slightly concerned.

"I don't know what you're looking for Gaara but we should go back." The girl tried to reason with the red head but he paid no attention to her pleading.

"I've been looking for you." He addressed Naruto. "You look like a worthy opponent for me."

Naruto was scared, he couldn't deny that but he refused to show it since he knew from his own experience what it was like when everyone feared and hated him, how it broke his heart.

"I won't fight you." His voice was firm and determined and he prayed that the other didn't sense his fear.

"You don't have a choice." The boy's voice was calm and monotone, just like Sasuke's and Naruto would have dealt with him much easier if he had yelled like a maniac.

"Gaara, please don't make a scene." The girl tried to pull him away by the hand but he refused to move. "You can't fight here! Someone might get hurt or even die. Father doesn't want that."

The red head pondered on her words a little before he asked Naruto to take them somewhere where they could fight. Naruto obliged but not because he wanted to fight, he was more concerned for the villager's safety. He didn't know what was going to happen next but figured that he could improvise when time comes because running was not an option for him.

When they arrived at the training grounds Naruto turned to the boy.

"I'm Naruto." He raised his hand hoping for a hand shake but the boy didn't move or say anything. Sand came out of the gourd that rest on the boy's back and it swirled around his body in a threatening way. Naruto was taken aback. The boy hadn't said a word nor did he make hand signs and yet he was somehow controlling the sand. His instincts told him to get ready for battle but his will refused to obey.

Sasuke activated his sharingan and stepped between the two boys. "I believe Naruto was clear enough when he said he will not fight you."

"Leave or die." The red head said as the sand became more threatening. Sasuke took a fighting stance and Naruto tried to stop him when the sand attacked slapping them both to the ground. More sand came out of the gourd and taking the shape of a giant hand it grabbed Naruto, holding him in a tight grip in the air. Sasuke yelled his name helpless as his friend was out of his reach. He decided to focus on the boy instead and launched and attack with his chidori but the sand made a shield in front of the boy making the attack useless. Although the shield of sand was broken the boy was safe and Naruto was still in danger and he couldn't use the chidori again right away.

"Why do you put yourself in danger for him?" The read head asked "Do you not know what he is?"

"Of course I do." Sasuke gritted his teeth "he's my best friend and my rival."

"He's a monster." A small sand storm hit Sasuke making several scratches on his flawless pale skin.

"No, he's not." Sasuke yelled as he tried to protect his face. Naruto yelled his name from above, his voice full of concern.

"Would you give your life away for him?" The sand started to pile up around Sasuke burying him alive until only his face was visible.

"Without a second thought." Naruto became restless and tried to release himself from the grip so that he could go and save Sasuke when all of the sudden the sand went back into the gourd and he fell on the ground.

"Why aren't you afraid?"

"Naruto would never hurt anyone no matter what they say or do."

"What's your name?"

"Sasuke."

"Stay still, teme." The two boys were back to Naruto's apartment and the blonde was tending on Sasuke's injuries. Most of them were minor but they were all over his body and although Sasuke had been the perfect patient when Naruto treated the ones on his body he became rather difficult when Naruto focused on his face. "You've got a deep one on the cheek. I just hope it doesn't leave a scar."

"That guy is a ticking bomb." Naruto's blue eyes reflected sadness at Sasuke's words but didn't say anything. He would have liked Sasuke to understand how he felt but it wasn't the raven's fault that he couldn't. "I know you think he's like you but he's not, ok?" Sasuke said rather desperate. He hated to see Naruto like that; it was one of his few weaknesses.

"And yet I know how he feels."

"Naruto, Gaara is the Kazekage's son. He has a family unlike you."

"A family that fears him, Sasuke. That's even worse than being an orphan. I need to save him." Getting up from the bed he went to put the first aid kit in the bathroom as Sasuke's gaze followed him.

"You're not going alone if you have to go."

They found the siblings on the Hokage Mountain. Gaara was standing on top of the Nidaime's head looking at the village bellow while his siblings were sitting under a tree further away.

Naruto walked to the red head while Sasuke stayed behind with the older siblings.

"What are you doing here?" The girl asked looking shocked at Sasuke. These boys had to be crazy or wishing to die to come close to Gaara after what happened earlier that day.

"Gaara is a jinchuuriki." Sasuke stated looking at the two boys who were talking further away.

"How do you know that?" The boy asked.

"Because Naruto is one too he can tell. Are you three really brothers?"

The girl nodded "Yeah… My name is Temari and this is Kankurou and over there is our little brother Gaara."

"You look more like his bodyguards than brothers."

Kankurou scoffed "Father had us handle him since Temari is the only one he listens to."

Sasuke gave him a piercing look. "Handle him? He's not an object."

"Gaara is capable of killing without remorse." The older boy added.

"And you have only yourselves to blame. Do you think he wants you to fear him? He's just giving you what you expect of him."

"How did you and Naruto become friends?" Temari asked with a soft and sad voice. She knew that Sasuke was right. They had allowed themselves to be influenced by other people's opinion about Gaara and everyone in Suna hated him, their father included. Ever since Gaara was born and their mother died their father blamed him for her death. She knew it was not Gaara's fault but little Gaara looked up to his father and Kazekage and was deeply affected by his accusations and cold treatment. That changed in time though and Gaara stopped carrying for anyone, he would kill with cold blood everyone who stood in his way or treated him badly without any emotion. No one could ever see it coming.

"He was running away from a store owner who wrongfully accused him of stealing and I helped him lose the villagers. We spent a lot of time together every day after that."

"Did you know what he was?"

"No. It's forbidden to talk about that in this village but I was told to stay away from him, we all were. I only found out later and there are only three kids in the village who know that Naruto is a jinchuuriki, Naruto and I included.

Kankurou sighed "I'm impressed you didn't run away when you found out."

"Naruto was already my best friend at the time. I couldn't see him as anything else but that, I still can't." Sasuke turned to look at the two boys in front of them. "What is Gaara to you? Your brother or a jinchuuriki?"

There was no answer but Temari looked at the ground in shame. She cared about Gaara, she loved him but she couldn't ignore the fact that he was…different. Kankurou just scoffed in frustration.

"Do you like the view from up here?" Naruto asked the red head with a smile on his face. He felt more comfortable around Gaara than he first expected and that was a good thing.

"Not really."

"It's my favorite place in the village. I used to come here all the time because here I could be alone and safe. That's until Sasuke found out about it." Gaara turned to look at Naruto when the blonde mentioned the raven's name.

"Is he really a friend?"

"Sure, Sasuke is the best and I don't think I could ever repay him for everything he did for me."

"What about everyone else?"

"Not everyone is so bad and I have quite a few friends. I guess I just ignore everyone else, they don't have to like me and that's ok. You can be my friend too if you want."

"Two jinchuuriki becoming friends would be the end of the world."

Naruto laughed "I can't believe you said that joke with such a straight face."

"It wasn't a joke."

"We're humans, Gaara and we need friends just like everyone else. I don't have a family but I have Sasuke and Haku by my side and you are more than welcome to join us."

"Why would you want to be my friend?"

"Why wouldn't I want to? Sasuke is amazing and all but he doesn't understand everything, he can't and I don't blame him. Only someone like me can understand what it's like to be a container." He absentmindedly let his hand rest on his belly where the seal was. "I always wished I would one day meet someone who can understand."

"I only know emptiness and I haven't found anything to fill it. I don't even know what I'm looking for but I think what you and Sasuke have is the answer. You were lucky to have met him."

"I was…I am lucky to still have him. He sacrificed a lot for my sake. He saved me and I want to save you." Naruto's sky blue eyes turned to look into the empty ocean blue ones. He wanted to smile and reassure the other boy that everything will be fine but he was overwhelmed by the emotions that flooded him. "You're a lot like him, you know that?"

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't show his emotions much and he is cold towards many people because he was hurt by the people he loves." He raised a hand and hesitating slightly put it on the other boy's cheek. He was expecting a reaction of any kind from the blue eyed boy but there was none, the red head didn't even blink under the touch. "But you have emotions too….deep down….don't you?"

"Emotions are useless." The red head turned his head away and Naruto pulled his hand back. "I just need to crush anyone who stands in my way."

"Then I'll stand in your way. Will you crush me too?" Gaara grabbed his head with both hands and frowned. He seemed to be in pain all of the sudden and Naruto became scared again since he didn't understand what was going on. "Are you alright?" He tried to grab the other boy since he looked like he was about to collapse on the ground from the pain but the sand came to life moving threateningly between the two boys.

"Stay away from me!" Gaara yelled and Naruto made a step back.

Everyone else's attention moved to Gaara and in a blink of an eye Sasuke was by Naruto's side.

"Are you ok, dobe? Did he hurt you?" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist before the raven could attack.

"He didn't do anything, he's in pain."

Temari and Kankurou also rushed by their brother's side.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked concerned.

"He's fighting Shukaku, he hasn't done that in a long time." Temari explained. "We better go." She and Kankurou grabbed Gaara by his arms and dragged him slowly away from the two boys.

Naruto clenched his fists, his nails biting into the skin. He wanted to just kick the asses of the people who made Gaara that way. "No one deserves to be turned into a demon's puppet." Sasuke gently reached his hand and Naruto loosened the grip under the touch so that Sasuke could lace their fingers together.