-Dramatic music- It's chapter eight people!!!! –Throws confetti-
Gaara: -drinks coffee- it's early….why must you make us do this?
Because I can.
Naruto: Great excuse you big jerk.
Aw come on, you know that you guys love me!
All: NO WE DON'T!
-Cries-
"Kankuro, for the love of god stop snoring!" Gaara hated having to share a room with Kankuro in this little apartment. He kicked his brother in the back, but Kankuro just let out an enormous snore that made Gaara really want to kill him. The redhead sat up and let out a weary sigh. Maybe a walk would clear his head, and then he could get some sleep. He definitely wasn't going to get any sleep in the same room with Kankuro.
He pulled on a long sleeved black shirt to match his black pants. He slipped on his sandals, and leapt out of the bedroom window. He landed on the roof below, and stood back up. The moon was beginning to wane now. He stood against the moon, the warm night air ruffling his already messy red hair.
He walked along the silent village, eyes closed. He knew every turn, crack, and pebble of the leaf village by now. He had traveled here so many times, it was as familiar as his own village. He stopped, feeling the crunch of grass under his feet. He opened his eyes to see that he had entered the training field. He gave a small smirk, remembering one time he had come here.
"Gaara-kun! Please spare with me!" Cried Lee, tugging on Gaara's sleeve fiercely.
The Kazekage finally caved in, "Ok, ok. I'll spare with you. Just-,"
"YOSH!" Cried Lee, jumping up and down.
Gaara watched him, slightly amused by his huge amount of energy. He was almost worst then Naruto was.
Lee ran to the other side of the training zone, jogging in place, "Hit me with all you've got Gaara-kun!" He yelled, punching the air. "I've grown pretty strong since out match in the chunnin exams, bring it on!!!!"
Gaara shook his head. Why he even bothered…
The redhead sat down in the grass, leaning his back against one of the polls that was used for training. He closed his eyes, as the warm spring breeze danced around him, making his hair fly all around his face.
"Gaara."
His eyes snapped open at the call of his own name. He sat up and looked around to see who had called him. A figure moved out from the shadows, a familiar one.
Naruto walked out of the shadows, his bright blonde hair and blue eyes standing out against the night sky.
"Oh, Naruto," Said Gaara, surprised that anyone else would be out this late beside himself. He stood and walked up to his friend, "What are you doing up this late?"
Naruto stared at Gaara blankly. For years, they had been two of the closest friends due to their similar pasts, and understanding between each other. Naruto had never felt malice toward Gaara, except for when he was still an enemy of course. Naruto had never felt anything for Hinata, he had obsessed blankly over Sakura. Now, he was just realizing how beautiful Hinata really was, how sweet she was, how she had always acted around him. It dawned to the blonde, Hinata had always loved him.
"Naruto?" Said Gaara, looking at him with concern, "Is something wrong?"
Yes…something's wrong! Naruto opened his mouth, but the words just wouldn't come out. They seemed to be stuck in his throat.Hinata's...you're...! "What are you doing here?" He finally managed to get some words out.
"Oh," He shrugged, "I just needed to come out and think."
"Think about ways you're going to make out with Hinata…" Naruto stated under his breath. Gaara's fierce gaze snapped onto him.
"Wha…what did you say!?" He asked, fists clenched.
"You herd me!" Growled Naruto, "Need I repeat myself?"
"Yes…" Said Gaara in a menacing voice, "Go ahead and repeat yourself."
"I said, you're thinking of ways to make out with Hinata!"
Gaara's eyes narrowed, "What's your problem? That's not what I was thinking about!" He was furious that Naruto would make such a crude accusation, toward him!
"Tch, yeah right!" Replied the blonde, "You're marrying her, now you're thinking of all kinds of stuff!"
Gaara's face turned pink, "That's not true!"
"Hinata's my friend Gaara! My friend damn it!" Naruto practically screamed, "She's my friend, and you're marrying her! That's just plain sick!"
"It wasn't my decision to marry her!" Gaara snapped, "It was the head elder's decision. I had no say in it, since this is for the prosper of both our villages!"
"Then you should of refused!"
"I couldn't, the head elder is of a higher power then me!"
Naruto bit his lip, not knowing what else to say. He was angry, angrier then he had been in a long while.
"You never even noticed that Hinata loved you," Said Gaara coldly, "So why should you care if I marry her or not?"
That did it. Naruto clenched his fist, and swung it upward, delivering a hard punch on Gaara.
Gaara flew back from the force of the punch, and rammed into the training poll. He sat up, eyes wide with shock. He lifted his hand and whipped the blood from his lip, and stared at it for a moment, before looking back up at Naruto.
The jounin's breathing was coming out heavy, and his chakra was flaring from his intense anger. His eyes flashed from blue, to red, then back to blue.
Gaara stood, weary of how furious Naruto was, "Naruto, we shouldn't be fighting about something like this. We shouldn't be fighting at all. We should avoid pointless battles, especially between ourselves!"
"Shut up!" Roared Naruto. He ran forward, fist in the air, ready to strike again.
Looks like I have no choice but to defend myself...Thought Gaara. He leapt into the air, dodging Naruto's chakra enhanced punch. True, he didn't have his sand with him, but he had the minerals in the earth.
"Stop being a coward!" Shouted Naruto, "This is how people always settle disputes about love, they fight!"
"Idiot!" Hissed Gaara, dodging another blow, "This isn't a dispute over love! I don't love Hinata!"
"Kage bunshin no Jutsu!"
Five more Naruto's appeared, running at Gaara with full force.
Gaara dodged their blows, and finally…he had to strike back. He clapped his hands together and made a few quick hand signs.
"Suna Sheguire!"
Sand whirred around Naruto, clasping down on his feet, while a wall of sand rose above him, showering down bullets of the golden sand.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" The clones punched at the sand, finally breaking its hold. Naruto leapt into a tree, glaring down at the Kazekage. "I know your moves Gaara! Just say you won't marry Hinata, and I'll stop!"
"I can't do that!" Snapped Gaara, "It's an order!"
"Then I won't stop!"
The blonde ran at Gaara again, his eyes burning with anger. He threw a punch, directed at Gaara's abdomen.
Gaara dodged the punch, grabbing Naruto's arm. He pushed him away, stopping the attack. He couldn't hit Naruto with anything dangerous. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. Not to his friend.
Naruto held out one hand, palm open. He swiped his other hand around it furiously, building up all of his chakra in one point of his hand. Chakra began to flare in his hand, swirling around violently.
Gaara's eyes widened. He turned to rush out of the way of the attack, but something grabbed him. He looked down to see that Naruto had made to clones go underground, and grab him by the ankles. He looked up, for once in his life, frightened. "Naruto…Naruto don't!"
Naruto ran at the redhead, the spiraling ball of chakra in his hand, ready to stick.
Rasengan!
Gaara opened his eyes slowly, expecting to be dead, or have a giant hole through his stomach. What he didn't expect, was to see a large man standing in front of him. The man had long white hair, and was well above Gaara's height.
Naruto was lying a few feet away, panting. A giant whole where his Rasengan had hit was right next to him.
"Are you alright, Kazekage-sama?" Asked the man, turning to Gaara.
"J-Jiraya-sama!" Said Gaara, his eyes wide.
Naruto sat up panting. He glared over at Gaara and Jiraya. Luckily, his eyes were blue, not the blood red of the Kyubbi.
Jiraya looked around at Naruto, his eyes narrowed, "Both of you, please come with me to Tsunada's office. I'm sure she'll want to here about this little clash."
Naruto glared at Gaara, who had regained himself, and had his normal emotionless face on. Both boys nodded, and followed Jiraya to Tsunada's office.
"You what!?" Tsunada slammed her fist on her desk, making the whole office rumble. Her almond eyes stared at Naruto furiously, "You attacked the Kazekage!? You idiot!"
Naruto averted his eyes from hers, "He said himself he doesn't care about Hinata."
"I don't give a damn!" Snarled Tsunada, "This marriage is to help the village! Most people in arranged marriages don't love each other!"
Gaara stood against the wall, his green eyes focused on Tsunada. Shizune stood beside him, Tonton in her arms. Jiraya stood behind Naruto.
"Hinata deserves someone who does love her!" Yelled Naruto.
"It doesn't matter," Said Tsunada sitting down, "You tried to use your Rasengan on Gaara, the Kazekage…your friend! You could of killed him Naruto!"
Naruto glanced at Gaara, who didn't look at him.
Tsunada sighed, "Naruto, you have to learn to control yourself. As I said, this is happening to help keep the bond between the sand village and the leaf village. You shouldn't be so furious about it, you should be happy. We do not want to go to war with the sand village, do we?"
"….."
"Do we?"
"…No."
Tsunada crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, "Go get some sleep Naruto." She gave him a soft look.
"But I…" He looked around at Gaara.
"Naruto, you're obviously tired, so get some sleep," Said Tsunada sternly.
After a slight hesitation, Naruto nodded. He gave Gaara one more look, before leaving the office, shutting the door behind him.
"Did the cloak come out?" Tsunada asked, looking around at Gaara.
He shook his head, "His eyes flashed to red a few times, but that's it."
"His temper is going to get him into trouble some day," Said Jiraya, "But he only has Hinata-san's best interest at heart."
"…."
"Gaara-sama?"
He looked around at Tsunada, his eyes narrowed.
"Do you really not care for Hinata, at all?" She asked, studying his face.
Gaara frowned. He looked away, his vibrant green eyes deep in thought. Sure Hinata was a nice girl, and she was pretty but…Gaara had shut himself out from emotions like these his whole life. The only people he truly loved, were Kankuro and Temari. They were his siblings after all, but he had never thought about love with a girl, that wasn't his sister. He had never had feeling for a girl, beyond that of kinship, or just plain friendship. He closed his eyes.
"Not really…no."
Tsunada sighed, resting her elbows on her desk, "I see…very well." She looked up at him, "Go get some rest yourself."
Gaara nodded. He bowed, and turned to leave. He stopped at the door, his hand half way to the doorknob, "Tsunada-sama?"
"Yes?"
He turned to look at her, frowning. "Don't tell Hinata about any of this. She would get all depressed I'm sure."
"Yes, I know," Said Tsunada nodding.
Gaara nodded. He opened the door, and left the office, shutting the door behind him.
"So Tsunada," Said Jiraya leaning on her desk, "What do you plan to do?"
"Like I know," She mumbled, leaning back in her chair, "I never had to deal with this before. Any other boy would be happy to marry Hinata, I mean, she's a pretty young girl, but this Gaara we're talking about."
"I didn't expect Naruto to get so upset," Said Jiraya.
"Neither did I, since he's always had his eye on Sakura."
Tsunada smirked, "I know the two of you are there. Might as well come into the office if you've herd the whole conversation."
Baki and Kakashi entered the office through the window.
"We didn't expect you so soon, Baki," Said Tsunada, smirking.
"I just arrived, and was talking to Kakashi-san, when we herd you and Naruto-kun shouting," Baki explained.
Kakashi nodded, already reading his book.
"So you herd the whole thing?" Asked Jiraya.
Both jounin nodded.
"Naruto sounded pretty pissed of," Observed Kakashi, flipping a page of his book.
"Yeah. I'm worried he might try something again," Agreed Tsunada.
"You mean try to attack Gaara-kun again," Continued Kakashi.
She nodded.
Baki frowned, "If I may suggest something, Hokage-sama," He said, stepping forward to her desk.
"What?"
Baki sighed, "Maybe you should put an elite jounin ninja on duty, to keep an eye on Naruto-kun at all times, to make sure he doesn't try anything." He glanced at Kakashi, "If this wedding fails, Ebizou-jiisama said that the economy of both our villages will fall apart, and we will no doubt, fall into war."
"Damn…" Growled Tsunada, "This is troublesome…" She looked at Baki and Kakashi, and her eyes sparked with an idea.
"I got it! Kakashi, I want you to keep an eye on Naruto, and make sure he doesn't try anything," She looked at Baki, "Baki, I need you to tail Gaara, and do everything you can to make him and Hinata like each other, love each other even."
The two jounin stared at her.
"If Gaara and Hinata actually fall in love," explained Tsunada, "Naruto will cool of, and we can go on with the wedding!"
"Hm…a good plan Tsunada," Said Jiraya. He smirked, "But won't they find out? Gaara is the Kazekage after all."
"Baki and Kakashi will just have to be super stealthy," She informed them, "You got it you two?"
"Yes."
"Good, dismissed."
Baki and Kakashi bowed, before leaping out of the window together.
"Kakashi-san?" Said Baki, looking at him.
"This'll be really interesting, don't you think Baki?" Asked Kakashi, smiling under his mask.
"How can you be so cheery?"
"I'm not cheery."
"Yes you are. I think you're an optimist."
"Well, maybe."
"I just want to warn you Kakashi-san," Said Baki quietly. Kakashi looked at him. "If Gaara finds out what we're doing…" Baki shook his head, "It won't be pretty."
Yay! That was chapter eight! I had fun with Gaara and Naruto's fight! So Naruto is just now realizing he does have feelings for Hinata, and that she has always loved him. Baki and Kakashi to the rescue!!! XD
So, I hope I'm not uploading to quickly, I'm just having fun!