Disclaimer: See Prologue (Chapter 00), as if anything has changed since then.
Spoilers from various places up to Chapter 244.
Human NatureBy: TailFear
Chapter 01: The Conditions of PeaceTsunade sighed as the early summer sun beat down from overhead. She and the other ninja that made up the group waiting for the Sand-nins to show up according to the treaty that had been written up and signed by both Tsunade herself and the new Kazekage. The agreement was that they were to meet today at noon, the Sand-nins with a few of their own lower ranked ninja, gennin or chuunin, but the Sand-nins were running late.
Behind her various shinobi lounged as they waited. A few were ANBU, but most were jounin or from influential clans that were there to see this treaty through, especially since another repeat of the war with Sound and Sand was not something they wanted. They stood in small groups, occasionally moving around to talk to someone else, but always on alert for the signal from guards posted on the wall for any sign of the group they were supposed to meet.
A low whistle caught everyone's attention and they silenced, watching as Tsunade made the hand signal that would open the gates. A thrill of tension ran through the group as they waited. It had taken over three years for this to finally happen, and tensions were running high on both sides.
Another whistle signaled that the Sand-nins were almost to the gate. Within a few moments a good sized group, made up of what looked to be 10 to 12 shinobi walked calmly into Konohagakure. Tsunade sighed and went to meet them half way. A senior of what equated to Sunagakure's ANBU melted out of the group and met Tsunade in plain view of both sides. A scroll was exchanged, and the Sand-nin waited until Tsunade had unrolled and read what it contained before speaking.
"I assure you that we have brought a shinobi as required by the treaty, but we don't have more than one at the moment, but over the next few months we will be sending more until the agreed total is met," the Sand-nin said, watching Tsunade roll up the scroll.
"We never did agree on a starting number, only a final number, am I right?" she asked, carefully regarding the man across from her.
"You are right, Hokage-sama," the Sand-nin assured her.
Tsunade sighed, then nodded, "Alright. Let's get this over with, then you're welcome to stay the night before heading back to your village."
"We thank you for your generosity," the Sand-nin said, a secretive smile stretching across his face. He handed Tsunade a key, and with a quick hand signal parted the ninja gathered behind him, and a figure slowly came into view.
Tsunade watched as a young boy, bound in what appeared to be sealed chains, appeared. A small glance over the assembled Sand shinobi revealed an assortment of small to medium injuries that looked to be caused by everything from kunai and shuriken to fists and teeth. Nothing looked too serious, but there were a few of the Sand shinobi flinching when they shifted positions. With a sigh she returned her gaze to the boy that was coming forward, a glare full of killing intent aimed on anyone or anything dumb enough to come into his field of view.
"Gaara of the Desert," someone hissed from behind her as the tension level rose even higher as murmuring started to fill the group.
"Here's our chuunin, as required by the treaty," the Sand-nin had a particularly nasty look on his face as the red-head was pushed until he stood flush with the senior Sand-nin. A smirk twisted the Sand-nin's face as he moved to stand with the rest of the escort. "We'll be taking our leave. Thanks for your hospitality."
With another hand signal the group of Sand shinobi moved out, leaving the way that they had come. Tsunade watched in silence until they were out of view, and until she couldn't feel their chakra anymore, before turning to the boy in front of her. He gazed back at her defiantly, dark-rimmed eyes making him appear even more menacing.
"Godaime-sama, ah," the ANBU member trailed off as Tsunade turned around, eyes hard.
"We're going to discuss this in private back at the Hokage Tower. Now go," she ordered. One by one each ninja left until she was finally alone with the angry teen.
"Gaara of the Desert," Tsunade murmered, scrutinizing the boy in front of her. He was taller than she remembered, with wiry muscle and his ever present gourd. He also looked harder than he remembered, more closed off, but less bloodthirsty at the same time. There was something about him that had changed. He looked up at her, eyes blazing as he met her questioning gaze.
She smiled at him mirthlessly, "How about we get those chains off?"
His eyes met her sharply, boring into them from where he was standing. He was suspicious, she could tell, and very, very angry. Inside she was fuming. If only she could get her hands on Suna's council and strangle them, but she couldn't. She couldn't understand how anyone could do this to a child, let alone make a child into a weapon on purpose.
It was easy to get the manacles off, and with a quick twist of the key they clattered to the ground in a messy pile. Absently the red-haired boy rubbed his wrists, wincing a little as he felt his chakra re-circulate through his body from where it had been bottle up in his stomach.
"Why?"
Tsunade saw something flicker through his eyes for a moment, fear, maybe apprehension. She'd seen flicker before in other faces, younger ones. A soft smile found its way onto her face as she watched the teen in front of her return to his previously angry countenance, all signs of insecurity vanishing.
"Because no one deserves to be treated that way, especially not an ally."
The flicker was back again, but only for an instant, and was gone by the time Tsunade turned towards the HokageTower. Gaara blinked as she turned her back to him, something that she'd only do unless she was insanely strong, or she trusted him to follow her.
"Follow me to the tower," Tsunade ordered before heading off, taking the rooftops to avoid the stares that were most likely to come from the villagers. Gaara watched her leave for a moment before catching and keeping up with her as they moved quickly towards the Hokage Tower.
They entered the Hokage Tower through the window in Tsunade's office. The rest of the shinobi from the gate were clustered in front of her large desk, standing over the stacks of paper piled high. Gaara appeared with a swirl of sand behind Tsunade, materializing on the windowsill as Tsunade took her seat behind he large oaken desk.
"We're here to discuss what to do about Sabaku no Gaara," Tsunade said, steepling her fingers in front of her as she leaned forward.
"We can't allow him to stay here, he'll destroy everything," Tsunade looked at the speaker, an elder from one of the more influential clans after the Hyuuga. He flinched under her gaze, but didn't lower his eyes.
"He's an ally here under treaty," She glared at some of the angrier looking elders before continuing, "So we're not kicking him out, or leaving him to find his own place. We're going to go by what was agreed with in the treaty, no matter who he is."
"Ah, so we're sticking to the original plan?" Kakashi said, his single visible eye smiling out.
"Yes," Tsunade turned to Gaara who was lounging behind her to make sure he was paying attention. One green eye flickered in her direction then resumed looking out the window. She turned back to the group assembled in front of her.
"Gaara will be place with a partner who will become his permanent teammate in all but special circumstances. This means on missions, diplomatic or otherwise, and for supervision. If he ever has to go out of this village, his partner will go with him, whether with a team, or alone. He's to be on good behavior, and will have random check-ups by appointed jounin or ANBU. And if he fights in the village, it can only be in self-defense. This will be a probation period of six months, after that the guidelines will be changed to something more flexible. Do you agree to this?" she directed the last question at Gaara, who inclined his head, but didn't look at them, even though they could hear the sand shifting ominously in the gourd at his back.
Tsunade motioned Kakashi forward. The jounin leaned forward and held a quick, whispered conversation with the Godaime before nodding and stepping back. Gaara looked at them suspiciously, turning away from his window. Tsunade motioned him to her and he stepped down from the window ledge to stand next to her.
"Kakashi here will escort you to your new home," Tsunade smiled at the stoic boy as he waited for Kakashi to lead the way before following. He looked back, nodding to the Hokage before following Kakashi out the window and onto the rooftops.
"What? Godaime-sama!"
Tsunade smiled and set about placating the remaining members of the group.
Gaara remained silent as he moved alongside Kakashi. The masked ninja looked like he was smiling at him, but it was a little hard to tell with the mask covering most of his face. They sped across town, away from the center and to some of the smaller apartments on the outskirts of the main shopping district.
"So, where are we going?"
Kakashi looked at Gaara as he asked the question, noting the carefully blank look that Gaara was wearing. The teen was keeping up easily, moving from rooftop to rooftop as if he were running on solid ground.
"We're going to your new home," Kakashi said simply. Gaara resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the answer, and kept silent. "I'm sure that you'll do fine here. Things may be a little tense at first, but it'll settle down in a few days."
Gaara frowned, but stayed silent. Like anyone would really want to have him as a partner, let alone a permanent one. Sheesh, even his own village hadn't wanted him, the people who he had lived with all of his life, but that really hadn't been too unexpected. At least his siblings had stood up for him, but that hadn't been enough. The only person that he could possibly think of that wouldn't kick him out first thing was Rock Lee, but the guy was insane, but in a different way from Gaara himself.
"Who?" Gaara didn't have to say more, Kakashi knew what he was trying to ask.
"You'll see. I can understand why you would be apprehensive about the situation, especially considering the situation that happened at the chuunin exams over three years ago. But don't worry, it'll be fine," Kakashi smiled at Gaara as the teen sighed.
They arrived on top of a small apartment building about four stories tall. Gaara raised an eyebrow at his slightly dilapidated surroundings even as Kakashi let out a small sigh and dropped down onto a top floor balcony on a more secluded side of the complex. Gaara raised an eyebrow as he dropped down onto the balcony and entered the small apartment, taking in his new and meager surroundings.
"Your new partner will be home sometime tonight after his mission," Kakashi watched as Gaara started to explore his new home, taking in the layout, the partition that separated the living room from the dining area, and the kitchen nestled into a small, almost closet-like space.
Gaara nodded as he continued to look around, watching Kakashi disappear off the balcony before really starting to look around. Whoever lived here really liked Ramen, and didn't clean too well. Nothing was disgusting, but the apartment had a feeling of abandonment that occupation hadn't quite yet gotten rid of. The bedroom was on the other side of the dining room, connected to the balcony and sporting a small bathroom that was next to the kitchen in layout. With a sigh Gaara found the couch and settled down, pulling a book out of his mission pack as he resigned himself to his fate.
Tsunade nodded to Kakashi as he re-entered her office, lounging against a wall as the debate over Gaara raged on. Most of the elders were against letting him stay in the village, despite the treaty, but a good deal of the jounin and ANBU were for letting him stay. Tsunade sighed as yet another fight between the two groups broke out.
"Enough!" she finally snapped, slamming her hands down on her desk. "This is who Suna sent to us to fulfill the first requirement of the treaty. We don't get to pick and choose who they send to us, all we can do is hope that they don't decide to dump their delinquents on us, and unless whoever they send causes massive property damage or casualties, there isn't much that we can do. Besides, when given a chance to redeem themselves Gaara and his siblings came to our aide as allies and proved themselves worthy. Gaara himself defended Rock Lee and brought him back to the village during the failed mission to retrieve Sasuke. He's staying where he is, and that's final. I don't want to hear anything else."
Tsunade glared at the assembled group before her, then sighed. With a wave of her hand the group was dismissed. Slowly they filed through the door until only Kakashi was left. The blonde slumped over and rested her chin on her arms, suddenly looking almost her age.
"We're doing what's right," Kakashi said, moving away from the wall to sit in one of the chairs in front of Tsunade's desk.
"Do you think he'll mind?" Tsunade asked, sounding tired. Kakashi watched her with concern, but didn't say anything about it.
"No, I'll think he'll be fine. Besides, he needs someone who understands," Tsunade said, looking to Kakashi for confirmation. The gray-haired man closed his one visible eye and nodded, a pensive look on his face.
"If Jiraiya were here, I'd say ask him. But he's away on that mission, and won't be back for over another month. If you ask me, both boys will be fine," Kakashi siad. Tsunade sighed again, and nodded.
"I hope you're right," she murmured. "I hope you're right.
Naruto sighed as he dodged yet another angry person in the busy streets of Konohagakure. The crowds were slowly starting to thin and the sun started to set and dinnertime approached, but there were still enough people to have to dodge the occasional person who looked like they were on a warpath. One of the advantages of being shinobi was heightened reflexes, but they only worked to a point.
He was tired after his mission, but he was the one that had to turn in the team's mission report. The class-B assassination had almost been a joke between him, Neji, and Tenten. It hadn't even taken a day including travel; despite numerous guards and sub-standard security. The idiots hadn't even known what had hit them.
The actual mission procedure had been simple with him creating a distraction, and Neji and Tenten doing the actual assassination. They'd done the initial scouting through the air vents and Neji's Byakugan. After that Naruto had used Kage Bunshin to create chaos while Neji and Tenten, with the help of Neji's eyes, had located their target and taken them out with on hit from Tenten. They'd left in a cloud of smoke, reappearing on the outskirts of the village before leaving to collect their pay.
After the trek home he was ready to go to sleep. Neji had set a grueling pace, leaving him and Tenten exhausted by the end of the trip. He was ready for a shower, Ramen, and rest, but not necessarily in that order. Once they had arrived at the Konoha gates they'd split in two directions, Neji and Tenten to train (which was insane, in his opinion) and Naruto to turn in the mission report.
The Hokage Tower was still busy when he entered, admin people running from place to place to file last minute reports. He moved in and out of the streams of human traffic, ducking under boxes of files and around people waving folders. The blond chuunin approached the mission desk, smiling at the girl behind the desk. She smiled back, accepting his mission scroll and looking it over before adding it to the growing pile of scrolls on her desk.
"Oh, Naruto-san."
Naruto turned. The girl smiled and waved him back over.
"Godaime-sama has requested your presence in her office whenever you came in. She told all of us to tell you if we caught you before one of the jounin did," the girl said.
"Thanks," Naruto said, grinning broadly and completely missing the blush that spread across the girl's face.
On his way up he tried to remember if there had been any spectacular complaints lodged against him lately, but couldn't think of anything. Actually, he'd been pretty good lately, and couldn't remember even having anyone threaten to lodge a complaint lately.
As he passed through the waiting area that led to Tsunade's office he received a few nasty looks, but that was nothing; he was used to it by now. While ignoring their looks he went to Shizune's desk in front of the doors to Tsunade's office. The dark-haired medical-nin smiled at him as stopped in a few feet in front of her desk.
"Tsunade's free right now, right between meetings. You picked a good time to come back," Shizune said, nodding to Naruto and waving him towards the doors. He smiled and nodded back, pushing open the heavy doors and entering the Hokage's office.
"Oi, Tsunade-baba," Naruto complained, plopping down into one of the chairs and waking Tsunade up from her nap.
"Naruto!" Tsunade snapped, quickly wiping her mouth and rubbing the red mark off of her cheek from where she had been napping on a stack of papers. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"
"About a thousand," Naruto said happily, receiving a glare. It wasn't his fault that he always caught her sleeping, and that she was old.
"Naruto," she sighed and shook her head with a smile on her face. His cheeky fox-grin smiled back at her, his eyes scrunched up happily.
"So, what did you want to see me for?" he asked curiously, leaning forward in anticipation.
"You are aware of the situation with Suna and of the treaty, right?" Tsunade asked, waiting for Naruto's nod before continuing. "Today we met with the Sand when they brought over their first chuunin. After a short conversation it was decided that you would be the best person to be this chuunin's partner."
Naruto stared at her for a moment, mouth hanging open as his mind processed the information. "WHAT??"
"Calm down, Naruto," Tsunade said, rolling her eyes as the blond boy started to work himself into a frenzy.
"WHAT DID YOU MAKE THAT DECISION FOR??" Naruto nearly screamed. Tsunade glared and flicked Naruto in the forehead, sending Naruto back into his chair. He rubbed his abused forehead and scowled, muttering to himself about evil old ladies who abused their position. Tsunade just rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry to spring this on you, but this was the best decision for both you and the Sand chuunin. I know that you aren't happy with it now, but don't worry, everything will work out," Tsunade reassured the teen. Naruto just sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You'll be given a week off to settle yourself back in with your partner with class-D mission pay. Come to me at the end of the week, and I'll have a mission for you and your partner to work on teamwork."
Naruto nodded and got up to leave, still angry. As he was about to leave, Tsunade's voice made him pause, "Naruto, I'm sorry about springing this on you."
He turned his blue eyes onto her and shrugged, "Nothing any of us can do about it. I'll see you next week for that mission."
Tsunade shook her head as the door closed behind him, putting her head in her arms and closing her eyes. It was at times like this that she hated her job…
Naruto had a glare on his face as he entered his small apartment through the balcony. He wasn't up to dealing with anyone, especially not some snotty Sand-nin who was supposed to be his permanent partner. The balcony doors slammed behind him as he entered his apartment, dumping his equipment on his bed before entering the rest of the small apartment.
His blue eyes widened as he rounded the partition, drawn to the couch and the red-head sitting on it. After blinking a few times to clear his eyes he looked again, and saw the same thing. Gaara of the Desert was sitting on his couch, reading a book.
"Gaara?" Naruto asked. He was confused, why would Suna send one of their best shinobi as part of the treaty? It didn't make sense, unless they were just looking for an excuse to get rid of the red-headed boy.
Gaara looked up from his book, green eyes narrowed in annoyance before widening with recognition. The two teens stared at each other in silence before Naruto found his voice again.
"So, you're my new partner from Sand?" he asked, trying to find a way to break the tense atmosphere.
"Apparently," Gaara snorted, folding the corner of the page he was on and closing his book.
"Well," Naruto paused, then grinned, "Welcome to Konoha."
End of Chapter 01…..TBC
Thanks to Dark Fire-Tears of a Kitsune, hogo-chan, mistress of the sand, Lady-Frisselle, Kyuubi Pandora Chan, and Suna no Gaara for their excellent reviews. I hope you didn't mind the wait.
