Chapter 6: Gaara's Unknown Legacy

Fumi sat the heavy bear down on the porch as a deer came up and nuzzled her. Shikamaru patted the deer then shooed it away. "Hungry? Mrs. Uchiha made cookies."

"WOO!" screamed the girl. She removed her shoes and ran inside. Shikamaru picked up the bear marveling at its weight and once inside put it down on the couch. He paused when he though he heard the bear make noise but decided he was finally losing it. Fumi was already munching on a cookie, when she ran over to him. "Oh! Dad, you didn't have to do that. I would have gotten him."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Just a stuffed toy. Not a bomb." He ruffled her hair.

"Acutally, it's a little boy that was being held captive by his evil mother that was really a wolf," she explained. Temari and Shikamaru smiled at each other. At least she was creative.

"Riiiight."

Fumi pouted. "What! I'm serious!" She patted the bear on the head. "Hey, short stuff. We're at home now so come on out." Temari sat down on the couch beside the bear, tossing her arm over the back. However she almost ended up on the floor as the back of the bear opened up and a small boy climbed out.

Shikamaru grabbed his daughter by the ponytail and pulled it back so that she was looking up at him. "Oy, what the hell is this?"

"I told you already! Don't you listen?"

Temari gasped. The little boy picking lint out of his mouth and hair was the boy that had defended her almost a month ago. "It's him." She grabbed him and pulled him down into her lap to get a better look at him.

He had the same black rimmed eyes that begged for forgiveness and love as the boy that saved her life. Currently looked confused and scared. Shikamaru let got of Fumi's ponytail and leaned over the couch to also look at the boy. "Wow…he really does look like Gaara."

The boy raised his hand and to his mouth and nervously toyed with his bottom lip. He scrunched up his forehead and shrank under their gaze. Temari reached out to touch his face, not sure if he was real or not. He smelled like dirt and the outdoors. His skin was cool and soft. He sniffed her fingers curiously like a dog. Then a joyful expression pass over his face and he launched himself into her arms.

"I know you. I know you!" He bounced in her lap with joy. "You were in the forest that day and that man was hurting you and I helped but…" He stopped in his explanation and looked ashamed, as he remembered his transformation. Temari blinked. "But I…" He shrank down and sitting in her lap was a tiny red and black wolf cup. Ears down, he hopped off the couch and shrank under a table.

Fumi was beside herself. "Oh…my….god. PUPPY!" she squealed. She reached under the table and dragged him out. "Can we keep him? Can we keep him? PLEASE, DADDY!"

Shikamaru bonked her on the head. "He's not a dog, you psycho, and stop squeezing him like that." His daughter gave him a reproachful glare and put him down. "What is this kid?"

Temari shrugged staring at the shaking cub. "Gaara?" She caught herself. "I mean…what's your name, sweety?"

The puppy turned back into boy with a 'pop' and a puff of smoke. "…Worthless, trash, waste of life, wretched brat," he began rattling off all the things his mother called him. Temari clenched her fist so tightly that she drew blood in her palm. She was filled with the desire to find this woman and beat her sensless with her fan.

Worried, her husband patted the boy's head to get him to stop. "Well, that won't do at all. We'll find something else to call you. For now, we'll call you Puppy."

"Okay. I like that," he said weakly.

Fumi glomped him tightly. "PUPPY!" She exclaimed then slipped a leash around his neck. "Okay, Puppy. Let's go for a walk." Smack!

"HE IS NOT A DOG, DAMMIT!" Shikamaru wore his "If I have to spank you it will be troublesome and most likely painful" face and Fumi, wordlessly, pulled the leash off her new friend and stood ashamed at a safe distance from her father, grumbling. "That's better."

There was a knock at their door. Fumi sat on the stairs, Puppy sat by her as well. When Shikamaru opened the door he was surprised to see Kiba and Akamaru there. The Inuzuka wore a serious expression, his eyes darting around the room and then finally resting on Puppy who was sitting by Fumi.

"Hi, Uncle Kiba! Aka-Akamaru!" She waved merrily at them. Kiba didn't respond.

Shikamaru crossed his arms, expecting to be told that he was due for a mission. "Hey, Kiba. What's with the face?"

"You have to give me that kid," he stated firmly.

Temari looked shocked. "What? Do you know him, Kiba?"

"That child has to be destroyed!" Kiba glared intensely at the boy; Akamaru began to growl, his hackles raised. Everyone stopped dead.

Puppy raised his hands to his mouth again. Shikamaru shook his head to clear it. "Have you lost it, Kiba?"

"Look, Shikamaru. That kid is not any normal child. He shouldn't exist! The very fact that he's still alive means that everyone is in danger. If-"

"Kiba!" shouted Temari but the Inuzuka would have none of it.

"If you don't kill him now then only misery will follow," he warned. "That boy is an oni. A demon."

Shikamaru turned and looked at Puppy, who was near tears. Fumi put her arm around him protectively. "That would explain the transformations but I still don't understand what you mean, Kiba. He saved our lives and has had plenty of time to kills us. Quite frankly, he's more harm to himself than us. Just explain-"

Kiba shoved Shikamaru aside and pointed to the kid. "Akamaru!" The large white dog snarled and lunged forward. Temari watched in slow motion as the dog flew through the air and screamed when blood splurted up.

Clear green eyes glared at Akamaru, who was now clenching down on Fumi's forearm. "Bad dog, Akamaru," she admonished with a cold voice. The blood trailed down her arm and hit the floor with a patter. "No hurting my friends." Akamaru carefully let go and tucked his tail between his legs. He had bitten the hand that petted, spoiled, and loved him. He shrank back and whimpered in apology. He gave a mournful look back at Kiba.

"Don't give me that look. Just-" He stopped and watched Puppy.

The boy was holding his head, staring at Fumi's blood. She had stepped in to defend him from being hurt but in the process she was now hurt. Life was pouring from her wound and onto the floor, pooling like red rain at their feet. There was so much of it- too much. It was his fault- his fault for not protecting Fumi. No, he reasoned, it was the dog's fault. He hurt Fumi. He made her bleed and he would kill him.

"Oh no, Puppy!" Temari cried. But she was too late to reach him. The boy was already transforming into a demon.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled but Shikamaru grabbed him by the shirt.

"Dammit! Haven't you done enough?"

Kiba's eyes looked pleading. "You've gotta kill the kid, Shikamaru…" The usually lazy Nara turned to see the wolf-oni hunkered over Fumi and snarling at Akamaru. His little girl stared at Puppy with fear in her eyes.

Puppy tried to grab Akamaru but the dog was too fast and clamped down on his wrist. He howled and grabbed Akamaru's neck trying to pull him off. Fumi covered her head. "DADDY!"

Shikamaru immediately extended his shadow and held the wolf demon in his spot. "Temari, take Fumi to the bathroom and get her fixed up. Kiba, Akamaru, get the hell out of my house before I really get pissed." Temari grabbed their daughter and carried her to the bathroom.

Kiba took a deep breath before whistling for Akamaru. Relunctantly, the dog let go and shuffled over to his master. "I really hope you don't but... you'll regret this, Shika-"

"Get out," he snapped. Kiba nodded and left the Nara premises. Shikamaru let go of the shadow binding jutsu and looked at the demon before him. The wolf continued to glare and snarl at the doorway where the intruders had appeared. Shikamaru approached him and sighed. "I must be insane…" He touched Puppy on the head and petted him. The demon boy put its ears down and curled his tails under his body. The jounin sighed. On the inside, he was probably as afraid of Puppy as Fumi was but he held his hand out to the demon anyway. "It's all right. It's all over."

The demon closed his six eyes and fell to all fours. He had to hunker down to stand in the house but at all fours he still reaching Shikamaru's chest. Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes. "Hey, hey. Stop that now. No one's really hurt," he said softly patting the Puppy's head. "How about you go back to the old you. I'll get you some cookies." The boy did as he was told but remained on his knees on the floor, shaking and sniffing. A man of his word, he placed a cookie in front of Puppy but the boy didn't take it. He simply sat there.

Temari returned holding Fumi's hand, the girls armed was tightly wrapped in white bandages, only a little blood soaking through. The ex-sandnin took one look at Puppy and gritted her teeth. "Where's that damned Kiba? I'll kill him." Fumi ran over to the boy and gave him a hug and a huge grin.

"I'm okay!" She assured. Puppy shrank into his cub form and found silent solace under the couch. Fumi blinked. "Where's that damned Kiba? I'll kill him!" Shikamaru sighed. He didn't feel like admonishing her so he just gave her a stern look.

"Let's just…go to bed. It's late," he grumbled. Temari sighed and nodded. "Fumi, go to your room."

"But…" She didn't feel like pressing the matter and shuffled to her room.

The next morning, Fumi ran into her parent's room and jumped on the bed. "He's goooone!" She wailed tearfully.

"Son of a-… This is going to be a troublesome day…" Shikamaru put a pillow over his face and groaned into it.

Uchiha Sasuke slid open the door to step outside. It was bright outside and he had to shield his eyes from the light. Sakura was napping and the children were playing at a schoolmates home. He was eager to head to the precinct. Today, was technically his day off but Sasuke was known around the office for being a severe workaholic. He smiled and took a deep breath. When he looked down , he saw a small child asleep on his porch sucking his thumb.

"Hm? What the…" He knelt down and shook the boy slightly on the shoulder. "Hey. What are you doing on my porch? You lost?" The child turned and looked into Sasuke's red sharingan eyes, yelped, and dodged under his porch. Sasuke blinked in surprise. He lied down on his chest and swung his head over the edge to look. Instead of the brown haired boy that looked like a beggar he saw a shivering puppy instead. "Eh?"

"Don't eat me," it squeaked. It backed up further.

"Eat you?" Sasuke closed his eyes in realization. His eyes must have scared him. When he opened his eyes they were kind, black pools. "There. See? I'm not a bad looking guy. I'm a cop."

"A cop?"

"Yes. I help people. It's my job," he explained kindly. He reached a hand under the porch. "I'd like to help you too, if you let me?" The puppy gingerly approached his hand sniffed his fingers carefully. Sasuke took the opportunity to grab the dog by the scruff of his neck and pull him out.

"Don't eat me," he squeaked again, looking pitiful.

Sasuke held the dog out. He assumed the child used henge but it why a puppy? "I'm not going to eat you. I don't eat dogs or cats or people so why don't you change back, hm?" With a pop, he was holding a small boy with black rimmed eyes under the armpits. He almost dropped him. "Holy shit! Gaara?"

The boy sighed and looked down at the ground. "Why does everyone call me that? Does it mean something bad?"

Officer Uchiha put the child down and sat on his porch. The boy did bear a remarkable resemblance to the sand using psychopath but his hair was browner and he lacked the tale-tell 'love' kanji on his forehead. Was this his son? Gaara? Having children? Sasuke shook his head in disbelief.

"Aaah, sorry… What is your name then?" he asked conversationally. The boy sat down beside him and put his thumb in his mouth. "You can tell me…"

The boy shook his head. "You'll get mad," he muttered around his thumb.

"I promise I won't."

"Worthless…" , he began, "trash, waste of life, worm, miserable brat…" Sasuke blinked at the names, if you could call them that.

"Whoa, whoa! You have to be kidding who the hell would call-!" The boy winced at the yelling and turned into a puppy again. Sasuke caught him by the scruff before he could retreat under the porch again. " Wait, wait. I'm not mad. I just was a little surprised. Could you…uh…henge again." Again he resumed human form. "So why are you here?"

The boy pulled his knees to his chin. "I…I made the demon come out and no one likes me anymore. So I ran away."

Sasuke paused at the mention of demon. "Demon? What kind of demon? What happened?" He was in cop mode now. Answers. He needed answers and details. However, the boy started to cry. Afraid that his sobbing would wake Sakura, he picked the boy up and carried him away from the house.

What should he do? He had a child sobbing in is arms talking about how he was worthless and made demons come out. A light went on in his head. Naruto. He knew all about demons and he was great with kids. All six of the his liked him at least. Naruto often commented every time he saw the Uchiha Six that they were a testament to how serious Sasuke was about reviving his clan but never hesitated to baby-sit them. Besides, as Hokage, it was his duty to figure things out and this would be a great time for Sasuke to sit him down and have a nice long talk about business.

Naruto had been avoiding his monthly reports for the last three months. Sure they were long and boring but it was his duty as Hokage. He wanted to be the leader so damned bad, he should learn to shoulder some of the "boring" responsibilities as well.

The boy in his arms was quiet. He looked down to see him looking up and sucking his thumb. Sasuke smiled kindly. "Feeling better?" The child shook his head no and rested his cheek on Sasuke's shoulder. He sighed and was thankful when the stairs to the Hokage's home came into view. Naruto was outside with his family. Hinata watched as he played tag with his two sons and daughter.

"Narutoooo!" Sasuke called out waving. Naruto stopped just long enough for his kids to pile on top of him.

"Dammit Sasuke, you bastard! I was doing good until you showed up," Naruto growled playfully, flipping Inari upside down. "What do you want?" He shook his oldest as he held on tightly to the boy's ankles.

"Dad, I can't feel my brain anymore!" protested Inari, his eyes beginning to swirl. Naruto dropped him but the oldest Uzumaki dropped his hands and flipped to his feet. He took a few wobbling steps before he shook his head vigourously. Seeing his father busy the three Uzumakis ran off to play with by themselves.

Sasuke put the little boy down and approached Naruto. "Hokage-sama." He bowed deeply. Of course he was supposed to do it technically but the fact was that acting so polite irritated the blonde-haired man so Sasuke did it every time with out fail, just so that Naruto would have an outburst.

"You moron. Stop doing that!" Just like that. "So, who's the brat?" Naruto knelt down to get a better look at the person hiding behind his friend's leg. Sasuke gently nudged the child forward. Naruto blinked. "HOLY SHIT! GAARA!" He fell on his behind from the surprise.

"He's not Gaara. He just… looks like him, as far as I can tell. Do you suppose he's his son?" the raven-haired jounin inquired. The boy began to suck his thumb nervously while the other hand fiddled with the bracelets on the opposite wrist.

Naruto regarded the boy carefully, eyes squinting as was his habit. The kid was almost a dead on copy but… Gaara? A dad? Impossible. Even though Naruto had seen first hand how caring Gaara was with his niece and nephew it still didn't seem that he'd go off and become a dad himself. Well, that's was what Naruto thought at least.

The children of the Hokage jogged over after their father fell down to examine what was going on. Even Hinata rose and glided over to get a better look. She put her hand over her mouth when she saw the boy. "Oh goodness. He looks like Gaara-san, doesn't he?"

Everyone nodded. "So, what's your name, kid?" Naruto asked standing up. The boy opened his mouth to speak but Sasuke clasped his hand over it.

"He doesn't have one."

"Hm?…Okay… Is he …lost?"

"Mmm, that's where it gets tricky. He said that he made 'the demon' come out and that he ran anway," Sasuke explained. The boy cringed at this.

"Demon?" Naruto looked at him. The boy looked up at the two towering men staring down on him and poofed into a little puppy again looking for a place to scuttle away to. However, upon seeing this, the three Uzumaki children immediately seized his tiny fluffy body.

Inari took him bodily. "He's mine. I'm the oldest!"

Awaji grabbed a tail. "He's mine. I saw him first!"

Tora grabbed the remained tail. "Leave him alone, you'll hurt him!" And thusly a fight ensued over who was the most correct.

Hinata clapped her hands together making a loud noise that stopped the arguing. "He is no one's," she declared. She walked over and took the puppy, his eyes swirling. She set him down and he immediately turned back rubbing his bottom. He looked over at the children with fear and hid behind Hinata. "They're just excited to meet a new friend. Hmmm, what should we call you?" He gave her a depressed looked. "Well, you look so sad.. So how about Ochikomu or just Ochi for short." (Ochikomu is 'to be depressed'.) The child shrugged. "That sounds good."

She looked at his clothes. They were old and tattered with holes all over them not to mention they look like they had never seen a washing before. The only thing decent on him were the bracelets around his wrists and ankles and the earrings in his ear. "You're filthy. Let's get you a bath."

"Does that mean you're going to lick me? I hate it when Mommy does that," he groaned.

Hinata giggled and took his hand, leading him away. "No. I won't lick you."

"Then how are you going to bathe me?" he asked confused.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well… I guess she'll take care of him for a while. I'll find out about this demon." Sasuke nodded. "Anything else?"

"Yes. We have about three months worth of mission reports to go through," he stated bluntly. "Let's get started." The young Hokage sighed deeply. There would be no escape this time.

Hinata poured a bucket of water over the boys head. The water in the tub was filthy. His hair took on a new glossy shine now that it was clean. He even looked healthier, she noted. "These bracelets are very nice but we should take them off." She tried to slip one off but it staunchly refused to move past his wrist. Even the larger items which should have come off easily seemed to shrink when she tug on the.

"You can't take them off," Ochi noted after a few tries. "My mommy has them too." Hinata stared at the peculiar jewelry, considering using her byakugan but decided to save it for later.

Instead she helped him out of the tub. "Well then, we're all done, now to dry off."

"Got it!" He got down on his hands and knees but before Hinata could stop him he had begun to shake like a dog. She tried to shield herself with her hands. "Dry!"

She chuckled, flinging water from her hands. "Well, I think a towel should finish it." Grabbing a fluffy white towel from a pile by the bathtub, she began to dry him off. He was absolutely an adorable child, she thought, drying his hair, but his eyes looked so full of pain and sadness. It was no way for such a young child to look. She remember herself before Naruto and sighed with a shake of her head.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked meekly.

"Of course not! I think you're a lot of fun, little Ochi," she responded with a warm smile. She gave his button nose a little pinch and wrapped the towel around him. "Let's find you some new clothes."

"What's wrong with my old clothes?" he inquired looking at the pile of them in the garbage.

"They're too dirty and worn out."

She took him to a room with an chest in it. It was labeled 'Old clothes'. "What's that?" the young boy pulled out a pair of pants and sniffed them.

"I think that Awaji was about your size when he was your age so, we're going to find you some of his clothes. Sound like fun?" The boy smiled and she noticed two tails wagging from behind him. He gave a nod, smiling.

Naruto was sitting in his office looking like he was being slowly tortured by Sasuke's drawl. The Uchiha flipped another page. "But since we had a lot of chuunin out last month, we had an imbalance of-"

"We're finished," Hinata called out opening the door. Naruto was never happier to see his wife. He hopped over the desk and sat on it's edge.

"Heeeey, there's my beautiful wife!"

"You can finish your meeting with Sasuke after I show you Ochi's new look," she stated giving Sasuke a knowing nod. Naruto looked aghast.

"Some wife! You're supposed to help me out sometimes!"

"Well, you are Hokage, Naruto. Ochi!" She stood aside and clasped her fingers in front of her. The boy walked in, his thumb in his mouth. He wore a long black t-shirt with a long sleeved fishnet shirt underneath and long black pants the stopped above black sandals, and Hinata had taken a long strip of white cloth with red triangles on the bottom and fashioned a sash out of it, making him look very much like a certain Sand ninja.

Sasuke's and Naruto's jaws dropped. "You have a sick mind, Hinata," the Uchiha commented. She just smiled sweetly.

Naruto grabbed a brush from his table and dipped it in some red paint. "I know just what he needs too. Come here, Ochi. I'm going to right 'love' on your forehead." Hinata put a hand on Ochi's head before he could walk over.

"Narutoooo…" she warned, shaking a finger at him.

"What? You're the one who dressed him up like that!" he protested.

She chuckled and nudged Ochi outside the door. "Enjoy your meeting, dear." Naruto groaned and dragged his feet as he sat down in his chair. Hinata blew him a kiss then shut the door.

"As I was saying-"

"DON'T YOU EVER TAKE A BREAK?"

Sasuke approached the home of Shikamaru and Temari and was just about to knock on the door when it swung open. Naruto ordered him to tell the Nara's that there was a tiny clone of Gaara running around Konoha. Temari gave him a hug when she opened the door, looking worried. "Have you had any reports of a lost little boy that-"

"Looks like Gaara?" Sasuke scratched the back of his head. "I found him on my porch. He currently with Naruto, safe and sound."

Temari looked relieved. "We were so worried. Shikamaru went out to look for him but he just came back."

"Can I come in? I want to know what's going on," he stated firmly.

Ochi, as the young boy was now called, barely missed the fist aimed at his skull. He slid under Awaji's leg and jumped aside as Inari tried to pounce on him. He was grinning madly at the game called "Ninja Tag".

"Wow, he's fast," Awaji commented panting. "But he won't escape this." He grabbed a few stun bombs from his pocket and threw them at Ochi.

The boy took a few steps back but he couldn't stop himself from inhaling some of the smoke. His body tingled and he noticed the movement was harder. He held his breath and ran from the smoke to clear air. He soon realized that he was captured by his shirt.

Ochi looked up and almost fainted. It was Inuzuka Kiba grasping his collar. The ninja did not look at all pleased to see him. Ochi could not keep himself from shaking. He wanted to run but the stun gas would not allow his legs to move.

Kiba leaned down to the child's ear. "I know what you are and I've got my eye on you, brat." He stood up and put his hands in his pockets as he walked passed him. Akamaru paused and looked between Kiba and the boy but followed his friend and master.

"Mmm, Kiba," came Akamaru's gruff voice. Kiba didn't turn around. "Is he really dangerous? I mean-"

"Don't trust him, Akamaru. Don't forget why our family fought to put his kind away."

Akamaru turn his head to look back and nodded. "He's only half."

"That's enough."

In the shadows a familiar blond ninja watch his subordinate walk away with his dog. Naruto stepped from the darkness and looked to his children. They were comforting the frightened Ochi. It was obvious that there was more to the story. Sasuke would find out the facts but now Naruto wanted to hear them for himself.

His timing was impeccable. The Naras were just sitting down for dinner. The Hokage sucked down another bowl of ramen in dining room. "So we should send him back to the Sand Village. It's not that I don't want him here, it just that if his father is really Gaara then we'll most likely find him in Sand Village than here."

Temari sighed. "But sometimes Gaara doesn't even return there for months."

"But Kankurou is Kazekage and gives him his missions. He'll come back for those and that's when we'll catch him," Sasuke reminded.

At that moment Fumi returned carrying Ochi on her back. He waved weakly as she grinned. "So what's going on?"

"Naruto says we should take him to Sand," Temari answered.

"I think it's a good idea," Shikamaru stated with a sigh. He set his bowl down. "This is going to sound a little heartless but if what Kiba said is right and the boy is really an oni then we can't keep him here in the village. He can be Sand's little problem if he goes demon."

"You're right. That is heartless. You've seen him. He only reacts to the blood!" Temari snapped, icily

Shikamaru sighed. "And that's a big problem in a ninja village, isn't it?"

Naruto smiled and stood up. "I wasn't thinking like that at all, Shikamaru. I just wanted Ochi to find his dad and become happy. I don't care if he has seven demons or if he's a demon himself. I like him and I want him to be happy."

Ochi listened in silence until Naruto spoke and blushed slightly. "Thank you, Uncle Naruto Hokage-sama…san…" he responded.

"Wow, that was too much. Just call me…Uncle Naruto." He grinned and tousled Ochi's hair. "Well, that's my order. You two are to escort this boy to Sunagakure no Sato and hand him over to Sabaku no Gaara."

"Understood," they said in unison.

"And furthermore….I want two more bowls of ramen."

"Stop trying to eat me out of house and home!"

"Stop disobeying your Hokage!"

Shikamaru and Naruto glared at each other. In the end, Shikamaru sighed in defeat. "I'll treat you to Ichiraku. Put it on my tab….ONLY TWO BOWLS!" he called out to the fleeing Hokage. "Geez, that guy is going to bankrupt me."