A New Path
Chapter 11 : Face To Face
Synopsis : Sasuke and Neji finally caught up with Gaara and Naruto, but how will Naruto react? And what's Gaara going to do to keep his only precious person with him? And then, Kakashi and the others finally enter the Village, to then catch up with the two genins.
Pairings : Main pairing will be Gaara x Naruto.
Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto but wish I did. Because if I did, I'd be rich and happier.
WARNING : Contains shonen-ai, in other words boy loves boy, don't like then don't read
Gomen but Gaara might start to be a bit OCC, but I'll try to keep him as sane as he usually is.
EXTRA INFORMATION :
- This takes place after the Chuunin exam, although, Sasuke never went to join Orochimaru.
- Also, the fight between Sasuke and Naruto on the Hospital roof did occur.
- Important to have read up to Volume 20 of the manga Naruto
JUTSU LIST
- Byakugan – White Eyes - Description: This jutsu is activated in the eyes, much like the Sharingan. Sharingan actually developed from Byakugan. This jutsu allows the user's vision to become 360 degrees. The user is able to see fully around them, and all their surroundings. Byakugan also has the ability to see objects, and view the inner coil system of a person's body, and in advanced cases, the Chakra Holes. Using this, the user can attack the inner organs of a person, and do high amounts of damage.
- Sharingan – Description : A pupil born technique, which allows the user to do to a large number of things. The Sharingan's first and most well known ability - is to memorize any technique that it is a witness to - as well as register the movements of opponents. Second, it is able to hypnotize the opponent, giving an advantage to the user. It can also suggest movements to the hypnotized brain, and 'see through; any illusionary techniques. Although it is a power jutsu, it absorbs chakra. The power of the Sharingan is judged through the amount of dots in the persons eye.
- Chidori - The Thousand Birds - Description: This jutsu is Kakashi's sole original technique, originally formed for the use of assassination. The user, gathers such a large concentration of chakra in the had, that it becomes visible. Pushing the limits of the body, the user charges forward, the chakra amount growing, as does the incredible speed. The chakra becomes so powerful, that it becomes similar to a blade, and is able to cut through near anything. The attack creates a constant 'chi' noise, sounding like a thousand birds advancing towards you. The jutsu gained its name from this sound. This jutsu gained the nickname 'Lightning Edge' or, Raikiri - When Kakashi cut a bolt of lightning in half using it.
JAPANESE WORDS
- baka = idiot -
- dobe = dead last -
- naruhodo = I see -
- Chikushou = damn / dammit -
- naze = why -
- hai = yes / yeah -
- Arigatou = Thank You -
- Gomen = Sorry -
- Urousai = Shut up -
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*Hidden Sand Village*
--- In An Alley ---
Gaara had decided to take a short cut when he knew he wouldn't have the endure the presence of the people he somewhat despised with time but never showed it. He simply didn't want Naruto to hear them, since Sand Village never really hid what they said.
Gaara was only a block away from his house, that he shared with Temari and Kankuro, when his sand shifted more violently in his gourd. Immediately, Gaara stopped walking, as his eyes scanned his surroundings to see if there was something off.
"Two shinobis are coming this way ... Father should of learned with time that it's useless to send assassins after me ..." Gaara mumbled as he remembered he still had the blond boy in his arms.
He knew having Naruto with him while these two assassins were coming to claim his life would endanger the boy, and so Gaara kneeled near the alley wall as he gently laid the blond down on the ground in a sitting position.
"I'll protect you no matter what." Gaara whispered to the sleeping boy as he stared at him with curious eyes.
After several seconds of staring at the boy, Gaara cupped the cheek of Naruto and leaned forward as he gave a soft kiss on the blonde's forehead before he stood up again, waiting for his attackers to show themselves.
Gaara removed the cork from his gourd, as the sand fell out of it and gathered at the sand-nin's feet, while Gaara simply crossed his arms and remained with emotionless eyes.
Suddenly, kunais and shurikens came from above Gaara but of course his sand formed a ball that covered every inch of his body, stopping the attack immediately, as he waited to see the face of his attackers.
"You have something that belongs to us..." A shinobi spoke out with glowing red eyes.
"And we'd appreciate it if you gave him back to us ..." A silver eyed shinobi asked as both, so called assassins, landed on the ground, a few meters away from Gaara's current position.
The shield of sand retreated to the ground at Gaara's feet, as the so called assassins noticed the sleeping young boy who barely laid 2 meters away from the sand-nin's position.
"Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Neji." Gaara stated as he recognized the two shinobis who stood before him.
"Hand us Uzumaki Naruto right now, and we will leave the Sand Village as soon as he's in our possession." Neji informed the sand boy, but this one seemed unchanged by their offer.
"Uzumaki will remain here. Unless you have a death wish, leave now, before I change my mind, unless of course you want to face my monster once more..." Gaara let out as he uncrossed his arms and stared at the two shinobis.
Neji and Sasuke began to worry as they were well aware against the demon Shukaku, they wouldn't stand much of a chance and with Naruto in his possession, things could get worse.
"Why would Konoha want Naruto back? After all, you all ignored him since he was born." Gaara spoke out with a certain anger that could be easily felt around him.
Sasuke and Neji remained silent as they knew that Gaara's words were correct, but even so, to them, Naruto was their friend, even though they didn't show it very well to the blond.
Sasuke clenched his fists as his Sharingan was very visible, while Neji's Byakugan was also activated, in case they would start a battle right here and now. Both were concentrated on how to deal with things when they heard mumbles that came from behind Gaara.
"Naruto..." Neji and Sasuke said at the same time as they noticed the boy was waking up.
Naruto's body moved a little, as the boy brought his hands over his eyes and started to rub them, so his vision would no longer be blurry. Naruto finally opened them to awaken to a Gaara who stood in front of him, while he noticed two familiar figures who were facing Gaara.
His eyes widened as he finally recognized who those two shinobis were. Naruto managed to stand up, although his body started to shake a little, as his eyes never left the two shinobis.
"Sasuke ...?" Naruto mumbled as he froze in place from seeing the person who betrayed him, standing only a few meters away from himself.
-----
A long minute of silence filled the alley, as Naruto simply stared at the two genins before him, still shocked by their presence in Hidden Sand Village.
"Naruto, get your ass over here." Sasuke demanded his former rival as he pointed to his own feet.
"No." Naruto said with a serious tone.
"Naruto, the fact you left the Village without authorization was illegal. But Hokage-sama hasn't placed you yet on the missing-nin list. She wants you to come back, we all want you to come back." Neji informed the boy as he took one step forward.
"The only person that might actually give a damn whether I left the Village is Iruka-sensei. Everyone else could care less of what truly happens to me especially the adults." Naruto spat out as his anger could clearly be seen.
"Surely your sensei cares as well as ..." Neji started to talk some sense into the boy but was roughly interrupted by him instead.
"Kakashi-sensei you say? Don't make me laugh, that guy only cares about the sole survivor of the great Uchiha clan." Naruto quickly corrected the Hyuga boy.
"Naruto's becoming unstable because of that Uchiha and Hyuga ..." Gaara noted as he stayed silent, but kept a close eye on his precious person.
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*Konoha and Sand Borders*
Gai, Kakashi and Jiraiya stood in the middle, as their students surrounded them, and waited for the instructions to how they would now handle the situation, until Kurenai's team returned with some information.
"Only one team will enter Hidden Sand Village, the rest will remain at the borders, and wait for our return." Kakashi clearly explained as he looked over to Jiraiya to continue.
"The following will be part of the team which will search for Naruto and enter the Village, will be Shikamaru, the brat with the dog, the bug user and pinky overthere, along with myself, Kakashi and Gai." Jiraiya explained the new team, as Kiba and Sakura gave him a glare for how he referred to them.
"Why ... Why not ... More ...?" Hinata stammered as she remained half hidden behind Shino.
"The brat often talked to me about pinky there, as well as his respect for Shikamaru, and then his strange bound with doggy boy there, as for Shino, we need him to track down the location of Sasuke and Neji." Jiraiya explained, which earned him a few more glares for the way he kept calling them.
"As for myself and Jiraiya-sama, I'm Naruto's sensei on Team 7, while Jiraiya-sama trained him before the Chuunin exams, as well as after a missing-nin showed up in our Village." Kakashi explained so the genins would all understand.
"Then why Gai-sensei?" Tenten asked a bit curious to why her sensei should be going since he had no connection with the boy to genin with.
"As Shikamaru informed us, Gaara of the Sand has Naruto within his possession, Kakashi and Jiraiya-sama are well aware of my great strength and would be foolish to leave me behind." Gai explained with his usual great smile and thumb up.
Kakashi and Jiraiya simply rolled their eyes and lowered their head as they still couldn't believe how Gai could act and say that to everyone.
"Do you think they found him by now?" Kiba asked as Akamaru now rested on his head.
"We can only hope that if they did, Gaara wasn't too close ..." Shikamaru let out as he gazed towards the borders that separated Leaf and Sand.
"I hope for their sake." Shino blunty said as he leaned against the tree and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
============================================================================ ==========
*Hidden Sand Village*
--- In An Alley ---
The argument went on, as Naruto seemed to let out most of his feelings to the Uchiha, as well as the Hyuga boy, while Gaara remained silent, for now ...
"Dobe, just come back with us before you make things worse." Sasuke managed to place a word, as he took a step forward as well.
"Worse? Staying in a Village that only wants me dead since I was born because of what I am is worse than being on the missing-nin list and hunted down." Naruto let out as he came close to Sasuke.
"What you are? You don't make any sense, I know that some Villagers ignore you but ..." Sasuke started but Naruto quickly pushed him away from himself.
"Don't you get it you bastard!? I would rather have your past then my own. So if the Hokage puts me on the missing-nin list and sends Anbu after, that's fine with me." Naruto let out in anger, as very angry Sharingan eyes looked at him, while he took a step back.
"My past? Dobe do you even know what it was like to have my older brother kill off the entire clan and leave me, to be the sole survivor of it?" Sasuke spat out in anger as his blood started to boil, just like on the night where things got worse between him and the blond shinobi.
"At least you had people that actually cared about you before he took that away ... I never even knew one bit of my family. I don't even know if Uzumaki stands for anything. I just remember that my caretaker changed every damn week until I turned 6, from there, they simply stopped coming and then I lived on my own ..." Naruto said with a weak voice as he remembered hurtful events of his childhood.
This caught both genins off guard, as this was the first time they actually saw a broken Naruto before them, on the verge of tears, as Sasuke's expression, as well as Neji's, softened upon hearing such words, but what surprised them most, was what Naruto said after that ...
"I guess this was my fate and destiny to be hated by adults, and for the others to ignore me. So you see Neji, you were right, and I was wrong." Naruto regained control over his emotions, as he did not want to brake down again, especially with those two in front of him.
"What happened to the Naruto I faced during the Chuunin Exam?" Neji asked with a serious tone, in hopes to understand the situation better.
"He stopped fighting against his destiny, his fate, and finally gave into the hate and the darkness." Naruto answered as he locked eyes with Neji.
============================================================================ ==========
*Near Konoha Borders*
Pakun led Kurenai and her team through the forest, as they all leaped tree to tree, while the Kurenai took the front with Pakun, the two genins remained behind her, while Asuma guarded their rears.
"How long?" Kurenai asked the dog.
The dog continued to jump as he sniffed the air to give a proper answer to the Juunin, while the two genins simply remained silent, as Asuma, continued, somehow, to smoke.
"If we pick up the pace, we're there in less than 5 minutes." Pakun replied as he started to jump faster from tree to tree.
"Ino, Chouji, we'll move faster." Kurenai informed them as her eyes never left the dog.
"Can't we take a rest for me to eat?" Chouji asked, as his stomach growled.
"Don't you even think of anything else!?" Ino scolded the boy.
"I can't help it that I'm hungry..." Chouji trailed off as more growls were heard.
"You can eat all you want in 5 minutes ok?" Asuma told his student.
"Really?" Chouji asked as he looked behind him.
"Yes. It's most likely that they've divided teams, so some remain at the border while another enter the Sand Village." Asuma informed them.
"I'll finally be able to eat!" Chouji yelled out of joy, as Ino seemed depressed by her comrades attitude.
"Come on you two, let's hurry it up." Kurenai asked of them, as they all nodded and quickened the pace.
============================================================================ ==========
*Hidden Sand Village*
--- In An Alley ---
The hate could be easily felt, as Sasuke began to think it might be his fault that Naruto has no interest in coming back with them, while Neji was fighting the urge to beat some sense into the blond shinobi.
Gaara's sand rested at his feet, but would be prepared in case something were to happen, while Naruto stepped between the two Leaf genins and the only sand-nin present.
"Naruto ..." Neji whispered in shock of what the boy had just said.
============================================================================ ==========
*Leaf and Sand Borders*
The team waited as they heard a few barks that came from Akamaru. The team stood up as they wondered if it was ally or enemy, until Sakura seem to go in depression from seeing the four legged creature before them.
"It's that dog ..." Sakura mumbled as Hinata and Tenten turned towards the girl to understand better what she meant.
"So the mutt finally came back." Jiraiya spoke out as Pakun glared at the sennin.
"Call me like that again and I assure that you will never write again." Pakun threatened the sennin as he sat down and scratched the back of his head with his back paw.
"Kakashi."Kurenai let out as the rest of her team stood behind her.
"Do you have them?" Kakashi asked as she showed him the passports in her hand.
"How many are going in?" Asuma asked as he joined the others.
"7." Gai replied.
"Let me guess, we're not included again." Ino spat out in frustration.
"Give the passports to the team on your right, along with Jiraya, me and Gai. The rest will remain here in case something happens in the mean time." Kakashi informed them as a passport was thrown to him.
"Where's that Hyuga boy and Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked as she had yet found her crush.
"They're currently in the Sand Village ..." Sakura replied with a weak and worried voice.
============================================================================ ==========
*Hidden Sand Village*
--- In An Alley ---
"I'm not going back now or ever." Naruto said with a serious tone and expression on his face.
"Then you leave us no other choice..." Neji said sadly as he grabbed Naruto's wrist and pulled him towards himself and Sasuke.
The moment Neji had gripped Naruto, Gaara's sand began to swirl around his feet and slowly rise, as the blond struggled to get out of his former opponent's arms.
"Let me go!" Naruto yelled out as Neji's arms were wrapped tightly around the blonde's waist and arms, but he still struggled.
"Shut up dobe! One way or another you're coming back." Sasuke stated as he noticed Gaara who stared at them and seemed slightly angered.
"Let him go." Gaara ordered them as the sand now was as high in the air as his head, but continued to swirl around him.
Sasuke stepped in front of both boys as he came face to face with Gaara, and prepared himself to use his Chidori if necessary, as Neji didn't know quite what to do.
"What now?" Neji asked, as he had difficulty to restrain the blond.
"If he's too much trouble, knock him out cold, we'll deal with it later. Leave, you should come across Kakashi and the others while you go back to Konoha Village.
"I won't let you hurt Naruto anymore ..." Gaara spoke out loud enough so Naruto could hear his soft and serious words.
Once he heard those words, Naruto's body seemed to relax a little as Sasuke didn't understand the meaning behind them, until he heard Neji gasp and turned around, as his eyes widened upon the scene.
"I don't want to go back ... I don't want to be alone and hated anymore ... I just want to be with him ... Gaara ..." Naruto thoughts as his eyes closed tightly as red chakra began to swirl around the boy, as he then opened themas the color of his eyes went back and forth from blue to crimson red.
"He's too emotional ... It seems the fox is surfacing ..." Gaara thought as he raised his hand towards Neji and Naruto.
Sasuke remembered that move as he warned Neji and Naruto to get out of the way, as the sand quickly made its way towards them. Naruto lsot no time as he violently leaned forward enough for his mouth to connect with Neji's hands as he bit hard on them, and looked straight into Sasuke's eyes with hatred.
The fact Naruto bit him caught Neji off guard as he immediately unwrapped his arms around him and covered the bloody bite mark the blond shinobi left him. Naruto landed gracefully on his feet, while one hand remained pressed against the ground.
"What the hell ...?" Sasuke let out as he was shocked to look once more into those eyes. The same eyes he had looked into when they first encountered Orochimaru.
Naruto was prepared to charge at Sasuke, when a certain substance held him there. He looked down at his feet to notice sand covered his legs and slowly made it's way up to the rest of his body.
Gaara walked towards the blond, as Neji and Sasuke remained frozen from the scene. Naruto growled, as his eyes focused on the sand-nin, until he felt enormous pain in his stomach.
"Naze...?" Naruto half growled as managed to place a hand on Gaara's shoulder.
Gaara had punched Naruto in the stomach with a lot of force, as the boy along with the kitsune's rage slowly succumbed into the darkness, as his grip on the sand-nin loosened.
"Rest. My kitsune..." Gaara whispered as the sand rose and formed a sphere around the unconscious boy.
"Naruto!" Sasuke and Neji yelled out as they lost sight of Naruto's entire body, as a sand sphere surrounded him completely.
"Leave or die." Gaara gave them the choice as he waited for their answer.
TBC ...
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Well, another chapter written, although things did not turn out like I wanted them too, but I think it's a little good and not too bad, at least I think so, but I do kinda hate this chapter, it's so hard right now to write ...
I'm so happy to have like 30 reviews this time, my reviewers are either coming back or the fact I now update almost every 5 days or so ( when I don't work that much or have no writer's block ) like it, well more reviews do help a writer you know, so keep it up people!
Just a small note people, slowly Gaara will become a tiny bit more OCC than usual since I'm moving to some more fluff interaction between Naruto and Gaara, hell it's the only way if you want them to be together ne?
Onto the REVIEWS
TheTrueSilver : Well I tried to make Gaara act as sane and normal as possible. So hopefully I did a good job.
Insanechildfanfic : thanks for reviewing every chapter and story I write, I highly appreciate it!
Death Phoenix : thanks for the review!
Anael Razualle : Well Naruto was too emotional to actually know what to do at first, so Gaara did something out of logic in my opinion to protect what is his now.
Fluffy-kins : Well there was some angst in this chapter, before Gaara knocked the blond out that is, so that's how I thought things would turn out when this idea popped up in my head, hope you liked it!
RavensHaelo : I update as I can, as mentioned in most of my stories, I work full time, go to school part tim, and lately, I've ignored my boyfriend to update my two hottest stories for you dear reviewers! Glad to know you find it cool. Thanks again!
Kuroi hikari : Now that Gaara's found his special someone, I pity the shinobis that try to take Naruto away from him ne?
Silver Neo : thanks for supporting me. And as you see, Gaara-chan didn't have Naruto taken away from him, although he could of found another way ne? If you like the pairing SasuNaru, check out my latest story ' Rivals or Lovers' you might like it, it's the second hottest story behind this one. Let me know!
Someone : Yeah I hope, me so mean lol. Sorry but sometimes some reviews actually give me a few ideas through their own reviews and it only makes me write longer and for you people to enjoy more. I update as soon as I can, since I'm working on my second hottest story at the same time.
Rubymoon17 : thanks for the great compliment, this really helps me going instead of just giving up you know? Oh and I wrote the two sequels of Unexpected Behaviour, so please take a look at them!
Lydia*-Blessing : I find it special too and the logic behind the sand protecting Gaara, is the love from his mother. I think my way to detail and take my time with getting those two together makes this fic special and not seem so OCC like some I've read. That's how I see it though, but I just took up a challenge since they weren't many of those here, so I gave it a shot, and look where I am, my next step is maybe an Itachi x Naruto fic. Well I'll stop bragging ...
... : nice scary sentence you got there, I update as I can since I have now 8 stories to update weekly, so hope you liked this chapter!
Renn : Thanks, well with my writer's block gone, things get more fun, just damn hard to update weekly all 8 stories you know? I update regularly because I hate writers that simply abandon their fic or take like 6 months before they update again, so I told myself I wouldn't be like that.
Moonlight2 : you should check out my 'Rivals or Lovers?' story, that one has over 6500 words per chapter, my first one had 8400 words. But I know many want longer chapter, but longer chapters mean no more updates weekly, so I decided to put them around 3000 words each so it's average.
Manga_Lover123 : I'll keep up the good work for as long as I can.
SoulRetriever13 : I so love your stories too, can't wait for them to be updated, and thanks for reviewing!
Catc10 : I can't believe you read this at 4 a.m! I'm very grateful you reviewed though, the fact I got like 28 reviews helps my fingers to type even faster and update in less than a week. So review this chapter too and so on!
SilverKnight7 : glad to see you in every story and to review them, thanks!
JadeTiger : Thanks for the compliment!
Tidus2529 : I update as I can, and usually it weekly, at most, every two weeks, otherwise, the progress of each fic is showed on my personal page.
Nikkler : Well I didn't have too many ideas further than that, so I've been thinking for like 5 days to what and how I'm going to write the future chapters because things get really complicated, trust me!
Arbil : I can't believe that Gaara, Kankuro and Temari saved their butts! So unexpected but yet I love it! I hope Naruto can bring Sasuke back though, I really don't want him to turn against leaf you know? Now about my story, thanks for reviewing!
Muchacha : I know, they didn't get separated, would be too sad and I would have gotten to all the trouble to just get them separated again, hell no! Gaara found a way to keep Naruto, for now, and without the leaf knowing that he actually gave up on them a while back.
Lanny : Well, that's like previous chapters, but yeah, she tends to attack people who are near her brother, so it was logical. Well, Gaara's a bit OCC but I don't have a choice or else this fic wouldn't exist ne?
Peter Kim : Your reviews sometimes help me think further and give me more ideas for future chapters, I highly appreciate them.
Shadow Eclipse : thanks for reviewing!
Red Rose : Well, not all witll actually enter Sand Village, some will remain at the borders, or near the gates, but there's only one team that's going inside the Village to get Naruto, and you'll find out soon.
Silvermist 91 : I have no clue either how I can update all stories and still do well at school, well actually I had an exam and I got like 38% but that's because it's hard to remember 500 pages for that exam, but no worries, I'm a last minute studier, or else I can't assimilate or remember the information even if I studied for a week.
Kori Nibiki : I'm sure my reviewers would even like it more if it was beta read as well. Also, the other reason I usually don't have a beta right now is because I hate waiting like a few days before I get the story back and then publish it. And that's what's keeping me from getting one, might be a stupid wish, but
Next Chapter
I really don't know what's going to happen!!!
Thanks again for reviewing!
Read and Review people!
Until next time!
Ookima
Synopsis : Sasuke and Neji finally caught up with Gaara and Naruto, but how will Naruto react? And what's Gaara going to do to keep his only precious person with him? And then, Kakashi and the others finally enter the Village, to then catch up with the two genins.
Pairings : Main pairing will be Gaara x Naruto.
Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto but wish I did. Because if I did, I'd be rich and happier.
WARNING : Contains shonen-ai, in other words boy loves boy, don't like then don't read
Gomen but Gaara might start to be a bit OCC, but I'll try to keep him as sane as he usually is.
EXTRA INFORMATION :
- This takes place after the Chuunin exam, although, Sasuke never went to join Orochimaru.
- Also, the fight between Sasuke and Naruto on the Hospital roof did occur.
- Important to have read up to Volume 20 of the manga Naruto
JUTSU LIST
- Byakugan – White Eyes - Description: This jutsu is activated in the eyes, much like the Sharingan. Sharingan actually developed from Byakugan. This jutsu allows the user's vision to become 360 degrees. The user is able to see fully around them, and all their surroundings. Byakugan also has the ability to see objects, and view the inner coil system of a person's body, and in advanced cases, the Chakra Holes. Using this, the user can attack the inner organs of a person, and do high amounts of damage.
- Sharingan – Description : A pupil born technique, which allows the user to do to a large number of things. The Sharingan's first and most well known ability - is to memorize any technique that it is a witness to - as well as register the movements of opponents. Second, it is able to hypnotize the opponent, giving an advantage to the user. It can also suggest movements to the hypnotized brain, and 'see through; any illusionary techniques. Although it is a power jutsu, it absorbs chakra. The power of the Sharingan is judged through the amount of dots in the persons eye.
- Chidori - The Thousand Birds - Description: This jutsu is Kakashi's sole original technique, originally formed for the use of assassination. The user, gathers such a large concentration of chakra in the had, that it becomes visible. Pushing the limits of the body, the user charges forward, the chakra amount growing, as does the incredible speed. The chakra becomes so powerful, that it becomes similar to a blade, and is able to cut through near anything. The attack creates a constant 'chi' noise, sounding like a thousand birds advancing towards you. The jutsu gained its name from this sound. This jutsu gained the nickname 'Lightning Edge' or, Raikiri - When Kakashi cut a bolt of lightning in half using it.
JAPANESE WORDS
- baka = idiot -
- dobe = dead last -
- naruhodo = I see -
- Chikushou = damn / dammit -
- naze = why -
- hai = yes / yeah -
- Arigatou = Thank You -
- Gomen = Sorry -
- Urousai = Shut up -
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*Hidden Sand Village*
--- In An Alley ---
Gaara had decided to take a short cut when he knew he wouldn't have the endure the presence of the people he somewhat despised with time but never showed it. He simply didn't want Naruto to hear them, since Sand Village never really hid what they said.
Gaara was only a block away from his house, that he shared with Temari and Kankuro, when his sand shifted more violently in his gourd. Immediately, Gaara stopped walking, as his eyes scanned his surroundings to see if there was something off.
"Two shinobis are coming this way ... Father should of learned with time that it's useless to send assassins after me ..." Gaara mumbled as he remembered he still had the blond boy in his arms.
He knew having Naruto with him while these two assassins were coming to claim his life would endanger the boy, and so Gaara kneeled near the alley wall as he gently laid the blond down on the ground in a sitting position.
"I'll protect you no matter what." Gaara whispered to the sleeping boy as he stared at him with curious eyes.
After several seconds of staring at the boy, Gaara cupped the cheek of Naruto and leaned forward as he gave a soft kiss on the blonde's forehead before he stood up again, waiting for his attackers to show themselves.
Gaara removed the cork from his gourd, as the sand fell out of it and gathered at the sand-nin's feet, while Gaara simply crossed his arms and remained with emotionless eyes.
Suddenly, kunais and shurikens came from above Gaara but of course his sand formed a ball that covered every inch of his body, stopping the attack immediately, as he waited to see the face of his attackers.
"You have something that belongs to us..." A shinobi spoke out with glowing red eyes.
"And we'd appreciate it if you gave him back to us ..." A silver eyed shinobi asked as both, so called assassins, landed on the ground, a few meters away from Gaara's current position.
The shield of sand retreated to the ground at Gaara's feet, as the so called assassins noticed the sleeping young boy who barely laid 2 meters away from the sand-nin's position.
"Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Neji." Gaara stated as he recognized the two shinobis who stood before him.
"Hand us Uzumaki Naruto right now, and we will leave the Sand Village as soon as he's in our possession." Neji informed the sand boy, but this one seemed unchanged by their offer.
"Uzumaki will remain here. Unless you have a death wish, leave now, before I change my mind, unless of course you want to face my monster once more..." Gaara let out as he uncrossed his arms and stared at the two shinobis.
Neji and Sasuke began to worry as they were well aware against the demon Shukaku, they wouldn't stand much of a chance and with Naruto in his possession, things could get worse.
"Why would Konoha want Naruto back? After all, you all ignored him since he was born." Gaara spoke out with a certain anger that could be easily felt around him.
Sasuke and Neji remained silent as they knew that Gaara's words were correct, but even so, to them, Naruto was their friend, even though they didn't show it very well to the blond.
Sasuke clenched his fists as his Sharingan was very visible, while Neji's Byakugan was also activated, in case they would start a battle right here and now. Both were concentrated on how to deal with things when they heard mumbles that came from behind Gaara.
"Naruto..." Neji and Sasuke said at the same time as they noticed the boy was waking up.
Naruto's body moved a little, as the boy brought his hands over his eyes and started to rub them, so his vision would no longer be blurry. Naruto finally opened them to awaken to a Gaara who stood in front of him, while he noticed two familiar figures who were facing Gaara.
His eyes widened as he finally recognized who those two shinobis were. Naruto managed to stand up, although his body started to shake a little, as his eyes never left the two shinobis.
"Sasuke ...?" Naruto mumbled as he froze in place from seeing the person who betrayed him, standing only a few meters away from himself.
-----
A long minute of silence filled the alley, as Naruto simply stared at the two genins before him, still shocked by their presence in Hidden Sand Village.
"Naruto, get your ass over here." Sasuke demanded his former rival as he pointed to his own feet.
"No." Naruto said with a serious tone.
"Naruto, the fact you left the Village without authorization was illegal. But Hokage-sama hasn't placed you yet on the missing-nin list. She wants you to come back, we all want you to come back." Neji informed the boy as he took one step forward.
"The only person that might actually give a damn whether I left the Village is Iruka-sensei. Everyone else could care less of what truly happens to me especially the adults." Naruto spat out as his anger could clearly be seen.
"Surely your sensei cares as well as ..." Neji started to talk some sense into the boy but was roughly interrupted by him instead.
"Kakashi-sensei you say? Don't make me laugh, that guy only cares about the sole survivor of the great Uchiha clan." Naruto quickly corrected the Hyuga boy.
"Naruto's becoming unstable because of that Uchiha and Hyuga ..." Gaara noted as he stayed silent, but kept a close eye on his precious person.
============================================================================ ==========
*Konoha and Sand Borders*
Gai, Kakashi and Jiraiya stood in the middle, as their students surrounded them, and waited for the instructions to how they would now handle the situation, until Kurenai's team returned with some information.
"Only one team will enter Hidden Sand Village, the rest will remain at the borders, and wait for our return." Kakashi clearly explained as he looked over to Jiraiya to continue.
"The following will be part of the team which will search for Naruto and enter the Village, will be Shikamaru, the brat with the dog, the bug user and pinky overthere, along with myself, Kakashi and Gai." Jiraiya explained the new team, as Kiba and Sakura gave him a glare for how he referred to them.
"Why ... Why not ... More ...?" Hinata stammered as she remained half hidden behind Shino.
"The brat often talked to me about pinky there, as well as his respect for Shikamaru, and then his strange bound with doggy boy there, as for Shino, we need him to track down the location of Sasuke and Neji." Jiraiya explained, which earned him a few more glares for the way he kept calling them.
"As for myself and Jiraiya-sama, I'm Naruto's sensei on Team 7, while Jiraiya-sama trained him before the Chuunin exams, as well as after a missing-nin showed up in our Village." Kakashi explained so the genins would all understand.
"Then why Gai-sensei?" Tenten asked a bit curious to why her sensei should be going since he had no connection with the boy to genin with.
"As Shikamaru informed us, Gaara of the Sand has Naruto within his possession, Kakashi and Jiraiya-sama are well aware of my great strength and would be foolish to leave me behind." Gai explained with his usual great smile and thumb up.
Kakashi and Jiraiya simply rolled their eyes and lowered their head as they still couldn't believe how Gai could act and say that to everyone.
"Do you think they found him by now?" Kiba asked as Akamaru now rested on his head.
"We can only hope that if they did, Gaara wasn't too close ..." Shikamaru let out as he gazed towards the borders that separated Leaf and Sand.
"I hope for their sake." Shino blunty said as he leaned against the tree and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
============================================================================ ==========
*Hidden Sand Village*
--- In An Alley ---
The argument went on, as Naruto seemed to let out most of his feelings to the Uchiha, as well as the Hyuga boy, while Gaara remained silent, for now ...
"Dobe, just come back with us before you make things worse." Sasuke managed to place a word, as he took a step forward as well.
"Worse? Staying in a Village that only wants me dead since I was born because of what I am is worse than being on the missing-nin list and hunted down." Naruto let out as he came close to Sasuke.
"What you are? You don't make any sense, I know that some Villagers ignore you but ..." Sasuke started but Naruto quickly pushed him away from himself.
"Don't you get it you bastard!? I would rather have your past then my own. So if the Hokage puts me on the missing-nin list and sends Anbu after, that's fine with me." Naruto let out in anger, as very angry Sharingan eyes looked at him, while he took a step back.
"My past? Dobe do you even know what it was like to have my older brother kill off the entire clan and leave me, to be the sole survivor of it?" Sasuke spat out in anger as his blood started to boil, just like on the night where things got worse between him and the blond shinobi.
"At least you had people that actually cared about you before he took that away ... I never even knew one bit of my family. I don't even know if Uzumaki stands for anything. I just remember that my caretaker changed every damn week until I turned 6, from there, they simply stopped coming and then I lived on my own ..." Naruto said with a weak voice as he remembered hurtful events of his childhood.
This caught both genins off guard, as this was the first time they actually saw a broken Naruto before them, on the verge of tears, as Sasuke's expression, as well as Neji's, softened upon hearing such words, but what surprised them most, was what Naruto said after that ...
"I guess this was my fate and destiny to be hated by adults, and for the others to ignore me. So you see Neji, you were right, and I was wrong." Naruto regained control over his emotions, as he did not want to brake down again, especially with those two in front of him.
"What happened to the Naruto I faced during the Chuunin Exam?" Neji asked with a serious tone, in hopes to understand the situation better.
"He stopped fighting against his destiny, his fate, and finally gave into the hate and the darkness." Naruto answered as he locked eyes with Neji.
============================================================================ ==========
*Near Konoha Borders*
Pakun led Kurenai and her team through the forest, as they all leaped tree to tree, while the Kurenai took the front with Pakun, the two genins remained behind her, while Asuma guarded their rears.
"How long?" Kurenai asked the dog.
The dog continued to jump as he sniffed the air to give a proper answer to the Juunin, while the two genins simply remained silent, as Asuma, continued, somehow, to smoke.
"If we pick up the pace, we're there in less than 5 minutes." Pakun replied as he started to jump faster from tree to tree.
"Ino, Chouji, we'll move faster." Kurenai informed them as her eyes never left the dog.
"Can't we take a rest for me to eat?" Chouji asked, as his stomach growled.
"Don't you even think of anything else!?" Ino scolded the boy.
"I can't help it that I'm hungry..." Chouji trailed off as more growls were heard.
"You can eat all you want in 5 minutes ok?" Asuma told his student.
"Really?" Chouji asked as he looked behind him.
"Yes. It's most likely that they've divided teams, so some remain at the border while another enter the Sand Village." Asuma informed them.
"I'll finally be able to eat!" Chouji yelled out of joy, as Ino seemed depressed by her comrades attitude.
"Come on you two, let's hurry it up." Kurenai asked of them, as they all nodded and quickened the pace.
============================================================================ ==========
*Hidden Sand Village*
--- In An Alley ---
The hate could be easily felt, as Sasuke began to think it might be his fault that Naruto has no interest in coming back with them, while Neji was fighting the urge to beat some sense into the blond shinobi.
Gaara's sand rested at his feet, but would be prepared in case something were to happen, while Naruto stepped between the two Leaf genins and the only sand-nin present.
"Naruto ..." Neji whispered in shock of what the boy had just said.
============================================================================ ==========
*Leaf and Sand Borders*
The team waited as they heard a few barks that came from Akamaru. The team stood up as they wondered if it was ally or enemy, until Sakura seem to go in depression from seeing the four legged creature before them.
"It's that dog ..." Sakura mumbled as Hinata and Tenten turned towards the girl to understand better what she meant.
"So the mutt finally came back." Jiraiya spoke out as Pakun glared at the sennin.
"Call me like that again and I assure that you will never write again." Pakun threatened the sennin as he sat down and scratched the back of his head with his back paw.
"Kakashi."Kurenai let out as the rest of her team stood behind her.
"Do you have them?" Kakashi asked as she showed him the passports in her hand.
"How many are going in?" Asuma asked as he joined the others.
"7." Gai replied.
"Let me guess, we're not included again." Ino spat out in frustration.
"Give the passports to the team on your right, along with Jiraya, me and Gai. The rest will remain here in case something happens in the mean time." Kakashi informed them as a passport was thrown to him.
"Where's that Hyuga boy and Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked as she had yet found her crush.
"They're currently in the Sand Village ..." Sakura replied with a weak and worried voice.
============================================================================ ==========
*Hidden Sand Village*
--- In An Alley ---
"I'm not going back now or ever." Naruto said with a serious tone and expression on his face.
"Then you leave us no other choice..." Neji said sadly as he grabbed Naruto's wrist and pulled him towards himself and Sasuke.
The moment Neji had gripped Naruto, Gaara's sand began to swirl around his feet and slowly rise, as the blond struggled to get out of his former opponent's arms.
"Let me go!" Naruto yelled out as Neji's arms were wrapped tightly around the blonde's waist and arms, but he still struggled.
"Shut up dobe! One way or another you're coming back." Sasuke stated as he noticed Gaara who stared at them and seemed slightly angered.
"Let him go." Gaara ordered them as the sand now was as high in the air as his head, but continued to swirl around him.
Sasuke stepped in front of both boys as he came face to face with Gaara, and prepared himself to use his Chidori if necessary, as Neji didn't know quite what to do.
"What now?" Neji asked, as he had difficulty to restrain the blond.
"If he's too much trouble, knock him out cold, we'll deal with it later. Leave, you should come across Kakashi and the others while you go back to Konoha Village.
"I won't let you hurt Naruto anymore ..." Gaara spoke out loud enough so Naruto could hear his soft and serious words.
Once he heard those words, Naruto's body seemed to relax a little as Sasuke didn't understand the meaning behind them, until he heard Neji gasp and turned around, as his eyes widened upon the scene.
"I don't want to go back ... I don't want to be alone and hated anymore ... I just want to be with him ... Gaara ..." Naruto thoughts as his eyes closed tightly as red chakra began to swirl around the boy, as he then opened themas the color of his eyes went back and forth from blue to crimson red.
"He's too emotional ... It seems the fox is surfacing ..." Gaara thought as he raised his hand towards Neji and Naruto.
Sasuke remembered that move as he warned Neji and Naruto to get out of the way, as the sand quickly made its way towards them. Naruto lsot no time as he violently leaned forward enough for his mouth to connect with Neji's hands as he bit hard on them, and looked straight into Sasuke's eyes with hatred.
The fact Naruto bit him caught Neji off guard as he immediately unwrapped his arms around him and covered the bloody bite mark the blond shinobi left him. Naruto landed gracefully on his feet, while one hand remained pressed against the ground.
"What the hell ...?" Sasuke let out as he was shocked to look once more into those eyes. The same eyes he had looked into when they first encountered Orochimaru.
Naruto was prepared to charge at Sasuke, when a certain substance held him there. He looked down at his feet to notice sand covered his legs and slowly made it's way up to the rest of his body.
Gaara walked towards the blond, as Neji and Sasuke remained frozen from the scene. Naruto growled, as his eyes focused on the sand-nin, until he felt enormous pain in his stomach.
"Naze...?" Naruto half growled as managed to place a hand on Gaara's shoulder.
Gaara had punched Naruto in the stomach with a lot of force, as the boy along with the kitsune's rage slowly succumbed into the darkness, as his grip on the sand-nin loosened.
"Rest. My kitsune..." Gaara whispered as the sand rose and formed a sphere around the unconscious boy.
"Naruto!" Sasuke and Neji yelled out as they lost sight of Naruto's entire body, as a sand sphere surrounded him completely.
"Leave or die." Gaara gave them the choice as he waited for their answer.
TBC ...
============================================================================ ==========
Well, another chapter written, although things did not turn out like I wanted them too, but I think it's a little good and not too bad, at least I think so, but I do kinda hate this chapter, it's so hard right now to write ...
I'm so happy to have like 30 reviews this time, my reviewers are either coming back or the fact I now update almost every 5 days or so ( when I don't work that much or have no writer's block ) like it, well more reviews do help a writer you know, so keep it up people!
Just a small note people, slowly Gaara will become a tiny bit more OCC than usual since I'm moving to some more fluff interaction between Naruto and Gaara, hell it's the only way if you want them to be together ne?
Onto the REVIEWS
TheTrueSilver : Well I tried to make Gaara act as sane and normal as possible. So hopefully I did a good job.
Insanechildfanfic : thanks for reviewing every chapter and story I write, I highly appreciate it!
Death Phoenix : thanks for the review!
Anael Razualle : Well Naruto was too emotional to actually know what to do at first, so Gaara did something out of logic in my opinion to protect what is his now.
Fluffy-kins : Well there was some angst in this chapter, before Gaara knocked the blond out that is, so that's how I thought things would turn out when this idea popped up in my head, hope you liked it!
RavensHaelo : I update as I can, as mentioned in most of my stories, I work full time, go to school part tim, and lately, I've ignored my boyfriend to update my two hottest stories for you dear reviewers! Glad to know you find it cool. Thanks again!
Kuroi hikari : Now that Gaara's found his special someone, I pity the shinobis that try to take Naruto away from him ne?
Silver Neo : thanks for supporting me. And as you see, Gaara-chan didn't have Naruto taken away from him, although he could of found another way ne? If you like the pairing SasuNaru, check out my latest story ' Rivals or Lovers' you might like it, it's the second hottest story behind this one. Let me know!
Someone : Yeah I hope, me so mean lol. Sorry but sometimes some reviews actually give me a few ideas through their own reviews and it only makes me write longer and for you people to enjoy more. I update as soon as I can, since I'm working on my second hottest story at the same time.
Rubymoon17 : thanks for the great compliment, this really helps me going instead of just giving up you know? Oh and I wrote the two sequels of Unexpected Behaviour, so please take a look at them!
Lydia*-Blessing : I find it special too and the logic behind the sand protecting Gaara, is the love from his mother. I think my way to detail and take my time with getting those two together makes this fic special and not seem so OCC like some I've read. That's how I see it though, but I just took up a challenge since they weren't many of those here, so I gave it a shot, and look where I am, my next step is maybe an Itachi x Naruto fic. Well I'll stop bragging ...
... : nice scary sentence you got there, I update as I can since I have now 8 stories to update weekly, so hope you liked this chapter!
Renn : Thanks, well with my writer's block gone, things get more fun, just damn hard to update weekly all 8 stories you know? I update regularly because I hate writers that simply abandon their fic or take like 6 months before they update again, so I told myself I wouldn't be like that.
Moonlight2 : you should check out my 'Rivals or Lovers?' story, that one has over 6500 words per chapter, my first one had 8400 words. But I know many want longer chapter, but longer chapters mean no more updates weekly, so I decided to put them around 3000 words each so it's average.
Manga_Lover123 : I'll keep up the good work for as long as I can.
SoulRetriever13 : I so love your stories too, can't wait for them to be updated, and thanks for reviewing!
Catc10 : I can't believe you read this at 4 a.m! I'm very grateful you reviewed though, the fact I got like 28 reviews helps my fingers to type even faster and update in less than a week. So review this chapter too and so on!
SilverKnight7 : glad to see you in every story and to review them, thanks!
JadeTiger : Thanks for the compliment!
Tidus2529 : I update as I can, and usually it weekly, at most, every two weeks, otherwise, the progress of each fic is showed on my personal page.
Nikkler : Well I didn't have too many ideas further than that, so I've been thinking for like 5 days to what and how I'm going to write the future chapters because things get really complicated, trust me!
Arbil : I can't believe that Gaara, Kankuro and Temari saved their butts! So unexpected but yet I love it! I hope Naruto can bring Sasuke back though, I really don't want him to turn against leaf you know? Now about my story, thanks for reviewing!
Muchacha : I know, they didn't get separated, would be too sad and I would have gotten to all the trouble to just get them separated again, hell no! Gaara found a way to keep Naruto, for now, and without the leaf knowing that he actually gave up on them a while back.
Lanny : Well, that's like previous chapters, but yeah, she tends to attack people who are near her brother, so it was logical. Well, Gaara's a bit OCC but I don't have a choice or else this fic wouldn't exist ne?
Peter Kim : Your reviews sometimes help me think further and give me more ideas for future chapters, I highly appreciate them.
Shadow Eclipse : thanks for reviewing!
Red Rose : Well, not all witll actually enter Sand Village, some will remain at the borders, or near the gates, but there's only one team that's going inside the Village to get Naruto, and you'll find out soon.
Silvermist 91 : I have no clue either how I can update all stories and still do well at school, well actually I had an exam and I got like 38% but that's because it's hard to remember 500 pages for that exam, but no worries, I'm a last minute studier, or else I can't assimilate or remember the information even if I studied for a week.
Kori Nibiki : I'm sure my reviewers would even like it more if it was beta read as well. Also, the other reason I usually don't have a beta right now is because I hate waiting like a few days before I get the story back and then publish it. And that's what's keeping me from getting one, might be a stupid wish, but
Next Chapter
I really don't know what's going to happen!!!
Thanks again for reviewing!
Read and Review people!
Until next time!
Ookima