Pairings: None at the beginning, but final pairing is SasuNaru, there will be some GaaNaru and there may be other pairings with Naruto throughout the story.
Warnings: Shonen-ai (boy x boy love) at first and then when the characters are older it will become yaoi, so there will be homosexual pairings in this story. If this bothers you then please don't read this story. Mature content, crude language, cursing and sexual references are in this story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. This story is a work of fiction based on the Naruto manga and anime series.
Thoughts and dreams are represented by italics.
Chapter Eight – The Preliminary Matches
As the three boys were headed down the hallway back to Naruto's room, Gaara's siblings saw their brother. They had been searching for him and checking all the rooms upstairs to see if he was in one of them.
The two groups stood facing each other. Naruto and Sasuke both recognized the boy and girl from when they had met before the Chuunin Exams.
Gaara was glaring at his brother and sister, because he wasn't in the mood for their questions. "What do the two of you want?"
Both Temari and Kankuro flinched at the angry tone in his voice. Temari got enough courage up though and smiled shakily at her younger brother. "We have been looking all over for you since yesterday. So...where were you?"
"I've been with Naruto."
Temari figured the blond had to be Naruto, because she knew that the good-looking dark-haired boy was named Sasuke. "All night?"
"Yes."
Kankuro and Temari exchanged confused glances.
"Um, Gaara, we need to speak with you alone." Kankuro hoped his brother was going to be cooperative.
"Why?"
Temari answered, "Well, we need to make sure everything is alright with you before we have to go to the arena for the matches."
"Everything is fine. I will see you both later, right before the matches start. Now move out of our way."
Man, Gaara is being so mean to his brother and sister! I wonder why? Naruto smiled at Temari and Kankuro. "Well, nice to meet you two and see you later." He then headed to his room after they moved away to let him and the other two boys pass.
Temari and Kankuro stared after their brother.
"Our little brother is acting stranger than usual, Temari."
"Yes, I don't understand why he seems to be friendly with those two. I thought he was looking forward to fighting Sasuke."
"And he spent the night with the blond! What is going on here?" Kankuro was extremely confused.
"I don't know if I really want to know, Kankuro. Let's go eat." Temari then turned back towards the stairs. Her brother followed her.
After Naruto, Gaara and Sasuke had entered the blond's room and sat down, Sasuke took the chair and the blond and red head sat on the bed, Naruto spoke. "What do you want to talk about, Sasuke?"
I wish he would make Gaara go away! He glared at Gaara, then turned to look at Naruto. "I wanted to know if you talked to the Hokage and if so, what did he say?"
"Yes I did, the old man came by last night and we talked...he told me to keep up the henge and not tell anyone the truth until after the Chuunin Exams were over." Naruto sighed.
Hmm, so Naruto will have to fight like he was fighting before the Exams. But can he do it? He always acts before he thinks. I have a feeling he's not going to be able to keep himself from showing something that will give him away. "Naruto, when you pushed some of your chakra into me the other morning, your chakra made me feel stronger than I've ever felt before. There is something special in it. And it's something you can share with others."
Gaara had just been quietly listening up till now, when he heard these last comments from the Uchiha he became suspicious. "You mean share with you."
Naruto looked at Gaara and saw him glaring at Sasuke. Then he looked at Sasuke and saw him glaring back at Gaara. Naruto sighed. Not again! I wish they would get along. "You think my chakra can make people stronger, Sasuke?"
Sasuke looked back at Naruto with an impassive look on his face. "Yes I do. You could help Sakura and me in order to test this out." He wasn't about to include Gaara in the experiment.
Naruto thought over what Sasuke had said. Yeah, I could push my own chakra into Sakura-chan's and Sasuke's chakra pathways. Only enough that they can physically handle though. Then we can see how they do later in the matches. "Sure Sasuke, that's a great idea!" Naruto smiled at him.
Sasuke smirked. "Alright, I'll go get Sakura and bring her back here." He got up and went to the door, then he turned back to Naruto before leaving. "I know you want to be able to fight with your true abilities today, but just remember, it's dangerous for you right now. Just keep doing what the Third asked of you."
"Thanks Sasuke. I will." Naruto was surprised at the concern that his rival was showing him. It made him feel good inside.
After Sasuke left, Gaara turned to face the blond. "You shouldn't trust him, Naruto."
Naruto looked at his friend with surprise. "Why would you say that? He's my friend too. Even if we fight a lot, he's still had my back when I needed him."
"He only cares about his revenge. If you got in the way of it, I think he would kill you."
Naruto was shocked at the red head's words. No! Sasuke would never try to kill me. Not for real. Sure we fight and it can get really rough, but he's never tried to seriously hurt me before. I don't understand why Gaara would say that.
"Gaara, I don't think that's true. Besides, how would I get in the way of him killing his brother?"
"Just be careful, Naruto. You are too innocent to see the evil in others. I don't want anything to happen to you."
Aww Gaara. He's just worried about me. Naruto smiled at his friend. "Thank you for caring about me, Gaara. But don't worry, nothing will happen to me." He then reached over and gave the red head a hug.
Gaara hugged back and then kissed Naruto on the cheek.
Naruto blushed but returned the kiss then let his friend go.
Naruto is too trusting. He needs me to protect him. I will not let the Uchiha hurt him. "Naruto, I think I will go talk to Temari and Kankuro now. Then after that I'll come back here."
Naruto stood up with the Sand nin and walked with him to the door. "Okay, Gaara. I'll see you later."
After the red head left, Naruto walked back to his bed and sat down on it, waiting for Sasuke and Sakura to arrive.
There was a knock upon the door. Naruto didn't even bother to check the chakra signature to see who it was, since he thought it would be his team mates. He opened the door and was surprised.
"Hello Naruto-kun, I came by to talk with you." Kakashi was smiling at his blond student.
"Oh! Hey Kakashi-sensei. Come in." Naruto let him in and then moved to sit on his bed. He smiled up at the masked jounin. "Did you talk to the Hokage?"
Kakashi sat down in the chair in front of Naruto. "Yes, he told me everything last night. How are you feeling about all this?"
"Well, it's a lot to get used to, but it's exciting too. My dad was your sensei, wasn't he?"
"Yes, he was." Kakashi got lost in some memories for a moment then came back to himself. "I want you to know that I'm here for you, Naruto. Whatever you need, just let me know."
Wow, Kakashi-sensei sounds so sincere. He must have really cared for my father. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. I'll remember that."
A knock sounded on the door. Oh that would be my team mates! Naruto got up and answered the door. "Hey Sakura-chan!" He backed up and Sasuke and Sakura came in to the room. They saw their sensei.
"Good morning you two, looks like you also came to visit Naruto." He smiled at his team.
Naruto closed the door and moved to stand by his sensei. "Sasuke, the old man told Kakashi everything last night."
"Good." Sasuke looked at his sensei and saw him nod.
"Naruto, Sasuke-kun told me what you are going to do. I just want to say thank you." She gave him a big smile.
Naruto blushed. "You're welcome, Sakura-chan. What good are team mates if they don't help each other out!"
Kakashi was confused by their conversation. "What are you going to do, Naruto?"
Sasuke answered him instead. "Yesterday when we first arrived at the tower, I had to use my Sharingan for a long time in order to help Naruto come up with a henge that I wouldn't be able to see through. After he finally got it right, I was tired and he offered to help me. He pushed some of his own chakra into me and filled me with enough of it to help me get my energy back."
Kakashi looked at Naruto. "That is a very handy skill, Naruto."
"Yeah." Naruto smiled at him.
"After Naruto had finished, I realized I felt stronger than I had ever felt before. There is something special about his chakra that can make others stronger if they have it in them. Naruto is going to push a larger quantity of his chakra into me than he did before, and he'll do the same for Sakura. It should make the both of us feel stronger and last longer in our upcoming matches. This will be an experiment to see if it works." Sasuke was finished with his explanation and waited to see what Kakashi had to say.
"Well, it's a good idea. I'd like to know this myself. But the Hokage did say that you should keep your identity a secret longer, didn't he Naruto?"
"Yeah, and I'll keep my word to him. I will fight today like I fought before these exams."
Kakashi smiled and patted the blond on the head. "That's commendable of you, Naruto-kun. Now why don't you go ahead and show me what you can do with your two team mates." Kakashi raised up his forehead protector and then activated his Sharingan.
"Okay, Sakura-chan I'll do you first."
"No Naruto, take care of Sasuke-kun first, please." She smiled at Sasuke.
Naruto shrugged then walked over to Sasuke and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. He activated his own enhanced sight so he could see the chakra pathways. Then he started slowly pushing his chakra into the dark-haired boy. "Sasuke if you start to feel too uncomfortable, or something feels wrong, let me know and I'll stop."
"Just keep going. I'll be fine."
He always has to act so tough! After another few minutes, Naruto could tell that Sasuke had enough, because he could see some instability occurring despite the fact that his chakra should be keeping Sasuke's stable. So he drew some of his own back out of the boy until everything looked stable again. Then he stopped.
Naruto removed his hand from Sasuke and then turned to Sakura. He repeated the same process with her until her chakra pathways were at the maximum that was stable for her. Then he deactivated his enhanced sight and took his hand away from her. "There you go! So how do you both feel?"
"They should be feeling very strong right now. That was amazing, Naruto." Kakashi was proud of the blond. Not only because of what he could do, but also that he was willing to help his team mates out like that. He always knew the boy had a good heart. But each time he would see examples of it, it would make him care even more for the little blond.
"I do, Kakashi-sensei! I feel like I could take on anyone now!"
"Now now, Sakura-chan, you may feel like that now, but don't go challenging everyone you meet. Okay?" Kakashi warned his pink-haired subordinate.
Naruto looked at Sasuke. He's been quiet. "How about you Sasuke?"
The dark-haired boy looked at the blond. "Yes, I feel even stronger now." Then he smiled a small smile at Naruto.
Hey! I see a smile on Sasuke of all people! "You're welcome!" Even though Sasuke hadn't said the words out loud, Naruto could see them in his eyes. "Well, if you guys don't mind, I think I'll take a walk around this place. See what's going on with everyone else."
"I'd like to go with you, Naruto." Sakura then turned to Sasuke. "You want to come with us, Sasuke-kun?"
"No, I think I'll go back to my room."
"That's no fun, Sasuke!" Naruto had turned to stare at him.
"Hn." Sasuke turned and went to the door and opened it, then he left.
"Well, I wouldn't mind accompanying you two." Kakashi smiled at them.
"Sure, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto jumped up and down in excitement. Then he stopped when he remembered that Gaara would be coming back soon. "Let me write a note to Gaara first." He then went to the small table that he had in his room and grabbed the pencil and paper that was on it. He wrote a quick note to his red-haired friend.
"I meant to ask you yesterday, Naruto. Why are you hanging out with that scary red head?"
Kakashi answered for Naruto. "Gaara is Naruto's new friend. You should have seen how cute they were together this morning." Kakashi grinned at Naruto after the blond boy had looked up from the desk with a shocked look on his face.
"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura turned to look at Naruto too.
"I came by to see Naruto-kun this morning and found him and the cute red head in bed together."
"What!" Sakura looked with shock at Kakashi.
Kakashi just laughed.
Naruto had finished his note and got up to stand in front of the jounin. "You pervert!" Naruto then looked desperately at Sakura. "It's not what you think! Kakashi's just trying to make it look bad. We were just sleeping. Gaara and I are just friends." He finished with a hard glare at his teacher.
"Um, okay." Sakura was still confused about why they would be sleeping together. But decided she would wait until Kakashi wasn't around to ask.
Kakashi headed to the door. "Alright, let's go spying." He opened the door and went out.
Naruto and Sakura looked at each other and shrugged.
"Maybe we shouldn't have invited him."
"He invited himself, Sakura-chan. Let's just go before he does something else to embarrass us."
They left the room and found their sensei waiting on them. Naruto and Sakura let Kakashi lead the way.
At 3:30 pm, all teams that had completed the second exam were lined up in front of the Hokage, the Chuunin Exam instructors and each team's sensei. There were five Leaf teams, one Sound team and one Sand team left at the start of the third exam.
Naruto looked over at the Sound team. Damn! I was hoping those guys wouldn't make it. They don't deserve to be here. At least that weird looking Rain team didn't make it.
The Hokage made a long speech about the history of the Chuunin Exams and Naruto tuned most of it out. How boring! When do we get to fight! Then the Hokage asked Hayate to explain more.
To the disgruntlement of all the teams, they were told that there were too many people left to fight in the third exam, so they would all have to fight in preliminary matches instead. Only the winners of these matches would move on to the third exam. After the Head Examiner read out all the rules, he asked if anyone wanted to quit now. Only one person stepped forward. Kabuto decided it would be best if he didn't participate. He had performed all the tasks given to him by his leader.
What the hell? Why would Kabuto quit? Naruto felt a bump to his back and looked back at Sasuke. He whispered, "What?"
"See, he's acting suspicious, isn't he?" Sasuke whispered back.
Hey, maybe Sasuke was right about Kabuto. There is no reason for Kabuto to quit now after getting all this way. He nodded at Sasuke then turned back around.
"Is that everyone?" Hayate asked one more time. When there was no response, he looked at the Hokage and the Third nodded to him.
Anko walked up to Hayate and handed him a small box. Hayate thanked her and then turned back to the teams. "Each team, starting from the left, will come up here and draw a piece of paper out of this box. When you get your paper walk over to Kotetsu and hand it to him and then give your name."
Kotetsu waved his hand at the genins.
Hayate looked at the team on the far left. "First team start now."
After everyone had finished turning in their papers and giving their names, they were told to wait. Some people talked amongst themselves and some watched what the instructors were doing.
After ten minutes Hayate came back to stand in front of them. "I will call out two names at a time. The pair I call will be fighting against each other. The order I call them out in, is the order of when they fight so remember what pair you will be fighting after. "Sasuke and Yoroi, Zaku and Shino, Misumi and Kankuro, Ino and Sakura, Tenten and Temari, Shikamaru and Kin, Naruto and Kiba, Neji and Hinata, Lee and Gaara and the final pair are Dosu and Chouji. Everyone except Sasuke and Yoroi need to go up to the balcony and await your turn."
Damn I have to fight Kiba! He's such an asshole! Naruto grumbled as he joined the others to walk up to the balcony.
After all the preliminary matches had been completed, the winners, that would move on to the third exams, were announced, then Hayate told them who they would be fighting. The pairs that would fight against each other in order were, Naruto and Neji, Sasuke and Gaara, Kankuro and Shino, Temari and Shikamaru and then Shikamaru would have to fight again with Dosu. They would all have to wait a month before the third exam would begin.
Poor Lee was hurt very badly! I'm still mad at Gaara for breaking his leg and arm. Sasuke did great though. When that big ugly guy tried to drain all his chakra out, he got a big surprise. Naruto laughed. Sasuke had plenty of chakra left and kicked his butt!
Then Naruto felt sad when he thought of his pink-haired team mate. Sakura-chan came so close to winning. But Ino managed to take over her mind and Sakura used up so much of her chakra to fight the jutsu that she was too weak to beat Ino and it ended up as a draw. I need to tell her to start training her body more. If she got more physically fit, I could put more of my chakra in her without hurting her. Naruto walked back to his room but found Gaara following him. He decided to let Gaara come in with him, even though he was still angry at him.
I don't understand why Naruto won't talk to me and he looks angry. Was it because of the fight I had? I didn't think he was friends with the strange looking boy. After Naruto and Gaara got in the room, Gaara sat in the chair facing Naruto who was on the bed with his head down. "Are you angry with me?"
Naruto looked up and glared at him. "You almost killed fuzzy-eyebrows."
"No, if I wanted to kill him, he'd be dead. I just wounded him enough that he wouldn't be able to keep fighting. If he would have just quit, he wouldn't have been hurt."
I know Gaara is right but I like fuzzy-eyebrows. He stood by me and talked with me and also cheered on the other Leaf nin. I feel so bad for him. It will take him a long time to heal and he wanted so badly to fight Neji in the third exam. Naruto sighed and then smiled at his friend. "I'm sorry for being so angry with you, Gaara. It's just that I feel sorry for him, you know?"
He has to care so much about others. Even people he hardly knows. I feel jealous right now. He was thinking more of that green man than of me. I thought I was his best friend. "Naruto, did you not say before that I was your best friend?"
"Of course you are!" Naruto looked at his friend earnestly.
Gaara got up from the chair and moved to the bed and sat down close to the blond. He put his arms around him and rested his head on his friend's shoulder. "I thought for a minute that maybe you didn't feel the same anymore."
Naruto turned towards Gaara and wrapped his own arms around him. He rested his head on top of his best friend's head. "I know we haven't known each other long, Gaara, but I feel a strong connection to you. We both lived through a rough childhood, but we have each other now. We aren't alone anymore."
Gaara smiled and hugged Naruto tighter. He still cares about me. "No, we aren't alone anymore. Naruto...I love you."
Naruto was shocked to hear those words. A couple of tears fell from his eyes and slowly rolled down his cheeks. "No one has ever said that to me before. Except my father in the dream he gave me. But no one else. Gaara...I-I love you, too."
Gaara raised his head up to look in his friend's blue eyes. He smiled when he saw the tears. "I'm glad I'm the first one, besides your father, to say those words to you. You are the only one that has said them to me."
Naruto smiled back and hugged his friend tight. Then he laughed. "Look at us! We're both being crybabies!"
Gaara was puzzled by his words. Then he released one of his arms from around his friend and reached up to touch his face. He felt wetness on his cheeks. He put his fingers in front of his face and looked at them. I am crying too. I didn't even realize it.
TBC