Gaara was startled out of his reverie in the dark night. Naruto was screaming in pain. Gaara was scrambling in his mind to figure out what to do. He needed to act fast. Moving over to Naruto wasn't an option because he would make his wounds start bleeding again. Shukaku was reluctant to spare any power to heal his container.

"Naruto! I'm over here," Gaara called from his bed.

"Where? I can't see you. Please come closer," Naruto cried out. "I can't move. It hurts so much. Oh god it hurts. Why does it hurt so much?"

"Hold on. I'm coming," Gaara grunted. He climbed off the bed, re-opening half-healed holes in his flesh. "Ah!" He cried. He stiffly waddled over. Gaara fought tears. He had never known pain such as this. It was unbelievable that the human body could feel this way and still be alive. "I'm coming," he choked out between gasps of pain.

"Gaara," Naruto weakly sobbed. "Why are you..?"

"It's alright. Shizune-san just ran a few tests on me. I'll be fine in the morning. Hey, I'm here. You can calm down now. You're not alone."

"It hurts. Why does it hurt so much?"

"It's your demon. Can't you tell how injured he is?"

Naruto stared at Gaara from eyes squinted in pain. "Gaara, help me."

The redhead watched as Naruto squirmed, trying to get away from the pain. Naruto fought tears every time a joint of his body so much as twitched. Gaara was lost. He was never one to comfort people in pain. Hell, he usually was the one who caused the pain the people were feeling. He supposed that he could somewhat understand what the blonde was going through currently. Gaara felt blood dripping down his legs from the stressed injuries. He winced but quickly brought his hard face back up. He moved around the bed to the chair.

"Gaara… I talked to Kyuubi… I'm so scared."

"I'm going to help you. That's what the tests are for."

"What if I die? I can't bear this pain much longer. I don't want to go back to sleep. If I go to sleep… I might die. I'm so scared. I'm so scared."

Naruto was full out crying now. Gaara thought he'd never been more scared in his life. He might know how to comfort someone in pain a little, but now Naruto was talking about being scared of death. All Gaara knew of that was fear of inexistence. Was it truly the same as fearing death? Gaara compared the two and came to the conclusion that it was really different.

"I don't know what to do," Gaara confessed.

"Just keep me awake. Any way that you can," Naruto whimpered.

Gaara looked around frantically trying to think of something to keep Naruto awake like he wanted to be. His eye caught the pile of presents and letters left by people while Naruto was unconscious. A brilliant idea came to him then.

"Would you like me to read these letters to you?"

Naruto only nodded. Gaara pulled the top one off the stack. It was from Sakura.

"Naruto," Gaara began. "A lot has happened in these three weeks. I've been training under Tsunade-sama so that I can get stronger. I'm also becoming a medical-nin. I've learned so much in such a short amount of time. It's coming so easy to me. I just want you to know. It's you who made me do this. You're the one who inspired me to become stronger. When I couldn't stop Sasuke from leaving and you brought him back in less than a day, I knew I had to do something to improve myself.

"Sasuke has taken to eating ramen because of his throat. It's the only thing he can swallow right now. His surgery will be soon. I've been assigned by Tsunade-sama to watch over him all day. Because of how fast I picked up healing, she trusts me to watch over one of her special patients.

"Naruto, you have to come back to us. You're the strongest person in this entire village. If you don't get better soon, I'm going to find some forbidden healing jutsu and kick your ass after I make you better. Please. Naruto. Stay strong for all of us who believe in you. Love, Sakura"

Naruto had tears in his eyes from something other than pain by this point and was sniffling. He couldn't believe the words Sakura had said to him. They were sweet and kind, like the things only Iruka-sensei had told him.

"Are you alright? Should I continue reading more," Gaara asked.

Naruto nodded. Gaara picked up the next letter.

"Hey dobe. Get better. Now. Or I'll just have to continue berating myself constantly all day long for the rest of my life. I'm sorry, Naruto. It's entirely my fault. I'm an idiot. I never should have run off like that. I never should have sought Orochimaru's for power. You stopped me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I can never thank you enough. I'll never be able to apologize enough either for getting you into that state. You have to get better. Who else is worthy of being my rival? My best friend? My brother? I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I'll never blame you for my injuries. It's all me. I did this to myself. I'm just so sorry about everything. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me. Please. Get well soon. I need a training partner so that I can get stronger and help you kick Orochimaru's ass, not like you need the help. I think you're already more powerful than the Legendary Sannin. Keep that in mind. Be strong. Get out of that bed now dobe before I pass you up again in power. From Sasuke."

Naruto chuckled through his tears, then cried out in pain from moving too much. Gaara put his hand on Naruto's to calm him down. Naruto weakly smiled at Gaara, trying to tell him that the pain wasn't that bad. He could bear it. He had to, or else he'd be letting his friends down.

"What about those boxes," Naruto asked.

Gaara nodded and started opening them. The first box was small. It was wrapped in a shiny pink paper that was decorated with little rabbits. This was a gift from Tenten. Gaara slowly opened it and held it so that Naruto could watch him without having to move. He lifted the lid off the box after discarding the paper and held it towards Naruto so that the bedridden boy could see the gift before he did. Naruto's eyes widened. Gaara looked too.

The box held a small scroll that had Tenten's writing on the outside of it. Underneath the scroll, the pair found a set of three hand forged kunai with Tenten's name writing on the inside of the ring on the weapons. There was a short note also from the girl that read, "Redeem this coupon for two straight weeks of vigorous 8 hours a day weapon training from Tenten. You better get better and use these, or else I'll be offended."

Naruto chuckled at the girl. She barely even knew him and yet she was doing this for him and going out of her way to worry about him. She was tricking him into getting better faster because she must have known that Naruto was a sucker for anything to make him stronger so that he could be the best and become Hokage.

"Smart girl," Gaara thought out loud.

Gaara put the box, with the scroll, kunai, and note aside in a separate pile. The next box he picked up was an unwrapped green box with yellow ribbon tied around it messily that was unimaginably heavy. Gaara struggled with untying the thick ribbons. When he finally did manage to get them off, he took the lid off and held the box towards Naruto the same as he had with Tenten's present. The box contained a set of ankle and wrist bands that they assumed were weights. A small note card with a lotus on the front was crinkled between the weights. Gaara read the card aloud to Naruto, "Naruto-kun, please accept this gift for training. As soon as we both get better, I'll show you how to use these properly. I hope you like them, I think blue is definitely your color. See you soon, Rock Lee."

Gaara felt a twinge of guilt at being reminded that he was the reason Lee was hospitalized in the first place. However, he did save him from that Kimimaro person. It wasn't atonement enough. Naruto however was just fine lying there watching Gaara read his letters and open his presents for him. A small smile, a true smile, actually appeared on Naruto's face. Gaara was frightened by his sudden urge to freeze time to keep that smile on Naruto's face forever.

Gaara picked up the next letter and began reading, "Uzumaki. Heal faster, bastard. Oh so sincerely, Nara Shikamaru. P.S. Chouji and Ino send their regards."

Gaara and Naruto sat looking at each other for a good minute before Naruto burst out laughing. He alternately cackled and said "ow" for each movement he made caused more pain. Gaara actually let out a small chuckle but covered it with his hand. Naruto exclaimed that that was just like Shikamaru to say. It apparently showed that he was concerned but he didn't put much effort into it, as he would for anything. However, Naruto explained that because he actually took the time to write just that, it showed that Shikamaru actually cared about Naruto's well being.

After Naruto finished his spiel about Shikamaru being a great guy, Gaara picked up a small package that was very carefully wrapped in dark blue paper and light blue ribbons. It was obvious that the giver had taken his or her time with it and it was very special. Seeing that, Gaara took consideration in neatly untying and unwrapping the present for Naruto. Inside was a small jar of ointment and a dark blue paper crane. After taking that out, Gaara found a letter written on precisely fold crisp white paper. The handwriting was elegant but legible.

"Naruto-kun," Gaara started reading, "I am sorry that I cannot give this to you in person. I have a fear of people in bandages as you know. I would just pass out when I see you like that. I hope this ointment helps you in some way. I came up with the recipe myself and spent lots of time researching every ingredient to make it just right. Please accept this pain killing ointment. I hope that I can see you after you get better and you can tell me if it works well. Naruto-kun, you have motivated me to become stronger and try my hardest at everything I do. If this illness conquers you, I believe the hope and inspiration of many people in the village will be destroyed. It may be selfish to ask this, but please get better soon for all of us. With optimism, Hyuuga Hinata. P.S. Please wear gloves when applying the ointment. My hands went numb while making it. I apologize for the messy handwriting."

"Hinata… she called me an inspiration."

"That's because you are, Naruto. Look at me as a prime example. I've changed, and it's all because of you."

"Really," Naruto asked in wonder.

Gaara just nodded and handed Naruto the special ointment that Hinata had made. That's where Gaara messed up. He hadn't realized that all of the moving around and opening the things for Naruto had actually hurt him that much. The pain had become something he had pushed to the back of his mind for Naruto's sake. His mistake, handing Naruto the ointment with a blood covered hand. Blood that dripped onto Naruto's sheets. Blood that made Naruto pale. Blood that Gaara should have noticed before so that Naruto wouldn't become worried about him.

"Gaara! What happened? Why are you bleeding?"

Naruto sat up and finally took the whole picture in, all while gasping in pain. Gaara was sitting there covered in bandages. His hospital gown was soaked in spots of blood. Blood had pooled on the floor at the redhead's feet. The red had even seeped into the chair that he was sitting on. It looked at though someone had tried to murder him, and there he was just sitting there opening Naruto's presents for him and reading his letters. Naruto had never felt more disgusted with himself and so selfish. How could Gaara sit here and do this to himself while Naruto happily lied there in his bed?

"Answer me! Why are doing this?"

"For you," was Gaara's only answer.

Gaara stood up and tried to get Naruto to lie back down. He pushed him back to the bed as gently as he possibly could. Gaara pressed him lips tightly together. He wondered if he should tell Naruto what he was letting the medical team here do to him so that Naruto could be healed. He decided against it because he knew that Naruto would just worry more. Even though, he knew that knowing that someone would go through that just to help Naruto would probably make him feel a little more cherished. He was brought out of his thoughts when he realized that Naruto was still yelling at him.

"Go to sleep, Naruto," Gaara ordered. "I'll read you more letters when you wake up. I'll watch over you, don't worry."

"But… I don't understand. Please… explain…" and Naruto promptly fell back asleep at Gaara's command.

As the Sand-nin promised, he sat back down in the blood soaked chair and watched over Naruto. Strangely, his wounds weren't closing back up. Gaara decided to try and sink into a meditation to let his body take care of him. What he didn't count on was that losing blood sometimes made people pass out, which is exactly what he did at that moment.

Gaara found himself deep inside his mind. He didn't know where he had actually gone. He moved forward towards a steady breathing that he heard. When the light came to the breathing object, he found Shukaku towering above him. Gaara panicked. Nothing was holding the demon back from devouring him some more. Except, Shukaku had his eyes closed and was breathing raggedly. One of those monster's eyes opened in a squint and Gaara jumped back.

"You bastard," Shukaku cried in his 'funky' voice. "You let that wench do this to me! You thought that she was just examining you didn't you! No! She got me too! Bastard! I'll get you for this… Just as soon as I heal myself! Damn it! Why can't I heal? This isn't working! You did this to me on purpose didn't you? You're trying to kill me and get me out of you, isn't that it? Stupid child! If I die, you die too! I'm not letting you get rid of me that easily."

Gaara stood and stared. Was it just him or was Shukaku getting wavy? Maybe he was just dizzy. Gaara fell to his knees on the black floor of his mind. Shukaku squinted at him in question. Everything became blurry and he couldn't see anything anymore. He could feel his face smash against the cold floor and that was his last physical sensation.

"Am I dying," he asked Shukaku. "Help me."

Shukaku felt himself also start to fade away. He started panicking.

"Hey! Hey! Hey," That funky voice shouted. "It works opposite! If you die, I die too! Bastard! I don't have that much chakra left and you're making me heal you! Stupid child! I never liked you and now I think I hate you! Making me heal you, too. Idiot!"

Outside of his mind, it was then that the Hokage took the opportunity to walk in. She started shaking at the sight of the Sand boy drenched in blood and slumped over in the chair next to Naruto's bed. Bloody handprints were on Naruto's gown and sheets. The entire scene made her go into a state of shock. She thought that Naruto helped her get over the hemotophobia, but this was too much. Too much blood. Blood everywhere.

Shizune walked in behind her and gasped at the scene. Tsunade was frozen in time and her skin was pale and clammy. The young attendant called for nurses for an emergency. She was so confused, what had happened in here?

When the nurses got there, they gasped. They started to put Gaara on a stretcher to take him to an emergency room. He seemed in critical condition and needed immediate treatment. One nurse pulled the Godaime out of the room and sat her on the seats outside. She gave her some water to drink and tried to calm her down. Shizune checked Naruto for any injuries but found none to her relief. She ordered one of the nurses to fetch new sheets and a new gown for Naruto, to remove the chair, and clean up the blood all over the floor.

The team of three nurses, one woman monitoring Gaara and two men carrying him, existed the room and into the hallway. Just in time for Tsunade to gasp at the blood all over again. She began to hyperventilate. However, as soon as she did, Gaara's body seemed to start emitting steam from every hole in his body. The wounds slowly began closing up and the steam disappeared. As soon as every wound was closed, Gaara shot straight up on the stretcher and flipped himself off of it and knocked the nurses over in the process.

Gaara panted on all fours on the floor. He couldn't believe what just happened. He now knew why Naruto wasn't healing like he should. He just had to tell them. Then he could help heal the blonde quickly as he had promised. Gaara couldn't manage to get enough air in each time to get a whole sentence out. He had to tell them!

"Kyuubi… is not letting him heal… sucking chakra… Naruto not able to heal… Kyuubi stealing it… Kyuubi needs to heal Naruto… then demon can heal itself… Shukaku told me… showed me… Shizune hurt Shukaku… but now we're both healed… Shukaku tried healing himself first… but now healed me… and he's healed, too… That's how to fix Naruto…"

Again, Gaara experience the sensation of his face smacking into a cold hard surface. He lied there panting. Eventually, someone picked him up and brought him back to the hospital bed so that he could regain his energy.

Tsunade and Shizune sat outside the room talking after everything inside the room was taken care of. Two nurses were in the room, attending to both of the boys and making sure that no more harm came to either of them. It was most definitely a stress filled afternoon.

"It explains why the healing didn't work, Tsunade-sama. It also explains why Gaara wasn't healing either."

"True," Tsunade said placing her head in her hands. "But with Naruto unconscious, we can't tell him that he needs to get his demon to heal him before it can heal."

Tsunade sat with her hands buried deep in her hair. She couldn't think of anything. There was no way to communicate with the demon inside of her favorite genin. She didn't know what to do anymore. She felt like a useless Hokage and a failure at a medical ninja. Shizune also tried racking her brain to figure something out. They both knew that time was running out for Naruto, but didn't want to say it aloud.

"What can I do," Gaara asked, leaning against the doorway and scrunching his face in pain. "I promised I'd do anything to save him. Anything."

The three sat in silence, not knowing what the next move was. They were dealt a shitty hand and as everyone knew, Tsunade was a terrible gambler. Shizune slumped over more. Gaara glared at the women who were supposed to be leading this show. And Tsunade decided that the best hope was to look to another for an answer. She knew one Chuunin that was better than anyone else at figuring things out.

On the other side of the village, Nara Shikamaru, who was contently doing nothing but watching the clouds in his favorite spot, felt as if someone had just tossed the weight of the world on his shoulders. And then a white bird flew over his head.