People talking, "Hello everyone."
People thinking, 'cake is the best.'
Demon/beast/other talking, "I will eat you."
Demon/beast/other thinking, 'The author had a slightly hard time keeping up with all the Japanese family names for this chapter, poor guy.'
Jutsu/Unknown names, "Suiton: Mizudeppō no Jutsu."
'Document'
Italics can be used for certain kinds of emphasis or snide comments.
Bold can be used for forceful yelling/shouting/screaming.
Chapter Three: Answers
"Again, Naruto."
Naruto nodded and began running around the training course as fast as he could. Nearby in the training field, the children of the Kazekage were practicing. Temari was working on low-level wind jutsu with her new fan, Kankuro was practicing with his puppets, and Gaara was figuring out how to make sand armor a workable concept.
Baki stood watching over them all, and Naruto was sprinting around the outskirts of the training field. All of them had switched into training clothes, and they'd been training for several hours. They were all determined to get stronger, and Baki was struggling to come up with lessons fast enough.
Baki had been uneasy about training them all when Temari had first requested it to her father. Baki had been in the office at the time, and he knew he would get assigned this job. Training the children of the Kazekage was a great honor, but it also meant he had to be wary of dying. Two out of the four children could kill him if they really wanted to, both had killed hundreds of civilians and shinobi. The Kazekage had agreed to the request, predictably assigning him as their teacher until they entered the academy.
That was six months ago and all four of them had since grown much stronger. Baki had taught them how to channel chakra to their ears, eyes, and muscles to improve them. That had been when Naruto activated his Dojutsu, which was, in fact, the Byakugan. The Kazekage had been ecstatic when he read Baki's report on their training. Naruto was definitely a significant asset to the village's military.
Naruto's Byakugan didn't pulse out the veins around his eye like the Hyūga's clan Byakugan, surprisingly. The Kazekage had made the fact that Naruto's eyes were the Byakugan an S-class secret in the village. Only a few people knew this because the Kazekage didn't want spies from Konoha, or worse.
"Naruto, enough. Take a breather and then you will spar with Kankuro, then Temari with Gaara," Baki ordered, getting acknowledgments from his students.
"Hai, Baki-sensei," Naruto replied, his voice flat and monotone. Baki kept his composure, used to Naruto's dislike of him. He didn't understand why Naruto seemed to dislike him, but it didn't worry him. Naruto followed orders without objection in regards to training, and nothing more was required of him for now.
Naruto moved to a tree and sat down, the shade around him expanding as the tree literally bent over him. Naruto's control over all plant life still amazed Baki, the plants themselves seemed to want to protect him and would defend him from harm without him even being aware there was a danger. It was very similar to Gaara's automatic sand defense.
Naruto leaned back against the tree trunk, staring into the crisp, clear blue sky, no clouds at all visible. He closed his eyes and let his Dōjutsu rest. He practically always had it on because it didn't strain him, and being able to see everywhere was very useful. The beauty of it was that no one could tell that he'd activated it unless they looked closely and knew what to look for.
Naruto let a faint smile come to his lips, he somehow knew that there was a specific reason for this. His sensei had given him what scrolls Suna had on the Hyūga clan, in which one stated that most beginner Byakugan users had to practice to extend their range past 100 meters. He'd found that his first day using it he could almost see all of Suna, with training he could see the gate guards.
'I can feel it...' Naruto thought. Since the night he lost his parents, he could sense this... being out in the far distance. Over time it kept getting closer to him, and he felt more at peace and calm as it got closer. Naruto awaited its arrival with open arms, knowing it would answer all his questions. Taking a deep breath he relaxed further against the tree, letting his aching muscles calm down. Naruto let down his guard, something that Baki-sensei had drilled into them never to do. 'But my guard is never down, even if I'm asleep the plants protect me,' he mused.
'I wonder if I can get the plants to not defend me without having to constantly order them not to. I can only get so strong if they are always defending me,' Naruto thought after a few moments. He loved the plants dearly, but it would be hard to grow if they would always save him from getting punched even though he had messed up.
"Naruto, come to the center for your spar," Baki called. Naruto opened his eyes, his Dōjutsu activating in a pulse of chakra. His vision became shades of grey, expanding and enabling him to see everything around him. His vision darted over to Kankuro as he stood up, rotating his view around the boy, looking for anything unusual he would need to know in the fight.
He kept his face blank as he noticed that the Kankuro standing in front of him was a puppet, Kankuro hiding inside the bandages on the puppet's back. 'It would seem Kankuro has learned a new technique,' Naruto thought as he stopped in the starting spot and waited for the spar to begin. At the edge of the sparring area sat Gaara and his sister on a bench of sand.
"Hajime!"
Both Naruto and Kankuro didn't move, Naruto seemingly staring at nothing while in truth he was analyzing Kankuro from all angles and even from within the puppet, seeking to find all the new hidden traps. Kankuro meanwhile was preparing to attack. He wasn't good at this technique yet, and most likely he would need to separate from his puppet as soon as the fight got going. It was, after all, very hard to see what was happening when inside a cocoon of bandages.
Naruto did something that confused his opponent and the onlookers. Bored from waiting for Kankuro to attack he sat down cross-legged, his hands in his lap. The next moment he closed his eyes, looking like he was meditating.
Kankuro scowled, moving his puppet forward he threw kunai at Naruto. Naruto visibly concentrated, his face scrunching up but he didn't move. Temari and Baki became concerned that the kunai would hit the pale white-haired boy. The kunai flew closer, and the plants did not appear as they usually did.
Naruto relaxed, his eyes still closed. He pushed himself off the ground on to one hand, dodging every kunai, one just barely missing his arm he was using to support himself.
'I forgot that he can see everything. He could see that coming even with his eyes closed!' Kankuro thought in annoyance. 'Dodge this then!'
Kankuro gave up on tricking Naruto with his puppets, knowing he had figured it out already. Jumping off his puppet's back he manipulated it into firing hundreds of Senbon. They weren't all entirely accurate, but most would hit Naruto. He was still learning this after all.
Naruto's eyes were still closed as he watched the incoming attack, deciding that practicing more skills would be beneficial to his development. He went through hand seals, backing up to gain more time from the incoming senbon attack. 'I could have the plants defend me, but I am determined to learn other skills.'
"Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)!" Naruto called out, taking a deep breath before expelling a moderate size gust of wind. Baki's eyes widened at the size of the technique, after all Naruto was only around 6 years old. He shouldn't be able to perform that technique to such a large extent. 'But then again, I'm comparing him to human standards, and we aren't sure he's human,' Baki mused. They had previously tried to get blood samples to test. Every attempt had been futile, and several people had lost their lives.
On the training field, Naruto's jutsu blew the senbon away before continuing on toward Kankuro, who leaped as far out of the way as possible with his puppet. The wind burst continued on before impacting with the sturdy walls of the training field and dissipating.
Kankuro turned back to Naruto to ask him how he did that when he found Naruto in front of him, his hair whipping around his face and horns. Naruto's fist was on a crash course with his face, and he was woefully unable to dodge. The impact sent him flying backward a couple of yards.
"Winner, Naruto," Baki called out, stopping the match. Naruto walked over to Kankuro and offered his hand, helping him up.
"That was amazing Naruto! I'm not even mad that I lost!" Kankuro said, picking his discarded puppet up. 'Not like I would have won anyway if he had used the plants,' Kankuro mused. Those plants were freaking strong. He'd seen them from the mansion when they restrained the demon Gaara had turned into.
"Please clear the field you two, it's Gaara's and Temari's turn," Baki said. Both nodded before moving to the sidelines. Naruto raised an eyebrow at Gaara's bench that fell apart into sand and followed him. 'Well, can't let him do me up now can I?' Naruto thought, pointing both open palms at the ground. Kankuro watched as a large couch formed out of soft plants and vines in a matter of moments. Naruto smirked and sat down, gesturing for him to follow, which he did.
"You two and your competition with your powers…" Kankuro shook his head, turning to his two siblings standing in the middle talking to Baki.
"Well, I can't let Gaara-nii-san do better than me can I?" Naruto returned.
Kankuro just chuckled, focusing on the match that was just starting.
"Hajime!"
Temari immediately went on the offensive, pulling her fan off her back she swung it as hard as she could, creating a decently sized force of wind.
Gaara narrowed his eyes at the attack. It wasn't a powerful attack but would still hurt if he allowed it to hit. He knew from experience how much it would hurt. Naruto had convinced him to go through training without his sand on some days, and Naruto wouldn't use his plants on those days. In spars, Gaara had gotten hurt for the first time in his life, and it had been… a new experience. Gaara found he preferred not getting hurt when possible.
Gaara's sand thrust up out of the ground, swirling around him. The cutting air from his sister impacted into it harshly, but it never stood a chance against the yōkai reinforced sand.
Temari grimaced, trying to think of a way to defeat her brother. Her face lit up a moment later. 'A shinobi must use all options available to them, that's what Baki-sensei taught us.' With that in mind, Temari shot off as fast as she could, which was decently fast for her age.
Gaara raised an eyebrow at her direct attack, his arms crossed. He hadn't moved since the start. His sand lurched up in a fist shape toward Temari. His eyes widened when his sister didn't dodge or retaliate, just continued running head-on at his sand. Gaara pulled back the sand before it hit his sister, not wanting to severely injure or even kill her. He did not have absolute control over his sand, and there had been a lot of force in that attack.
Temari smirked as she saw her plan was working. Yanking off her fan in one quick swing she fired another burst of wind at her sibling.
"Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu (Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique)!" Temari cried, unleashing the most powerful attack she had so far at her younger brother. Gaara's eyes narrowed, realizing she was taking advantage of the fact she was his sister and he cared about her. Gaara growled as the sand swirled around him fiercely before encasing him in a sand dome. The wind attack clashed harmlessly against the sand, and Temari frowned. Gaara's sand was still much faster than her wind, her attacks wouldn't be enough to cut through.
Temari tried to move and found both her legs stuck, looking down she found sand creeping up her legs.
"I win Temari-onee-san," Gaara stated, the sand wrapped around him falling to the ground. Temari sighed, "I give up."
"Winner, Gaara," Baki yelled out, a tad unnecessarily. Gaara nodded before retracting all his sand to the surrounding ground. Naruto walked up a moment later, staring at the sand that was in a rough circle around Gaara.
"What are you looking at Naruto-nii?" Gaara questioned.
"Gaara, how long can you hold one shape with your sand?" Naruto inquired, his pale eyes shifting to Gaara's face. While Naruto directly looking at someone was unneeded as he could see them from anywhere, he did it out of respect and proper manners.
"A couple of hours, I haven't tried longer than that," Gaara responded, confused.
"Could you perhaps form some sort of container out of your sand to hold the rest of it? To carry it around with you?" Naruto mused, a thinking expression on his face.
Gaara's eyes widened slightly in an understanding of what his friend suggested. Concentrating he focused on a large gourd, as it made the most sense to him to carry all his sand in something like that. A few moments later the sand swirled together and formed a large gourd in front of him. He directed the rest of his sand inside the sand gourd, creating a cork to go in the top once everything was inside.
"That works," Naruto commented. Gaara nodded, "I'll need to get gear of some kind to attach it to my back."
"I can help with that," Baki commented. Gaara only nodded in response to his Sensei.
Next day
Gaara and Naruto walked down the street of Sunagakure, heading toward a restaurant. The villagers ignored them, glared, or moved out of the way. It didn't matter to either of them, they had each other as friends, and the rest of the world's approval was unneeded.
"Gaara-nii, do you think there is a place out there where people like us can go and not be judged? Not be feared?" Naruto abruptly asked, surprising his friend. Gaara didn't immediately answer, taking a few moments to think about it as they strolled down the street. Gaara now carried around the large gourd. He had a wide leather band from his left shoulder to his right hip with which he had attached the sand gourd to his back.
"I'm not sure Naruto-nii, I've never heard of such a place," Gaara responded eventually.
"If there isn't, would you want to help me create it?" Naruto asked, a small level of childishness coming into his voice. They were after all almost 6 years old, and even with everything they'd gone through, they were still children.
Gaara smiled widely, one of the things he had only started doing after meeting Naruto. There was just something about Naruto that made him happy. "Of course Naruto-nii, I would love to," Gaara replied sincerely.
"Awesome! It'll be a village, away from all those who hate people who are different. A place where those that want a place to fit in can come to. A place they won't be judged and hated but loved and cared for!" Naruto declared excitedly, "I promise I'm going to make such a place one day!" Naruto's eyes shown with determination to bring about his new goal.
"I will do my best to help you reach your goal, Naruto-nii-san," Gaara said calmly. Upon reaching the door to the restaurant he pushed it open and waited for Naruto to walk through. Naruto thanked him, and they sat down at a table.
"Gaara, it's getting close. I can feel it almost here now. Maybe it will help me complete my goal," Naruto said. Gaara nodded. He was also curious as to what it was that Naruto could feel coming. He'd expressed at one point that he thought it was perhaps his parents, then become depressed for a while, wondering why they would have abandoned him in the desert.
Gaara turned as the waiter stopped at their table. Both Naruto and Gaara shared a look at the anger and hatred they could feel coming from the server. He apparently didn't like them, and after they ordered, the man quickly left.
"I wonder why he hates us... The woman from last week said I killed her daughter," Naruto commented almost absent-mindedly. While Naruto wouldn't resort to killing as his first solution, he had killed many villagers that had attacked him. Gaara nodded, being on the same boat as Naruto and having killed many villagers and assassins that had attempted to take his life.
Naruto turned back to Gaara, coming out of his musings. "Read something interesting recently. It's news from a few years ago, but I only just found a scroll about it." Gaara perked up, interested in what Naruto had to share.
"Apparently the strongest Bijū, the Kyūbi, attacked the Leaf Village. It says that the 4th Hokage killed the fox at the cost of his own life. But something confuses me. According to Shukaku, Bijū can't be killed," Naruto thought out loud.
"That's true, we can't be killed. Most likely Hitomi-onee-san was sealed. They would have had to use a baby as her yōkai is too potent to be sealed into anything else." Shukaku's cackling voice rang out in Gaara's head. 'I thought you were asleep,' Gaara mentally replied.
"Conversation is exciting, besides listening to the Ki no ko (Tree Child) is interesting," Shukaku replied from within the mindscape of Gaara's mind. When Gaara focused back on the real world, he found Naruto patiently looking at him.
"What did he say?"
"He confirmed what you said, Bijū cannot be killed. They have to be sealed. Apparently, the Kyūbi would have to be sealed within a baby, as she can't be sealed into anything else," Gaara replied, enjoying Naruto's shocked expression.
"Wait… the Kyūbi is a she?" Gaara nodded.
"Huh." Naruto seemed to regain his faraway look. Gaara knew he was either thinking or looking at something that only he could see with his Dōjutsu. Gaara could seldom tell when Naruto had it activated, he hardly looked different with it on.
A few moments later the waiter returned carrying the food, setting it down and glaring at them as he backed away before leaving. Gaara ignored the man with ease, and Naruto's attention was entirely on the food in front of him.
"Itadakimasu," they both said calmly before digging in. Neither said anything as they eat, preferring to thoroughly enjoy their food.
"Gaara! The food is poisoned! Stop eating it! I'm working to get it out of your system now!" Gaara immediately spit out the food, turning to warn Naruto only to find him scrunching up in pain.
The next instant Naruto let loose a tremendous scream of pain. Gaara's eyes widened majorly, shock and confusion overwhelming him. "Gaara, the waiter poisoned you and Naruto." The raccoon was cut off as Gaara's chakra spiked dangerously and strong killing intent flowed in thick waves from the boy, choking everyone in the vicinity. His sand started to quickly rush out of the gourd, heading toward the waiter, intent on crushing him.
"Gaara! Now is not the time. Later! You have to get Naruto to a hospital!" Shukaku yelled, cutting through the red haze enveloping his jinchuriki. He shook his head, realizing the danger his friend was in. Even if Naruto wasn't human, he didn't have a Bijū inside of him to heal him from poison.
Gaara sent his sand out and wrapped it around Naruto quickly, the Killing Intent fading only slightly. Picking up his friend he hurried across the room, sand flowing out from him in waves and moving people, tables, and chairs out of the way. He reached the front doors and blew them off their hinges and into the street without a second thought.
Right before he left he shot the waiter a glare. "You will die," Gaara snarled, his voice dangerous and demonic. The waiter just about near fainted from the Killing Intent and terror. The next moment Gaara turned and disappeared from view.
Suna Hospital
Naruto lay on a hospital bed, Gaara standing right beside him as a medic ran his glowing hands over his friend. Naruto looked terrible, even paler than usual, his muscles strained and sweating profusely. Gaara was fighting hard to keep his emotions under control, wanting to kill everything and anything. 'They dared to hurt my brother!' Gaara's rage fought to control him, but he kept it under control, he needed to be here and watch over Naruto.
Also in the room were his two siblings, his sensei Baki, and the Kazekage. Both his siblings were close by, looking on in concern at Naruto, while Baki and his father waited for the medic to report.
"Kazekage-sama, I regret to inform you that there is not much I can tell you about the boy. While I found that he was given a poison strong enough to kill an elephant in a couple of minutes, the rest of his body is actually being blocked from my jutsu," the Medic said in obvious confusion. "I don't even know how that's possible…" he muttered.
"Irrelevant. Can the antidote be made?" the Kazekage demanded sternly. 'I don't want to lose such a valuable asset to the village.' Not only that, but Naruto kept Gaara sane and in control.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama, but it's unneeded. His body seems to be rejecting the poison slowly by itself."
"Make the antidote anyway, I don't want to take any chances," he ordered. The doc nodded before grabbing a syringe from a nearby cart. Gaara's eyes widened as the doctor brought the needle toward his friend's arm.
"No, wait!" Gaara yelled, but it was too late. Vines shot out of the floor around the bed and the walls. Lashing through the air they slammed into the medic, throwing the shocked man across the room and into the wall.
Gaara and the others in the room watched as the vines moved back and forth around Naruto menacingly, daring anyone else to try to reach the white-haired boy.
"Baki, check on Yokigo, carefully…" the Kazekage instructed. Baki nodded, slowly moving toward the moaning medic. He had already been hurt by those vines before, and he didn't want to experience that again.
The vines seemed to settle a moment later. Wrapping themselves around Naruto, they lifted him off the bed before forming a cocoon that floated between the ceiling and floor, attached to the nearby surfaces like a spider web.
"Stay back, Naruto isn't awake. Which means the vines will attack anyone who gets close to him," Gaara warned, already knowing that the vines only truly cared about protecting Naruto.
"Will he be okay?" Temari asked shakily.
Gaara nodded. "He will."
With Naruto
Naruto slowly opened his eyes, pupil-less orbs taking in his surroundings. Sitting up Naruto looked around. Above him was a beautiful sunset sky, an exotic shading of orange, red and yellow hues. On the ground, he was surrounded by plants of all types, trees of every kind and green thick luscious grass. (Think Garden of Eden type place)
Naruto got to his feet, confused as to where he was and how he got here. 'I've never been to such a place, but why does it feel so… right?' Naruto struggled to find the words to describe how he was feeling.
The leaves behind him rustled, making him turn around quickly. Coming through the trees was a beautiful lady, the plants moving out of her way as she walked. Her incredibly long, white hair trailed on the ground behind her, she had pale-skin with delicate facial features. Her eyes were white like his, and her eyebrows were cut very short and round, a red shade of lipstick on her lips. She had two brown horns that stuck out from her head. Naruto's eyes were suddenly drawn to the third eye in the middle of her forehead, it was red and had rings in it, as well as 9 tomoe.
She slowed to a stop in front of him, gazing upon him kindly and for some reason, he felt such warmth as he looked at her. He noticed that she wore a high-collared hime-kimono which had tomoe running down the center and edges of the gown, adorned with intricate gold and purple lines.
"Hello, Naruto." Her voice was elegant and melodic. Naruto's pale eyes met with hers, and they stared at each other for a few moments.
"W-who… who are you?" Naruto stammered out. The answers were almost here. He could feel it.
The beautiful woman smiled slightly sadly at him. "My name is Kaguya Ōtsutsuki… and I am your mother."
Naruto finally snapped, his mouth dropping open in shock as he stared at the woman claiming to be his mother. Abruptly his emotions changed, going from shock to anger.
"WHERE WERE YOU?!" he yelled at her, the plants around him moving agitatedly. Kaguya frowned, "I was with your father, musuko." She sighed, seeing him still angry. 'I knew he would be upset…'
"Naruto, I have a lot to explain to you. All of your questions will be answered." Her eyes teared up slightly. "But Naruto, I did not stay away because I wanted to, I love you so much Naruto… it has taken six years before I could finally talk to you."
Naruto's anger faded and he began to tear up and cry, he knew that she was right. He could feel that she was his mother, and her saying it only confirmed it. 'And, s-she says she loves me! She didn't stay away because she doesn't want me,' Naruto thought joyfully.
Kaguya fell to her knees and stretched out her arms toward her son. Naruto ran into her embrace, and they hugged, crying in happiness and relief.
"I love you so so much Musuko, I'm never going to let you go," Kaguya purred into his ear, holding him tightly in her embrace.
"I love you too Mother. I could feel you coming… I… I'm so glad you are here," Naruto cried, soaking her elegant robes. But Kaguya didn't care about her dresses.
The plants around them slowly formed a surface that was comfortable to lay on, and they did, Kaguya laying down and pulling her crying son with her. Naruto cried and cried in happiness, and then sadness, then happiness again... telling her how he was so glad to see her over and over again. She continued to reassure him that she was never leaving. 'I'm so glad to finally get to see my baby,' Kaguya thought.
Later
Kaguya rested against the plants, cradling the sleeping Naruto in her arms. She felt so calm, so at peace to finally be holding her son in her arms. She knew the life he had gone through thus far, and she was proud of him, of his want to get stronger and make a place for those that are scorned. She knew the challenges Naruto would eventually face, but that wasn't now.
Kaguya felt the change in the air, the warmth of the plants changing ever so slightly. She felt a connection form within her mind, the next moment she felt meaning and thoughts being communicated to her. 'Yes, I agree with you dear. Our son is going to be very strong. I'm so proud of him, and I know you are too,' Kaguya thought. Her response was a definite feeling across the connection.
She smiled, knowing her husband was happy that he had finally been able to move her entire essence inside Naruto. Her husband had found Naruto's aura on earth three years ago when Naruto lost his adoptive parents, for that was the first time Naruto flared his chakra.
It had taken so long to find Naruto because her husband didn't deal well with deserts and his connection to the world wasn't as good in them. He had immediately moved a significant amount of power to the desert to protect their son while he focused on establishing a connection between their son and her. The process took three years overall because she contained such a massive amount of power. It was much harder for him to transmit her into their son when their son was in the desert, a place that lacked plant life.
Kaguya felt the mental prodding from her husband and sighed, 'but he looks so adorable sleeping, he's not going to be a young child for much longer you know.' She received a feeling of understanding from her husband.
Kaguya pulled Naruto closer as he subconsciously snuggled into her robes. She cooed to him in his sleep, stroking his white hair and running her hand over his horns. "His horns are so big for his age," Kaguya said proudly.
"Okay okay, I'll wake him up. You're so impatient dear." Kaguya chuckled at the excited prodding from her husband. Sitting up she pulled Naruto with her.
"Wake up musuko, we have much to talk about," Kaguya said softly, running her hand through Naruto's somewhat long hair. Naruto murmured, curling up into a smaller ball close to her.
'Help me out, love?' Kaguya thought, smiling at her son. A second later a fuzzy vine grew out of the ground and wrapped around Naruto before beginning to tickle him.
"Hahahaha! Stop it, make it stop hahaha!" Naruto laughed as he began to wake up, trying to get the tickling vine off of himself. Once he was fully awake, the vine retracted back into the ground. Naruto rubbed his eyes and looked at his smiling mother peacefully.
"It wasn't a dream then," Naruto said, his voice underlaid with happiness. Kaguya smiled warmly, she just couldn't help it. 'He's just so cute and adorable!' Kaguya thought, receiving her husband's mental agreement and excitement.
"Naruto-kun, I know you have questions, please ask them." Kaguya's harmonic voice flowed over Naruto, relaxing him and filling him with happiness.
"Kaa-san, what am I?" Naruto asked quietly. He had so many questions, but that was what came to mind first.
"I think that would be best explained by explaining what I am. I'm not human and neither is your father." Naruto nodded, getting comfortable on the soft ground.
Kaguya put her hands together eloquently in her lap, collecting her thoughts before beginning.
"I am a part of a species from another world. We are called Ōtsutsuki, World Eaters. I grew up with my family there for the first 56 yi's or 80 human years of my life. I became disgusted with what my family did to worlds. We would find the Kaminoki of each world and consume it, adding to our own power and causing the destruction of those worlds," Kaguya stopped, being interrupted by Naruto.
"What is a Kaminoki?" the pale-eyed boy asked his mother, confusion on his adorable face. At least Kaguya thought so, but she faked annoyance.
"Hang on, hang on, I'll explain that in a minute," giving him a playful glare before continuing. "Where was I? Oh, yes. I left my family, traveling across the stars I came to this world. Finding another Kaminoki here I decided to protect this world from my family. I began to know the inhabitants of this planet, humans. I fell in love with an emperor, and we worked toward peace in the human world together." Kaguya sighed sadly here, and Naruto looked concerned, not wanting to see his mother unhappy.
Plants came out of the ground and did their best to comfort the pale-skinned woman. She eventually got herself back under control, stifling the tears that wanted to fall. "His name was Tenji, and he was the first person to ever show me love. But it didn't last anywhere near as long as I wanted it to. A neighboring emperor tried to kidnap me, and I killed many of their soldiers in self-defense. Tenji was horrified of my powers and decided to… betray me... to prevent a war from breaking out." As Kaguya fought back tears, Naruto moved to her side and hugged her, trying to comfort his mother.
Kaguya took a moment to get herself under control once more. Tenji had meant so much to her. He'd never gotten to see his two sons grow up. She sighed before continuing, "however, when Tenji's forces and the enemies attempted to capture me, I fled to the Kaminoki. As they converged on me to kill me, I ate the fruit of the God tree, gaining powers beyond my imagination." She chuckled bitterly here, "I felt so powerful, I used my power to wipe out the entire army with ease. With my new power, I foolishly thought that I could stop my family from consuming this world."
Naruto patiently waited for her to continue, things starting to make sense to him, but he still had many questions.
"Heh, I was blinded by fear of my family and the pain of Tenji's betrayal. But I was overjoyed when I found that I was pregnant with twins, Tenji being the father. Years passed and my sons were born. I named them Hagoromo and Hamura. They both gained the power of chakra from me." Kaguya turned and looked directly at Naruto.
"They are your brothers, Naruto, and they convinced me to not go on with my foolish plan." Naruto's eyes widened, but he kept silent. "I wanted to turn the world into an army using the tree against my family. But your brothers showed me that I only had the power of one Kaminoki, while my family has consumed hundreds of worlds. I would never stand a chance." She smiled kindly at this. "I lost my fear and stress. I didn't have a plan but I was finally at peace. I began to spend time with my children and the humans, getting to know them and understanding them. It was a year later that I was told I was pregnant with you... and that your birth would kill me."
Naruto's eyes widened suddenly, and he looked at her in a mixture of horror and confusion. She did her best to reassure him, "Naruto, I did die when you were born, but your father caught my soul and kept me with him over the thousands of years that we waited for you to form." Naruto visibly calmed down, but his confusion was evident.
"Naruto, you know how the plants protect you?" Kaguya asked, and Naruto shakily nodded.
"That's your father protecting you Naruto. You see, your father is the Kaminoki, the God Tree of this world." Naruto's jaw dropped clean open at that, and she chuckled at his baffled expression.
"I think I ought to let him explain this, he wants to. Don't freak okay?" she said, holding and rubbing his hand. He nodded at her and gulped, looking around and expecting someone to appear.
Naruto nearly fell over backward as he suddenly felt like a part of his mind opened. He could feel things coming through the opening. He could feel memories and warmth, pride directed at him. It took him a bit to understand, but he realized that this was his father.
'Tou-san?' Naruto thought, and received a mental feeling of positivity. Naruto turned to his mother, still somewhat confused.
"Why isn't Tou-san talking?" Naruto asked, his head tilted to the side cutely, his mother fighting the urge to squeal at her adorable son.
"Kaminoki don't communicate the same way humans and we do Naruto. They use emotions, thoughts, memories, and feelings to communicate with one another. I believe that you will be able to form such connections with others as well," she said, receiving a nod from Naruto.
Naruto focused back on the entity he had identified as his father, asking him to explain. The next instant he received an influx of information, feeling, emotion.
Naruto's face took on a steady look of shock as he processed all the memories. 'My father is named Āsutsurī, he is the God tree of this world,' Naruto thought in awe. He could feel the power his father possessed. He watched the glimpses of memories, his father and his mother watching over the human race, waiting for him to eventually form together. He smiled as he saw his mother and father joke and talk together. He watched his parents separate his father's power and spread it over the world, he watched them give bloodlines to the humans, preparing them for the eventual coming of the Ōtsutsuki.
Naruto frowned as he watched the memories of the humans abusing their gifts, using it for war and destruction. Naruto gathered his thoughts as the influx of memories came to a stop, his father's warmth and love for him permeating him.
"A lot of my questions have been answered, I understand what I am now. I'm not human, I'm Otsutsuki and Kaminoki." Naruto said, more to himself than his mother. But she nodded anyway and smiled at him, loving his thinking expression.
Naruto suddenly looked up, staring into her eyes with intensity. "You and Tou-san aren't going to leave me are you?" Naruto asked, fear and hope, suspicion and want in his voice. He was uncertain.
"No Naruto-kun, we are never going to leave you. Āsut-kun has moved me and my power within you. It was going to take a couple more months, but it sped up when you were in danger." Kaguya smiled warmly at her son, reaching out and hugging him. "We are never going to leave you musuko."
Naruto smiled brightly, grinning in joy as he hugged his mother back strongly.
"Thank you for coming for me Mother, thank you for loving me," Naruto said. In his mind, he was communicating the same feeling and thankfulness to his father through the link, receiving a sense of affection in return.
Naruto sighed in happiness, so happy to have finally found his parents. A question suddenly popped into his mind, "Kaa-san, where are we and how do I come back to it?"
"We are inside your mindscape Naruto." Naruto tilted his head in confusion and in the next moment memories flowed into his head from his father, and he suddenly understood what a mindscape was.
"Ohh! I get it now!" Naruto exclaimed, and Kaguya gave him a look. "Āsut-kun explained it to you, didn't he." Naruto nodded happily in response. Kaguya only sighed, ruffling her son's shaggy hair.
Naruto grinned, before pointing at her forehead. "Kaa-san, why do you have a third eye in your forehead?" Naruto asked innocently. She chuckled, her third eye blinking sideways before turning and looking at Naruto.
"This was something I gained from your father when I ate the fruit. It's called the Rinne-Sharingan, and when you are older, I will teach you how to use yours." At this Naruto became very excited, clapping his hands together.
"I have one too? How to do I open it? I didn't even know I had one!" Naruto shouted out his questions, making his mother raise a delicate finger to his lips, quieting him down.
"Not so loud Musuko. I can tell you how to open your eye but don't do it in front of everyone else. They don't need to know you have it until you know how to use it," she warned, making sure Naruto nodded.
"Here, channel your chakra in a large amount to this spot in your forehead," she said, placing two fingers on Naruto's forehead. Naruto's face scrunched up in adorable concentration as he focused. 'He's so cute. I know he's normally so much more mature, but I'm overjoyed to see he's okay with relaxing and being a child around us,' Kaguya thought.
Naruto channeled the chakra and felt the skin on his forehead shift. Kaguya watched as the skin on her son's forehead moved horizontally out of the way of a red eye. It had red sclerae and irides, with a ripple pattern spreading over the eyeball and one tomoe. She smiled. "It seems you will need to train to gain all your tomoe Naruto-kun."
Naruto nodded, and the next moment she felt another burst of chakra from him. Surprised she looked at him and saw nothing visibly change, his face blank for a moment before he grinned.
"What did you just do Naruto-kun?" she asked curiously.
"I activated my Byakugan and looked at my forehead!" Naruto explained distractedly, obviously still happy with his new eye. It was almost like a child getting a new toy that they really wanted.
Kaguya was shocked and amazed. She couldn't tell that it was his Byakugan that activated. Even hers pulsed the veins around her eyes upon being activated. 'That's amazing, his Byakugan doesn't visibly show the difference between on and off. That's a major advantage against enemies!' Kaguya thought in amazement. The next moment she felt thoughts from her husband explaining that he had been the one to change the Ōtsutsuki's inherited ability into something more powerful. She nodded and sent him back a feeling of thanks, having learned to communicate in his way over the years.
Naruto was still playing with his new eye when she focused back on him, opening and closing the eye and looking around with it.
"Mother, it's so weird being able to see out of three eyes," Naruto remarked, all three of his eyes turning and looking at her. She smiled at her son. "You get used to it musuko. Now close it for now. We still have a few things to talk about before you wake up," Kaguya ordered. Naruto nodded and complied.
Naruto's face abruptly lit up. "I totally forgot about Gaara, and Temari and Kankuro! They are probably worried about me!" Naruto cried, obviously upset and concerned for his friends.
"Is Gaara the one with the smallest amount of my power?" Kaguya asked curiously. Naruto looked at her in confusion. Understanding, she explained. "All nine Bijū are made up of pieces of my power that my son Hagoromo split up before his death," she explained, getting a nod.
"Don't worry about your friends, you can explain to them once you wake up. Āsut-kun has protected your body in the real world for right now while we talk," Kaguya reassured her son. "Hai," Naruto replied gratefully.
Kaguya settled into a more comfortable position, gaining her son's attention. Her long white hair blew in the gentle breeze.
"Musuko, do you have a goal in life? You don't have to, I'm just curious." Kaguya asked, having picked up on his thoughts before he was poisoned... something about wanting to create a village for those that are different.
Naruto was silent for some time, staring at the ground. She patiently waited for him to speak, happy to just be near him finally. She could feel her husband's presence entirely focused on their conversation. She smiled, knowing that this was important to him as well. Āsutsurī was a massive conscious, and he kept track of many things at one time, so completely getting his attention meant he either cared about something or it was important.
Naruto had a solemn thinking expression as he pondered her question before answering, first entirely thinking through his life thus far and everything he had learned from his parents.
"Kaa-san, before I answer that... what do you want me to do? My goals are not as important as yours and Tou-san's," Naruto replied seriously, his maturity showing. Kaguya smiled sadly at him, "Naruto-kun, while we do wish for you to eventually protect this world against the Ōtsutsuki with our help, that is not what I asked. Your father and I want to know your goals. Our wants can wait until you are ready," Kaguya said kindly, not sugar coating anything. Naruto wasn't bothered by her straight to the point response. He understood his purpose given to him by his parents and was determined to complete it one day.
"I want to travel the world, get stronger, and eventually create a village where people like me aren't hated and feared. A place for those that want to be safe, to actually be safe. I want to be the strongest, Kaa-san. So I can protect you, and those who are close to me, like Gaara-nii, Temari-onee, and Kankuro-baka," he answered with determination and clarity. Kaguya smiled softly when she heard his answer. Warmth enveloped Naruto from his connection with his father, showing his approval.
"Do you want to bring peace to the world?" she asked and was somewhat surprised when he shook his head 'no.' Naruto's pupil-less eyes glinted, and she realized that he had thought about this a lot.
"That is not my desire. I do want peace, but I only desire it for myself and my people. Bringing peace to a world of people whose mindsets are all about violence is foolish. I believe in peace through sharing the same ideals and through tolerance. If we all have the same views and morals, then we will have peace. Tolerating others without provoking them, along with having the necessary power to scare and repel them should they deem our peace a threat, that is the true way to peace in my opinion," Naruto said, his face adopting a mature expression way beyond his years. His eyes spoke of knowledge to be obtained and experienced. Kaguya smiled. 'There is that maturity all Ōtsutsuki show at a young age,' she thought.
"But, isn't that a little selfish and isolated thinking?" Kaguya prompted, seeing if her son was willing to defend his ideas. Naruto shook his head again and smiled at her brightly, brushing one of his bangs out of his face and over his horn.
"I don't believe so Kaa-san, and I know you agree with me. One cannot bring peace by forcing others to accept their views. You need to give them the chance to decide for themselves. If they truly desire peace, then they will consider what you're saying, and they will surely take a look at the peace you have created. It's their choice after that if they want to be like you or not."
Kaguya nodded, a kind smile on her face. She agreed with her son entirely. It was a belief she had also formed over the thousands of years from watching the humans war and battle. 'You are an intelligent boy musuko. You will go on to do great things and protect the humans from my family,' Kaguya thought, feeling an approval from her husband.
"I'm impressed Naruto. That was very mature and reasonable goal," Kaguya praised. Naruto blushed and in a second was back into his childlike persona, rubbing the back of his white-haired head in embarrassment.
Kaguya smiled and pulled Naruto in for another hug. Sitting him on her lap, she rubbed one of his horns. Naruto giggled at the tickling sensation.
"Well, I do believe Āsut-kun has something to give you," Kaguya said, tickling Naruto some more and enticing laughter and giggles from him. She eventually stopped and set Naruto down in front of her. She smiled as she really took in what he was wearing for the first time.
"Naruto-kun, did you pick those clothes?" she asked. Naruto suddenly looked concerned, "Uhh… yeah? Are they okay?"
Kaguya smiled at his worry. "They are great Naruto-kun. I just thought you would like to know that you choose the traditional clothing the Ōtsutsuki wear without realizing it," she explained. He was confused as to how that had happened.
They were both interrupted by a ping within their mind. Naruto focused once again on his father, his wants, pride, and joy. His father wanted to give him a bloodline he had invented and reserved for him expressly, never giving it to anyone else. Naruto was overjoyed and pushed his thanks and gratitude through the connection, feeling his father happy.
"Ahh, it seems he's ready to give you the bloodline he created. He was quite proud of himself when he made it you know," Kaguya said teasingly, getting a mental pout from her husband, making her giggle.
Naruto could feel his father connect to the plants around him once more. He watched as a large vine grew out of the ground before slowly curling around him. As it began to cover his face he heard his mother speaking.
"I will see you again when you wake up Naruto-kun. Don't talk out loud, just think it. I'm now within you my son," Kaguya said warmly. Naruto loved seeing her smile. The next moment the vines wrapped over his eyes and his mother disappeared from view.
He felt a warmth envelop him from the vines and the next moment he fell asleep.
"I love you my musuko."
3 days later
Real world
Naruto opened his eyes and recognized the leaves and vines of his father's plants. His Byakugan activated and he looked around the room he was in. It was a hospital room, and Naruto could see Gaara asleep on a chair in the corner. Naruto smiled, touched that Gaara would be watching over him while he was talking to his parents. Naruto took a few moments, feeling how his body felt… different, lighter, full of energy.
Naruto connected to the plants, and they slowly unwrapped from his form, lowering him to his feet on the floor before sliding back into the walls and disappearing. Naruto turned toward Gaara, deactivating his Dōjutsu as he walked over and shook Gaara awake.
"Huh… Naruto? Naruto!" Gaara jumped up in an uncharacteristic display of happiness and hugged him. Naruto smiled and returned the hug, holding it for a few moments before separating. "I was so concerned. It wasn't until Shukaku explained to me that you were talking to your parents that I calmed down," Gaara explained quickly.
Naruto smiled. "I'm okay now Gaara-nii, I did meet my parents, and I'm so glad that I did. Did Shukaku explain to you who and what I am?" Naruto asked curiously. Gaara nodded, new respect in his eyes.
"Hey Gaara, this doesn't change anything you know. We are still brothers," Naruto assured. Gaara seemed to be relieved and visibly relaxed. He understood and didn't press the issue.
Gaara's face suddenly took on a confused look. "Shukaku wants to talk to you? He says you may not know how to do that yet though," Gaara said, evidently confused as to how Naruto was going to talk to the demon inside his head.
Naruto frowned. 'Tou-san can connect to minds, and Kaa-san said that I could as well…' Naruto mused."Naruto, you can. Just focus on him, his feeling, his aura, extend your senses toward him and try to enter his mind, imagine it." Naruto heard his mothers harmonic voice within his head. "Aww, you think my voice is beautiful musuko, thank you." Naruto nodded, slightly embarrassed before focusing on Gaara.
He extended an open hand toward Gaara and tried to feel him. It took him a couple of moments, in which Gaara stood there patiently. Finally, he felt an opening in the walls of Gaara's mind, he could feel Gaara on the other side. Pushing farther in through the opening, he found Shukaku sitting inside a desert looking up at the sky. 'This must be Gaara's mindscape. All Jinchuriki have one according to Tou-san.'
"Hello Shukaku," Naruto said, appearing in the sand at the feet of the massive sand raccoon. Shukaku looked down at him, his giant eye drawing closer to Naruto's short stature.
"Hey, down there Naruto-sama!" the Bijū called out in his usual, cackling, insane voice. "Please don't call me sama, there is no need," Naruto replied.
The Tanuki nodded. "You must be wondering why I asked to speak to you. I want to give you my 'rent' so to speak!" Shukaku yelled loudly, confusing Naruto and making his ears ring.
"Rent?!" Naruto shouted, his ears still ringing.
"Yeah! All us Bijū are made from pieces of Kaguya-obaa-san. When we learned she was still alive, and Kaminoki-sama had her with him; we all began creating reserves of yōkai equal to what we had to give back to her upon your arrival," the crazy raccoon dog explained, his voice near deafening.
Naruto looked at the giant sand creature in confusion. "Yōkai is different from chakra. It's more potent and is what my power is made up from. It's what all the nine Bijū were created from, by your brother." Kaguya's voice rang out in Naruto's mind, and he nodded.
"What do I need to do then?" Naruto asked, "No clue! I know Kaguya-obaa-san has a way to absorb chakra. Zetsu-oji said not to worry about it," Shukaku replied, slightly quieter than before, which didn't really matter as he was so freaking loud. Naruto was confused as to who 'Zetsu-oji' was but didn't worry about it.
"Naruto, let me control your body for a moment, I'm going to absorb Shukaku-mago's 'rent' as he put it," Kaguya said and chuckled at her grandchild's antics. Naruto nodded before allowing his mother to control his body.
Gaara appeared in the sand at that moment, a short way off to Naruto's left.
"Oh, hey Gaara, what took you so long?" Naruto asked. He apparently still had control over his voice, and his mother waited until he was done.
"Well, I wasn't sure you had succeeded in connecting until I heard Shukaku yelling," Gaara commented dryly. Shukaku grinned. "I tried to come into my mind but it's rather difficult to do when Shukaku is shouting. But I heard everything."
Naruto nodded, 'okay Kaa-san, when you are ready.' Naruto turned back to the giant raccoon, feeling his mother raise his arms toward Shukaku.
Shukaku grinned maniacally and pushed all his reserves to the surface in front of him to be absorbed. Naruto felt his third eye open, and he suddenly gained another field of vision that mixed with his other two, allowing him a more significant range of natural sight.
His younger Rinne-Sharingan spun, and Naruto found himself emitting words that were not his own.
"Fūjutsu Kyūin!" Naruto's third eye spun faster, Gaara watched on the side in amazement as a see-through barrier formed around Naruto, drawing light brown yōkai into him at a rapid pace from Shukaku. The process took only a few moments before Naruto lowered his hands, canceling the flow from Shukaku who was panting dramatically.
Gaara rolled his eyes at Shukaku's love for the dramatics. "Dang, losing half of my entire yōkai is no joke!"
Naruto gave a small bow. "My apologies, but thank you for your contribution to my mother," Naruto said politely. As he stood back up Gaara noticed that another tomoe had formed in Naruto's third eye, giving him two. The horizontal eyelid closed a moment later.
"See you back outside Gaara?" Naruto said, looking at his friend. Gaara nodded, and Naruto disappeared from the seal. Regaining control of his body's senses Naruto, stepped back as Gaara's glazed eyes regained their focus.
"So, what will you do now Naruto-nii?" Gaara asked curiously. Naruto shrugged.
"I want to explore the elemental nations, gain experience and power and eventually create my own village. But I don't want to leave my friends either," Naruto mused out loud. He stopped when he suddenly sensed someone approaching down the hall.
"Seems someone is coming, shall we go?" Naruto proposed. Gaara silently nodded, and they moved toward the window. It was opened by Gaara's sand, and they both slipped out. As they fell, they were both caught by their own protections and deposited on the ground before they took off at a run toward the Kazekage Mansion.
The medic stepped into the room to check on the demon's condition and dropped his clipboard when he found the place entirely empty. Quickly turning around, he ran off to report to the Kazekage that Naruto was now awake.
Naruto and Gaara reached the mansion a few moments later, opening the large doors and entering.
"Gaara? Is that you?" Temari's voice echoed out of the living room doorway before Temari herself stepped through.
"Naruto!" she shouted, dashing across the greeting area and giving Naruto a hug, almost knocking the smaller boy over.
"Hey Temari-onee, good to see you too," Naruto said after he regained his breath from being bowled into by the hyper blond.
"We were so worried about you! I was going to beat up that guy that poisoned you but…" Temari trailed off, unsure how to continue.
Naruto separated himself from her hug and gave Gaara a look. "You killed him didn't you…" Gaara didn't visibly respond, but Naruto knew he was right. "You didn't have to do that," Naruto sighed, running a hand through his white locks. "But thank you for looking out for me." Naruto smiled. Temari had an uncertain look on her face but got over it as Gaara smiled.
Flashback
As the moon shone down over the village, a roof lit up from the reflected moonlight and a figure carrying a large gourd could be made out. A bloodthirsty grin was on his face as his looked out at the village in front of him.
"You will pay for hurting Naruto-nii!" he yelled, leaping off the roof. He was helped through the air by the sand. Running along the rooftops, he channeled chakra to his nose like Baki-sensei taught him, searching for the scent of the man that had poisoned he and Naruto.
Gaara had just left the hospital, having stayed there late into the night after Naruto had been cocooned in vines. Once he was sure that Naruto was okay, he'd left by the window to find the man who had dared try to kill his brother.
It took Gaara a couple of hours with the help of Shukaku to find the man. The man had quite the head start as Gaara had told him almost seven hours earlier that he was going to come back and kill him. Gaara finally locked onto his scent and followed it into a darker part of the village.
Dropping down to the street, he slowly walked toward the battered hotel he knew the man was in. A few villagers saw his bloodthirsty eyes and maniacal smile, and quickly high tailed it out of there. As he walked, two drunk men noticed him.
"Hey, kid! Hand us your money, and you won't get hurt," one laughed, downing more sake from a bottle and holding a blade in his other hand. Gaara ignored him, intent on his prey. The man didn't like being ignored and threw his knife at Gaara.
It didn't get even close to him before being grabbed in mid-air by the sand. Gaara's savage green eyes turned toward the man. Looking over his shoulder he raised his right hand toward the men, his grin becoming more and more insane.
Within the seal Shukaku tried to calm the boy down, but gave it up as a lost cause. He didn't really care if the idiots died. Morons deserved it anyway for picking a fight with Gaara.
"Die!" Gaara yelled, his sand slithering quickly across the ground before wrapping around the men faster than they could react. Gaara's eyes grew more full, more bloodthirsty, more insane. 'Yes! They will all pay!'
"Sabaku Kyū (Sand Coffin)!" Gaara snarled demonically, his sand compressing down on the struggling and now screaming men.
"Sabaku Sōsō (Sand Burial)!" Gaara's eyes stretched as he closed his hand. The sand imploded fiercely, blood flying onto the walls of the nearby buildings. Gaara didn't bat an eye. In fact, he seemed to almost relish it as he retracted his sand back into his gourd, resuming his stalking of the prey.
Within the fifth floor of the hotel, the waiter named Dikodo was trembling and pale as a sheet. He had seen Gaara kill those men without mercy and Gaara was unquestionably coming for him. There was no escape. Gaara was already reaching the front of the hotel, and there was no other way that he could get out.
"Oh god, what have I done," the man murmured in fear, Gaara disappearing from his view into the building. A moment later he heard cries and crashing from below him. He cowered in the corner of his hotel room, shaking horribly.
"I know you are here!" A crazed voice echoed down the halls of the hotel. He whimpered in fear, cowering further into the corner.
"YOU! You dared to attack someone precious to me!" The crazy voice was closer now. A moment later a door could be heard exploding violently on the floor below.
"Come out, come out wherever you are. The sand wants. your. blood!" The voice rang out, almost singing. Dikodo could feel himself going mad from fear, he wanted to die. The killing intent saturating the air was nearly as strong as the Ichibi's, and it was wholly directed at him. He could literally feel himself going insane.
"Found you!" a demonic voice cried out gleefully. The next moment his door was shattered to pieces. Standing in the hall was the bloodthirsty Gaara, staring at him with wide, bloodshot eyes.
Dikodo was foaming at the mouth, pressed as far as he could against the wall. Dikodo suddenly decided to throw himself from the window, uncaring if he died or not... just wanting to escape the pressure... the killing intent weighing down on him... making him watch his own death over and over again.
"You will not escape me!" Gaara cried, his sand shooting across the hotel room, covering the walls and reaching Dikodo as he attempted to get the window open frantically.
He screamed as the sand wrapped around him, pulling him away from the window and back toward Gaara who had his palm extended toward him.
"Sabaku Sōsō (Sand Burial)!" Gaara closed his palm, a massive grin on his face as the sand crushed down on the screaming form of Dikodo. The next moment the pressure built to extremes and the sand exploded in a fountain of blood, covering Gaara and the walls of the hotel.
Gaara panted heavily, feeling satisfaction at having avenged his friend. He slowly regained his composure, turned, walked back down the halls and out of the hotel. "Gaara, when you go home and get a new change of clothes, we need to talk." the uncharacteristically serious voice of Shukaku sounded in his head. Gaara nodded and continued making his way home.
End Flashback
Naruto and Gaara were now sitting in the living room, both sitting crossed legged and making the Ram seal. Temari sat on a nearby couch, watching the two motionless boys sit on the carpet with their eyes closed. They had been doing this for almost a half hour after Naruto came back, saying hi to Kankuro and explaining what happened when he got poisoned.
'He also said that all his questions had been answered while he was in the coma,' Temari thought, though when Kankuro had asked him what he meant he declined to explain further. Directly after that, both boys moved into the living room and sat down and had been there since.
Temari was bored and was just about to get up and find something else to do when Naruto and Gaara stirred at the exact same time, which was slightly creepy.
"You didn't explain how that will work out you know," Gaara suddenly said, confusing Temari greatly. She became only more confused by Naruto's answer.
"I'm still working out a solution, I need time to think," Naruto replied, slowly walking away, his white kimono fluttering lightly. Gaara nodded in response. "Gaara what the heck was that about?" Temari near shouted at her brother.
Gaara's blank green eyes turned to her. "Naruto-nii has finally found the truth to his life and is deciding what to do with his life from now on," Gaara replied cryptically.
"Wait! Does this mean he is leaving?" Temari asked, shocked.
Gaara shrugged. "Perhaps. He doesn't know yet."
Temari shook her head, "what was that thing you two just did for the past thirty minutes?"
Gaara stood and walked past her toward the entrance. "A thing," Gaara said as he walked by, making her face fall at her brother's new love for being confusing as ****.
END CHAPTER
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