Was it all a lie?
What is strength?
I let out a sigh,
As I hold out faith.
Maybe I'm wrong.

The chunin exams were to begin in a week. Team 7 had filled out their forms and were eager to participate. Although Naruto was Anbu, because he never went to the academy before gaining his status, he was still technically allowed to participate in the exams, since he had not earned his chunin rank.

Naruto and Sakura were walking together to head to training ground six. Konohamaru was walking backwards in front of them, explaining his new sexy jutsu. He was about to run into somebody before Naruto grabbed him, "Hey what's the big idea, boss?" Naruto turned Konohamaru around to show him the kid dressed in all black standing right in front of them.

Naruto chuckled sheepishly and scratched his head, "Sorry about this doofus," Naruto said as he noogied the boy, "he takes after me."

"Whatever. You would be wise to be careful around us. If he bumped into me it wouldn't have been so simple," the boy snapped back at Naruto.

"Kankurō, stop threatening that child," came a voice from above, "You're embarrassing yourself and the village."

'Grrr. Shukaku. The redheads got ichibi, the one-tail,'

'So you mean he's-'

'Yes, he's Jinchūriki. It doesn't look like him and Shukaku are on the best of terms.' Naruto nodded in acknowledgement. The one-tail Jinchūriki hopped down and motioned to the two others he was with. "Let's go Kankurō, Temari," and he began to walk off.

"Sorry, Gaara," Kankurō hung his head.

"Gaara! Was that your name?" Naruto called out, causing the three to turn around. Naruto started walking towards him. He reached Gaara and whispered something to him. Gaara stared forward in shock. Naruto patted him on the shoulder and began to walk past him.

"Who are you, blonde shinobi of the leaf?" Gaara called out.

"I'm someone who knows your pain, Gaara." Naruto continued to walk as Konohamaru and Sakura rushed to his side.

"What'd you say, boss?" Konohamaru practically whispered.

"Oh I just said that we wouldn't show him any mercy." That was a lie, but he couldn't tell them what he said. It would only cause more questions.

Temari and Kankurō had never seen their brother so distraught. They practically had to drag him to the Hokage's tower. When they arrived, Gaara immediately spoke up, "Who is the blonde shinobi who wears a red cloak?" Gaara asked, forgetting to address the Hokage and introduce himself, "Well that would be Naruto Uzumaki, one of the villages most promising genin," he said proudly, before his face shifted to worry. He sighed, "what'd he do this time?"

"It's nothing. Nevermind." Gaara looked dejectedly out the window as the Hokage began talking to them about where they would be staying. His siblings were shocked. Gaara definitely was acting strangely.

'Naruto Uzumaki. Hm. Was he telling the truth?'

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted out, waving to her. She turned around and her face lit up, "Hey Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan," she paused, "The honorable grandson," she said tauntingly at the little boy, who turned and crossed his arms, "Hanabi, Moegi, and Udon were looking for you Konohamaru-chan," she smiled and pinched his cheek. He brushed her hand away and quickly pecked her cheek, running off before Naruto could do anything, "Thanks kehiban-chan*." Hinata shot up and looked at Naruto, who didn't notice Konohamaru's new pet name.
*kehi (桂皮)=cinnamon, ban (バン)=bun. Kehiban=cinnamon bun (roughly).*

"I think that kehiban is a fitting nickname for you, Hinata-chan," Sakura leaned towards Hinata as she said it, causing her to blush.

"Do you really think so Sakura-chan?" Sakura just nodded and continued to walk.

The three sand ninja were escorted to their hotel, and were encouraged to explore the village. They would not be doing so much of the exploring, as they had previously decided that it would be best for the plan if they weren't seen very much. Gaara sat outside on the balcony and looked out over the village. He had given a lot of thought to what Naruto had said to him. He still didn't know if what he said was true or not. He wanted to talk to Naruto again. 'Speak of the devil,'

"Hey Gaara!" Shouted a familiar voice from below. Yep. It was Naruto all right. "Hey we were going to get some ramen, want to tag along?" Hinata and Sakura were hesitant about the idea at first. When he suggested that they invite him, he explained that Gaara was so scary because he didn't really know what friendship was. The girls minds were eased by this. If Naruto could trust Gaara, then so could they. The redhead boy appeared in front of the three, gaining shocked gasps from the two girls, but just a smile from Naruto.

"I would like to have a word with you, Naruto Uzumaki." His words sent shivers down the girls spines. Naruto clapped the boy on the shoulder before beginning to walk forward, easing Gaara along.

"You can do that after we eat. Hey have you ever had ramen?" The two girls looked at each other and smiled. That was Naruto. That was their friend. He was a person who could make friends with anyone.

The four were walking, when their silence was interrupted by a shout from a shopkeeper from their right, "How dare you show your face around here, freak?!" Gaara's face scrunched up. Did they hate him in this village, too? How was he supposed to love if even random people hated him? "Hey. Leave my friend alone," Naruto responded, getting an even more shocked look from Gaara. Did he just... Defend him?

The man spoke up again, "I was talking about you moron," he poked at Naruto. Hinata grabbed onto the boy's arm and looked up at him. He was still looking at the man. The anger in his face drained, revealing realization, then the boy looked down.

"Naruto-kun," she whispered to him, snuggling her head into his shoulder.

Sakura took a more direct approach, "HEY LISTEN HERE OLD MAN," she shouted as she punched the ground, sending a shockwave towards him, "AND THIS GOES FOR ALL OF YOU, TOO," she shouted addressing the whole village, "IF YOU MESS WITH EITHER OF MY FRIENDS HERE, MY FIST WON'T BE HITTING THE GROUND CHA!" Gaara was in utter disbelief. She stood up for him. And for Naruto. They really cared about him. And she was...

"Strong," Gaara accidentally muttered out loud. Sakura looked at the shocked Gaara and blushed, scratching the back of her head. Gaara returned the blush and the two looked away.

After Sakura's message was clear to the villagers, the four began to walk again. "You called me your friend, Naruto, Sakura," Gaara spoke up, "Why?"

Naruto stopped and looked at the boy, "Well because I like you-ttebayo!" Naruto held out a thumbs up and gave him a smile, the two girls smiled as well, "Now let's eat! I'm starving!"

Along the way Naruto and co. encountered several friends. They ran into Kakashi who wished everyone good luck, even Gaara, Zabuza and Haku walking hand in hand, Choji and Shikamaru, and Lee, who, Gaara noted, was rather intense. 'He said he's felt my pain. How come everyone seems to like him?'

Gaara slammed his hands down on the table, his eyes were replaced with stars. 'How could I have gone so long without eating this.' He couldn't believe that something so good could have evaded him for so long. He had never tried ramen before and he was missing out.

Naruto let out a chuckle, "I still can't believe you've never had ramen," he took a slurp, Gaara was entranced by the cuisine, "Well I'm glad you like it." Naruto swore that he saw the boy crack a smile as Naruto and the others talked. When talking about the upcoming chūnin exams, Gaara even talked with the group, sharing his worry about the mysterious sound ninja, because they were so mysterious and such. Of course, Naruto knew about the sand and sounds allegiance, but he hoped he could use his words to convince him to back down.

After Gaara finished his third bowl, the four decided to just walk around. The were walking and talking with each other then they sat down below a tree overlooking the river. It was the same tree they cloud watched under after the field trip 3 years ago. "How do we always end up back here?" Naruto asked no one in particular. It was the spot that all of the Konoha 16 would come to hang out with each other. They would almost never be there all at once, but two or three of the group could almost always be seen hanging out.

"It must be some sort of magic," Sakura spoke, "an enchantment that draws good people to the tree." She stared off into the river. The four sat in silence for a while, Sakura sitting alone, Gaara sitting behind her, closer to the tree, Naruto and Hinata leaning against one another. That was when a fox come from nowhere and hopped onto Gaara. Naruto noticed and let out a laugh as the fox began rubbing up against the sand shinobi, causing him to start giggling, "It... tickles," he breathed out through hysterical laughter.

"You know, if the foxes of the leaf like you, then that's a good sign," Naruto paused and smiled, "That means that things will work out for you."

Temari and Kankurō were staring in utter shock as they saw their usually emotionless brother rolling on the floor in laughter. That couldn't be good. The only times he would laugh would be when his bloodlust was so insatiable that laughter forced its way through the boy's dark soul. "Gaara!" Temari shouted, "We've been looking everywhere for you," the two sand ninja began to walk towards the boy and Kankurō spoke, "Please calm down. Baki said to not leave the hotel room."

Gaara put the fox down and got up. The fox tried jump up at his legs and whined, "Temari, Kankurō, I'm sorry," Gaara said calmly. That was certainly new. Gaara never apologized, "I was going to talk with Naruto," he pointed towards the boy who responded with a wave, "but I must've lost track of time. These are my friends Sakura, Hinata. You've already met Naruto."

"Friends?!" Temari looked concerned. They were supposed to destroy the leaf village and the linchpin to their plan had just made his first friends ever. With who they were here to destroy. "What the hell Gaara! What about-"

"No." Gaara interrupted, "No longer. I'm out." His siblings stared at him as their jaws dropped. Naruto got up and called to Gaara. Gaara turned around and Naruto walked up to the boy.

"Gaara I know we only met today, so you don't know this about me," he paused, "when I say something I mean it. That applies to what I said earlier. Yashamaru loved you, Gaara."

Gaara simply looked at the boy and planted his arm on Naruto's shoulder and Naruto smiled. Gaara began to tear up as he said, "Naruto Uzumaki," he pulled the boy into a hug, "Thank you."

Earlier when Naruto first encountered the boy, he used his fūinnome to search his memories. He had grown suspicious after he saw a memory in Kabuto Yakushi's mind earlier. Naruto had already found out that he was a spy long ago, and since he was in town posing as a genin, Naruto decided to take advantage of that to see what Orochimaru was up to. He learned of an alliance between sand and sound and how Gaara would release Shukaku to destroy the village. Naruto needed ammunition if he was to convince Gaara to change using his words, hence why he searched the boys memory.

"Temari, Kankurō. Let's head back to the hotel." He gave a smile to Naruto before he turned and left. Temari and Kankurō had so many questions. Gaara answered none of them. The only thing he said was, "I'm sorry for not being your brother."

Hey all!
This is an alternate take on the whole Konoha crush situation. I know there's been a lot of "talk no jutsu" but it's honestly been a lot of fun to write. I've really had a lot of fun fleshing out the characters in the story and I look forward to doing so. After all this is a rewrite so it wouldn't make sense for the characters to all be the same except Naruto (imo). There will be some sort of similar situation to the Konoha crush, so be on the lookout for that.
Anyway~
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Hell, if you enjoyed it more than that's fine also. Hope you have a good day/night (or else!)
Guhbye!