Finally... the long awaited Gaara episode is here.

Since my computer is being mean... this will be probably the last episode for a while...

Anyways...
Naruto hasn't been having a good run as of late. And Valentine's did very little to help. In this episode... life throws him a bad hand. But when he's at his lowest... Gaara will come along to help him out.

Can Gaara really understand why prople can be so precious?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This episode contains another song... "Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger...

Naruto: Wolf High Chronicles

Episode 17: Muddy Reflections

Dakku: Who's not in this episode?
Kiba: No.
Shino: Nope.
Sasuke: Nope.
Sakura: I haven't been in an episode yet... fully...
Lee: Nor have I!

Neji: I made cameos... but I'm not in this one.

Temari: Nope not in it.

Ten-ten: Nope.

Kankurou: Naw. Not in it.
Dakku: So it's safe to say most of the cast is not in it?
Gaara: I'm in it.
Dakku: The world is ending...

Not so Hyper Naruto

Naruto looked at the calendar on his room wall. "February 28." He sighed and rolled out of bed. 2 weeks had passed since Valentines and still no clue from Dakku over the card. He had given up the notion that Dakku had finally caught on and dressed himself. He looked at his outfit and sighed. "Am I that bad?" He thought to himself as he grabbed his school bag and walked past Iruka who smiled at him. "Ready to go I take it?" Naruto opened the door and sighed. "I'll get the van started."

As he opened the Astro-Van, he lobbed his bag in and sat in the seat. He put the key in the ignition and the car wouldn't start as he turned it. He tried several times but it wouldn't start. He grabbed his bag and got out and noticed Iruka was standing there. "Not working today? We'll take it to the shop later then. Come on, I'll get us a cab." Naruto grunted a response and Iruka looked at him worried. "I wonder what's bothering him." He called a cab and within 10 minutes it was there. Konohamaru, Iruka and Naruto got in.

As they dropped Konohamaru off, Iruka gave a glance at Naruto. "Naruto, are you okay today?" Iruka's voice was giving off a protective tone. Naruto nodded and gave a false smile as they drove off to their school. Iruka didn't buy any of it but nodded agreeingly. "Okay. I trust you. Remember if you need to talk to me, you can." Iruka said as he got out of the cab that arrived at the school. Naruto got off and Iruka paid the cab driver. Naruto left him as he walked to the building and through the front door.

He walked to his locker and collected his books for first period. He had History and he knew he could sleep the class away if he wanted to since the teacher never paid mind to him. The bell rang and he went of to his class. He took his seat in the middle of the room. No one looked at him as they came in. He lied his head down softly and drifted off to sleep listening to the sounds of the populace. He could tell the class had begun when he heard the lecture in his dream. Then he heard a shrilling loud noise. His eye popped open as he saw everyone leaving.

He sighed and stood up. "I still feel lousy." He walked to downstairs to the locker-room in the gym. He walked up to his locker silently. He could hear Kiba's loud mouth talking to Lee about the new video game he bought. Naruto looked at his locker and opened it slowly as he heard them talk. "I... hate... him." Naruto said as he felt tears swelling up in his eyes. He looked down at the floor. He heard footsteps and looked up. Nasake was standing there looking at him. "Hey, kiddo." Naruto continued to get dressed.

Nasake sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry about what I said 2 weeks ago. I went overboard. You're my brother's best friend. And I know what it's like to be where you are." Nasake said softly. Naruto stopped dressing and looked at him. "Why?" Naruto looked at him. "Why what?" "Why would he pick him?" Nasake looked at him thinking. "Maybe... because that's what he wants the most." Nasake said as Naruto let his tears out. Nasake closed his eyes and hugged him. Naruto hugged him back and Nasake whispered. "In the end someone will come for you kiddo. They always do." Nasake broke the hold and walked off. Naruto looked on as he did and smiled somewhat.

I Can't Stand The Rain

Naruto's day ended with nothing special to add. He left the building forgetting that Iruka was suppose to stay after to attend a Teacher's Conference. He had to walk home and for the time being since he really didn't want to wait around in an empty school. He noticed that the sky was darkening and grumbled. "I hope it doesn't rain before I get home." He walked along the road looking at people who were smiling and talking. Some began retreating back into their homes. He heard a sound he really didn't need to hear.

Thunder clapped above him and he could already tell the storm was about to hit. He began running to avoid the coming storm. Thunder cracked again and the rain let out in full force. Naruto stopped and let the rain fall. He yelled and cursed the rain. He couldn't stand it anymore. He fell to his knees defeated. He put is head down and cried to himself. "I hate today. I hate everything." He gripped his soaked pants hard and continued crying. He thought about what happened with Sasuke back 2 weeks before.

"It's Sakura... wasn't it?" He looked at Sasuke. Sasuke kept his silence. Naruto closed his eyes and felt his anger built. "I think... you should leave." Sasuke left without being given a chance to say anything else. Naruto waited for his car to go off and he went to his room. He gripped his pillow hard as he laid on his bed. "Why? Why is this all happening to me? Why can't I just be happy like I was before?" He gripped it harder and sighed. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep trying to forget the whole night.

Naruto snapped back to reality when he noticed that the water wasn't hitting him anymore. He looked around and saw a circular shadow around him. "An umbrella?" He looked up and saw a red haired boy looking down at him. "Gaara?" Naruto said confused. Gaara gave him a cold look as he held the umbrella. Naruto looked away both embarrassed and upset that Gaara was standing there covering him. "If you want to get sick you can stay there. I really don't care." Gaara said a bit indifferently. Naruto however read his tone to be a bit more caring.

Gaara offered his free hand and Naruto grabbed it. He pulled him up and Naruto thanked him. "Only an idiot would walk outside when it's raining. Considering it's you, however, I won't say much." Gaara's words pierced Naruto hard. "Yea... thanks. The last thing I needed was another insult. Why are you here?" Naruto said drying his hair under the umbrella. "I was on my way home. Temari's car is busted and I hate walking with her. I found you here wet and seemingly broken." Gaara said as Naruto looked down.

"I'm not broken. I'm just tired." Naruto said as he wiped his face and sneezed. "Any reason for the crying then?" Gaara said as he looked at the redness of Naruto's eyes. "I wasn't crying." Naruto said defensively. "If you need an umbrella, you can walk with me until I reach my house." Gaara said as he walked forward. Naruto followed him silently. "Thanks... Gaara." Gaara said nothing as he kept his eyes forward. Naruto looked forward and sighed. Better then being alone at that moment he thought.

The Real Meaning

Naruto and Gaara kept silent as they walked forward. Naruto was shivering a bit from the cold. Gaara finally stopped and looked at him. "Are you cold?" Gaara said with little emotion. Naruto nodded and Gaara sighed. He took out a jacket from his bag and handed it to him. "Keep it. I don't want it back after you've worn it." Gaara said as Naruto shot him a nasty look. He took off his jacket and put on the one Gaara gave him. "Whenever you're done we can keep walking." Naruto took that as "Hurry the hell up."

After he was done, Naruto walked forward with Gaara. "Hey... Gaara... how come you don't hang with anyone?" Gaara paused to the sudden break of silence. He took a breath and continued walking. Naruto followed under as to not get wet again. "One could say... I've never really trusted people. All my life I was called a freak. I became resentful. I hated human interaction. I became my own separate entity. My own world. Even with my family. No matter how much they tried to make me apart of them, I didn't accept it." Gaara's tone was much softer this time around.

Naruto looked at him and nodded. He looked at the symbol on his head. "Love." Naruto thought. "But not all people are mean. Some are genuine and nice." Naruto responded. Gaara kept his eyes forward. "True. But it is too much trouble to weed out good from bad. And even good people have faults. No one is perfect. It is my conclusion that is it better to avoid making ties with people in the long run since they hold you back. I don't need anything to hold me back. One day I will succeed on my own." Gaara finally paused and looked at Naruto.

"Why do you enjoy people?" Gaara's face was stern. "Because... people can do a lot more then just hurt you know? You have people like... umm... Nasake for one. He's always looking out for your brother. Or... Dakku..." Naruto clinched his fist a moment and Gaara noticed it. "Dakku is just like Nasake... just... in his own way. He can make you smile just by saying hi or he can be the nicest person in the world." Gaara nodded. "The Fairu brothers share the same kind of loyalty to their friends. But that doesn't explain what I meant. Why do you care so much to know them?" Gaara asked bluntly.

Naruto sighed and looked at him. "Sometimes... in the world you stumble across someone... that you can't help but feel something special. And because no one should ever be lonely, no matter what that person has been through. This world is sort of filled with all kinds of people. Jerks... like... Sasuke... and then the great guys like... umm... Dakku?" Naruto's thoughts crossed him. "Why do you mention Dakku as if he plays some major role in all this?" Naruto became defensive and looked forward. "Sometimes, people can give you memories worth living for."

Gaara looked at him as they walked. "Memories... worth living for?" Gaara thought. Naruto nodded as they reached an intersection. "My house is over there across the street. Why don't you come over for a bit? I can make you some Hot Chocolate." Naruto looked at Gaara whose face was still lost in thought. "Fine. It'll give me more time to understand what you mean. Why is it important for people to be surrounded by others?" Gaara crossed the street with Naruto. "I just said why!"

Memories For Two

Naruto opened the door to his house and smiled. "Welcome to my house. It's a bit messy but... hey what can you do?" He smiled as Gaara entered. Gaara examined the living area and sighed. "At least I don't have to sit on the floor." He walked in and closed his umbrella. Naruto led him to the living room and showed him the couch. Gaara sat down unimpressed and Naruto said he would return shortly. Naruto went into the kitchen and began looking around for the chocolate syrup. When he found it, he pulled some milk from the fridge and took some cups.

Gaara sat there waiting. He began getting impatient and started tapping his leg. He looked around for any notification of the time. He found it and sighed. "3:27" Naruto returned with 2 cups Hot Chocolate and some marshmallows. He hand Gaara a cup and Gaara thanked him with a small nod. Naruto watched as he took a small sip and held the cup. "Is there something wrong with it?" Naruto asked unsure if he missed something. Gaara shook his head slightly. Naruto offered him some marshmallows but he declined.

Gaara looked as Naruto took some and put it in his Hot Chocolate. Naruto drank some and chewed on his marshmallows happily. "Don't you think you should change? You're spreading you're water all over." Gaara said as he noticed Naruto dripping finally. Naruto laughed and excused himself. As he left Gaara took a marshmallow and examined it. He put it in his drink and drank a bit more and ate the marshmallow. "It's... a bit... sweeter now." Gaara grabbed another so it would seem as if none were taken. He put it in his drink and drank again.

Naruto returned with new clothes on and smiled. "Sorry about that." Naruto drank from his cup. Gaara wondered if the cup ever left his hand at all. Naruto took a seat next to Gaara. "Wanna watch some TV?" Gaara shook his head. "How about play some video games?" Gaara shook his head again. Naruto's eye shot open. "What do you do then?" Gaara drank from his cup. "I don't do much." Naruto sighed. "You're like a hermit. That's creepy." Naruto stood up and walked over to small radio next to the TV in front of them.

"Some music will be fun." Naruto smiled as he put on the radio. Gaara remained unphazed as the radio played songs. Gaara watched Naruto sit back down. "Have you ever... found someone special?" Gaara asked Naruto. Naruto looked at him shocked and blushed. "You did say once that some people find someone special. So logically... you might have encountered one." Gaara said as Naruto sighed softly and nodded. "I thought I did once. I found someone I thought was special. Someone I thought I could protect and have protect me in return." Naruto said as he rubbed his cup sadly.

Gaara took note of this. "What happened to make you question it?" Naruto looked up at the ceiling. "They... cheated on me. They took off with someone else. And it broke my heart." Gaara nodded. "See. Even those who are special do nothing but hurt you." Naruto gripped his cup hard. "That's not always true, Gaara. They may have hurt me but the memories are precious. Despite how it may have ended I can't deny that for the time that person was with me... I was happy." Naruto said with a small tear forming in his eye.

Gaara began to feel his pain. "Have... you tried to look for another... special person?" Naruto gave him a shocked look. "I... thought... I could... but... the one person I thought could be the next... found someone of their own." Naruto thought a moment about it. Gaara looked at his cup. "So it's possible to see past pain... and remember the happiness. Why do you allow that to happen? Don't the memories destroy you?" Naruto stood up and looked at Gaara. "Memories don't have to destroy you. You can use them to make you stronger." Naruto smiled and put his hand over his heart.

Gaara looked at him stunned. "Make... you stronger?" Gaara repeated the line in his head. Naruto laughed. "Hey... Gaara... I want you to see something." Gaara gave him a blank look. "Come on. It's gonna make you laugh. You're too much of a stiff." Gaara rolled his eyes. "I doubt it will make me laugh." Naruto nodded and Gaara gave him permission. Naruto walked up to the radio and put in a CD. "I'll be right back." Naruto ran into the kitchen. Gaara looked on confused. "You ready?" He yelled from the kitchen. Gaara responded coolly. "Fine."

Naruto slid into the room with a broom in his hands as the song "Old Time Rock and Roll" Began playing. He pretended to strum the broom like a guitar. "I saw this in a movie once." He began to sing.

"Just take those old records off the shelf
I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself
Today's music ain't got the same soul
I like that old time rock 'n' roll."

Gaara looked on shocked at him. Naruto began spinning around and sang on cue.

"Don't try to take me to a disco
You'll never even get me out on the floor
In ten minutes I'll be late for the door
I like that old time rock'n' roll."

Naruto jumped up on the couch. Gaara looked at him scared. Naruto kept jumping up and down. He kept strumming his fake guitar broom and Gaara found himself restraining a small laugh. "Gaara... don't laugh... it's not... funny." He said to himself. Naruto jumped off the couch and took the broom and sang into it like a microphone.

"Still like that old time rock'n' roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock 'n' roll."

Gaara's small laugh became a bigger one as Naruto began rolling around on the wall. Naruto grabbed the broom and began spinning around with it. He even dipped it as if it was his dance partner. Gaara fought valiantly by covering his mouth. "It's not funny. Stop." Gaara watched as the song continued and Naruto sang on the floor. Gaara felt he was losing and slipped his laugh as Naruto stood up dancing to the song. Gaara laughed at Naruto's display of idiocy. Naruto smiled when he noticed that he was laughing.

Naruto laughed with Gaara and spoke with the little breath he had left. "Those are the kind of memories you can't get alone." Gaara stopped laughing and looked at him. "Maybe he's right. Maybe... I should... open up a bit more." Gaara nodded and stood up. "I need to go home now. Thank you for your hospitality Naruto." Gaara took his umbrella and walked out the door. Naruto locked the door after him and shrugged. "Maybe he was bored. Oh well. That was fun. I think today... was an okay day."

Gaara walked his way back home in the rain and thought through everything that happened that day. "I guess... people are not meant to live alone." Gaara found himself doing the impossible when he arrived at home. He smiled over someone else.

Dakku: Wait a minute... this the end of the episode? How cheesy.
There it is... Gaara and Naruto's personal episode. So... hopefully i'll be back soon!

Future episode: Nasake explains how he and Kankuro met... but is there more to the "Brothers" then they let on? Is Nasake and Kankuro hiding something? Or is it a ploy to fool everyone!?

DF: Know what I noticed?
Kiba: What?
DF: I always talk to you guys instead of leaving...
Kiba: Good point... wanna give a theme song for this series?
DF: Sure... you do it...

Kiba: Ok... here's the theme song for... Sasuke/Naruto! It's "There You Go" by Pink! Stay tuned for more fake theme songs!