Contrary to popular belief and expectation, Gaara did not like coffee. Also contrary to popular belief, it was quite possible to find teas even more highly caffeinated than coffee. So, besides the fact that coffee wasn't a particularly major import in Suna nor was it at all palatable to a small child, Gaara grew up with a heavy addiction to tea. He drank it every day and frequently in large quantities. Since he had lost his demon and the necessity to remain awake every moment of his life, he had been able to cut back on the caffeine intake and branch out into other blends, because even if he didn't have to drink it anymore he still liked it. It became a kind of ritual for Gaara to have at least one cup of tea every day, as long as circumstances permitted. Being the loyal secretary that she was, Matsuri had learned of this habit and had taken it upon herself to bring him a pot of tea when he was busy and even to join him on occasion.

However, today she had opted to return to her own work and leave him to enjoy the rooibos tea she had brewed for him, a caffeine free type that was healthy and good for the body. Gaara didn't mind this, and although the very slight nutty flavor to the tea was strange, he enjoyed it nonetheless.

A certain bloated tanuki demon, on the other hand, was not enjoying it so much and chose to make his displeasure well known. Thus the Kazekage endured a loud tirade he could not escape as Shukaku bitched and whined for twenty-seven minutes until Naruto returned from the errand he had been sent on carrying a few sheaves of paper. At that point the demon stopped, and Gaara allowed himself a moment to hope that maybe the beast would finally shut up, but as the door clicked shut the rant began again and the redhead hissed in frustration and resisted the temptation to beat himself into unconsciousness. The problem with having a voice in your head – other than your own – was that there was no way to escape it when it started getting annoying.

It didn't take a genius to notice the Kazekage's irritation, so Naruto set the papers on the desk as he circled around and claimed his usual seat on the corner. "Are you all right, Gaara?" he asked cautiously. A glare was aimed at him for that question before the redhead forced his expression to smooth.

"I'm fine," he bit out slowly, "Shukaku is just being pissy right now."

"Why?" came the obvious question. With a slight grimace, Gaara merely swung an arm out and blue eyes followed the length of the limb to where a pale finger was pointing at the tea tray on the desk. Naruto blinked. "I don't get it…"

"Shukaku," the redhead hissed the name like a curse "has an extreme dislike for teapots. He seems to feel the irrational need to remind me of this fact today, very loudly and incessantly." He winced again and pressed the heel of his hand against his temple as though to stave off a headache. "He won't shut up; keeps saying I should be drinking sake instead. Alcoholic bastard."

"Ahhh," that one drawn-out sound spoke volumes for the blonde's sympathy and understanding. "I'd wondered how much you could hear him."

"A lot." Gaara snarled emphatically.

Humming thoughtfully, the foreign anbu slipped off the desk so that he only leaned his hips against it and regarded the village leader. "I could help with that, if you want…" he offered slowly. A quirked brow showed the other's curiosity and prompted him to continue. "Help shut him up, I mean. For a little while at least, it'll wear off in a few days and he'll be able to speak to you just as clearly again, but it could help for now."

"How?" Gaara asked, curiosity piqued. Anything to shut YOU up, bastard. The beast cackled, sending another pike of pain through his head and he hissed darkly.

"Eh… That's a little complicated," the blonde temporized, but he stepped away from the desk and moved to stand in front of the Kazekage's chair, bowing down a little so that he could look directly into the pain-hazed eyes. "You're just going to have to trust me."

Skeptical but curious, the seated teen just snorted and allowed Naruto to do as he wished. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to be surprised when the first thing he did was start tugging at the Kazekage robes. Unfortunately, it gave the demon another point to start complaining about.

"You wear too many layers, Gaara," the anbu sighed as he unwound the neck swaths and pushing the white layer over the shoulders. When he realized that he couldn't just push things out of the way, as the green robe beneath didn't open so easily, he tugged the bemused redhead up out of the chair and began fully stripping the robes off and letting them fall to the floor, unheeded. He then guided the leader back to his chair and sank to his knees on the floor, turning his attention to unlocking the vest buckles and removing the leather garment.

Through it all, Gaara said nothing; he simply watched the blonde's antics and wondered how losing his clothes could possibly shut the demon up. If anything, he seemed to be getting louder. It wasn't until the gloved fingers were working at the clasps of his black coat that he moved, leaning forward to nuzzle at a whiskered cheek before capturing the slightly-parted lips and pulling the anbu into a long and thorough kiss.

"Mmm, what was that for?" Naruto asked as they broke apart, their noses bumping together a moment as he finished with the jacket and moved to push it open. But the redhead pulled back and blinked a few times in obvious confusion.

"Why else were you taking off my clothes?" he wondered by way of reply.

The tan anbu clucked his tongue and chuckled. "Tempting, but that's not why," he assured. He then turned his attention to the pale chest now bared before him, and when his clothed fingers ghosted over the left pectoral Gaara finally got an inkling of what the other intended, which was confirmed by his next words. "I need to see your seal, can you use a bit of chakra for me?"

Interest now thoroughly captured, and not only by the possibilities presented by having an attractive blond shinobi kneeling between his legs, Gaara gathered a little chakra to fulfill the request, until the lines and swirls of his seal showed black against his skin. Naruto murmured his thanks and leaned closer to study the marks that scrawled across half of the leader's chest, centered precisely over the heart.

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked finally, curiosity getting the better of him. Blue eyes flicked up to him for a moment before returning to their study.

"Mission number two," he explained, "check on your seal."

Well, well, that was interesting indeed. The Kazekage mulled over this tidbit as the anbu continued to brush feather-light caresses over his chest. Naruto had mentioned three personal missions before but had refused to enlighten him on what the other two had been, now after a month in the village he was speaking about one. While it left him curious about the final mission, it made him wonder why Naruto was sent to check his seal at all. Being thus confused, he decided to simply ask the question.

"Why wouldn't I?" the blonde retorted, with a brief look that implied it was a silly and obvious question, "First of all, your seal was based off of mine. Second, one of my teachers was something of a seal specialist and I very carefully studied my seal while learning from him – he helped baa-chan make yours, you know. Finally, in case you had forgotten, I was there helping seal this brat into you again, using my – all right Kyuubi, our – chakra to keep the sealers from killing themselves trying; I made sure to study it carefully first. I'm one of the few people who actually is qualified to check on it." Unable to refute the logic, Gaara remained silent.

"Well," Naruto continued after another moment of study, "your seal is blending like mine, not that it's particularly surprising since they're so similar. I assume you use his chakra sometimes otherwise you shouldn't be hearing him so much yet; I hadn't heard the Youko until after I started tapping into his reserves when I was twelve. Anyway, there's nothing wrong with it so I can help shut him up for a while if you like, but you're really going to have to trust me," he stopped and looked up, caught the green gaze and held it as he asked somberly, "Do you trust me, Gaara?"

"You know I do," he answered just as seriously.

Naruto smiled, a warm and gentle smile rather than one of his wide and cheeky grins, and began tugging off his bracers and gloves. "That's good to know," he murmured as he pressed himself closer and turned his blue eyes once more to the black seal, "because I could very easily kill you doing this."

Shukaku howled his protest, throwing himself against his confines and sending a spike of pain through the redhead's skull. Gaara himself, though, didn't even so much as flinch as the tan fingers ghosted over his skin; he meant it when he said he trusted Naruto, even with his life. A pale blue glow clouded around the strong digits as the anbu summoned chakra into his fingers over the seal.

"I'm going to explain this so you know exactly what I'm doing, all right?" without waiting for a response he hovered over one of the symbols at the outer edge of the seal, one of the seven marks that resembled the tip of a scorpion's tail that was at the top left of the spiral seal. "You know that the spiral line is Shukaku's chakra, bound to the chakra arteries around your heart since it's one of your strongest clusters. These marks out here are placed exactly over the pores. I borrowed a trick from the Hyuuga to do this," he demonstrated by pressing one glowing finger down hard on one of the marks. Immediately the demon screamed, and while Gaara was uncomfortable as well he hid the fact and mentally sneered at the pest's suffering. Naruto was watching him speculatively. "I just closed up one of yours – and his – chakra pores. It breaks up his chakra flow, and since that's all they really exist as now, Kyuubi says it feel like having limbs ripped off. It also limits your connection to each other, so he shouldn't be so loud."

"A little dimmer, yes, but his screaming is more than making up for it."

"All right," Naruto repeated the process on the next mark, one that rested at the top peak of the seal, and when he was prompted to continue did it a third time on the one right of that. Only then did the howls fade to a distant buzz in the back of his mind that the redhead was more than capable of ignoring. He almost felt guilty for the pain the beast was enduring, but as far as he was concerned… he had endured years of hell due to Shukaku and karma was just starting to roll back on him.

"Thank you, Naruto."

"You're welcome, but keep in mind that three is the limit. Any more than that and you risk permanently damaging yourself, possibly even killing you and I'd rather you not take that chance. As it is, you won't be able to access more than a trickle of his power for a few days until the pores heal over, and your heart will be a little weaker to strain. Only do this when you absolutely have to, and only when you know you're safe for a few days for it to fade." The blue eyes were staring at him with worry, willing him to understand. He did, of course, he could already feel a kind of weight on his chest, a little difficulty with breathing as his heart worked harder to compensate for the chakra wounds. It was a fair trade, in his opinion.

"I promise, thank you. It helps to know that I can get rid of him, even if only for a little while," Gaara cupped his hands over the dark cheeks and brushed his thumbs over the whisker scars as he leaned forward for another deep kiss. It seemed to be their fate that Naruto was always saving him, always there when Gaara needed him, even when he didn't know exactly what kind of help he needed. When they broke away, the blonde was grinning broadly and the hands on his chest were moving across the skin with an entirely different agenda.

"What were you saying before about removing your clothes?" the blonde grinned and looked primly through his lashes up at the other male. The Kazekage quirked a brow but smirked as the hands slipped further into his jacket to encircle his back and he dipped forward to claim another kiss, pulling the lower lip between his teeth and nibbling gently at the tender flesh. Naruto responded eagerly, licking at the pale lip in return before coaxing the redhead to deepen the kiss further, slick muscles sparring lazily in a familiar routine. Tan fingers trailed firmly back around the trim waist, pressing into the soft skin as they danced along the edge of the black pants teasingly, pausing a moment to brush over the toned abs so that the muscles jumped at the touch. Breaking the kiss, moist lips replaced the strong digits to rain feathery kisses across the soft expanse of skin, enjoying the way Gaara's body quivered, and the delicate hands that had slipped past his cheeks flexed convulsively in the fine blonde spikes at the back of the anbu's neck. Naruto raised himself further on his knees as he worked higher towards the smaller teen's collar bone while slipping his hands down across the black-clad thighs to the knees that were on either side of his ribcage before moving further up again with more pressure and paused to thumb small circles over the sensitive inner thighs.

Growling heatedly, Gaara used his hold on the blonde, thumbs before the ears and fingers curled around the strong neck, to tug gently but insistently until Naruto scrambled to his feet, moving his hands from the redhead's thighs to his narrow shoulders for leverage as he quickly climbed onto the chair, straddling the Kazekage's hips. Said Kazekage happened to very much like this new development and slipped his arms around the blonde's waist tightly so that their chests were pressed together and tilted his head back to receive the kiss that was bestowed upon him, which became increasingly more frenzied every moment.

For the first time in a little over a year the redhead was able to enjoy the other jinchuuriki's ministrations without a series of snide comments echoing within his skull. It was a luxury he had nearly forgotten about.

Taking advantage of his reacquainted freedom, he turned his full and undivided attention to delightful figure sitting across his lap, rocking gently and causing the most delicious sensations in the pale youth. Combined with the familiar and skillful kiss – for Naruto knew exactly what Gaara liked and was exercising his experience ruthlessly – and the Kazekage was nearly reduced to a shivering, breathless bundle of pleasure. Having Naruto, a strong and virile young man that just exuded masculinity, sitting atop him in such a fashion that felt so instinctively submissive stoked Gaara's desire to a point that was nearly too much to resist. Nor did he feel the need to try.

Regardless, it wasn't fair that Gaara was bared from the waist up so he loosened his hold to chart a path along the white armor, nudging himself between their bodies to tackle the bindings. Naruto assisted by bowing his back a little whilst turning his attention to the graceful column of neck and nibbling on the chorded muscles there. The redhead paused, shivering with a low groan as pleasure rolled outward from that point through his whole body, and convulsively bucked a little under the blonde. Green eyes fluttered and focused dazedly on the armor before him, removing the article quickly and tossing it away. Without further ado he slipped his fingers up under the hem of the tight black shirt, pulling the material with him as he explored the hard planes of the anbu's torso.

Gaara wasn't entirely sure why, but he found the blonde's physique fascinating. The inherent differences in their musculature amused him and even occasionally filled him with a little envy. Naruto was what many would consider to be an epitome of shinobi fitness, every muscle honed to its peak from years of training but held in a package that was taut and condensed; a perfect balance of power and speed. While Naruto was only slightly smaller than average, he still outstripped Gaara's own form, which could only considered petite for all his nineteen years. His siblings were the same, but it was the price for specializing in ninjutsu with only moderate taijutsu training, as opposed to Naruto's predominately taijutsu mastery supplemented by an also high-level ability for ninjutsu skills.

He was moving to pull the tight black mock-turtleneck over the head of thick yellow spikes when something else invaded the Kazekage's senses, so sudden and unexpected that he froze, eyes unfocused and a stunned haze clouding his senses momentarily. It took him a moment to realize what the sensation was and when he refocused he saw a familiar face etched in worry. Blue eyes flickered across his face a moment while he got his bearings and recalled the words that had left him long before.

"No," Naruto said as he leaned back, denial and defiance in the single word. "Gaara, no."

The corner of his lips twitched as he replied unnecessarily, "Company."

The blonde made an angry sound somewhere between a hiss and a snarl and punctuated it with another firm "No!" which was then followed by him moving himself forward again to nibble at a pale lobe and expertly rocking his body until they both shivered, and whispered huskily "Keep 'em out."

Gaara made himself jerk away from the warm lips, placing his hands on the rolling hips and forcing Naruto gently but firmly away. "It's Baki," he informed simply.

"I don't care," the blonde growled back, retaliating by clenching his thighs around the Kazekage's hips to hold his place. "He can come back."

As far as Gaara was concerned, that wasn't even worthy of a response. So he leveled an even stare at the petulant blue eyes and held them, conveying his resolution silently for a long moment before quirking a brow "Like it or not, in about thirty-four seconds Baki will be coming through that door," he informed the angry anbu evenly, "So you can either get up now or attempt to continue while I receive one of my chief councilors." Naruto held the glare a little longer before admitting defeat with snarl and climbing off the chair, as they both knew he would because no matter their feelings for each other they must maintain proper shinobi dignity.

The Kazekage quickly pulled his errant jacket up over his shoulders and fastened it, forgoing the rest of his normal attire for the sake of time and simply manipulated the sand strewn across the floor to drag it under his desk and out of sight, along with the anbu gloves and bracers that were abandoned. Naruto straightened his shirt and replaced his vest but didn't bother with the rest before hopping onto his usual seat on the desk, facing mostly away from the door. Gaara mentally snickered as the blonde schooled his expression back into calmness, despite his irritation that his pants did little to hide the effect of their prior activities.

He laced his fingers together on the desk just as the first knocks resounded on the door, calling permission to enter as he blatantly ignored Naruto's glare. The older man with the red marks on his cheeks sketched a salute and offered a hastily written report.

"Kazekage-sama, I thought you would like to know that one of the anbu set in the nearby oasis towns returned with this. It seems there is evidence that bandits that have been attacking the southern towns and caravans are working out of the southeastern oasis town of Bousarin. Since we've been frequently requested for guard missions against this group and few of the towns have put together a bounty on them should we catch them, I thought you would like to know of this development."

'Thank you, I will take care of it."

Baki looked as though he would speak more, but held his tongue and watched his leader with a small, troubled frown. Naruto also had turned sharply towards the redhead and was staring hard at him. Not many could read the emotions of Sabaku no Gaara when he didn't wish to be expressive, but the two subordinates were among the few that were graced with the skill. It was the years first as the boy's instructor and later advisor that gave Baki such ability, as well as for his two elder siblings; fearing for your life in case he had a mood swing tended to make them sensitive to his temperament. Long years in a close, albeit mostly long-distance, relationship left Naruto similarly attuned to the pale leader. As such, both recognized the sudden change in him at the news.

In mere seconds the pair read the subtle body language. The tightening of the laced fingers, the tensing of the narrow shoulders under the coat, the way the dark-rimmed eyes first widened then narrowed darkly, a handful of nuances that alerted them to his disturbance at the report. Moreover, Naruto had demonically enhanced senses aiding his evaluation, and while it wouldn't be obvious to most the anbu could feel the shift as physically as a touch. Gone was the overlying arousal that had filled the room moments before, overrun by the sudden tension like a burst of cold air. The blonde could taste the whirling emotions, strongest of which anger. That made sense.

The fear didn't.

But then Gaara was standing, ordering Baki out to form up a team to clear the nest of raiders out of Bousarin. The older man hesitated but finally nodded and left the office. The Kazekage immediately reached for his leather vest and began refastening it, but there was more to the action than simply redressing and Naruto voiced his concern when the sand distributed around the room began to shift and roll towards the changing figure.

"Gaara, what are you doing?" the blonde asked suspiciously. Gaara adjusted the straps that would hold his gourd in place, which was quickly beginning to take shape against his back, but did not answer. Growing alarmed, the anbu shoved off the desk and moved quickly to stand before the other teen. "Gaara, what do you think you're doing? You can't do this. Leave it to your shinobi."

Heated green eyes glared out from an otherwise expressionless façade, but still he did not answer except to step around the blonde and move towards the exit. Naruto cursed and snatched up his gloves, bracers and mask before hurrying after the retreating figure.

"Gaara, you can't do this!" he protested again as they walked briskly through the halls. He noted with increasing alarm that they were heading towards the open balcony.

"They are attacking people that look to my village for protection," Gaara explained dryly without looking at his companion. They climbed the final stairs and he led the way out onto the terrace.

"But the seal!" Naruto protested again as they leapt off the landing and began roof jumping across the village, heading not towards the main gate but instead the southern wall. He was wasting no time. "I just bruised some of the chakra around your seal less than an hour ago, you shouldn't go running off attacking gangs of thieves yet!"

Still the leader did not answer, leading the way towards the looming stone wall quickly. Naruto had no trouble keeping up, as he had much more speed than other jinchuuriki, so a series of protests and curses followed him as he ran. When they reached the high stone outcropping he gestured broadly with his arm to call up a cloud of sand to carry him, and perforce his bodyguard, up over the wall and down again. As they landed on the hot dunes outside Naruto took the opportunity to step in front of the redhead, catching the pale face in his hands and forcing the angry teen to heed him.

"Don't do this," he said again, more of a plea than a demand.

"They are attacking my people," Gaara hissed, cool eyes nearly glowing as he reached up and pulled the hands away from him forcefully. "I sent a team to that town, Naruto. A genin team." He didn't need to say more, he saw it in the stricken look across the tan face that his bodyguard understood. There was more danger there than the mission warranted and he was not going to lose a team to the band of criminals. It was more than likely that the team would be attacked if they were seen because the bandits had taken an extreme dislike to the village shinobi that were constantly thwarting them. Without another word he set off again, and this time Naruto offered no more objections.

Bousarin was more than a half day away at a normal walk; at shinobi speeds it would take little less than two hours to cover the same distance. The heat was harsh, being midday, and the run strenuous as the sands shifted below their feet. Gaara grimly refrained from molding the sand as they moved to make their trek easier. The tight and aching sensation around his heart warned him to conserve strength for later, for he was now limited in that regard. The silence in his mind was mocking.

No. He had lived three years without the demon. He did not need that power.

An hour and twenty minutes out and the pair caught the scent of blood on the wind. Ten minutes later found them cresting a dune to the scene of a battle. Two sets of eyes flickered quickly, taking in the scene in a mere instant.

Two dozen bandits in total ranged in the area just ahead. The caravan the team had been sent to escort was broken and strewn messily across the sands, picked over and raided by the attackers, the owners lying bloody and still by the remains of their cargo. Four of the bandits were also wounded or dead, but most were ranged in a rough circle around the area. In the center stood the team of four, an adult jounin and three children, back to back defensively as they waited for an attack. The ring of spectators watched, alternately attacking and withdrawing quickly. It was clear they were making sport of their prey.

Detachedly enraged, Gaara raised an arm to pull up a wall of sand before the next attacker could strike, turning it then to a whip that struck him away into his fellows. Almost as one, every head turned in their direction.

"Protect them," the redhead ordered tersely.

And then hell broke loose on the hot sands as the two newcomers joined the fray. Gaara turned his attention solely on the bandits, trusting Naruto to do as he asked and protect the team. At first only a few broke away from the circle to attack, thinking it just more entertainment, but as the first wave was crushed by a round of sabaku sousou and yet more were ripped apart by sword and rasengan as the blonde tore through the ranks the rest realized that perhaps the time for play was over. Grimly, Gaara went on an all out attack and succeeded in keeping the main force on himself.

Most attacked with weapons, sword and knives and the like, and two even had bows whose arrows landed ineffectually against the wall of his automatic defense, but it was the ones that employed jutsu in their attacks that disturbed the Kazekage. The marauders had some missing-nin with them. Soon to be dead nin.

Only two dozen, and already the number was greatly diminished by the initial attack; it would not take long to destroy them. But then a call sounded, a high shrill into the air and a flare was sent into the sky. A signal.

So be it, Gaara would kill them all that came against him and already there were teams sent to purge their headquarters. As a leader, he would not allow them to harm more of his people. He lost himself willingly in the battle. There would be no mercy, no restraint. There was no demon howling in bloodlust, only his own angry determination. Blows landed on his defense, a few even managing to sneak past and land on his armor, for with the demon's chakra weakened so was his shield's reaction time slower. But these were just men, a few failed shinobi in the mix. They were no match for Sabaku no Gaara, not in the desert where the world was his weapon and armor in one.

A curved, scimitar-like blade swung at him and the pale shinobi caught it in his hand, the condensed strength of his armor protecting his hand from damage while lending power as he twisted and snapped the steel blade in twain. The man's incredulous look was burned forever on his features as he died in the next instant from a tendril of sand striking through his chest. Kunai, shuriken and arrows embedded themselves in the sand at his back, held in useless suspension as Gaara turned and raised an arm, gesturing broadly and a wave of sand followed the movement and rolled over the attackers who thought to keep their distance. Pale digits curled in on themselves and once more fountains of blood spilled over the sand before even a scream could sound.

As the ranks lessened, more came to take their place, heeding the earlier call from the dead comrade. Gaara placed himself to meet them, moving more towards the southeast, so that the reinforcements met him first. A twinge of pain stabbed at his heart as he crushed the first two, and he was becoming short of breath more quickly than he was used to, but he had enough and more than enough to take care of the new onslaught. He turned his mind towards that goal, focusing solely on that. A few slipped past him, but he paid them no mind. Naruto was protecting the team, he could more than take care of any stragglers Gaara let slip.

The blonde anbu with the fox mask crouched defensively in the soft sand among the four other shinobi. Five kage bunshin ringed the group and fended off the attackers that thought to kill the seemingly-weaker foes. The vulpine smile of the mask seemed to take on a decidedly wolfish grin in the carnage. Lifeless bodies lay strewn across the desert floor, blood oozing out onto the sands and staining it a sickly red. The stench was overwhelming and the children were surreptitiously covering their noses against it, but for Naruto's senses it was far worse. He hated it as much as the demon inside him loved it, but between the two extremes he could work in a kind of balance that just accepted the scent for what it was. Another raider attacked and joined his fellows on the sand, paying homage to the desert with their lives. A few had managed to disperse some clones, but as quickly as they fell they were replaced by more. Naruto could make hundreds of clones at a time, keeping a steady stream of only a handful barely tapped his reserves. Inside the ring of blood and bodies, both real and shadow, the five figures sat and watched.

Naruto wanted to join the fight, desperately wanted to spring out and aid his friend, but when they had come to the aid of the genin team he had understood the quiet order. While he did not recognize the children, he had seen their instructor on occasion as the man had come to receive and report missions. In Suna, only the instructor came for missions and then passed the statement onto his students. But the blonde recognized the man, recalling that his team was the one which held the little baker girl that Gaara had grown fond of. It did not take great logic to realize that the small blonde girl was the same Tsubaki that had sent the Kazekage bakery treats. And suddenly the other teen's determination to come himself was much clearer, and Naruto nearly smiled to himself amidst the battle.

Now he sat crouched with the girl child in his lap and her two boy teammates held by Ikari. The man had a gash across his cheek that was bleeding slowly down his face but was mostly unharmed. Both boys had a myriad of cuts and bruises, one with a stab wound in his leg that had been hastily bandaged. Tsubaki was just as torn up, right hand cradling her limp left arm where the humerus had been snapped in an early strike. The two more wounded children were nearly in shock from the pain, but were holding up well as good shinobi.

"Why don't you help him?" Tsubaki demanded suddenly and Naruto looked down into a face that was insipid with pain but drawn with angry determination. She tried to lever herself up to glare more fully, but he kept her carefully restrained for her own safety, unwilling to let her wounds get worse from jostling.

"Tsubaki!" Ikari called out scoldingly, but Naruto held up a hand and continued to stare at the girl.

"I was ordered to protect you," he informed her calmly.

"Protect him!" she demanded again. The anbu frowned behind his mask, because he wanted nothing more than to rush to Gaara's side but knew that the action would be unwelcome were he to do so. Another attacker landed a lucky hit on his clone and dispersed it and he absently created another to deal with the man as he regarded the girl. "They're all going after Gaara-sama, you have to go help him!"

"Listen to me Tsubaki, he's fighting to protect you and he's entrusted your safety to me while he does that. I must protect you."

"But Gaara-sama is–!"

"–a powerful shinobi and the Kazekage of your Village." Naruto interrupted smoothly. "He will not be harmed. Trust him." Despite his words, the anbu was also worried. It wasn't that he believed Gaara couldn't handle a band of outlaws without his demon's help, but what he had done to the seal weakened the redhead's heart for a time and he feared that he might overexert himself in the battle. But he trusted Gaara and had faith in him to take care of himself. The smaller blonde was watching the carnage in the distance worriedly, and the elder squeezed her unwounded shoulder reassuringly, leaning down closer so that he might whisper secretively. "I will protect you because he wishes it, Tsubaki. You have become a precious friend to him, and for his sake I will not allow you to be harmed. He will be fine."

True to form, in a mere twelve minutes since their arrival the battle was ended, a mass of bodies strewn across the sands. A credit to their training, none of the genin became ill at either the sight or smell of the carnage. Gaara strode back towards the group slowly, face expressionless in the bright light. There was not a spec of blood on him, despite the battle, and the blonde knew that the sand armor had greedily drunk up every drop that had landed on the slim form, to be forever with the grains like a trophy of victory. Despite his outward composure, Naruto could see that the Kazekage was tired; not completely drained and exhausted, but more than a little winded from the exertion.

Tsubaki and Ikari started speaking at his arrival, the elder about the attack and the younger inquiring about Gaara's safety. He answered succinctly and they soon fell silent as he offered no more, instead looking around with a small frown, debating the next course of action. There were two possibilities open to him – to return to the village or to continue on and take refuge in Bousarin. The oasis town was much closer, and two of the children were in need of medical attention, but the at the same time the town was soon to be besieged by more teams from Sunagakure, routing the remains of the bandits that weren't currently baking in the sun a few meters away. It was no place for wounded children, strong ninja or no. That left only the return to the village, so without a word Gaara affected the sand below them to lift the startled group into the air. With a small but steady flow of chakra, the Kazekage was perfectly capable of keeping the cloud of sand carrying them for the few hours it would take to return, even with his current limitations. The two boys whispered amongst themselves and asked hushed questions of their teacher, all unaware that the two jinchuuriki had acute hearing and whispers were often as loud as regular speech to them.

Once the surprise wore off, Tsubaki quietly and hesitantly asked the anbu holding her to help her over towards Gaara, who had joined the group in sitting as the sand cloud for the long trip back. Lost in his thoughts, Gaara blinked slowly when the small figure sat back on her heels in front him. There was a hesitant kind of determination in her gaze as she stared at him, and the redhead stared back in mute confusion. Then she sighed, released her hold on her broken arm and leaned forward to gingerly wrap the undamaged arm her leader's shoulder in an awkward hug, face pressed against the black-clad shoulder as she murmured softly.

"Thank you for coming to save me, Gaara-sama."

Bewildered, the redhead turned to Naruto for help, but the blue eyes smiled behind the mask. Tentatively, for he was very unused to any form of physical affection from anyone beside Naruto and Temari and on rare occasions Kankurou, he curled an arm carefully around the small back, wary of her injuries as he returned the embrace. Another sigh and Tsubaki collapsed, falling into Gaara's lap much the same way she had been in Naruto's before. The anbu nearly laughed at the expression the Kazekage then sported, a stunned disbelief that bordered on panic. What was he to do with a wounded girl child passed out on top of him? The blonde scooted a little closer and sat beside the other teen, comforting in his nearness since he could do no more with such an audience.

It took more hours to return than it had taken to go out and by the time they crested the village wall the sun was setting behind the western dunes. He did not disperse the sand cloud until they reached the hospital and left the team in the care of the medics there. Mizore was one of those to take charge of the wounded children and Gaara carefully ignored the withering glare she sent at him. He just turned on his heel and began walking back through the dimming streets towards the Kazekage administration building. Once inside he paused and turned toward his companion in the empty hallway. His expression was open with a sort of vulnerability that was rarely seen on the young Kazekage's face. Naruto removed his mask and solemnly waited for the other male to say whatever he needed to.

"I'm tired," Gaara murmured finally. The expressiveness of his warm green eyes spoke volumes, and the anbu knew that he was not just speaking of physical exertion. Ruthless though he could still be, Gaara did not like to kill, not anymore. His readiness to slaughter as a child made changed to aversion of murder as an adult. He had done what was necessary, but that didn't mean he still enjoyed it or was immune to the affects such deaths would have on a person. Naruto cupped his hand around a pale cheek and the redhead turned into the caress, kissing the palm.

"Sleep, Gaara," the blonde commanded gently, but the face under his touch shook slowly.

"My duties… the reports…"

"They can wait," he crooned, hushing smaller teen. "Your people are competent and not likely to return until tomorrow. If they need you they'll find you. For now you should sleep." Another weak protest was hushed by the foreigner and he pressed a lingering kiss to the 'ai' scar soothingly. The tension drained out of the redhead and he sagged bonelessly against Naruto, who wrapped a supporting arm around the narrow waist and led the way to the Kazekage's quarters in the building. Mentally and emotionally fatigued, heart aching physically as well as metaphorically, Gaara was content to soak up the comfort of the other's embrace as they walked, allowing himself to be put to bed and clinging to the blonde so that they lay together. In this way he fell asleep, trying to forget the faces frozen in terror that he had left for the carrion eaters to the south.

notes: I personally hate coffee, and have indeed actually had highly caffeinated teas. Besides, think about how far they are from anyplace coffee beans would grow, the import price must be high o.o So yes, I decided to go against the fanfic grain and have Gaara NOT drink coffee ::gasp!::

I made up the spiel about the seal and tried to make it at least somewhat viable given what I remembered of the series. If it's not... well.. try to suspend logic a little ang go with it, kei?