A/N: Kawarimi no justsu- the replacement or substitution technique. I'm sorry, I'll try to remember to supply translations for the more uncommon japanese phrases. It just sounds so much more interesting than saying Substitution technique, doesn't it?

Btw, Piole has informed me of a rather amusing typo from the previous chapter. I typed, "Looking over his shoulder, Gaara saw that the shinobi had gotten into offensive marital stances." XD Marital stances... Ah, Gai and Lee, we know you wanna.

Behind the Sun

Chapter 9: Redress

At first, Gaara thought his vision was still blurry, until he realized everything was supposed to be white.

The list of things Gaara hated was a very long one indeed. Hospitals were in the top five, and that included the nurses and doctors that came with them.

"Oh? Are you awake?"

The pink thing was fiddling with the various machines he seemed to be connected to. "Sorry about the bindings, it was in case... you know... Shukaku came out or something."

Gaara couldn't comprehend until he looked down.

That was Hated Thing #7: being tied down. With chakra infused bindings covered in holding seals, no less.

However, strangely enough, he couldn't find the energy to care.

"It looks like you had a bit of a chakra overload." The nurse prattled on, "That can happen when you force too much chakra through the inner coils—"

"Am I drugged?" he slurred abruptly.

She blinked, surprised, but recovered quickly with a chagrinned smile. "Yes... we did give you a light sedative. You'll notice that your chakra is being suppressed, as well as your metabolic functions and so, you might feel a little dazed or slow. That's actually the effect of a special drug Tsunade-sama prescribed for you. You see, what happens when you have a chakra overload is that either due to injury or poor control you try to push too much chakra through strained or underdeveloped vessels and they essentially break or burst, diverting the flow of that chakra into unwanted places, namely your internal organs."

Gaara was busy wiggling his toes, marveling at how far away they seemed across the white expanse of the hospital bed.

"This is very similar to what happens when a blood vessel breaks. However," Sakura was in full lecture mode now, proud to display her medical knowledge to the defenseless kage. "The body has a very finite amount of blood and it's the losing of that blood that is more worrisome. But while the body can only make blood so fast, it can create chakra much faster. If you aren't careful," Sakura scolded, "you could continue to push too much chakra through the broken vessels and into your internal organs where, with no where else to go, it will gradually accumulate. While chakra in normal amounts is hardly harmful to your own body, as it just passes through your cells, in large amounts it will cause those cells to burst. As such, you could have killed yourself, Kazekage-sama!" She glared matron-like, her arms akimbo. "You let the chakra build up inside your body until it started to destroy your internal organs. I would expect better from the Kazekage!"

Something was slowly occurring to Gaara, but the sluggish flow of his thoughts was slow to come.

"Do you understand? You let it go so far that if we hadn't arrived just in time all that rampant chakra could have turned your insides to pulp! Until your coils heal properly, you'll have to stay here and—"

"Where's Naruto?"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. (Was he even listening to me?!)

The Kazekage, limp and languid, injured and drugged, didn't seem all that dangerous anymore. Especially since his most threatening feature, his icy stare, was thawed by the haze, and he watched her with glazed eyes.

However, something else stopped Sakura from reprimanding him, like should normally would with someone else— namely Naruto (at least the old Naruto, she tried not to let the wistfulness reach her face). Sakura set aside her ire for a more professional bedside manner as Gaara's eyes were gradually widening in what she suspected to be panic, and his bpm and respiration rate started to rise.

"Don't worry, Kazekage-sama, Naruto is fine. Perfectly healthy."

Gaara had realized he was afraid. It would take him several minutes more to figure out what he feared exactly. "Naruto!" he tried to convey to the pink-haired kunoichi. Why wasn't his blonde here? With him? There was something terribly wrong with this situation, and Gaara didn't like it!

"It's okay, Gaara-sama," Sakura consoled, trying not to think about the fact that this was Sabaku no Gaara whose head she was stroking soothingly. She prayed he wouldn't remember this when the drugs wore off. "Naruto's fine." She glanced at the monitors as they blipped and whined with increasing frequency. "You need to calm down, Gaara-sama, stress could really detriment your current condition—" She jumped as the door slammed open.

Sakura whirled on the intruders when she realized she didn't recognize the chakra signatures. "Excuse me! This is a private room for intensive care—"

"Gaara!" Sakura was buffeted aside as two very distraught Suna-nin ran to the bedside.

Temari dropped immediately to her knees next to the bed. Kankurou leaned over her; their faces were anxious, pensive. "Gaara? Are you okay?"

The redhead stared at them uncomprehendingly. "Naruto?"

Kankurou snarled suddenly. "It's that brat's fault that—"

"Kankurou!" Temari silenced him. She reached out to smooth Gaara's hair back from his face. "Naruto's fine, Gaara. Just try to relax." She had not failed to notice the frantic peal of the pulse monitor. "It's us, we're here for you."

Kankurou turned on the medic-nin as Gaara continued to stare at them blankly; the puppet-nin's rage shivered under his skin, making taught muscles twitch. "What the hell did you do to him?"

Sakura had to resist the temptation to step away from the obvious outrage radiating from the older brother. She set her lips in a thin line; Sakura didn't take kindly to his tone. (Who does he think he's talking to? I'm the medic-nin here!) "There's been some very serious damage done to his chakra coils, we were forced to give him some very heavy suppressant drugs to ensure he didn't hurt himself any further." She tried to sound diplomatic, but Sakura could help the annoyance that underlay the haughty upturn of her chin.

Kankurou growled.

"Temari," Gaara realized at last, after he had reasoned out that the blonde in front of him was, unfortunately, not Naruto. What was his sister doing... here? He instinctually believed that here was not Suna. But Temari was in Suna acting as his stand-in temporarily. Did that mean he was in Suna? "Where am I?"

The other in the black suit leaned over the blonde's shoulder to answer his dazed question. 'Kankurou,' the more functional part of his mind murmured. "You're in a hospital in Konoha, little bro."

"We came as fast as we could when we heard what happened." Temari continued.

"From Suna..." Gaara finished; his confusion on the matter soon to be forgotten. His brow furrowed. "Where's Naruto?" While the introduction of his brother and sister to the situation had temporarily distracted him, the problem of the missing blonde still hovered in his mind.

Temari seemed to understand, as she quickly made up an acceptable lie to calm the redhead. "I just saw him. He's looking for you, too, but they're keeping him detained for safety reasons." She smiled blindingly, and started rubbing his shoulder.

That pleased Gaara; to hear that Naruto seemed to be in a similar situation to himself, and was worrying about Gaara as much as the redhead worried for his blonde. The drugs clouded his judgment enough to cause him to miss the fact that Temari never smiled like that when she was telling the truth. "I want... to see him."

Sakura shook her head as the older kunoichi glanced at her.

Temari smiled sadly as she answered. "You'll see him soon. Don't worry about it."

Gaara frowned. He didn't like that 'soon' idea. How could these people not understand that as long as Naruto wasn't here, there was something wrong?

Temari would have squeezed his hand, but she realized it was bound under the padded leather straps that held her littlest brother to the bed. Her gaze darkened as she turned on the other kunoichi in the room. "Why the hell is he tied down? Isn't that a little unnecessary?"

Sakura's chagrin returned as Kankurou stomped forward to pull off Gaara's blanket to get a look at the bindings himself. "What the hell?!"

"So... what exactly were you guys told happened?"

Both siblings were glaring at her now, expectant. "Naruto had an episode and hurt Gaara."

"That's what Tsunade's letter told us." Kankurou added.

Sakura sighed. She was not looking forward to being the one to break the news. "Wait, episode?" She asked suddenly, running their word through her head again.

"Yes, episode," Kankurou mimicked sneeringly.

"Naruto can't control Kyuubi all the time, you know. Especially with whatever is wrong with him right now."

Sakura stared at the older kunoichi with wide-eyed astonishment. "K-kyuubi?"

Both elder Sand siblings froze.

"You... know, don't you?" Temari winced.

"Um, well..." Sakura fumbled, struggling to organize her thoughts to grasp the situation properly. "I... I never thought that was— I mean, Iknow, Tsunade-sama... she... but, I never thought... Naruto..." She paused; took a deep breath. "I just... never really put the two together, I guess."

Temari let out the breath she had been holding, relieved that she had not given away the secret she had promised to keep.

"So... Naruto," Sakura continued, as her brain struggled to put the puzzle together. "That was Kyuubi? With the rage and the fire and... all that?"

Temari and Kankurou nodded. It wasn't the most accurate of descriptions, but they recognized the signs of possession, nonetheless.

"...And he's come out before?" Sakura frowned. She had never seen any hint before of Naruto's difficulty in controlling his inner demon. Something refused to line up in her mind, rejecting the idea of Naruto being subject to the will of anything or being greater or more malicious than his own. There was no room in her mind for Naruto, the troubled creature of a bipolar soul. The image of Naruto, the carefree idiot that was thick-headed enough to believe he could persevere on effort alone, took up all the space.

Temari and Kankurou were watching her with grim expressions.

Something awful occurred to Sakura then, but it was more like a feeling than any logical concept her mind could perceive and systematically pull apart. It sent a shiver down her spine and settled over her mind with a tight, icy grip. "When you sent Naruto to Konoha, were you expecting this to happen?" A shimmer of anger bubbled up from her stomach.

"Well," Kankurou scratched his nose, his eyes wandering over the stark hospital walls. "We certainly weren't expecting it to get this bad. Usually Gaara does a good job of knowing when Naruto's got an episode coming on and he manages to lead him away from highly populated areas."

Sakura's eyes darkened. "Well, obviously such a system is not as effective as you thought it was. People are dead. He killed innocent women and children! A civilian district is in ashes!"

The two Sand siblings winced.

"What were you thinking? Sending an unstable, murdering beast on us? If you just wanted to get rid of him you could have dumped him somewhere—"

Temari stood up slowly, and Kankurou's back straightened. They glared at her; she could sense the tension in their clenched fists, their trembling shoulders. Sakura felt a spark of fear, for she was outnumbered, and, she was loath to believe, outgunned.

"What did you say?" Kankurou's voice trembled as much as his shoulders, both quaking with rage, ready to bubble over.

Temari's voice was as cold as her eyes, and both pierced Sakura more deeply than Kankurou's fire could burn. "He is not a beast. Not a murderer. He is no monster in any way, shape, or form."

As Temari glared down at her, Sakura saw a diluted version of Gaara's own stare, for the coloring of their eyes was nearly the same, though Temari edged closer to a softer blue hue rather than Gaara's sea foam green. "Naruto has one of the purest hearts I have ever seen, so don't you dare accuse him of ill will. Remember that Gaara and he are of a similar situation, and they both struggle in tandem against a will—an evil— that is not their own. Do not call them monster or demon, do not belittle those efforts they have to make everyday just to be human, simply because you do not understand or care."

"Or I'll kill you." Kankurou added.

"However," Temari continued, grimacing at Sakura as if she did not deserve the explanation she was about to receive. "Naruto, whom we had hitherto believed free of the problems Gaara had with control, has been recently met with serious difficulty. Due to this difficulty, many effects on his body, personality, and mind have resulted, which I'm sure you've observed at least some of."

"Unless you're a complete idiot." Kankurou sneered.

"When his control slips, Kyuubi is permitted at least partial freedom to control Naruto's actions. This is the event we have come to call an 'episode.'" Temari paused, staring hard at the medic-nin and willing her to absorb all the information. "Recently," she sighed softly. "Naruto has been having greater difficulty in keeping his control and the episodes have become more and more frequent." She glanced at Gaara, regret in her eyes. "We sent him to Konoha with hopes that he would, perhaps, with the familiar atmosphere, find it easier to control the demon."

Sakura relaxed just a little, the perilous, icy she-demon was gone, leaving behind a worried woman who simply loved her little brother. But her spine snapped back to ramrod straight as Temari turned on her again.

"And you," her eyes hardened into twin Peridot shards. "I expected more from you. From the way Naruto spoke of you, I got the impression that you were his friend." Sakura flinched at the barb Temari's words twisted under her skin. "But your reaction suggests that were never worth his, nor anyone's, praise."

Sakura gulped, shivering before the woman's cold glare. It was easy now to see that the ability to instill fear in one's enemies with simply cold words and gaze did not belong solely to Gaara. It seemed to run in the family.

"Temari?"

Sakura blinked as the ice in the air chilling her skin disappeared suddenly at the small sound. Temari was on her knees again, her hand reaching out to touch Gaara with soothing motions that she so rarely used. Especially with her littlest brother. But that made it all seem so much more important in Gaara's moment of weakness, for it was the only comfort she could provide. "Yes? Do you need something?"

Kankurou's rage had all but disappeared as well, replaced with a soft concern that contrasted sharply with what Sakura had seen moments before. However, that contrast only served to shame her in a way Temari's cold words could never do on their own. In seeing the love in their eyes, only then could Sakura truly realize the depth of their feelings.

Therefore, she didn't stop them when they unclasped the bindings from Gaara's small, weakened body, despite the fact that she would be yelled at for that later. For she knew that arguing with them now would be like coming up against a wall in their hearts, which held only the strongest of bonds. The kind of bond the ghost of which she still wished for with a certain someone in the back compartments of her soul.

Sakura was a romantic, sure and true, and she felt for the Sand siblings in a painful way.

"M'cold..." Gaara mumbled, and Temari pulled the blanket up over him, tucking it in under his chin.

"We're sorry; we shouldn't have left you without the blankets like that. Is that better?"

"Mm..." Free of the bindings, Gaara slowly turned on his side and curled his knees to his chest. "Where's Naruto?"

Temari sighed.

"Not this again," Sakura heard Kankurou grumble under his breath.

Feeling suddenly that she had to make up for something, "Um," Sakura called the attention back to herself. "Maybe... maybe I can go see if I can arrange it so they may see each other?"

The Sand siblings stared at her.

"I mean," she faltered, cursing herself for having lost her usual sureness. "I can't promise anything, but..."

"You do that," Kankurou sighed. Despite his obvious revulsion to the idea, considering it was Naruto who had put Gaara in his current weakened state, he understood the urgency of Gaara's feelings enough to know he would get no peace without the blonde around.

Sakura bowed slightly on her way out, somehow feeling the respect was necessary.

She felt warmed by the slight, nearly imperceptible nod Temari gave her. Sakura felt that acceptance from this kunoichi, no matter how small it was, was something to be proud of.

A/N: I effin' love the Sand siblings. None of them take any crap. I was planning on including the following scene with Naruto in this chapter... but first of all, it's not finished yet, and second of all... Temari spends so much time dishing to Sakura! This is already about my average chapter size, so why not update smaller increments more frequently than one big long increment every once in a while? I figured my readers would appreciate it.

Gaara is such a nutcase. With all the shit he's been through, I wouldn't be half surprised if he had a panic attack every damn time Naruto just happened to be a little late coming home for dinner or something. XD He's also, I bet, something of a heat-lover. I bet he'd hate the snow with a passion. Or any temperatures below seventy degrees, for that matter.

Btw, to anyone who's wondering, I haven't given up on my other stories. This one just happens to take precedence in my mind. I have quite a couple ideas for a Nightly Friend, among other oneshots, and that Kankurou sketch is coming soon. Those are all just probably going to wait until after this story is done.

Anyway, until then, leave me reviews! I seem to have accumulated a very intelligent following for this story. All my reviewers have such interesting insights! So, I'd love to hear them.

... Does that mean only smart people appreciate this whack-job of a story? Or maybe we're all just crazies. You know what they say about genius and insanity.