Byakuya

Chapter 14

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"Kakashi-sensei! How could you just let Naruto leave with him?" Sakura screeched, uncomfortably aware how anger seemed to pour out of her team-mate. Being able to translate the Uchiha's feelings by the slightest change in smirk or a broody pout wasn't always a good thing.

I've never brought a reaction this strong in him, Sakura sadly thought.

"Sakura…" Kakashi started, frowning, and Sakura couldn't help but to flinch at the reprimand she could sense in the voice even if others couldn't. The slight change in tone and the missing honorific seemed to scream out her sensei's disappointment in her.

"…Subaku no Gaara is the kazekage of Suna now, and as Konoha has signed a treaty with sand, doing something to Naruto would be deemed as an act of war, considering Naruto's status." Kakashi reprimanded her. Sakura felt her eyes widen in shock, and she was vaguely aware that Sasuke had frozen in shock beside her.

Her green eyes widened comically as her mind seemed to be surrounded by a grey and cold cloud of shock. She remembered the sand-nin from the chuunin exams, after all, who didn't? He had crushed Lee's leg and arm so bad he had almost lost his capability to function as a ninja.

She remembered seeing a flash of Gaara's slightly changed form too, before she lost unconsciousness, and she remembered the monster-like power the red-head had fielded with easy. Her throat suddenly dry and her spine clammy, Sakura finally spoke.

"What do you mean that he's the kazekage!" Sakura drew back the controls back on inner Sakura who had taken over momentarily, but couldn't help herself from rambling some more. "…Why would they possibly choose him? He can't be that powerful because Naruto and Sasuke kicked his ass in the chuunin exams, and he isn't exactly mentally okay, killing people randomly all around!"

"Sakura. Know your limits. It is not your place to talk about Suna's choice for a kage. Gaara has been the kazekage for two years now, and has worked very well for peace between our countries. And from what I've heard, he's made really big progress in these tree years." Kakashi said sternly to her.

"Besides, he and Naruto have more in common then you would think, so they're hardly going to start demolishing villages together." Kakashi ended, but refused to explain what he had meant with Naruto and Gaara 'knowing each other'.

Neji's mind kept repeating three words again and again in his head however.

'Demolishing villages together'.

Now why would the sensei say it like that? When the most commonly used expression was 'murder each other' or something similar?

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The sand settled slowly on the ground, leaving Naruto and Gaara to stand alone in the middle of a clearing. The clearing was on top of a mountain, which had almost no trees and was covered in fresh, lush grass. Naruto smiled as a gentle wind passed by him, playing with Gaara's fiery crimson hair.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a long breath, enjoying the feeling of freedom. Even when Naruto wasn't using the Kyuubi's chakra, he always somehow felt the chakra signals of people. Not always who the people were, as an individual chakra was hard to make out, but a blurry buzz in the back of his mind.

Naruto opened his eyes, only to notice that Gaara was looking him worriedly.

"You're stressed." It wasn't a statement exactly, but it wasn't a question either. It made Naruto's mind fill with a feeling he had never been able to quite pinpoint. Naruto had a lot of precious people, but none of them understood him on the level Gaara did. Things with Gaara were always so simple because their demons.

"Yes. I've been." Naruto said, smiling slightly. Then his eyes widened slightly. "It's been little too far since I've seen you." Naruto said to himself as his eyes ran over Gaara, noticing all the new changes on the sand nin. Gaara's hair was slightly longer, hanging on thin strands on the sides of his faces, though still revealing the blood red ai kanji over his left brow. His teal colored eyes were the same and surrounded by thick lines of black. Naruto knew the marks weren't painted though, and almost sighted as he noticed that the job of being the kazekage was taking its toll on the jinchuuriki.

Gaara was dressed in black, wearing a pair of loose pants with many layers, making them almost look like a skirt. His top was black too, with a v-shaped neck and sleeves that ended by his elbows, where they changed into black fishnet gloves. Around his throat was a silver necklace with a tooth hanging from it, and Naruto resisted the urge to play with the similar necklace he had around his own throat.

"You look good." Naruto said, sensing that even though Gaara seemed to be a victim of insomnia once again, that his posture was looser. Naruto didn't know if it depended on new training or of the fact that they were alone though. The edge of the Kazekage's mouth morphed into a smirk, tilting the piercing on his lower lip to the side. The piercing on the lip was accompanied by one piercing on his left brow and multiple on his ears.

"You too. Though you should try to relax some, neh?" Gaara said lazily, something that Naruto had gotten used to long time ago. Naruto nodded, while an idea was forming in his head. He had spotted what he thought was a tongue piercing on Gaara's tongue as he spoke, and his stomach sizzled at the opportunity to find out how the piece of metal would feel like while kissing.

"How long has it been?" Naruto absently said to himself as he noticed Gaara looking at him as well, taking in the changes that had happened since they had last seen, even though Naruto was wearing a comfortable pair of orange cargo pants and a black top with some bandages around his arms.

"Two years, give or take." Gaara said, before his eyes sharpened, fastening on the bandages around Naruto's arms. Gaara stepped closer to Naruto and took a hold of his arm, twisting the wrist slightly so that he got a look at the underside of Naruto's arm. Naruto allowed Gaara to slip off the bandages around his arm, and made no indications as the angry red slits on his arm were revealed. Gaara sighted.

"What's this?" Gaara asked, even though he had inkling to what it was already. Naruto shrugged, unconcerned.

"Just the usual, I think. Though this differs from the other times somehow." Naruto answered. Gaara frowned.

"Have you considered that maybe your awakening is nearing?" Gaara asked, feeling the abrupt way Naruto froze, as he was still holding onto the blonde's hand.

Guess he hadn't thought about that.

"What? B-but my awakening shouldn't come in a few years yet!" Naruto stuttered slightly, eyes wide. Gaara threw him a compassionate look. He didn't want to think at his future awakening either.

Awakening was what the Jinchuuriki's called it when the host of a demon would melt partly with his demon. The process was extremely painful and time-taking, and not all hosts made it; allowing the demon to escape. The 'awakening', as the jinchuuriki preferred to call the mutation, happened often between the host's 16 and 20 birthday, though they both knew only of two Jinchuuriki's who had gone through the transformation.

"But you know that the kyuubi is strongest of the demon-tails. It could heighten your metabolism." Gaara acknowledged. Naruto's blue eyes were still wide, with the slightest spark of fear in them.

"I…I don't want this…" Naruto whined, while putting his head against Gaara's shoulder. Gaara sighted at the sensitive blonde and frapped his arms around the blondes' lithe frame, giving him all the comfort he thought the blonde needed. After all, the leaf-nin was pakku.

Naruto drew in a shaky breath, and forced himself to calm down, something in which his Fuketsu Koodori training helped a lot. Naruto sniffed once, pushing all depressing thoughts of the fact that he might as well die soon into the back of his mind. The changes of Naruto surviving his awakening were the lowest of the nine Jinchuuriki's as the kyuubi no Yoko was the strongest of the demon-tails.

"So, what news do you have?" Naruto finally asked, and though Gaara noticed the change of subject for what it was, he allowed, knowing now was not the time to probe. Gaara let go of Naruto who was starting to feel a bit awkward, and turned around. Naruto looked at Gaara's back dumbfounded for a moment before stepping to stand beside the sand nin so that they were facing the noon sun. Gaara's eyes darkened to the point where they looked deep blue, and cast Naruto a glance.

"Minoru's awakening has started. He and the Hachibi no Hachimata have started to transform. Yuki brought him to the coven yesterday. Kisho sent me a dog with the message." Gaara said. Naruto looked at the sand nin, startled.

"But I just saw Drake…Minoru, whatever were calling him right now…--" Naruto started to ramble. "—two days ago! Is this for real?" Naruto asked, flinching. Gaara sighted in the world-on-my-shoulders-way, that Naruto used to tease him he learned the day he became kazekage.

"I'm afraid so. The first convulsions started at the middle of the night. It was full moon, you know?" Gaara said, and Naruto nodded, knowing that their demons often became agitated by the silver orb.

"How long is it going to take?" Naruto asked finally.

"I talked with Yei today, when Minoru, and I refuse to call him Drake, was resting. She said that it is probable it is going to take some weeks as he by then hadn't convulsed again. She said she's going to make the calculations when she gets all the facts and after he has convulsed another time so that she has something to count with." Gaara said, his voice slightly dull, not enjoying being the messenger, but knowing someone had to tell Naruto. Naruto flinched every time Gaara said convulsions.

"Oh."

"Yei told you to visit. You know, spend some time with Minoru, just in case…" Gaara trailed off.

"Maybe…"

"When did you visit the coven last time? Yei said she hadn't seen you in ages, but she was being a bit vague. You know her." Gaara said, before smirking. "You know, she still hasn't forgotten for the kitchen incident…" Gaara winked at Naruto, remembering the incident. Naruto flushed bright scarlet. Now Naruto wasn't really shy about his sexuality, but being walked in on by Yei while he was in the middle of getting screwed by Gaara was, by ease, the most embarrassing moment in his life. Yei had started to yell about being blind while her black eyes flashed with anger.

She hadn't been able to cook anything a long time after that, claiming that every time she stepped into the kitchen she got flashbacks of their 'Disgusting eating habits'. Naruto had protested first, that they hadn't been eating, but had snapped his mouth shut after Yei politely reminded him that he had, in fact, been covered by chocolate sauce.

"She's still going on about that?" Naruto said finally, his eyes playful. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"I don't think she's never going to let it go… She loves to bring it up…at least ten times a day…" Gaara said. Naruto nodded, and then averted his gaze, knowing Gaara was waiting for an answer, before finally sighing.

"I visited last time with you, you know, two years ago…" Naruto said, while Gaara looked surprised, before frowning.

"You didn't stop visiting because of…--"Gaara stopped in mid sentence, indicating between them.

"—Because of us breaking up? No… I just got caught up with training. Ero-sennin had a lot to teach, you know… And always when I actually thought to visit, he somehow succeeded in making me forget it with a new jutsu or something…" Naruto started to explain.

"…-Or, you've been putting off the confrontation with Yei. I don't think you actually never dared to look her into her eyes after the kitchen incident." Gaara suggested, then fact that he had raised an eyebrow now more prominent as he had pierced the particular brow.

"Maybe… But I'll visit…I promise!" Naruto snapped at the end, seeing Gaara's doubting look. Gaara looked at the blonde for a moment before nodding.

"Good. Kisho said that we should be there to stabilize him. It should help with the transformation." Naruto nodded that he had understood, before trading a look with Gaara that spoke of everything, and nothing.

"And…?" Naruto finally asked.

"And the Akatsuki are on the move again. The last I heard they were in the grass. Apparently they had heard some rumors about the neko-jin-clan and about Nibi no Nekomata…" Gaara explained, and Naruto hissed from between his teeth, his eyes flashing with rage.

"And have they found anything?"

"We don't know. The rumors are vague at the best, and it is Akatsuki we are talking about, after all…" Gaara answered. Naruto nodded.

"Any more bad news that are bound to destroy my dreams?" Naruto asked, slightly intrigued how Gaara had succeeded in telling two such bad news at the same time. Gaara smiled slightly, or what Naruto translated as Gaara's equivalent to a smile, though it didn't much differ from his frown. Gaara stepped to stand behind Naruto

"Actually…no." Gaara answered, his eyebrow slightly raised in an inquiring sense. Naruto turned his gaze on Gaara concentrating on pulling deep breaths as he allowed his eyelids fall slightly. He felt his chakra start the illusionary changing of his eye color, changing it from a free sky-blue that could sometimes burn with the coldness of ice to a charmingly warm blue. He licked his lips slightly a turned around to gaze at Gaara who had been about to start rubbing his shoulders.

"Does that mean you have to go?" Naruto pleaded, knowing that Gaara probably had to return to his kazekage duties. Gaara's eyes hazed over a little as he started to smirk.

"Actually…" Gaara leaned over and whispered huskily into Naruto's ear, "I was planning to stay with you. You're awfully tense, you know…" Gaara said suggestively. Naruto's eyes cleared delighted, as he had expected he would have to persuade Gaara longer.

"And what did you have in mind?" Naruto asked from Gaara. Gaara smiled sweetly at Naruto.

"Why don't you pick. You're a bit stressed out." Gaara said, and then, before the redhead had time to react, he was being teleported away in a hurl of leaves. Gaara had time to look slightly confused before he caught sight of the ramen-bar they had teleported in front of. The particular ramen-bar was situated in a small non-ninja village in the waterfall country. Naruto and Gaara had stopped on it one time, traveling, and Naruto had fallen in love with the ramen, returning to eat at the place even though the bad politics between the waterfall and the leaf countries.

Gaara groaned.

Never, ever, underestimate, or give Uzumaki Naruto power.

Because he'll end up surprising you anyway.

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A/N: Hello again! I can't believe I updated this soon! I planned to update on Saturday…not to spite you, but to take a small break from stressing over getting a new chapter out.

So, my brother left today to get back to the army, and I ran the first thing to the computer to write "Byakuya" of course! A bit long chapter… (well, not long, but don't except future chapters to be this long). So I wrote this bit today. Oh, and I think, that the next chapter will have the long awaited Gaara/Naruto lemon. I'll have to work really carefully with that, as I will try to make a good lemon, so that it doesn't really ruin the story… And a bit more interaction between Naruto and Gaara just generally. And I doubt that I'll update on Saturday, because I just realized it's my birthday! (yes, silly me Yay me! Sweet sixteen starts on Saturday!)

(Though I live in a small stuck-up-village, so poor me T-T)

Pakku means 'pack', but I'll get more into that later.

"Jinchuuriki" is 'the human sacrifice', or whatever, don't remember too well, but meant a demon host like Naruto and Gaara. Didn't really think of a plural to that word so it's a bit random if it comes "jinchuurikis", or "jinchuuriki". Microsoft word seems to prefer "jinchuuriki", even when using plural.

--Dark