Chapter 11

Author's notes- Merrrrrr Been a bit, couldn't write on this because I didn't have the inspiration. Poor Hinata in canon.

Also, those of you looking for me to write explicit scenes... Look elsewhere, especially those of you wanting me to write ones for Naruto, Ino and Hinata. I'm not writing out 13 year olds doing that.

-Fic begins now-

-The streets of Konoha-

"Ha!" a grinning Konohamaru laughed as he raced through the streets, casting a grin back over his shoulder, "You'll never catch me Hanabi-chan!"

The boy immediately had to duck a frightfully croaking frog launched from behind as Hanabi Hyuga chased after him, her face somewhere between delighted and furious, "Ooooh! Just you wait Sarutobi!"

"They look like they're having fun," Naruto commented with a chuckle as he watched from the rooftops overhead, "The frogs were a nice touch I think."

"Eww," Ino grumbled softly as she shivered just a bit, "But they're so gross!"

"You'll get in a mud fight, but you protest a simple frog?" Naruto's voice teased softly back at the girl as his sparkling blue eyes followed Hanabi and Konohamaru.

"That's totally different!" she immediately protested, "That's fun, sexy dirty! He put frogs down her shirt!"

"It worked though," Hinata spoke up, smiling softly as she watched the chase below, "This is one of the first times I've seen Hanabi-chan actually gotten, instead of giggling about it in a while."

"True enough," Ino agreed with a nod, before smirking softly as she pointed down into the street, "He even got Forehead into it."

Below, they could see the irate, pink haired kunoichi racing after the pair. Her reddened face still glistening from frog slime as she wove amongst the civilians, bumbling through them this way and that as she screeched out, "Get back here! I'm going to get you both for this!"

Chuckling Team 10 watched the pursuit unfold before them. As luck would have it, more often than not, Sakura found herself caught by the various trick and traps tossed back and forth between the young ninjas in training. Paint spattered her normally well kept uniform, confetti and egg shells clung to the fabric as she bit back a strangled scream of angry frustration. Every time she came close to catching up, somehow they'd make her stumble, some how they'd slow her down.

"AAAAARGH!" the girl almost screamed angrily as she ran a bit harder, a bit faster towards them, "WHEN I get my hands on you two...!"

"Hahaha!" Konohamaru looked over his shoulder, almost giggling his laughter out, before suddenly he found himself colliding into another body with a fleshy thud, "OOOF!"

"Hey! You damned brat, watch whe-!" clad in all black, the figure the boy had just run into wore an expression of anger on his painted face, before suddenly the secondary impact of Hanabi thudded into him just behind Konohamaru, throwing the off balance figure to the ground, "DAMMIT!"

"Urgh," the spiky haired boy groaned softly, looking down at the older boy beneath him sheepishly, "Eheh... Sorry about that..."

"Whoopsie!" Hanabi added with a giggle, "I think we need to remember to pay more attention Kon-kun."

"GET OFF OF ME DAMMIT!" the older boy, almost screamed as he shoved the amused academy students off of him, reaching back towards the bandaged covered pack on his back, "I outta..."

"Don't, we don't need the trouble," a blonde haired girl, wearing a white battle dress and fishnets spoke up next to the other unknown figure, a massive fan strapped to her back.

"That HURT you little midgets!" standing up the dark covered boy snarled softly as he grabbed hold of Konohamaru, lifting him angrily into the air.

"Hey I said I was sorry!" Konohamaru spoke up.

"H-hey!" Sakura hesitantly spoke up, "No need to get violent here! It was just a mistake!"

"Bah," the boy snorted as he glared back at Sakura, "Like I'm going to listen to some stupid Leaf Genin."

As his fist cocked back, the blonde girl sighed, her four, spiky pony tails shaking slightly, "I want no part of this..."

Just as the dark clothed boy started to throw his fist at Konohamaru's face, a number of things happened. The arm holding the younger boy, was struck, suddenly, by the sharp point of a throwing needle, while the one throwing the punch, found itself struck by a small rock. Before the dark clothed boy could fully register what'd just happened, his face found itself struck by the thick impact of a knot tipped rope, and the crinkling of paper. As the surprised boy numbly dropped Konohamaru, the paper tag attached to the boy's cheek, suddenly exploded in a burst of bright pink paint.

"You know, you really should remember to play nice when you're in a new hidden Village," the words came coldly from a short distance away, as two pair of cold black eyes bore down on the boy and the girl.

Seated in a nearby tree Sasuke was lightly tossing another stone in his hand as he lounged back against the trunk. Next to him, Haku daintily held another needle in his slender fingers, a brow silently arched at the pair as he watched the boy shriek in outrage. With a detached annoyance, they watched, waiting carefully in case the two on the ground made a move.

"Not to mention," Naruto's voice rang out, as he and his teammates silently fell to the ground in front of the pair, "Its generally considered rather stupid to start attacking civilians in front of a village's nin."

"Especially," the frosty tone of Hinata spoke up, her pale eyes glinting harshly as she locked her gaze on the boy, "The daughter of a Clan Head, and the grandson of the village's Kage."

"So," Ino yawned, stretching slightly as she gave the two a lazy look, "We really should take you down to the ANBU Interrogation unit."

"Dammit, Kankuro," the girl grumbled softly as she glared at the boy, "You just had to go be an idiot, didn't you?"

"God dammit, which one of you fuckers did this to my eyes!?" he snarled, darkly, his eyes shit as he tried to wipe the paint away, "When I get my hands on you..."

"Your friend doesn't know when to shut up, does he?" Ino casually chuckled as she watched the boy twitch, her voice directed towards the other blonde girl, casually running her eyes up and down along her frame, "Hmmm... Though, I think we'd have more fun coming up with ways to keep you quiet than him."

As the foreign blonde girl blushed furiously at the comment, Konohamaru scrambled over behind Naruto as Hanabi skipped up next to her sister and gave her an apologetic smile, "Sorry about the trouble, sister."

"You should pay more attention to where you're going," Hinata chided lightly before offering her sister a faint smile as her gaze followed Ino's, "Mmm, probably Ino-chan, probably."

"Which one of you-?!" Kankuro's words were cut off, as suddenly he was struck by a squat object of black, dull rubber, smacking forcefully directly between his eyes, "What THE HELL!?"

"..." the blonde with Kankuro could only stare for a moment, her mouth agape in complete shock before she turned her disbelieving eyes onto Naruto, "...Was that...?"

"Best way I know of to shut up an asshole," the blue eyed genin responded with a lazy nod of his head.

"Naruto..." Sasuke could only stare ruefully down at the blonde boy, chuckling lightly as his eyes lingered on the projectile.

"What?" Naruto smirked slightly in response, "Not my fault its true."

"I'm going to kill you all!" Kankuro finally growled, his fingers reaching back for the bandaged package on his back.

"Kankuro, enough," a cold monotone rippled through the air from the a branch behind Sasuke and Haku, causing both to instantly swirl their gazes around, looking up in shocked surprise at the figure that had apparently snuck up behind them, "You're becoming an embarrassment to our village..."

"Ga-Gaara..." fear instantly flashed across Kankuro's gaze as he looked up at the dead green eyes of the red headed figure standing upside down on the tree branch, a giant stone gourd on his back, "They-they started it!"

"Becoming?" Naruto blinked a moment, looking from Kankuro to the figure on the tree, "I'm fairly certain he already hit that level when he decided a couple of civilians were picking a fight with him..."

"Though, the pink paint doesn't help his credibility any," Ino pointed out, "I mean, the purple face paint was bad enough."

"Hey!" Kankuro boy snarled angrily as he started to reach again for the pack at his back.

"So, I'm gonna guess that you two and pinky are here for the Chunin exams?" Naruto hazarded before glancing towards Sakura and Sasuke, "Oi, are you two signing up for it by the way?"

"Kakashi-sensei hasn't talked to us about it yet," Sasuke shrugged a bit, "Considering how things went in Wave though, probably."

"Asuma-sensei hasn't mentioned it either, so I'm not sure," Sakura admitted as her eyes flitted carefully towards Gaara, studying the impassive boy closely, "What about you guys?"

"You think Anko-sensei's giving us a choice?" Naruto laughed softly before shrugging a bit, "Oi, Gaara was it? You guys hungry?"

The red headed boy blinked his dull eyes a moment, canting his head lightly to the side, "Possibly."

"Wanna come get some lunch with us then?" a trench coat wearing blonde grinned up at the other boy, "You're pretty early for the exams, so you might as well learn a good place to get some food, right?"

Again the boy blinked those dulled eyes, before in a whirl of sand he was suddenly in front of Naruto, his arms crossed about his chest, studying the other boy closely before he spoke, "Why?"

"Eh?" the boy blinked slightly in response, before looking back at the boy in front of him, "Why what?"

"Why are you inviting us, me, with you?" there was an honest confusion in those almost lifeless orbs.

Naruto shrugged slightly, before grinning at Gaara, "Why not? You're new in town, stopped the asshole from forcing us to painfully make him back down, and in the process, saved us from having to drag him down to ANBU headquarters. Suna and Konoha are allies last I checked. You guys are from Suna, right?"

Kankuro and the Suna blonde both stared in fear and disbelief at the scene in front of them. The blonde boy was actually asking Gaara of all people to have lunch with him and his friends. Nervously the pair looked towards the youngest member of their team and shifted, waiting to see just what the boy would do.

"Yes," the red head made a slight inclination of his head, "We are from Suna."

"So, wanna come grab something to eat," Naruto paused a moment, before grinning again as he jerked his thumb back towards Kankuro, "Or would you rather just stand there and watch me throw buttplugs at the asshole until he shuts up?"

"Hey!" the pink painted sand nin protested as his blonde teammate snickered softly at his side.

"Your second offer is rather... intriguing," Gaara admitted.

"HEY!" the protest was louder this time as it echoed over the group.

"I'm curious to see if it works," the red head continued, his eyes shifting to send a cold glare in Kankuro's direction, "Normally, I have to threaten to kill him to shut him up."

"Urk!" painted nin quickly shut his mouth, staring at the slightly shorter boy with wide eyes.

Naruto shrugged slightly before looking towards the tree, "Hey Sasuke, Haku! You two lovebirds want to come with us?"

"Eh, what do you think Haku?" a lazy brow was arched as Sasuke looked at his boyfriend, "The amusement of two pinks at the table might be worth it."

"HEY!" Sakura growled softly, "Watch it Spanky!"

Carefully walking up to Ino, the blonde Suna nin spoke up quietly, "Is every nin in this village crazy?"

"Hmmm?" Ino blinked a bit before looking at the other blonde girl, shrugging softly and grinning, "Only the ones that you have to watch out for," she paused a moment, before leaning in, her voice husky as it whispered lightly just against her skin, "Because you never know when we might want... to play."

"Ino-chan!" Hinata giggled softly as she playfully swatted her teammate's rear, "Stop that! We don't want to scare them off."

As the sand girl blushed brightly, her dark eyes widening along with her mouth, Ino just smiled back at Hinata, "Mmm, nah," she reached up then, trailing a finger along the foreign nin's jaw, "I think, its more likely to get them to follow.

As Ino threw a wink at the other blonde girl, Hinata linked her arm with the girl and giggled again as she tugged her over towards their third teammate, "Come on you flirt, we don't want to let Naruto-kun get away, do we?"

"Temari," Gaara spoke up, his eyes flickering towards his blonde teammate, "I am going to... have lunch with them."

Blushing brightly, the blonde girl nodded numbly as she began to walk towards the group. The third member of the team stared in shock, uncertainty written on his face. Looking from Gaara, to Temari, to the blonde boy grinning happily, all he could do, was twitch slightly.

"When did the world go insane?" Kankuro twitched again, his eyes flickering after the group before down to gleaming rubber object on the ground in front of him, "And what kind of fucked up ninja goes around carrying butt plugs to throw at people?!"

Reluctantly he would shift his bundle slightly about his shoulders. Grumbling, he tried unsuccessfully to rub the pink paint off of his face. Quickly finding it a rather futile gesture, he sighed once more then began to follow after the congregating group.

"Oh, Konohamaru? Hanabi?" Naruto spoke up with a grin, "Why don't you too get back to your game, we'll catch up with you later."

"All right!" the pair nodded carefully before they both quickly took off, this time with Hanabi in the lead being chased by the grinning boy.

Unseen in the tree vacated by Sasuke and Haku, at trio of figures watched on from the shadows.

"That... was odd," a female voice spoke up.

"Heh, what losers," another voice, male this time added, "One of them using a butt plug as a weapon, the other getting hit by it."

"Perhaps, but..." a third voice, male as well, spoke up, slightly muffled, "Something seems... Off about it."

"It doesn't matter," the first male dismissed, "In the end, we'll fulfill Orochimaru-sama's orders and they'll die."

"Something doesn't seem right about the blonde and the girls he's with," the female voice insisted.

"Agreed," the muffled male voice spoke up, "But, it matters little, we'll deal with them all the same."

-Down the Streets of Konoha-

"So, what's Suna like?" Naruto asked cheerfully as he stuck his hands in his jacket's pockets, his blue eyes twinkling towards Gaara.

"Hot, dry," the red headed boy managed a neutral shrug, "Desert."

"Ah, haven't seen the desert yet," he responded easily enough, "Most of the away missions we've received have been to bandit camps."

"I see," the boy responded dully, "I will admit... all these plants, are a bit... Strange for myself."

"Yea, I can imagine," the boy nodded, before grinning back, "They with pranks a lot though."

"Pranks?" Gaara raised his brow at the blonde boy, "Such things are... discouraged in our village."

"Huh, never really understood why people think they're such a waste of time," Naruto chuckled softly, "I mean, it really is great training... not to mention how it helps keep the rest of the village alert."

As Gaara canted his head slightly in consideration, a soft, angry voice could be heard snapping words in their direction, "Damned demon brat..."

Instantly both boy's gazes turned, locking onto an irate looking woman directing her glare towards Naruto. Shaking his head, the boy just shrugged slightly, intent upon ignoring the woman, before he noticed her words had immediately garnered his companion's attention too. There was a pulse in the air, a cold, bloodthirsty darkness that suddenly emanated from the red head, as particles of sand began to slowly float through the air in the woman's direction.

He wasn't sure what Gaara was going to do, but the growing look of murder on the boy's face left him certain he needed to act. Reaching out, he quickly put his hand on Gaara's shoulder as he spoke quietly, "Easy... She was talking about me, not you."

Behind him, a pair of gasps were ignored as Naruto looked at Gaara's widening eyes, a brief flicker of disbelief as he looked at the hand actually touching him. The sand froze in its coiling rise, as the boy flicked his gaze from Naruto to the woman. Finally, slowly, carefully it fell again, as Gaara managed a slow nod, before they heard Temari's voice speak up behind them.

"You touched him... you actually managed to touch him!" the blonde girl could only stare in open mouthed shock.

"Eh?" Naruto blinked a moment, looking from his hand on Gaara's shoulder then back to the girl herself, giving her an odd look, "So?"

"My... sister is referring to the fact that my sand hasn't allowed anyone to touch me," Gaara paused a moment, a wariness glinting in his eyes, "Not since my uncle."

"Ok..." the boy blinked a bit as he pulled his hand back, "So, should I not touch you then?"

"The last person who was able to touch me, ended up trying to kill me," he spoke ever so softly as he watched Naruto, a cold wariness in his eyes.

"Wait, you just said your..." the words filtered through the boys mind, before comprehension flashed in those blue orbs, "Your uncle tried to....?"

"Yes," cold, flat, and dead was the simple response.

Naruto paused for a moment, uncertainty in his eyes as he studied the boy in front of him, searching for the words, before carefully speaking, "Because... of something inside of you?"

For a moment, the boy hesitated, before carefully he nodded, his eyes flickering towards the rest of the group. Catching his gaze, Naruto nodded in turn, before speaking very quietly "Yeah... Never fun having something like that inside of you... We can talk later... when they're less people around, ya know?"

A wary hesitance flashed across his eyes, before carefully the red head nodded, "Very well."

"So, blonde girl's your sister?" he remarked casually as he arched a brow.

"Yes," came the simple response.

"Huh," the boy blinked a bit, "Generally sisters aren't that scared of their brothers."

"And from what I understand, Uncles don't usually try to kill their nephews," the red head responded dully.

"From what I hear," the boy nodded in a sad bit of agreement, "I wouldn't know, my whole family's been dead since I was born from what I hear."

"From what you hear?" Gaara looked back at the boy.

"Well, everyone that was their friend tells me they're dead," Naruto spoke up softly, "And bits and pieces about them. Small little bits. Don't even know their names."

"I... see," again the voice was neutral as Gaara watched the melancholy smile on the boy's face.

"So, is the asshole your brother by any chance?" Naruto spoke up, casually as he jerked his thumb back towards Kankuro.

"Yes," Gaara nodded in agreement, "Despite his... penchant for make-up."

"Hey!" an outraged voice spoke up behind them.

"And the dolls," Gaara continued, as if he'd never heard the voice calling out, "He spends most of his time, playing with his dolls."

"THEY'RE PUPPETS!"

"Really now...?" Naruto blinked before looking back at the fuming Kankuro, "All those splinters must be painful."

"I try not to think about it," Gaara agreed with a nod, "The mental image is rather... disturbing."

"I don't even want to imagine," Naruto shivered slightly.

"I DO NOT DO THAT WITH MY PUPPETS!!!!"

"He even sews his own dresses for them," Gaara confided in the blonde boy, "Its sad really, he carries around a sewing set wherever he goes..."

"ITS CALLED BEING PREPARED!"

"Geez," Naruto shook his head in turn, ignoring the angry screams behind them, "Please tell me he doesn't try to make them anatomically correct."

"I've never been brave enough to find out," Gaara responded, "After I caught him going through my sister's room, I simply decided I didn't want to know."

"He did WHAT?!" this time the screaming voice had a decidedly female cast to it, the fury in it almost palpable.

"I think he was trying to find her... special friend," Gaara continued, "He was rifling through her... private drawer, and I think he took some of her make up as well."

"I was out of my warpaint!" the male voice spoke up, a bit quieter this time before a loud crash was heard as a giant fan was slammed against the boy's head.

"Yeesh," Naruto shook his head, "Its scary how desperate and messed up some guys can get."

"Indeed," the response came quietly before he shifted slightly, the dull emerald eyes shifting over his shoulder, glancing towards where Sakura was staring at him before turning his eyes back towards Naruto, "Why is the pink haired one staring at me?"

"The girl, or your girly brother?" the blonde asked curiously, "Because, quite frankly, I don't want to even begin pondering why he would be staring at you."

"The girl," Gaara responded quickly, a shudder running through his body, "I as well would hate to imagine that."

"Haruno?" Naruto paused, looking over his shoulder to a suddenly blushing Sakura who quickly turned her head, looking away, "Huh, well, I could be wrong... so I should get a professional opinion on it."

"Professional?" Gaara asked, a touch of curiosity rising in his voice.

"Yup," the blue eyed boy grinned back, "Hey, Hinata-chan, Ino-chan, why's Sakura staring at Gaara here?"

"Hmmm," Ino grinned wickedly as she looked at her friend, catching her chin with her fingers, "Well lets see, staring quietly, profuse blushing, slight dilation of the eyes. I think I've seen this a case like this before, sound familiar Hinata-chan?"

The pale eyed girl blushed herself before giggling softly as she nodded, "All she needs is to start looking down and pushing her fingers together as she stutters when she tries to talk to him, Ino-chan."

"That's what I thought," the blonde girl nodded sagely as she grinned back at Naruto, "Yes, we've definitely come to a conclusion about what she's suffering from, Naruto-kun."

"Don't you dare Ino-pig!" Sakura practically shrieked out, her eyes blazing as she cracked her knuckles angrily.

"Ah," Naruto grinned wickedly, "So she's suffering from a case of Hinata-chan-itis, and crushing on Gaara here?"

"You said it, not me!" Ino giggled as her eyes twinkled.

"INOOOOOOOO!" Sakura whined unhappily.

"She's rather... vocal, isn't she," Gaara spoke up neutrally.

"Very much so," Naruto agreed, "Very passionate, energetic, but sadly, a bit too violent for my particular tastes."

"Violent?" Gaara perked slightly at that admission.

"Mhm," the boy nodded in agreement, "Though, I think its mainly because she's really, quite frustrated."

"Violence does help alleviate frustrations," Gaara quickly agreed, a slight smile curling on his lips.

"Yes, true..." Naruto paused a moment, noting the slight blood lust growing in the boy's eyes, "But there are actually some far more... enjoyable ways."

"More enjoyable than violence?" Gaara blinked at that, trying to wrap his head about the concept.

"Yes, much more enjoyable," Naruto agreed with a sage nod, before turning his head back, waggling his brows lecherously towards his teammates, "Wouldn't you agree Hinata-chan, Ino-chan?"

Both girls blushed for a moment before giving an enthusiastic nod of their heads, "Much!"

"...Are they always like this?" Temari spoke up, as she looked over at Sasuke and Haku.

"Pretty much," Sasuke shrugged slightly, "Naruto's never been a very, inhibited guy."

"From what little I've seen of him," Haku spoke up quietly, "Sasuke-kun's quite correct."

"They're perverts," Sakura spoke up flatly, a blush still covering her cheeks, "All three of them."

"You say that like its a bad thing," Temari responded without really thinking, before her words caught up with her and she blushed brightly.

"Joy, another one," the pink haired girl grumbled softly before sighing, "As if those three weren't bad enough with Spanky and his boy toy here."

"Am I ever going to live that down?" Sasuke grumbled as Haku smiled softly at his side.

"No," the Uchiha's boyfriend responded, "I don't think you will, Spanky."

"Hush, boy toy," Sasuke responded as he would nudge the effeminate boy lightly.

"Mmm, I don't know, going to make me?" there was a saucy wink before Haku almost giggled back at his boyfriend, his dark eyes twinkling playfully.

"Ok, seriously," Kankuro spoke up finally, still making certain to keep a safe distance between himself and his sister as he rubbed his head, "What's wrong with this village?!"

"We know how to have a good time?"Ino spoke up as she waggled her brows back at the others, "I mean, seriously," she grinned wickedly at the boy, "Just because we're make up stealing doll fetishists like you..."

"They aren't dolls!" Kankuro almost screamed as he crossed his arms about his chest before adding almost in after thought, "And I don't have a fetish."

"Whatever you say," Ino almost giggled as she looped her arm in Temari's and smirked just a bit, "Come on, lets get you away from the bad influences," she paused before leaning in, whispering into the other blonde girl's ear, "And get you over to the... naughty ones."

Temari blushed furiously, trying to stutter out some kind response, but unable to manage anything intelligible. Before she knew it, she could feel her other arm being captured as Hinata slipped to her other side. Caught between Naruto's two teammates Temari could only blush even brighter as she caught the predatory grins on the two younger girls' faces.

"Now really Ino-chan," Hinata smiled her sweet, feral little smile, "You wouldn't be trying to scare the poor girl off, now would you? That would just be," she leaned in, her lips almost brushing against Temari's ear, "So, disappointing."

"Oh, no Hinata-chan," Ino grinned back, her voice slipping down into a throaty pulse of breath as it caressed against Temari's skin, "We most certainly, wouldn't want to... scare her."

"Your friends seem to have taken an interest in my sister," Gaara observed quietly, before he turned his head back towards Naruto, "I don't recall her looking this flustered since Kankuro caught her stealing his magazines."

"I-I was getting him back for stealing my makeup!" Temari spoke up in protest.

"She was apparently most upset to be caught," Gaara nodded simply, "She was quite red in the face as she kept shifting her body, rubbing her legs together. It was most curious, I don't recall being caught getting him back ever making her breath so hard before..."

"I just wish she'd quit stealing my copies of the Ninja Hotties bondage issues!" Kankuro spoke up with a grumble, "Do you know how hard it is to trick a shop keeper in Suna with a do-er... puppet?"

"She does seem quite adamant about keeping those specific issues away from him," Gaara agreed, "I think she thinks they'll make him an even greater deviant than he already is."

"HEY!"

Naruto looked at Gaara oddly for a long, long moment, as if debating something as he reached up, cupping his chin casually in his hand, "Huh, sounds like she's a good sister, trying to keep her out of control brother from causing too much trouble."

"Indeed," the red haired boy agreed, "Most noble, being willing to take that deviancy as her own instead of allowing our brother to fall into it."

Temari let out a strangled sound as her blush only increased in volume while Ino eyed the girl next to her with a grin, "Ooooh, really now? Do we need to ask Naruto-kun to break out the ropes and cuffs?"

"Eep!" Temari's eyes widened visibly as she shivered between the two girls, goggling at Ino.

"Well, we don't have to limit it to just ropes and cuffs, Ino-chan," Hinata spoke up evenly, "There are all sorts of other toys that we can have all that much more fun with."

"Oh, so true Hinata-chan," Ino almost giggled back, her eyes shining as she quickly nodded her head, "What do you think Temari-chan?"

"I, um, er...eep!" the dark eyed blonde only managed a few stuttering syllables while she blushed furiously, but made no attempt to free herself from the girls' grips.

"I think your sister's in for an interesting time," Naruto spoke up casually, carefully examining his finger nails.

"I suppose so," Gaara admitted, "The kind of thing you were talking about, the one that's better than violence?"

"Knowing my girls?" Naruto responded casually, "Most likely."

"I see," the red head nodded slowly before fixing his flat gaze into Kankuro, "Then perhaps I should have a... Talk with my brother about spreading his, deviance."

Kankuro's eyes widened as he began to take a step back, a slow whimpering escaping his lips before Naruto began to chuckle softly, "You really enjoy messing with their heads, don't you?"

Gaara blinked a moment before turning his head towards Naruto, leaning his head lightly to the side as he did so, "I'm not sure just what you're refering to."

"Right," the blue eyed, blonde boy merely chuckled in response, those orbs glittering playfully, "Of course you aren't."

"I have merely been stating my observations at my siblings behavior," Gaara stoically insisted.

"In a most humiliatingly deadpan way," Naruto agreed.

"Merely a side bene-..." Gaara began before quickly snapping his mouth shut, his eyes widening slightly, "I mean I have no idea to what you refer."

"Exactly," a chuckle passed his lips before Naruto would casually make a gesture towards the restaurant, "Come on, lets go inside before your brother and sister boil themselves."

"Agreed," it could have been a simple trick of the light, but, Naruto could have sworn he saw a slight blush appear on Gaara's face as he responded in his usual stoic manner.

As the sand trio set the packs their carried on their backs against the booth, the Konoha Ninja adjusted themselves, leaving Gaara to sit with Naruto on one side, and a blushing Sakura on the other. Temari was quickly captured as Hinata pulled her into the booth while she took her seat next to Naruto, with Ino sealing her in place on the other side. Next to the Yamanaka blonde, Haku and Sasuke took their place, leaving Kankuro to bring up the end with an annoyed grumble.

"How come I'm the only one of us that doesn't get to sit next to a cute girl?" pink splattered Suna nin grumbled.

"Because you're the only one here who has a doll and make up fetish," Gaara responded easily, "And I wouldn't want to expose these lovely girls to anymore of your deviancy than they already have been," he paused a moment before gesturing towards Temari, "Look at what it did to our sister after all."

"I don't see her complaining about it," Gaara's older brother grumbled pointedly.

"Heh, I don't think my girls are complaining," Naruto smirked a bit as he turned his head slightly to where Ino was grinning lecherously as she whispered into Temari's ear, while Hinata watched with a look of amusement on her lips, "But that's not necessarily a good sign."

"Mmm, you wouldn't be saying bad things about us, now would you Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked with a sweet little smile on her face as her hand disappeared underneath the table.

"Oh no," Naruto agreed, "Never that. Just noting that its almost a given that the two of you are going to make it worse for her."

"And I'm sure," Ino murmured throatily, "Temari-chan's going to enjoy every bit of it..."

"Now remember you two," Naruto chided lightly, "Suna's an ally, you don't get to keep her."

"Aww," both of the Team 10 girls grumbled softly as they gave a mock glare in Naruto's direction.

"I swear, they're like little kids sometimes," Naruto chuckled softly as he rolled his eyes and leaned back, "Better watch out, they might try to keep her anyway."

"Perhaps a trade then?" Gaara asked idly, turning his head for a moment, looking at the pink haired girl at his side, "My violent sister, for the cute, violent kuniochi here?"

"Well, I'd say go for it," Naruto spoke up before chuckling a bit, "But for some reason, I don't think the Hokage would be as quick to jump on it."

Sakura blushed brightly as she struggled to come up with something to say, "Wha? Huh?! HEY!"

"But then again," the blonde boy continued, "She might need some proper training," he paused, before smiling innocently, "But, from what I hear, the fiery ones tend to make for great rides if tamed properly."

"NARUTO!" Sakura almost screamed as she lunged across Gaara's lap, her intent so completely focused on the blonde boy, she completely dismissed the red head from her mind.

"Careful, Sakura," he grinned, leaning back as he caught her wrists, twisting her body around as she gave off a soft eep of surprise before she found herself laying across Gaara's lap staring up at the boy, "You never know what kind of predicament you could find yourself in."

"Errr..." she blushed brightly as she looked up at the now blinking Gaara, "Hi..."

"Hello..." the boy responded carefully, shifting slightly as he could feel her warm body against his own, struggling against a blush that threatened to rise up against his cheeks, "Comfortable?"

"Eeep!" the girl blushed furiously as she stared back at the boy, her emerald eyes thrown wide as she froze in place, "I... Um... that is..."

"Yes, I think she finds it quite comfortable," Naruto interjected with a grin, his eyes twinkling wickedly, "But, since we were planning on eating, maybe she should be sitting in your lap, instead of laying across it. Sound good Sakura?"

"I.. Um.." Sakura continued to blush brightly before she slowly nodded, gently shifting around as she wrapped her arms tentatively against the crook of Gaara's neck before pulling herself up. Her face pressed against his skin, letting him feel the soft touch of her warm breath before she shifted around, looking up into his eyes for a quiet moment before blushing as she looked down, fidgeting lightly in his lap.

"There we go, now that everyone's..." Naruto paused a moment, before blinking idly as he looked to his side, making note of the giggling and moaning, "Well, I was going to say lets start ordering now that everyone's settled, but I can see that SOME of us are a bit too busy..."

As he coughed pointedly at that, causing Ino and Hinata to blush brightly as they broke away from the rather flustered Temari, as they chimed in unison, "Sorry, Naruto-kun!"

"I swear," he rolled his eyes a bit and smirked softly at the girls, "There's a time and a place for that you two. Toying with a girl right in public, when other people are planning to eat, is one thing. Its quite another when you're doing it in front of the girl's brothers!" he mock scowled at the two, "You're going to turn Kankuro into an even worse deviant than he already is."

As the two girls blushed brightly on either side of Temari, Gaara hesitantly brought his arm around Sakura's waist, much as he saw the girls doing to his sister, and Sasuke to Haku as he added, "Indeed, I would rather you not make things any more difficult with having to live with him than necessary."

"Hasn't that gotten old for you two yet?" Kankuro grumbled softly as he glared from his brother to Naruto.

"No," the pair responded in a frightening unison as Naruto grinned brightly.

"How about we start ordering our food, then we can continue with the abuse of our new friend here?" Sasuke spoke up, arching a brow casually as he lightly stroked his boyfriend's stomach.

"Sounds good to me!" Naruto grinned broadly before stretching out, "I'm starving."

"You're always starving Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke up with a soft giggle.

"Not my fault I burn through so much energy!" he grinned back, "Actually, from what I recall, a lot of it is because of you two."

As the rest of the table laughed and smiled at them, Ino and Hinata had the decency to blush. Smiling, the group settled in, placing their orders before indulging in a good bit of small talk. Hours later, the group finally finished, breaking up as various members split off and went their separate ways.

-The Hokage Monument-

Naruto cast a glance over towards Gaara as he sat at the edge of the cliff, they'd been there only a few moments, a silence between them as the cool night air began to wrap about their bodies. The girls had gone off on their own, or more accurately, Ino and Hinata had dragged Temari and Sakura off somewhere, to do something. He wasn't quite sure what. Sasuke and Haku had given a polite good bye, and vanished shortly after, leaving a suddenly rather nervous Kankuro to bid a hasty retreat from the pair.

So, they'd left themselves, Gaara silently following the blonde through the village streets, until they'd reached the path to the cliff. When they'd scaled it, still not speaking, Naruto had taken a comfortable seat on the ground, staring out over the village with a somber gaze. He simply waited, sensing the ill ease that Gaara felt, letting the boy choose when to speak.

"...Why are you so different from me?" Gaara spoke softly, "How can you... be like me?"

"Who've you got inside of you?" Naruto spoke up as he lay back, looking up at the boy with quiet blue eyes.

"Shukaku, the one tailed," the boy responded softly, "I can hear, my mother's voice, calling out for blood... to kill, to justify my existence with their blood. She comes to me in my sleep, eating at me, devouring me..."

"That's probably not your Mother you know," the blue eyes were watching him, quiet, and waiting.

"... I know," Gaara admitted quietly as he slowly slumped down, pulling his knees back up against his chest, "Its just... so easy to listen to it. If I kill, if I spill the blood, feel it blood... I'm not alone."

"How long have you known about it?" Naruto asked quietly, his words quiet, neutral.

"Since when my uncle tried to kill me," the boy answered quietly.

"... I found out about about mine the night I became a genin," Naruto's voice was quiet as he looked up at the stars, "I'd always wondered why they hated me, why they insulted me, or gave me those cold stares. Then one of my teachers told me, just before he tried to kill me."

"Did you kill him?" the question was so simple, so soft as it echoed past the young man's lips.

"No," Naruto shook his head quietly, "Another teacher, and a woman who became one of my Jounin Instructors showed up, to protect me. They didn't care about what was inside me. They saw me, not the fox."

Gaara nodded slowly, quietly as he processed the information the boy had told him, before the last bit slipped through his mind as he stared at the boy before him, "The Nine Tails?"

"Yeah," the boy nodded quietly, "The Fourth Hokage sealed it inside me when it attacked the village. Apparently according to old man Hokage, I was supposed to be seen as a hero, the living sacrifice that holds the beast at bay."

"The Fourth Kazekage," Gaara spoke up, his words growing thick with a tremor of emotion as he continued, "Sealed mine in me... Using my mother's life. To have a weapon," he paused a moment, before he stared up at the sky overhead, "And that's what he made me."

"That what you wanna be?"

"Its defined my existence as long as I can remember," there was a tinge of whispered regret in the red head's words as he spoke, "To fight, to destroy, to keep my existence from being erased."

"I protect what I care about," Naruto spoke up softly, "The people I care about. That and to have my teacher's style be recognized as being something worth practicing, instead of just being a joke like everyone thinks it is."

"You did throw a butt plug at my brother," Gaara observed neutrally.

"I'm a bondage ninja," Naruto responded with a shrug against the ground, "It comes with the style."

"I suppose so," the boy answered neutrally.

"Ever thought about choosing a different path?" Naruto asked after a moment's silence.

"...What do you mean?" there was a moment of genuine surprise in Gaara's words as he blinked at the boy in front of him.

"Well, sounds like you're living as what your father told you to be. Have you ever thought about choosing to be something else? Choosing to be what YOU want to be?"

"... I don't know," Gaara responded quietly, looking away as he wrapped his arms about his knees, "I don't know what I'd choose to be."

"Ya know, you could probably kill me," Naruto spoke up quietly, his eyes closed as he spoke.

That caused Gaara to blink suddenly, almost boggling at the calm manner in which the boy spoke, "What...?"

"You use the one tail's power right?" the blonde boy spoke up softly, "Defends you, lets you attack, makes you very, very dangerous?"

"Yes," he admitted quietly.

"I've never drawn on the nine tails," Naruto continued softly, "I don't have any special abilities like that," he paused a moment before admitting, "Well, other than healing fast, a lot a stamina, and more chakra than I know what to do with."

"And you... want me to kill you?" the Suna demon container blinked again, uncertain.

"Oh no," the leaf ninja chuckled softly as he shook his head, "I'm just saying you could. My style, the kind of ninja I choose to be... I probably wouldn't have any chance against you," he paused a moment, before looking up directly into Gaara's eyes, "But, you know what?"

"...what?" there was confusion, written all across the boy's face, not sure just where he was going with all this.

"If you threatened what I cared about, I'd do everything in my power to stop you, even if it meant my end," the words were soft as they left Naruto's lips, as they echoed up against Gaara's ears, causing the boy to stiffen suddenly at the proclamation.

"Why?" the words were stiff, wary as he almost glared down at the boy, trying furiously to hide the uncertain fear that rippled through him, "Why would you throw your life away like that then?"

"Because that's how I choose to prove my existence," Naruto responded quietly, looking up at the stars now, "Not because someone told me that's what I had to be. Not because its what people tell me is the right thing to do. Because I made the choice to," he took a moment, pausing before he gestured out towards the village below them, "They call me a monster, a demon. But, I choose to protect, not destroy. I will be who I choose to be."

"There are ninjas that would call you weak for that," Gaara spoke, his voice neutral as he looked down at the boy in front of him.

"Tell that to the Fourth Hokage," Naruto responded quietly, "He choose to protect what he loved, what he cared about. He put everything he had into it. He gave everything he had for it. And because of that, he almost single handedly ended the war Konoha and Iwa. Because of that, he defeated what's considered an unstoppable creature of destruction. Does that sound like someone who was weak to you?"

For a long moment, Gaara said nothing, looking out over the village below them with a solemn steady gaze, before quietly he spoke, "No, it doesn't."

"Then find out who you are," Naruto responded, "Choose who and what you are. But make sure its YOUR choice."

As the wind swept passed them, Gaara nodded once more, saying nothing as he lost himself in though and consideration. What choice was he going to make? What did he choose to be?

End Notes: Huh, wow the manga keeps jumping lately... Heh. Anyway, just so people know, there will NOT be lemon bits in this fic. If you're looking for porn, look else where, you won't find it here.