Hey guys, just a heads up, I got my numbering off with the last chapter, THIS is chapter 12. As far as the changes go, the timeline isn't affected by the absense of the three boys from their respective homes, it's affected because as similar as the new "world" may be, it's still a different place. Hope that clears up some questions, if you have anymore, ask away.

-Chapter 12: Preperations I-

Naruto groaned as he rolled over in his sleep. It was a day off therefore the boys were sleeping in, well Gaara was already gone and Zaiaku was in the shower, Naruto was sleeping in. After another turn on the small couch the blonde found himself face first on the ground, "THAT'S IT!" he cried, "We're going to find a place to stay!" Running down the hall he hit the bathroom door like a punching bag, "OI! get out! we're going house shopping!"

Zaiaku poked his head out the door, "Fell off the couch again?" his companion blushed and nodded, "Alright let me get dressed." Half an hour later the two teens were walking down the street, Naruto was whistling happily while Zaiaku was glaring at him, "It is not!"

"Yes, it actually is," replied the blonde, "It took you five minutes to get dressed and 25 to blow-dry your hair, that is GIRLY!" In his mind Kyuubi was howling with laughter

'He's jealous,' said Shiva curtly

"Whatever," mumbled Zaiaku, "Anyway, where's Gaara?"

In the hotel the foreign shinobi were staying in, Gaara was speaking to his two siblings, "I left because I was tired of being attacked, I wished to know more than blood and death."

"And," replied Temari, "You've found that with Naruto, Zabuza, and Zaiaku?"

"They don't seem like a fun loving group of guys, truthfully," added Kankuro

Gaara snorted, "They are enjoyable to be around, but when they fight it's different, like they are two different people." He closed his eyes, "Naruto is loud and outspoken, but when he fights he never panics and stays one step ahead, no matter how crazy that step seems. Zaiaku is not as loud as Naruto, but he can be-" he paused, "when he becomes involved in a battle he's ruthless, cold, and unforgiving. He won't stop until you are dead or unconcious."

"Yea," interjected Kankuro, "Jouichi can vouch for that."

"And you?" questioned Temari, "how are you when you fight Gaara?"

The redhead shrugged, "I do what needs to be done." Standing up he eyed them both, "Would you like to accompany me for lunch?"

Half an hour later Naruto and Zaiaku were sitting at Ichiraku, "ARGH!" cried Naruto, "Where in the hell is he?"

"I told you he was loud," droned Gaara from behind them. "Temari and Kankuro decided to join us for lunch," he added as they took a seat.

Naruto's scowl fell as he went wide-eyed at Temari. "I thought you said he was outspoken?" she questioned, "He's pretty quiet now."

"Yes, Naruto, what seems to be the problem?" prodded Zaiaku, "A minute ago you wer-"

He was cut off by said blonde hurling a kunai at him, "Hey, stuff it frosty." Then he gulped and turned to Temari and inadvertantly Kankuro, "What would you guys like?"

Temari glanced at the menu warily, "You know ramen isn't real food right?"

Naruto only continued staring at the wall menu

-Flashback-

"NARUTO-KUN! RAMEN IS NOT REAL FOOD!" cried an enraged Temari as she chased her husband around the kitchen table

Said husband was in fear for his life, "IT IS REAL FOOD!" he replied, "BESIDES I WAS HUNGRY!"

"I'M COOKING DINNER!" she yelled

"I'LL EAT!" he gasped as he turned and tackled her, "I'll eat again, Temari-chan."

The sand kunoichi pouted, "You'd better," she replied as he showered her with kisses.

-End Flashback-

"-ruto?...OI! NARUTO!" yelled Zaiaku shaking him, "You spaced out there."

"Hm?" replied Naruto half-heartedly, "Yea sorry about that."

"So," chirped Temari, "What'd you three do for two years?"

Each of the teens looked to each other for a moment before Gaara spoke up, "Trained."

"Not many of the finalists think they can compete with you guys," said Kankuro. "After what you did in the semi-finals I'm inclined to agree."

Naruto shrugged, "Never count an opponent out before the match is over, someone may surprise us." After slurping down his second bowl he jumped up, "We need to keep looking!"

Gaara cocked an eyebrow, "Looking for?"

"Apartments," replied Zaiaku as he took a final bite of pork and paid for his meal.

"Fell off the couch again?" questioned the redhead, his white haired companion nodded.

"Well," cut in Temari, "Three boys cannot pick out their own apartment, you need a woman's touch."

"That's okay, we've got frosty," replied Naruto without missing a beat.

"HEY!" cried Zaiaku, then he rolled his eyes, "Let's just go."

'Honestly,' huffed Shiva, 'Naruto-kun is being very irritating this morning.'

Two and a half hours later Zaiaku had ducked off to the training fields, Kankuro had headed back to the hotel, and Gaara was somewhere that was undisclosed. Leaving an irritated Naruto and a pissed off Temari, "HONESTLY! what the hell is wrong with these people?" she cried. Then she turned to her blonde companion, "What the hell did you do to these people before you left to make them hate you so much?"

Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head, "Well," he replied, "You could say that Gaara, Zaiaku, and I have a WHOLE lot in common."

-Flashback-

"Ne, Naruto?"

the blonde turned to his friend, "Hai, Temari?"

"Why are you friends with Gaara?"

he smiled, "We have a lot in common."

-End Flashback-

Meanwhile at the training grounds Zaiaku was tearing into training dummies, "Hyouton: Shigure no Jutsu!" (Ice Style: Winter Shower Technique) as the ice needles rained down he spun his body and launched three tagged kunai that hit dead center. As the logs exploded a voice came from behind him.

"You used your needles for a distraction while the real damage was delt with exploding kunai," turning his head Zaiaku saw Neji and several other rookies approaching. "If your opponent anticipates it as a distraction the sheer number of needles will overwhelm them and you can close in for another attack, brilliant," he finished smirking.

Another voice interupted his ramblings, "How," questioned Sakura, "do you do that?"

"Do what?" questioned Zaiaku as non-chalantly as possible

-Flashback-

Zaiaku had just splintered a log with a violent ice jutsu, "Well that wasn't too shabby."

Someone approached through the trees, "How do you do that?" came a soft voice

the white haired man shrugged...

-End Flashback-

"I just do," he replied, struggling to keep his voice from cracking

The kunoichi wasn't convinced, "You made ice and it's nearly ninety degrees outside, how?"

Taking a calming breath he walked up to her, the remaining gennin watched expectantly. Looking around he narrowed his eyes, "Where's Sasuke?"

"He," replied Shikamaru, "isn't worried about you apparently."

"Good," said Zaiaku, "Now, how do I do that?" he reaffirmed the question. The pink haired girl nodded along with several others, stepping up in front of her he peered at her intently, "Exhale," he commanded. As she did so he held out a hand and focused his chakra, immediatly the condensation turned to ice crystals. "There is always moisture in the air, it's only a matter of condensing and freezing it. Some places like the desert take more chakra due to the dry heat, but it's still possible."

"That doesn't answer how," replied Shikamaru, "to be able to manipulate the moisture in the air is one thing, but to be able to condense and freeze it is something that is..."

"Not natural?" finished the white haired teen. "I just can," he reiterated, "Now I really need to train and Hinata-san, Sakura-san, Neji, and Shikamaru are finalists. I'm not going to show you anything else, go bug Naruto if you can get Temari-san away from him."

After a minute everyone but Sakura had left, "You," she said, "were one of the ones that was here with Naruto two years ago." She narrowed her eyes, "The day he left."

Zaiaku nodded, "Yea."

"I thought it was you when I saw what you did to the arena during your fight," she rambled, "Then a minute ago I watched your eyes do that weird glow thing and I knew it was you."

"Where is this going Sakura-san?" he questioned with a raised brow.

"The way..." she hesitated, "the way you look at me...it...I've never been looked at like that before."

Zaiaku stiffened, 'crap' "Gomen, Sakura-san, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Sakura shook her head and turned to walk away, "I'm not her."

"What?"

"Naruto," she replied, "told me why you look at me like I'm the only person that exists, he said that I remind you of someone special that you lost, and that she was your life." She turned a glared at him, "I am not her!" Spinning on her heal she intended to storm off, but cast a fleeting glance over her shoulder instead. When she looked, Zaiaku was gone, the ground iced over where he once stood. "But, when you look at me that way," she whispered, "I kind of wish I was."

"FINALLY!" cried Naruto as they were able to aquire a VERY nice three bedroom apartment, "Only took half the-GET DOWN!" he yelled as he shoved Temari to the side and ripped a kunai out of the air.

"WHAT THE FUCK NARUTO?" cried Zaiaku, "How could you tell her something like that!" Launching forward he slammed a fist into the blonde's face and recieved an answer in the form of a knee to the gut.

'LITTLE ONE PLEASE CALM DOWN!' cried his inner entity

Naruto wasn't scared, but fighting a pissed off Zaiaku could get dangerous fast, "What are you talking about?" he yelled, "Tell who what?"

'This is not good, Kit' interjected Kyuubi, 'If he starts using jutsu, this immediate area is going to be an icecube along with everyone here.'

Zaiaku charged again in a blur and threw a flying roundhouse to Naruto's head, his friend blocked it and launched his own, only hitting air. "Sakura!" yelled Zaiaku as he jammed Shimotsuki into the concrete, pissed or not, drawing on his friend wouldn't happen. "You told her she reminded me of someone!" he cried as he attempted to sweep the blonde's legs.

Vaulting over the white haired teen he slammed an elbow into his side causing him to wince and counter with a backfist, "It's the truth!" he retorted recovering from the counter attack. Zaiaku wasn't as strong in taijutsu as Naruto was, but he was fast, and they continued to exchage blow after blow. "Calm down!" he yelled, "We'll talk about it, but you have to get a grip before we hurt somebody!"

Looking around Zaiaku saw several small children being sheilded from the fight. Calming down he ripped his sword from the ground, "Let's go," he replied flatly.

"Where?" questioned the blonde

Zaiaku winced and gripped his side, "You broke at least two ribs and you need to get that cut above your eye looked at."

"I'm sorry," said Naruto after a moment of walking, "She stopped me, I could've said I didn't know, but I never could lie to her. Hinata or Temari-chan either, for that matter."

Glaring at the concrete Zaiaku was still craddling his ribs, "It's true, but I didn't want her to find out like that. Now when I look at her she's going to think I'm seeing someone else, instead of her." He grimanced as he stumbled slightly, "Think you could've hit me any harder?"

Shiva rarely got irritated with her vessel but this was one of those times, 'Well, little one, it's not like you pulled any punches!'

Naruto was holding a bloodsoaked napkin up to his forehead, "How do you think I feel, your knuckles are all boney, they cut instead of pound when you punch." Reaching over he wrapped his companion's right arm over his shoulder and supported him, "Besides, it's true," he stated, "You are looking at someone else when you look at her, well...kinda. This is so confusing" he finished with a grunt.

"How was your house hunting with Temari?" questioned Zaiaku

Naruto beamed, "We have a new place and Temari and I are having lunch this weekend."

Both boys flinched when they walked into the waiting room of the Konoha Hospital and saw Tsunade giving them a death glare, "SO IT WAS YOU TWO!" cried the blonde haired woman. "WHAT-KIND-OF-IDIOTS-FIGHT-IN-A-CROWDED-AREA," every new word was accentuated with a sharp smake to the back of the head.

"God," interjected Zaiaku, "I have a migraine as well."

Gaara was sitting on the hokage monument, his eyes taking in the vibrant green trees that seemed to go on forever, "You know," interupted Zabuza from behind him, "even though I hate to admit it, this place is pretty damn nice." Then he took a seat next to his student and placed Sangemaru on the ground, "Besides, the uniforms aren't all that bad either."

The redhead nodded, "It's very green here, in Sunakagure there is only sand."

"Yea," replied Zabuza, "In Kirikagure there is a giant mist that covers everything, can't see a foot in front of you." Leaning back he laced his fingers behind his head, "You guys have gotten a lot stronger."

Gaara smirked at him, "So have you, it is amazing what you can do when you're fighting for something, is it not?"

The jounin stared at the sky, "It is," he replied, "I realized something the other day, wanna hear it?" the redhead nodded, "you three are kind of like Haku. Well metaphorically anyway. Naruto is Haku's heart and fighting spirit, he's ready to put it all on the line for his dreams and goals. Zaiaku, well he's more of Haku's physical side, the way they both fight is more like poetry in motion than actual combat. Then there's you, you're Haku's thoughts: calm, calculated, and no nonsense."

"So in a way you've replaced Haku with us?" questioned Gaara

"Maybe," shrugged Zabuza, "I think it's more my way of knowing that Haku's spirit is living on. That this whole repentance thing isn't a waste of time. I knew that Haku looked up to me, but never acknowledged it, you three look up to me and I see it. That really does affect my actions sometimes."

Gaara smirked, "Who said we look up to you?"

Zabuza cluched his chest dramatically, "Are you saying you don't? And here I've been the best sensei I could be!" he cried.

"You actually told Naruto to climb a tree with his teeth," replied the redhead

"Hah!" barked the jounin, "it took him two tries to figure out I wasn't serious." Laying back down Zabuza closed his eyes and began to doze off, "Oh," he said, "Naruto and Zaiaku are in the hospital, apparently Naruto pissed him off and now Zaiaku has a broken rib and Naruto is getting stitches over his eye."

"Wonderful," grunted Gaara as he stood, "Have you found a place to stay yet?"

"Yea, same building as you guys," he replied.

Gaara turned to head to the hospital, "Have a nice nap," he said, "and here comes that purple headed examiner, Anko was it?" Zabuza shot up and went wide-eyed forcing Gaara to take another jab as Anko plopped down next to him, "Remember sensei, we look up to you." An hour later and he was at the hospital glaring from bed to bed, "Really," he scolded, "You two are like children, two broken ribs, thirty-seven stitches, and two small concussions between the two of you?"

"It's not my fault!" cried Naruto

Zaiaku launched a pillow from across the room, "The hell it's not! If you could keep that gaping chasm you call a mouth CLOSED I wouldn't have gotten mad."

'Gaara-kun is right little one, you get angry to quickly,' added Shiva

"Well," replied the blonde, "you'd think someone with your disposition would be less of a hothead!"

After an hour and a threat of bodily harm from Gaara both of the boys settled back into their usual pace, "Now," said Gaara, "where is this apartment?"

"We should find Temari-chan," replied Naruto, then he scratched the back of his head and grinned, "With everything that happened I kind of forgot."

End Chapter 12

Read and Review! - I decided to make "Preperations" two chapters because I believe that too long of a chapter causes the reader to stop paying attention. I should have the other chapter up shortly. I also tried to give Zabuza a perspective in this section to show that he's changing as well, he'll always be the demon of the mist just less killing sprees.

Preview Chapter 13: Preperations II