Chapter 5: Mirror, Mirror
The mission to the Land of Waves had been very long. Naruto and the rest of Team 7 had been away from the village for many weeks. He loved every minute of. It was the first time in his life that he had ever been outside the village. An odd thing seeing as he saw his own village as a living hell. But since he had no place else to go he never thought of leaving. That was changing.
The village gates could be seen in the distance. The others were happy to be home he knew. That's fine. He was happy in a way as well. Never in his life had he spent so much time around people. Day and night they were together and now he could get away from them. Finally some time alone.
"It's about time we got back," the Fox interrupted his thoughts. "All this walking around is so boring."
Well, not completely alone.
Once inside the village gates they all split up. Kakashi needed to file their mission report. Sakura was eager to go home see her family and clean up from all the time on the road. Sasuke just walked off not saying anything. His ego still wounded from Naruto having to save his life during the fight with Haku. Naruto for his part went home to ditch his stuff.
It was still mid day and the last place Naruto wanted to be was home. He didn't have anyplace in mind he just wanted to get outside. The day was sunny, the sky clear, and a lone hawk flew through the air. Something was up but he didn't know it yet.
"So Naruto," The Fox cut in. "What's on your mind? You have been keeping your thoughts closed to me."
"Can't I have some privacy even in my own thoughts?" Naruto thought as he walked down the road.
"Yes, you are entitled to that. But you never keep them to yourself unless it's something big."
"Your right, it is. It's about the village. About what I'm going to do to it."
"Second thoughts?"
"Sort of. I'm not going to kill everyone after all."
"Really."
"No, just most of them, hehe. I mean how else are they going to continue to live in fear? I kill them all and burn the village to ash, then what? No one is left to remember what happened here."
"I see."
"But if there are some poor souls who survive the terrible massacre they can spread their tale of horror. Tell of how they "miraculously" escaped the carnage. They may even come back and rebuild the village, and that's fine. I won't care. My vengeance will be done and the fact they will live in fear that it may happen again will make it all the sweeter."
"I take you are now starting to think beyond your initial plans."
"I plan to survive the attack. I plan to crush any who try to stop me. So I need a new place to live. The trip to the Land of Waves got me thinking. There they didn't know me. Never heard of the demon child. Ninja missions will take me all over the world. I can make contacts in other lands, scout potential new homes, and start a new life."
"Not only did they not know of you, but when the mission was over they thought of you as a hero. That could come in handy."
Narutos eyes lit up. "You're right. If I could do it there then I could do it anywhere. Then I could be one of the pathetic survivors of the Leaf Village massacre. Show up, tell them of how I fought as hard as I could but was unable to save the people. Really make a sob story out of it. They will be so grateful that the ninja that saved them in the past managed to survive that they would take me in. No questions asked."
"Oh Naruto, hearing you talking like this gets my blood pumping. Your plans for vengeance is coming together quite well. Let some live, continue the fear, and move to someplace where you are celebrated as a hero. Beautiful."
Naruto was genuinely smiling now. That's why he had kept this from the Fox. He wanted it to be a surprise. Her reaction made him happy. He used to never think about the aftermath of his attack. In truth he use think he may not survive it so never planned for the future. But now, after the events in the Land of Waves, he knew he had a good chance. He needed all the angles covered now.
"Hey Naruto," Sakuras voice suddenly came from down the street. Naruto was surprised to see her so soon. He thought she would be sic of being around him by now. She came walking up to him. "Can I walk with you for a bit?"
"Uh, sure Sakura."
"I want to ask you something, but it's not easy for me to say." Naruto looked at her quizzically. "Could you help me train some?"
"What? Really?"
"Yeah, is that so strange."
"Well, yeah it is. I mean I would have thought you would have asked Sasuke. I'm just the weird guy on your team."
Sakura winced a little at the word weird. She remembered what she had said to him that one time. She regretted it now wishing he had forgotten.
"I'm sorry Naruto. It was uncalled for. I was just being a bitch." Naruto was shocked to hear her talk like that about herself. "But that seems like it was so long ago and we have been through so much. I mean you were so cool during the last mission and all I could do was stand around and pretend I was being useful."
She was right about that. While Sasuke and Naruto did all the fighting she just stood back and tried to protect the bridge builder. But if anyone had attacked her then she would have been unable to stop them.
"Forget about what has been said in the past Sakura," Naruto really no longer cared. "It was a long time ago and things have changed."
"Thank you." Sakura was relieved. Over the past few weeks she has been made to face the truth of how weak she was. "I did ask Sasuke for help. He told me he didn't have the time to waste with me. That there would be no point and I would just be getting in his way."
"Typical Sasuke," Naruto thought to himself. "We both have our desire for vengeance but he's so single minded he does not bother to look at the big picture."
"So will you help me Naruto?" she asked.
"Sure Sakura," Naruto was glad that she had asked him. This was good opportunity. "Sasuke was dumb to turn you down. If you can become stronger as and individual then you will make the group stronger. So sure, I will work with you."
"Thanks Naruto."
"That was big of you Naruto," the Fox jumped in. She had been listening to the conversation wondering what Naruto was really up to. "So what's the scam?"
"No scam," he thought. "What I said was the truth, sort of. She is a tool to make me stronger. But what good is a tool if it's dull and rusty. If I can make her stronger then it can only help me out later."
Sakura had fallen in step beside Naruto as they walked down the street. Naruto was distracted by his conversation with both the Fox and Sakura. So much so that when he rounded a corner he walked right into someone who was coming the other way. He was knocked back a few steps mostly because the person he ran into was a bit bigger then he was.
Looking him over Naruto didn't know what to make of him. He was dressed in a black jump suit with a hood pulled tight over his head. His face covered in purple makeup and there was something strapped to his back. He looked like a clown with a mummy on his back. The tall blond next to him was attractive though.
"Hey watch it punk," the clown yelled at Naruto. Naruto just stood there looking him over. It was hard to look him in the face. Hard because every time he tried he wanted to laugh out loud. "What? You're not even going to say your sorry!?!"
"Hehehe," Naruto didn't stop this laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"With a face like that people must tell you their sorry all the time."
The blond girl with him turned her head but could still be heard giggling. Even Sakura let a small laugh slip as well. Ironically the only one not laughing was the clown. This only made him madder. He reached out and pulled Naruto to him by the front of his jacket.
"I'm going to wipe that smile right off your face kid."
"Kankuro," the blond broke in sounding concerned about something. "He will be here soon."
"Calm down Temari," he said while staring Naruto right in the eye. "This won't take any time at all."
"You're right it won't," Naruto said, his evil smile crossing his lips. Suddenly without any warning two Shadow Clones appeared behind Kankuro, one to the left and the other to the right, both with kunai in hand. They each pressed their blades to his throat. No one had seen Naruto make the clones he was so fast. It was then that the four of them were interrupted.
"Damn it," Naruto thought. "Sasuke is here."
Just then a rock flew through the air and hit Kankuro in the hand. The pain made him let go of Naruto. Sasuke sat up in a tree holding another rock in his hand. The clones then disappeared. Naruto didn't need them any more. Besides if he had to kill this clown then he wanted to do it with his own hands. It was just more fun that way.
"Thought you could use a hand, Naruto," Sasuke lied. He had watched for a while from a distance. He wanted to see Naruto get beat up. Then he saw the hand signs and new Naruto was making clones. That's when he decided to show up and come off looking like the hero.
"Great, more Genin punks," Kankuro said trying to gain some of his composure back and hide how scared he was. "I'm tired of playing around with you guys." He then took the mummy of his back and stood it up on the ground next to him. "I'm going to take care of you all right now."
"You're going to use the Crow for this?" Temari questioned. "That's insane. He will be here any time now."
The three boys stood facing off. Sasuke and Naruto stood at the ready waiting to see where this was going. Temari and Sakura both stood off to the sides thinking how stupid boys were. Always trying to show off and see who is tougher. Naruto suddenly became deadly serious.
"Naruto something very bad is coming!" the Fox suddenly yelled. That's what changed Narutos demeanor. "I can feel something very powerful approaching." For his part Naruto took a quick sniff of the air but it confused him. All he could smell was sand.
"Kankuro," a calm cool voice said. Everyone then turned their heads to the tree branch next to Sasuke. From it sanding upside down was a young man with red hair and a giant gourd on his back. "Stop it now. Before you embarrass us even more."
"Oh, hey there Gaara," Kankuro said sounding like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I didn't see you there. Let me explain."
"Just save it please. I really don't want to hear it right now." Gaara then looked to the rest of the group standing there. He eyed Naruto looking him over closely. Naruto was doing the same. "I apologize for the actions of my teammate. He is very excitable and tends to act without thinking. We will take our leave of you now and let you go about your day without any more trouble from us."
It was then that he vanished in a swirl of sand and then reappeared between Kankuro and Temari. The three of them walked past Naruto and Sakura. Narutos eyes never left Gaara. The Fox was pacing her cage back and fourth greatly agitated by the source of the power the red head possessed.
"Hey wait a second," Sakura suddenly blurted out. The three ninja turned to look at her. "I can tell from your head bands you come from the Village Hidden in the Sand, from the Land of Wind. And while your nation and ours are allies ninja from different villages need permissions before entering another. So what's your business here?
"Wow, you are clueless," Temari answered. "You have no idea what's going on here do you?"
"We just got back from a long mission in another land," Naruto fired back. "We have been busy killing one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist so please forgive our ignorance." Naruto lied, but only a little.
The look on the faces of Temari and Kankuro was what he expected. Even Gaaras eyes widened. Everyone knew of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Naruto didn't want them to think they were any ordinary Genin. That they should think twice before ever picking a fight with them again.
"Well in that case," Temari continued. "We are here for the Chunin Exams. Genin from all over are coming to participate. We just got here a bit early."
That's when Sasuke jumped down from the tree he was sitting in.
"Hey you," he said. "The one with the gourd. What's your name?"
"They call me Gaara of the Desert," he said not looking at Sasuke but past him. "You can just call me Gaara. And you, who are you?"
"I'm Sasuke Uchiha."
"That's nice, but I was talking to the other guy on your team."
Everyone's head turned to Naruto. His eyes were cold and they never stopped staring at Gaara.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki."
"Naruto Uzumaki," Gaara repeated the name out loud slowly. "I will do well to remember that. Until next we meet."
The three of them once more headed down the road and out of sight. Sasuke was pissed about being ignored. Sakura stood there thinking. Naruto did not know what to think. He knew that Gaara was dangerous. He knew it because Gaara was just like him.
"Well, I'm out of here," Sasuke said and then headed down the road in the other direction.
"Sakura," Naruto said. "Let's get going too."
"Hu?" she questioned.
"You still want to train don't you?"
"Oh, yeah. Thanks Naruto."
The two of them spent the rest of the day at their teams training ground. The next day Kakashi told them he had selected them to participate in the Chunin Exams and that they had one week to get ready for it. Sakura and Naruto spent several hours each day leading up to the exam training.
Sakura was weak physically. Naruto showed her his usual routine. He taught her all the things he did to train his body and make it stronger. They also worked on her weapon skills and throwing practice. It was time well spent for Sakura because she was really improving each day. Naruto got a lot out of it as well.
Sakura was excelled at chakra control. She did not have a lot of it but what she did have could be used to a perfect degree. She had helped Naruto with his control during the Land of Waves mission and continued to work with him on it. That sort of thing was hard for Naruto because he was not very precise. He was more of a destructive force. She also had a brilliant mind and sharp eyes. She could see deceptions and traps faster then him. The more she thought like a ninja the better she became. As a tool she was coming along quite well and proved to be very valuable to Naruto.
The night before the exams came quickly. That afternoon Naruto had spent with Sakura, training. She was as ready for the test as he could make her. They broke early to rest up. Naruto had dinner at the ramen bar and then headed to the top of the Hokage faces. He stared up into the night sky for hours. He loved looking at them. Sometimes he imagined he could fly thought the open space between the stars. Travel to each one of them. The freedom he would have.
The familiar smell of sand interrupted his dream. Naruto got to his feet and turned around. Standing a few yards off with his arm folded across his chest was Gaara. The Fox once more grew agitated by his presence.
"Watch it my son," the Fox said growling. "He is deadly."
"So am I," he whispered back.
"Hello, Naruto Uzumaki," Gaara greeted him. His voice was calm and almost friendly.
"Yo. Fancy meeting you up here. Something I can do for ya?"
"I was out for a walk and happen to see you up here. Thought I'd come by so we could talk."
"Out for a walk and just happen to see me on top mountain. Where were you walking? On a cloud? Hey, let's make a deal. You don't lie to me any more and I won't toss you over the cliff."
"I apologize. I did not mean to anger or offend you. I was out hoping to find you. I think we have some things to talk about."
"Us? What could we have to talk about? Wait, let me guess. Could it have to do with the bundles of joy we both have attached to our souls? Hahahaha." Naruto began to laugh sadistically. "I call mine mommy." Naruto said that, referring to the relationship he had with the Fox, to try and rattle Gaara because saying it out loud just sounded twisted.
"So you can feel the demon inside of me as much as I can feel the demon inside of you. Please let us talk, I do not wish any trouble."
"You should tell that to your team."
"My brother does not think before he acts. Once again I am sorry for his trouble."
"Brother, eh? Would that mean the cute blond is your sister?"
"Yes."
"How nice that must be for you. Always surrounded by family. Watching every little thing you. Making sure you don't cause trouble."
"Actually I wanted to be on a team with them so I could look after them. So I could protect them."
"Hmmm, novel idea I guess. But putting that aside you and I have a lot in common." As he had been speaking Naruto was walking around Gaara in slow circles. Gaara never moved. Just watched Naruto as he came around the front of him. "We're like brothers." Naruto moved quickly along side Gaara and placed an arm over his shoulder. "Yup, the twin brothers of hell." Naruto began to laugh that evil laugh again.
Gaara was nervous. Not because Naruto was so close to him but because of what he could feel coming off of him. There was something not right about him. Something unbalanced. The Fox could feel it too. Something deep inside Naruto was reacting to Gaara. Something frightening.
Naruto moved around to the front of Gaara. "So, when did you learn about your little friend?" He said this as he gently patted Gaaras stomach with the back of his hand.
"When I was old enough, my father explained what had been done to me. What it had cost them but why it was so important to our village." There was a look of sadness in his eyes as he suddenly remembered the price his mother paid for his birth.
"Your family did this to you?" Naruto was genuinely surprised to hear this. "That's really fucked up. I thought I had it bad."
"What do you mean?"
"I never knew my family. I never knew the man who did this to me. I grew up alone. But have to be with the very people who made you into a freak everyday. That can't be easy."
Naruto had calmed down just a little. He had walked a few paces back from Gaara. He almost felt a little sorry for him. Naruto could imagine his life. Since they were the same it had to be just like his, but worse. He could not even begin to know what it would be like if the man who had done this to him had lived. If everyday he had to see him knowing what he had done to him. It was bad enough having to see his face on the mountain each day.
"It's not bad at all. I don't think of myself as a freak. I'm honored that they picked me. I am a source of strength to my people. I was made to be their protector and the strongest shinobi in the Land of Wind. With the support of my family and friends I'm well on my way to making that a reality. I just never knew there were others like me."
"LIAR!" Naruto snapped back with great force. "I told you to stop lying to me."
"I don't understand."
"You left out all the best parts." Naruto began to pace back and fourth again. "Let me fill them in with parts from my life. Like you said we are alike. You forgot to mention that everyone in fact hates you for what you are. They hate the fact that you were born. They insult you, call you names, look down on you, spit on you, throw rock at you, teach their children to hate you, and then send people to come for you in the night and try and KILL YOU." The last two words were filled with so much venom he spat them out.
Naruto stopped to catch his breath. Gaara just stood listening to him. Watching him walk back and fourth growing more agitated with each step. Gaara couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was this how he really grew up?
"I'm sorry Naruto. I had no idea that your life had been like that. It's like you have been forced to live a nightmare."
"SORRY!" Naruto stopped dead in his tacks and stared Gaara straight in the eye. "YOU'RE SORRY!?!" Naruto relaxed for a moment while his mind began to turn. "I don't want your pity. I don't need you to feel sorry for me."
Naruto took a deep breath as if trying to calm himself down. The Fox was getting nervous. Naruto was becoming unstable and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She could only sit and watch.
"You and I are brothers Gaara." Naruto smiled when he said that. "We are one and the same. Except one of us was taken and raised in a golden palace, surrounded by family and love. The other was raised in the gutter, surrounded by loneliness and hate.
Naruto paused for a bit to let his words sink in. Gaara said nothing. He stood there listening to him. Listening to his words trying to imagine the world that Naruto described. It was something straight from his nightmares. He could feel Narutos pain. Despite what Naruto said he did feel sorry for him. But also in a way admired how far he had come alone.
"Standing here looking at you is like looking into a mirror," Naruto continued. "Except the glass in cracked and smashed. So all you get back is a broken reflection. You look at me and see your deepest nightmare come to life. You see what could have been. You think to yourself, there, but for the grace of god, go I."
"Your right Naruto," Gaara answered him at long last. "That is exactly what I see. A life of pain and suffering. A nightmare I have had since the day I learned of the demon inside of me. I can only imagine the world you live in."
"I could fix that for you. I could make you like me." Naruto once more dawned a smile that could give ice the chills. "I would start by killing your brother and sister." Gaaras eyes widened briefly as he contemplated whether or not Naruto was being serious. "Then travel to your village, kill your family, friends, and everyone else. Then you would have no one. You would be all alone. Then you would no what it would be like have a heart of hate. A hate of me. Then you would be just like me."
There was a brief moment of silence that was filled with tension. Gaara had no idea if Naruto was serious. He knew he was very powerful, but was he really so twisted that he would make good on his threat?
"On second thought," Naruto continued. "That sounds like a lot of work and I don't really think I could stand having another me around."
Gaara let out the breath he had been holding. Naruto seemed to be taking joy in tormenting him. "Naruto, what you said about what I see in you is true. You are everything I was afraid of becoming. But what is it you see when you look into the same mirror? What do you see looking at me?"
"What I see? I see a fantasy. I see a lie. What I see isn't right. What I see ISN'T FAIR! YOU'RE NOT NATURAL! BEINGS LIKE US AREN'T SUPOSE TO BE HAPPY! TO HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY! BEING LIKE US ARE EXPECTED TO LIVE WITH NOTHING! SO WHY DO YOU HAVE EVERYTHING!?! IT ISN'T FAIR!
Naruto was beyond enraged. He could not stop the flow of hate. For Gaaras sake he was not in the right state of mind to fight him effectively. Naruto needed to get out of there. There before him stood someone just like him except he had everything he didn't. He had a life of joy while Naruto lived in hell.
"I'm leaving now. For your own sake, never bother me again. Go back to your perfect little world." Naruto started to walk away. He had said all he was going to. He couldn't think straight anymore.
"Your right," Gaara said to the retreating form of Naruto. "It's not fair. I must be an affront to everything you have ever known. But you need to know something. You have a right to be happy." This stopped Naruto in his tracks. He turned his head and looked at Gaara. "Just like me, you deserve to be happy as well. Is there nothing or no one in your life that lightens your heart? Even a little. Is there no one precious to you?"
"Precious to me?" Naruto thought. The words echoed in his mind. The same words spoken to him by Haku. He didn't know how to answer it then. He still didn't today but he was closer to an answer then he knew.
Naruto stared at him for a moment. He was right. He did deserve to be happy. There was someone in his life that touched his heart. Naruto just didn't know it yet. He could not see the person who was making such an impact in his life. Someone that he didn't know that he could not live without. Naruto then vanished into the night leaving Gaara alone. The Chunin Exams began in the morning and Naruto needed time to think.