Disclaimer: All your ninja are belong to Kishimoto

A/N: Finally, the last of the heavy emotion/little action chapters for a little while! XD This one's over 5,000 words long so no complaints about the length this time, huh? ;)

This is the 3 month anniversary of the story! XD How cool is that? Just over 80,000 words posted in three months isn't too bad, ne?

Chapter 15 - The Two Sides to Every Coin:

Jiraiya made it back to the hotel just in time to see Naruto climb back in through the ruined window. He hadn't found Orochimaru's spy, but he HAD learned that the hotel clerk had turned them in. He thought he'd done a pretty good job of distracting her from noticing the lack of a stamp on their passports and most of these inn-running types were more of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell variety, but evidentially he'd misjudged that one. He'd returned as soon as he heard, beside himself with worry, but judging by the look of the room, he hadn't been fast enough. Anxiety curled in a hard knot in his belly.

Before he could say anything or start frantically looking him over for wounds, Naruto noticed him in the doorway and started to babble, "It wasn't my fault! I know, I know, and I really TRIED to stay out of trouble! I PROMISE! This guy just busted down the door! It's actually YOUR fault! I told you about the paperwork!—It was absolutely HORRIBLE, I almost KILLED him, and--"

"Whoa, Chibi!" Well, Naruto certainly SEEMED fine, a little shaken up, and dealing with the aftermath of his first real ninja battle, but relatively fine-ish. He nearly grinned a bit at the flood of relief in his system and the scowl that nickname could still produce, even in a situation like this, on his student, "I know, I heard about it, and got back here as soon as I could. Are you okay?"

Naruto sighed in relief that he wasn't going to get blamed for this and nodded. "I'm fine – a few sand burns, but I already healed them. Eh, heh…I kind of met Gaara on accident though. I know you told me not to, but he's the one that showed up!"

"Gaara?" Jiraiya blinked. He couldn't immediately place the name, but it sounded familiar.

"Yeah! He's the Jinchuuriki you warned me about! It was his team that was sent to get us….I - er, kind of had to take him down for a while, but he's actually really cool once you get past the whole 'insanity' thing, which was ENTIRELY Shukaku's fault! I was right about that, and you wouldn't BELIEVE what Mokuton does to outside Bijuu, and Ivy acted really strange too…"

Jiraiya smacked his palm to his face and shook his head. How did this stuff always happen around the brat? "Well, stop babbling. it's too late to change anything now. Let's go get a different room – there's no point in changing hotels;, we'd just look suspicious and like we had something to hide, and then you're going to tell me everything so I know what kind of damage control we need to run." There was no way the mission office and/or the Kazekage didn't know from a description who had checked into this inn. Jiraiya knew he was pretty distinctive looking. They had to have sent the Jinchuuriki here on purpose; the only question now was, why? Assassination attempt, maybe? But if so, who had they been trying to kill?

†

Naruto told his godfather everything he could remember, including the conversation he'd had with Gaara. Jiraiya didn't look pleased.

"Damn it Naruto! This is EXACTLY what I told you NOT to do! I hope to hell he's as trustworthy as you seem to think he is, because if he's not, there's no telling what this could do! Forget Akatsuki and Orochimaru, if he tells even his father, you're screwed! There's even a small chance that the alliance with KONOHA could be screwed since they might think we were hiding a weapon from them! The Kazekage is NOT a nice man, and there are rumors lately that he's not playing with a full deck--"

"They'd never believe him anyway, and it's not like they sent a memo to our Kage when they put the demon in him, so what could they do?! Besides, the Kazekage is a bastard that's running this country into the ground! Do you think Gaara's going to go running to him after what that asshole did to him and his mother?! I can trust Gaara, I can tell! He's had it worse than me, no question about that, but we're still the same. You didn't see him, Sensei. No one had ever even touched his real actual skin before I healed him – at least not that he could remember, and when the Mokuton stopped the sand and pushed his demon back he looked like I'd just yanked his whole world out from under him, only to put it back right side up when he'd never even noticed it was wonky before!"

"I'm not doubting your ability to change people here, Brat! I've seen it first hand, but you can't always put your faith in that! You are too trusting, and as a shinobi, that can get you killed! Your Gaara is a cold-blooded killer. Naruto, you're a ninja now, so you have to think of Konoha first, and what you've told him has the remote possibility of endangering the village as well as seriously risking your own life! What if this had been a mission; would you give privileged information to a ninja you just met just because he 'felt' trustworthy to you? People won't always live up to your expectations of them; sometimes even your best friend can betray you – do unspeakably horrible things, and you've GOT to be prepared for that or it will KILL you inside, even if you manage to physically survive!"

He swallowed hard and shook thoughts of his own past out of his head. He had promised the brat's mother he'd try to get over that. "Besides, the rumors I heard about Gaara would chill your blood, and you're basically asking him to put loyalty to you before Suna when he's the damn village leader's SON."

"Of course I wouldn't give away Konoha secrets! This is MY secret, one I SHARE with him; it's not the same thing at all, and that man has NEVER been a father to him! I TOLD you what he told me about it after our fight! His father kept trying to have Gaara killed for YEARS! I'm the first friend he's ever had. After the way they've treated him, he doesn't owe this stupid village ANYTHING. He's not going to betray me, and Konoha won't be affected! Besides, I can TELL he's okay Jiji, I can't explain to you--"

"Don't play the bloodline card with me, Brat! You were expressly told that giving away that information would be dangerous and you did it anyway. If this were a mission, you'd lose your headband for that! I KNOW about betrayal, and you've got no clue! Besides, you aren't a seer so you can't know what kind of impact this will have, and you didn't grow up in a shinobi village, you don't know what it's like to—"

"I know more about loyalty to a village than he does! I LOVE Konoha, and Gaara doesn't even know what love IS. And you DON'T know what my bloodline tells me about someone with a Bijuu in them!"

Jiraiya took a few steps back and forced himself to calm down before they turned this into a full-blown fight. He was willing to concede that Naruto had a connection to Bijuu, and through that to their vessels that he, as someone without that, couldn't understand. It didn't excuse his actions, but it did explain them, and if he was right, then probably the sand kid could be trusted…only time would tell.

"Okay, I can see we're not going to get anywhere arguing about this tonight, and what's done is done. From what I've heard about him, you may be right, but I'm still going to have to tell Sensei about it so he can prepare for the worst. Don't think you're off the hook though, because you can't just go around doing whatever the hell you want Naruto. Someday there are going to be lives on the line here that aren't yours and sometimes you've got to sacrifice one person's happiness for the sake of your village. That's ninja life. You got a taste for that in your fight, I know that, but now you should realize that being a shinobi DOESN'T mean being a hero all the time. You're considered an adult now, and men have to do some horrible things sometimes. There's a much darker and dirtier side to ninja life than the stories of your old man I used to tell you at night, and your mom and I probably haven't done you any favors by protecting you from that. We're essentially tools, and right now, you're a really lousy one for all you won that fight. You're not Hokage yet, brat – you're a genin, the lowest of the low, and you can't make those kinds of decisions on your own."

Naruto winced. His godfather sounded really disappointed with him, and he supposed he had a right to be. He hated more than anything to disappoint his precious people, but ninja as just tools? What kind of world could those kind of people build? He'd read it, of course, but what about underneath the underneath, and should he totally disregard what his Mokuton senses told him about people? Those instincts had never led him astray before…his godfather didn't know what those felt like to him, and he didn't know how to explain them. He just…sort of connected to people and things sometimes. He couldn't believe it was the right thing to do to just let Gaara keep suffering, to let him keep going around making OTHERS suffer, because he didn't know any better and no one could tell him differently. He just couldn't see how the greater good was served by that.

Jiraiya could see Naruto was thinking hard about the issues; that would have to do for now. "Get some sleep; you'll need it if your friends are coming back tomorrow. You've GOT to stay out of trouble from now on kid, and I MEAN it this time! You're drawing all kinds of attention to yourself and with secrets like yours, that's NOT a good thing."

"Fine – I'd never put Konoha in danger though, Ero-jiji! You know that. You'll see what I mean when you meet Gaara. It's sickening how these people treat him. Can't you look at his seal if nothing else? Shukaku constantly torments him. I had to get through to him somehow, and his main problem is that he thinks he's alone! I had to prove to him that he wasn't. That's why he killed all those people, and now he's not going to do that anymore. Doesn't that count for something?" Naruto stated, not willing to back down on this. If he couldn't help one Jinchuuriki though, what was he going to do when people found out about HIS prisoner?

"It doesn't matter, Naruto! Gaara is a tool for his village, just like I am, just like YOU are, now! He HAS killed before, and he'll do it again if he's ordered too. The sooner you wake up to that reality, the better off you'll be. Your mother's lack of a sense of loyalty aside, YOU'RE not her, and you DO owe Konoha first! He owes Suna first!"

"Don't bring Kaa-san into this! She's plenty loyal even if she hates the village! They aren't mutually exclusive! Besides…I don't like that Sensei." he murmured uncertainly, "I don't want to live that way."

Jiraiya sighed, he had to give it to him, and at least he was sticking to his guns. The kid still wanted to BELIVE in people, and he had this rose-colored view of the world that somehow made people want to conform to it to make him happy, but he didn't know yet that it couldn't last. It almost physically hurt to know he'd have to be the one to disillusion the boy and ruin that innocence. But, his job now wasn't as a godfather anymore, it was as a sensei and idealistic ninja didn't live very long.

Still, if he could survive this life with some of that heart intact, and someday harness that charisma of his and ability to make people believe in an ideal, he'd make a leader to put to shame to all his famous ancestors.

Unfortunately, that didn't make it any less frustrating to deal with from the point of view of someone who had to teach him to be a killer and harden his heart to harsh reality until he grew out of this stage and learned to stand on his own despite the shit the world could throw at him. Someone was going to have to beat that idealism out of him someday, and though he'd mourn for it as his godfather, he couldn't argue for its lack of necessity because he DID love the damn brat more than anything in the world. The sooner he learned you couldn't put your faith in most people and got burned by that particular fire – the longer he'd live, if a little less happily, then that's how it had to be… He sighed. We all have to grow up sometime.

"Whatever, Chibi. We'll talk more about this in the morning." Jiraiya finally growled, giving up for now. If this came back to bite the kid later, well, maybe he'd learn a lesson from it, but it was too late to really stop it at this point. He'd just have to do all in his power to keep him safe for a little while longer. Minato's son didn't do anything by halves and with Tsunade's stubborn streak, well sometimes you just had to hold on, endure the ride, and hope everyone survived. He had a forbidding feeling he'd have to get used to this sort of thing now that the kid was unleashed on the world and able to change it.

"Are you going back out?" Naruto frowned from his bed in their new room, he'd kind of hoped he could talk to his godfather about how he'd felt during the fight…he wasn't used to doubts like that, but it had all been totally railroaded by the Jinchuuriki discussion...

"Yeah, I haven't found any of the information I was looking for, yet – and now I have a few other errands to run."

"Okay, but can we talk when you get back? I—er, I almost killed him, Jiji…I KNOW ninja do that, but—I'm not feeling good about it…" he inadvertently glanced up through his lashes.

Jiraiya immediately felt like a total heel – damn The Look™ - there was plenty of time for the kid to grow up, he was only 11 and hadn't even been a fully-fledged shinobi for more than a month, and of course, he'd still be idealistic and make stupid mistakes! That was part of being a genin, after all. That was why they were given stupid D-ranks and forced to work together most of the time. Naruto didn't have that advantage. The old sennin had forgotten how hard it was, breaking in a new student. Minato had been just the same – bright smile and no sense of how the world really worked… He suddenly felt far too old and jaded for this.

"Of course, kid. Take a while to yourself to think about things and get your own thoughts in order. You might find that helps. Everyone has doubts and a hard time with these things at first. It's perfectly normal, and no, it doesn't mean you aren't cut out to be a ninja. It just means you've got to learn how to deal with those feelings and learn to trust your training and battle skills – which are far better than mine or your dad's when we were your age, by the way – we were just more battle tested by then, and most importantly, we could FOLLOW ORDERS. You've got nothing to worry about on that end, Chibi – except the 'doing what you're told' part. You really will be one of the greatest shinobi ever someday, if you can keep from letting that big heart of yours get you killed before then. No matter how much I have to scold you sometimes about things like this, I want you to know that I'm really proud of you."

Naruto felt the knot in his chest loosen a little bit, "Thanks, Jiji."

†

Jiraiya found one of the men he was looking for on the roof of one of the many sandstone buildings near the Kazekage's tower. He'd tried to get general information of all known Bijuu vessels over the years in case Naruto ever had problems, and he'd heard this Jinchuuriki didn't sleep. He guessed it was probably true because the boy was sitting with his knees hugged to his chest, staring up at the moonlight even after the emotionally wrought night he'd just had. A huge gourd was strapped to his back, and his red hair shown like blood in the weak light from the city below.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even seem to notice the older ninja approaching until the Sannin sat down beside him. The fact that no sand rushed out to engulf him when he finally was noticed, eased a doubt or two in Jiraiya's mind, but he was far from satisfied.

Gaara noticed and processed the other man's presence. With that clothing and demeanor, he perfectly matched the description of Naruto's sensei from their mission report. "Why didn't he kill me?"

The Toad Hermit was kind of surprised by the rasping quality of the kid's voice, but with all the sand he dealt with constantly, he supposed he shouldn't have been.

"You're his sensei, aren't you? Why didn't Naruto kill me?" Gaara repeated when it became apparent that the old man would rather stare at him than answer his questions.

"Naruto's not like that. Ninja life hasn't hardened him yet. He wants to protect people and be remembered, and dead people's memories aren't worth much." Jiraiya replied after another silent moment of contemplation. He had to admit, he wasn't getting the vibe he expected to from this kid, and he was a pretty decent judge of character. A spymaster had to be good at that or he might get had by double or triple agents.

"How-how can he want to help people, when they instinctively fear and hate people like us? I don't understand… Nothing is the same anymore." The kid blinked blankly and buried his face in his knees, but his words were clear enough.

Wow, Naruto HAD really done a number on the boy… Jiraiya almost felt bad about berating him for it. The last vestiges of his doubt in Tsunade's theory about Mokuton's effects on naturally occurring things were quickly slipping away. The boy looked so lost and alone like that, made somehow worse by the fact that he hadn't lost his stoic expression, and with the moonlight playing tricks on the Sannin's eyes, he could easily imagine that hair blond and whisker and leaf marks on those cheeks…

'Well, in for a penny, in for a pound….' Jiraiya thought. How could he forget that Naruto was always a smart bet? The kid couldn't lose, so what would it hurt to throw in the rest of the kitty? "Where his family's from, Konoha – it's not like here. If you ever go there, you'll understand it, maybe. He didn't grow up there, but everyone who's ever meant anything to the kid did. Naruto's father sealed the Bijuu in him, himself. He even did it for the village, just like your old man probably claims he did, but the difference is that Naruto's father was willing to die to protect everything he cared about. His sealing, as terrible as it is to have a demon locked away inside, was an act of love and about protection, not status or power. He honors his dad's memory by continuing along in that vein – doing his best to make people's lives a little better, a little safer. He wasn't created to be a frightening weapon and no one expects that of him. Hatred doesn't get you anywhere, kid, except deeper and deeper into your own hell. All those lives you took, all that pain, and the respect you might have gotten through fear – what did it get you?"

"Nothing." Gaara replied after a moment, "Mothe--Shukaku always claimed the blood would prove my existence – my right to live just like they had, but I was still empty…then Naruto calmed her—it, and I could think for the first time. I felt human again…and Temari called me her little brother." He swallowed heavily, not sure how to go on. He blinked again out at the night sky. He hadn't spoken so much in years, maybe ever.

Jiraiya placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and for a moment, the sand in the gourd rattled, but it settled almost immediately. "Keep thinking about it. It's something you'll have to come to on your own or it's meaningless."

Gaara nodded. He'd expected nothing else. Very little in his life had been easily handed to him.

"Look kid, I'll take a look at your seal tomorrow, and do everything in my power to help you for Naruto's sake, but don't get your hopes up. I doubt there's anything I can do. Demon seals are tricky and messing with them when you don't know what you're doing can make it worse. You'd be best off trying to get the original sealer to look at it."

When the boy nodded again, he continued, "There's an organization after people like you – a really dangerous group of S-ranked missing-nin. They wear black cloaks with red clouds. I have a feeling at least a few of their members are messing around with your village pretty heavily right now. Keep your eyes open and don't mess with them. You may be pretty badass with your sand, but they're on a whole different level. You've got to keep Naruto's guest a secret too, okay? If you appreciate anything he's done for you at all, you won't tell anyone. Not even your family. Konoha doesn't even know about him, but if your dad did, it would only be a matter of time before other people did and there's a chance it might start a war."

"Hn." He agreed, "I don't owe this village anything – certainly not Naruto's secrets."

"You might not always feel that way. Hell, maybe you SHOULDN'T feel that way. They've treated you badly, but it's not exactly their fault they were prejudiced against you, and you've never given them any reason to think they were wrong."

The kid's head finally rose out of the circle of his knees and his eyes narrowed on the Sannin, "Do you wish me to betray Naruto after all? I will not." His sand rose and began to hiss inside his gourd, but the cork stayed firmly in place. Jiraiya's respect for the brat grew a little bit to note that he was capable of having faith in ANYONE after the childhood he'd had, though if anyone could garner that kind of loyalty in just one night, it would be his godson.

"NO! Hell no. That kid is the most loyal friend anyone could ever have. You stay true to him, and he'll be there for you, even if it kills him. You betray him, and it's not him you have to worry about – I'm not his only powerful relative or friend, and from what I hear, you're a one-trick pony. Naruto stopped you. If you had run up against his mother or I, you wouldn't have survived." Jiraiya's expression matched the boy's for seriousness, "I'm just saying that you might give the people around here another chance. That's not mutually exclusive. Keeping the kid's secret won't hurt Suna at all. I'm just saying it's not like you've got anything to lose, but you've got a whole village's respect to gain by giving them a chance and proving them wrong about you. You might be surprised how that would feel."

It was said ninja needed to kill their hearts, but there was such a thing as balance. Still – it was kind of surreal to be arguing on the opposite side of the debate he'd just had an hour earlier with Naruto. These two would be good for each other. Gaara needed a little of Naruto's light in his world, and Naruto needed some of that pessimism.

Gaara had been so hurt though – it would take a lot to rebuild his humanity. Learning to believe in something and setting a positive goal would be a good start. Jiraiya's gaze roamed across the sky and settled on the point of the horizon beyond which he knew Konoha lay, "Shinobi are connected to our homelands in ways most of us never even understand, but it's stronger than you think, and we need it. That's why it's considered such a horrible thing to become a missing-nin. We cut out a part of our souls when we completely desert our comrades and homelands. Don't sacrifice Naruto or any of your precious people to do it – nothing is worth that – but take it from a wandering hermit who knows what it's like to have to cut some of those ties for the village's own good - you'll be surprised what you find if you try to explore your bonds to this place. I guarantee it, and the best revenge you could have against all those idiots who made you into a monster, is to prove to everyone that you're a better human being than they'll ever be and do something constructive with your life."

†

"I found the Jinchuuriki, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto murmured, his master's image once again in the empty air in front of him.

"Well? Don't make we wait all night. Planning a village's downfall while trying to keep your partner's interest away from your secret outside doings is time consuming, you know." The image's eyes narrowed into slits.

"Forgive me, Orochimaru-sama. Sabaku no Gaara was meeting with Jiraiya of the Sannin. The insane fool of a Kazekage learned of his presence here and that woman evidently convinced him to send his children after him in some sort of trial by fire exercise without so much as a jounin-sensei. She has her own ambitions, and her jealousy may prove detrimental to your plans. I do not trust her, but the Kage is progressing just as you hoped he would in all other respects."

He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, and then continued, "I could not make out what the vessel and Jiraiya-sama were saying, but it appears that Akatsuki might not be the only ones interested in the containers. Also, the boy doesn't appear nearly as blood-thirsty as the villagers rumor him to be. He might not be as perfect a fit for his part as you had hoped. I have been tailing him since he and his siblings returned to their building, and he's done nothing but sit on a roof and stare into the sky, ignoring everyone but your old teammate who came anywhere near him in that time. Even then, he made no threatening gestures"

"Jiraiya – that pathetic fool. What could he want with the Bijuu?"

"I don't know, sir. I couldn't hear them from where I hid, and with a Sannin there, I didn't dare to get closer."

"Hmm. That was wise. He may be a bumbling idiot, but he's still better than you. I don't like this news about the agent, but we'll get to that in a moment." The figure sneered. "Kabuto, what have you learned about the vessel's abilities? We are convening in an hour, and I should probably have something to tell the rest of this pathetic bunch." It was very trying to run all of his side projects as well as thwart Konoha at every possible turn while keeping up the pretense that he was a loyal member of Akatsuki. In reality, he was just using them for the resources they could provide. They didn't usually require much of his time since their progress was a bit stalled by the uncertainty of the Kyuubi's fate, but they were finally in the process of creating the vessel that would hold the demonic presences once extracted from their hosts, so they were taking up more of his attention than usual.

Sometimes he thought he should have left ages ago and started his own Hidden Village or something. Surely running a country couldn't be as difficult as splitting his attention in so many directions. At least then he wouldn't have to keep most of his bases and minions off the books. He probably would have done so, if Akatsuki had kept him this busy for the earlier portion of his membership. Getting close to Itachi in hopes of stealing his Sharingan in his next body jump wasn't really worth it, especially when there was another option.

"He is gifted with sand," Kabuto broke into his musings, "Rumor says he is able to make it do nearly anything he wants, and that it acts like a sort of automatic, ultimate defense – entirely independent of his will."

"Hmm, interesting, but we'd already heard of those skills. You said he was a genin, earlier, didn't you?"

Kabuto nodded, "He is."

"Good – feel out the Jounin sensei for our cause, but don't give yourself away. Stay there and observe the vessel for as long as you need to, as long as you don't get caught by Jiraiya! See if you can make any headway with the Kazekage and our little side project, and motivate the agent. You have my permission to persuade her to leave her own ambitions at the door in any way you see fit as long as you don't compromise her ability to do her part. I'm not happy with her progress on the Kage, since she's supposed to prevent the man from doing anything that might call his competence into question or endanger our plans and instead seems to be encouraging it! If I find out she's also mishandling the drug I will PERSONALLY see to her. See to it that she understands that. It's too late to replace her with someone else – if the Jinchuuriki isn't what we hoped, we may still be able to salvage something from this if my experiment is successful and that fool will only play her part." He hissed.

"If you can see the vessel in action while you are there, all the better, but as far as I'm concerned Leader can get the information he wants at the upcoming chuunin exams. I'll ask for us to be assigned there to observe. It will be a good way to make sure I can be present without the rest of Akatsuki's interference. There's no way that arrogant bastard who styles himself as the leader of Suna will be able to resist showing off his precious weapon at the first opportunity, considering."

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama."

"One more thing, Kabuto." He raised his bowed head in response to the odd note in the Snake Sannin's voice, "when you return to Konoha or while Jiraiya is still in that village, see what you can learn about an apprentice his… I've heard he's taken on a new student, and my sources say he could be Tsunade's son and a true heir to the Shodaime. I want to get my hands on that kekkei genkai again which means I may have to move before certain…other interested parties get a chance at the boy. My research went uncompleted last time."

"As you wish."

†

A/N: Some of you are probably pretty pissed at Jiraiya, but Kishimoto's ninja aren't very ninja-like, so I'm trying for something a little more realistic here without flailing too wildly outside of canon. My Naruto has guardians interested in teaching him how to be a good adult/man - not just make him stronger, so it makes sense to me that Jiraiya would be concerned about things like that. :P Realizing the world isn't sunshine and roses isn't a lesson canon Naruto needed pounded into him, but this Naruto does. It will help him grow and mature as a person and as a ninja. He'll be taking his position a lot more seriously from now on. :)

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and added this story to your alerts or favorite or C2 lists! I really appreciate all of you who are reading and following along with this story. :) I'm starting to think this might actually hit 1,000 reviews someday. XD

As always, there is art in the profile! :D