Ah yes, just to clarify, the 3 tails is a "complete" demon since it was sealed improperly into someone. So it's not going to be part of Naruto's new "clan." Just FYI. Also, Kishimoto owns Naruto and all the Jinchuuriki that have already appeared in the manga. I own nothing but my computer and this story and all the OCs. Blah, blah, blah. Okay then, on with the fic!
Excerpt from the journal of Tsuchi Rei, container of the Raijuu:
"I never thought that it would come to this. I know that sealing us in this mountain was meant for 'the greater good' (whatever that is), but I can't help but feel as though I was given a gift disguised in this purgatory. I found my family. They're all precious to me, especially the youngest two: Naruto and Gaara. Both boys are our students and are learning so fast! We've all been considered strong, almost the best out of our villages, but the truth is that we were the weakest. We were alone and fought for no one but ourselves or some misplaced loyalty in our villages. Together, we're more powerful than we ever dreamed we could be. If we ever get out of this hellhole, we'll be a force to be reckoned with so that every Kage will one day cower in fear at the mention of our names."
Seven years later…
Two boys walked side-by-side on the dirt road. The taller blond boy with strange whisker marks across his cheeks chattered brightly, doing most of the talking while the red-haired boy with his eyes outlined in black and a strange red kanji for "Love" tattooed over his left brow walked along beside him, occasionally nodding absently. Their clothes were nothing short of ragged and barely covered them decently, but neither seemed to notice or care. Their hair was also tangled and matted and they walked barefoot. Strangest of all was their abnormally pale skin which almost glowed in the early autumn sun.
"…and that's why we ought to start big, dattebayo! Rei-sensei should be trying to get powerful daimyos and rich guys to hire us, not send us to this little village to see if they need any help! Gaara?"
"Hn?"
"Were you listening at all?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"No."
"Gaara!"
"Shh!" Gaara's eyes narrowed until only the black rims were visible. Naruto blinked in confusion, then closed his own eyes and tried to concentrate with his chakra. His concentration still wasn't as focused as Gaara's and it took him a while to sense what Gaara had already caught.
"Shinobi." Naruto hissed, now wary.
"Four of them. I think one has a blood-line limit." Gaara confirmed quietly, opening his eyes and grinning with anticipation. Even after seven years, Naruto could never get used to Gaara's strange moods. This didn't look good.
"Gaara," Naruto whispered gently, while grabbing onto his friend's sleeve, "We didn't come here to fight. Rei-sensei warned us that we shouldn't come into contact with any shinobi that might report us to their Kage."
The wild look left Gaara's eyes and he nodded passively. Naruto sighed with relief. Old habits died hard, others never quite left some people. Gaara never really talked about his childhood, but it was obvious that Gaara hadn't come out of his village a wide-eyed innocent the way Naruto had.
"All the same, we should check it out." Gaara said, his eyes darting to the road ahead.
Masking their chakra was easy; moving through a forest silently was not. After spending most of their lives in an underground set of caves, moving through a forest full of rustling leaves and creepers was cumbersome. Leaping from tree to tree, Naruto noted that the forest was getting thicker as the rocky terrain grew softer. They were moving south into Fire country.
"Gaara? You smell that?"
Gaara nodded. Wood smoke and roasting meat. Whoever was traveling wasn't worried about being detected which meant that either they were powerful enough to travel without hiding their presence or they were too stupid to hide their presence. Based on the powerful chakra he felt ahead, Naruto bet on the former.
When the campfire was in sight, they crept among the branches of the tree above a clearing where the cheerful fire was blazing. There were five people, not four. An old woman in heavy robes, and what was evidently her escort. Four shinobi: one jounin, judging from his vest, and the rest were probably genin. Several rabbits were slowly roasting a spit above the fire and let off a tantalizing scent. Naruto's stomach growled furiously and he almost moaned in hunger. Neither of them had eaten for the past two days and it had been years since they had had meat. Gaara shot him a warning look and he nodded unhappily and forced himself to look away from the sizzling meat. This was a recon mission and stealing from shinobi would only draw unwanted attention to themselves.
The genin were young, maybe a year older than him and Gaara, and were armed. All wore bands with the symbol of a curved spiral that arched to the side. The leaf symbol of Konoha. Naruto felt anger begin to boil in his belly. He still remembered bits and pieces of his old village, mostly of the cold stares and children being tugged away from him. Mostly he remembered the old Hokage who seemed the only person that cared for him. He'd even thought that the old man had liked him. But he'd been the one to seal him with the rest of the Jinchuuriki in the Mountain. Naruto swore never to forgive the old man for what he'd done, nor forget how his village had treated him. It was like Musan had once said: Jinchuuriki could never live with or fight beside humans. Jinchuuriki lived alone, fought alone, and died alone. Of course, that was before they'd been sealed together. Now they were family and took care of each other. Gaara was his friend and they belonged together. That was enough.
One of the genin, a girl, began to check on the meat and, seeing that it was ready, slid it off the spit and gave it to the old woman who nodded her thanks. Naruto almost whimpered. It looked so good!
Suddenly, something cold and sharp poked him under his chin. He felt someone's breath at the back of his neck as his left arm was grabbed in a steel grip.
"Who are you?" a cold voice asked, "Why are you spying on us?"
Ooh a cliffie! How evil of me! Points to anyone who can guess WHICH team they've found. Reviews are my friends and I'd appreciate getting new ones. Thank you to everyone who reviewed already!
To griffin blackwood: The 3-tails is still around. And yeah, they're going to "meet" it REALLY soon.
To sasuke-luvs-naruto, MeLaiya, inferno of darkness, IEatChicken, Gomjibar22: Thank you soooo much for the kind reviews. It really helped me continue, knowing people actually WANTED me to write!
To Random Russian Passer-by: Thank you and yes, it was hard on poor Sarutobi. Too bad Naruto doesn't realize it. And yes, I loved reading about the yonbi and the nibi too. They're going to show up later and I hope I did a good job of characterizing them since I didn't have much reference. Grrr. Kishimoto, why couldn't you have expanded on the rest of the Jinchuuriki instead of making them nameless victims? WHY?
To PagenGodessOfTime: Read your poem and you have a lot of talent in characterizing Gaara. Keep it up, girl!