"The snake woman performed a minor miracle today. Gaara, the young insomniac from Suna, was being beaten harshly by her when the kistune, Naruto, stepped in. The poor boy received harsh blows for defending the tanuki from the swordswoman's wrath, but Gaara afterward refused to leave his side. The two are now inseparable. I guess the Tsuchikage was wrong when he told me that Jinchuuriki are incapable of forming bonds with others. Or perhaps, we are incapable of forming bonds with humans." –Tsuchi, Rei.

Naruto woke up slowly. He was lying on something soft and firm. He was also unusually warm and he didn't hear Gaara's even breaths which meant that he hadn't slept on Gaara's lap. He sat up and looked around the dark room in confusion. He was on a futon, which explained why he'd slept so well, in a plain but comfortable room.

Oh yeah, they were staying with Ruri-hime at her grandchildren's house. That explained why they were inside. Wait, where was Gaara?

He pushed the blankets aside and stuck his tongue out when he saw that his clothes were nowhere in sight. Instead, there was a plain white shirt with some dark pants folded neatly next to his bed. They looked clean and comfortable, but Naruto didn't want to ruin them. After all, he and Gaara were going to do a lot of fighting and traveling, and nice clothes would only get ruined. On the other hand, there wasn't anything else to wear, so Naruto slipped them on and made a mental note to ask Ruri-hime or one of her servants where his old clothes were.

He found Gaara outside next to the lake, kneeling quietly with eyes closed. Sand from the beach was rising in front of him and twisting into amorphous shapes.

"Hey Gaara!" Naruto called, "Why'd you leave without waking me?"

The sand collapsed back onto the shore and Gaara opened his eyes irritably.

"Because I wanted time to myself to meditate." he replied crossly, "You're far too loud."

"Don't be like that!" Naruto protested, grinning eagerly, "Why don't we spar?"

Gaara smiled back, sensing Naruto's energy. The sand behind him rose and began to writhe around him, forming his ultimate defense.

"Alright, but don't expect me to go easy on you." Gaara informed him.

"Heh, I was just about to say that!" Naruto declared boldly, crouching in a defensive stance before sprinting toward his friend, "Here I come!"

Rock Lee woke early out of habit. Gai-sensei had drilled into him that Youth must always be alert and ready. Therefore, not a single hour must be wasted in training a shinobi's body and mind. Unfortunately, Gai-sensei was currently busy with Ruri-hime's accounts and a certain trouble in the village. But Lee wasn't dissuaded. Nothing beat a good early workout. He'd attempted to get Ten Ten or Neji to practice with him, but Ten Ten had just yelled at him to let her sleep and Neji…was off on his own, as usual. Lee decided he'd just do 1200 pushups as a warm up and then 2000 kicks followed by 1800 punches… Yes, that would do for a start, but it wasn't quite the same as a good spar. He had yet to beat Neji which was one of his many goals in order to achieve the Full Flower of his Youth.

Unfortunately, Ruri-hime didn't have a practice yard, but Lee figured that the lakeshore would work just as well. Lee raced towards the mist-covered shore and made a mental note to also run at least 10 miles after his workout. Unfortunately, as soon as he got to the shore, he saw that it was already occupied by shinobi who'd had similar ideas.

The two strangers, Naruto and - Gaara was it? - were facing off. Naruto had done that impressive piece of ninjutsu where he made clones of himself (Shadow Clones no less!) and was dodging Gaara's sand while trying to break through the barrier the other had placed around him. Even without the ninjutsu, though, their moves were quick and powerful.

Gaara used his sand as his basic defense as well as his long-range attacks, forming huge fists of sand that attempted to pummel his opponent. Naruto, however, was adept at dodging the sand as well as racing around the swirling sand that surrounded Gaara. Right now the clones were organized in a standard attack position with several going forward and distracting the sand while others slammed themselves against the sand walls. At first, Lee was a bit confused but then he saw another clone - no that was the real Naruto! - manage to slip through a gap in the sand and land a sharp blow on the back of Gaara's head. The red-haired boy jerked forward, probably more surprised than hurt, and made a sign that had an arm made of sand grab Naruto by the waist and fling him out of the walls. Naruto, however, had planned on that and a Shadow Clone caught him a few feet from the wall and threw him back in. This time Gaara was ready and several arms of sand blocked him from Naruto's attack. Naruto had also planned on this and promptly created another Shadow Clone that he threw above the sand arms. The clone twisted midair and began making several hand signs. Gaara's black-lined eyes widened and he began to make several hand signs of his own but - too late! - blue chakra began to surround the clone's palm, creating a mini-whirlwind, as he drove his right hand out toward Gaara.

"Uzumaki Kaze!"

That was some ninjutsu Lee had never seen before! Blue-tinged chakra was concentrated in a spiral that managed to cut through the sand and smashed against Gaara with titanic force. The redhead went flying out of his sand barrier before falling onto the sand that followed him and made a cushioning pile for him to land upon.

"YATA! I did it!" Naruto cheered as his clones "poofed" out of existence, "I'm the best!"

His victory rant was interrupted by an arm of sand that flung itself over him and buried him in sand to his chin.

"Hey, what's the deal? I won!" Naruto shouted indignantly as Gaara picked himself up and drew sand back into his pouch.

"Battles aren't won by overconfidence, baka," was the cold reply, "Only until your opponent is dead or…incapacitated is your victory assured."

Naruto just scowled and grumbled something about sore losers. The sand around him crumbled as Naruto shook it off and emerged from the sand pile looking more annoyed than injured, though Lee could tell that the sand could have easily crushed him to a pulp.

"That was amazing!" Lee exclaimed as he walked out onto the shore. Gaara immediately tensed at the sight of him and Naruto looked a little perturbed to see him.

"Hey it's the fuzzy eyebrows!"

Lee faltered a bit at the insulting nickname, but quickly brushed it off. People had made fun of his looks for years, why shouldn't these two strangers do the same?

"You two look very skilled. Would you mind sparring a bit with me?" Lee offered eagerly. He was quite excited at the thought of matching his taijutsu against their ninjutsu, particularly Gaara's.

"Against you?" Lee tensed at the scorn in Gaara's voice as the small, pale boy stared at him with those black-lined eyes in open hostility.

"Sure thing. It shouldn't take so long!" Naruto cheered as he raced for the green-suited genin. Lee smiled; Gai-sensei had often said that one advantage to looking unimpressive to the average opponent was that they often underestimated you.

He easily dodged the younger boy's blow and sent several of his own with lightning speed so that the blond boy was sprawled on the ground staring dazed at the sky. Lee felt the approach of the sand and quickly leapt out of the way as a vengeful Gaara sent wave upon wave of sand at him. Lee pulled out a kunai and began slashing at the sand, but it wasn't worth the effort: the sand easily reformed and continued its assault. Unlike Naruto, he didn't have the luxury of fancy jutsu. He'd have to use his speed and outrace the sand. His heart soared at the challenge.

"Are you sure it wasn't an accident or some murderer?" Gai asked sternly.

"Y-yes," stammered the young boy, "I was standing right by the lake with my friends…I was supposed to be watching my little sister but she can't keep up with us so…so I left her to play by the lake. Th-then, I turn to look at her, and she was there in the sand, making little shapes like always; she- she never goes into the water, she's scared of it! I look away for a while and then…she's gone! I went to look, I swear I looked all around and my friends even went to see if she was in - and it was so shallow - but she w-wasn't in the lake either and no one was near! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I sh-should've watched over her and now she's gone! I'm sorry!"

The boy broke off into heart-wrenching sobs. Gai couldn't help but feel sorry for him: he had been careless in not looking out for his sister, but he was clearly paying for it now. Ruri-hime wrapped the boy in a gentle hug and began hushing him softly. His parents stood by the door, looking grief-stricken and very out of place.

"This is the fourth disappearance, not counting all the cattle that have gone missing, and all of them have taken place by the lake," The grave village leader stated as the forlorn family left, "Something must be done. We have four shinobi at our disposal…"

"Hori-san," Ruri-hime reprimanded, "These shinobi have already done their job in escorting me home! This was not part of the bargain and, while we certainly can pay for their further services, they are not 'at our disposal.' They have the right to refuse this, if they wish. Gai-san?"

"Ruri-hime." Gai replied, bowing respectfully to her, "It would be shameful of me and my team to leave your sweet village in this state. We will do all that is in our power to help."

"Thank you!" Hori cried, bowing low before him, "Thank you so much!"

"But are you sure this is a youkai behind these disappearances?" Gai asked.

"My father often spoke of the turtle youkai that ruled over this lake." Hori replied, folding his hands in a pensive pose, "For centuries, it ravaged this shore and carried off anything it wished: cows, horses, and people alike. Finally, about a decade ago, a shinobi came and managed to seal this lake, making sure that the turtle youkai would never bother this village again."

"This shinobi," Gai began, "What kind of payment did he ask for in return?"

"Nothing." was the frank reply, "He was a strange fellow, too. Dressed in fancy robes with an odd, pointed hat."

Gai frowned. The outfit sounded a little like what a Kage would wear, but that of course was ridiculous! Why would a Kage deal with something like this and alone as well? He wasn't entirely sure about story about the turtle youkai, but he and Team Gai would definitely have to stake out the lake!

"Gai-sensei! Gai-sensei!" Ten-Ten burst into the room, "Come quick, it's Lee!"

"What is it?" Gai asked sharply.

"He's gotten into a fight with those two boys and I think he's totally over his head in this one!" Ten Ten explained.

Gai mentally sighed as he ran out. Lee was often so hot-headed, especially when seeking out difficult opponents and trying to beat them. Then again, it was his spirited nature to never back down and never give up. Gai only hoped that Lee would have the sense to not try that move.

Neji stood with his eyes closed in a small clearing. He kept his breathing steady and light as he began to concentrate.

"Byakugan!" His eyes shot open as veins popped out around his eyes. He saw out into the woods surrounding him, through tree trunks and branches, and saw the heat signatures of rodents, minor lizards, and…birds. Birds had always attracted Neji for some reason. Perhaps it was envy. After all, they were free while he remained in the cage formed by the Head Family and sealed by the mark on his forehead.

Then, chakra signatures so bright that they practically drowned out every other signature around them flashed out from the corner of his eyes. He frowned. Those signatures were far too large to be human, and yet...

It's coming from the lake. He realized, and began to sprint towards the small beach near Ruri-hime's estate. There had been rumors of trouble around the lake, rumors of a strange monster that devoured any who trespassed into its lake. Perhaps this was…but then why were there more than one?

------

Kitsune: fox

Tanuki: raccoon or panda

Uzumaki Kaze: Whirlpool wind (or just his signature!)

Yata: Yes!

Baka: idiot

Youki: demon

Hi! So sorry for the delay! Holidays, while fun, really turn me into a lazy slob! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, particularly JediClaire. I feel loved! Ahem.

Recently I read a fic much better than mine called "The Nine Broken Mirrors" which also is about the Jinchuuriki getting together and forming a clan and got really discouraged. I really want to write a great fic that characterizes the Jinchuuriki, but my fic is mediocre at best! Waaah! Ok, I'll stop whining and keep writing until I write well! Please, guys, keep reviewing so I know what to work on so I make this fic better!