Alright. i'm setting myself a new limit of at least 3500 words per chapter. BTW i'm sure rock lee only being able to use taijutsu is a conspiracy or something. How did he pass the graduation exam without being able to create a clone?

Disclaimer: Nuff said.

The leaf's embrace

"All right. I'm ready." Gaara said.

Baki looked relieved.

"Finally!" he said, giving the sand squad their entry forms for the chunin exams.

"Yeah, we can finally stop being weak genins!" Kankuro said, glad at his little brother's decision.

"I finally get another chance!" Temari agreed, almost snapping her pencil in excitement.

Gaara signed his & left. He had preparations to take care of.

He stood in his hut, surveying his collection with satisfaction. He packed up some of his most valued artefacts & some of his most useful ones. He opened a glass case and pulled out a naginata he had taken from a Kumo jounin. She was beautifully made, the pole was crafted with an ice blue material, not metal, but still very strong. She had a golden insignia painted all around her, making her gleam in the light. The blade was large with a long & curved side, the other serrated. The white golden blade glistened. Gaara favoured this weapon above all his other prizes. She could strike fast and clean, or could tear the opponent apart, without getting too close.

Normally Gaara didn't use weapons, other than his sand, but he would be doing a great wrong by leaving her to die in a hut. So he sheathed the blade & strapped her to his back, facing the opposite angle to his gourd.

"We shall see which is faster; me or my instincts." he thought, allowing a small smirk.

He heard a familiar noise from outside, a slithering of the sand. He looked out the window. Sure enough, Umibe was outside.

Umibe was a young sandworm, around four years old. Despite those short years, he was a bit of a fanatic. That was why whenever a trespasser was killed, he would search for the most valuable belonging on the person & bring it to Gaara, as tribute. The other sandworms usually gave Gaara his space, but Umibe couldn't help it, he was like a loyal puppy. Over the years, the little guy had really grown on Gaara. Hanging from his mouth was a bracelet with a small charm hanging from it bearing the kanji for "luck". Gaara smiled at the irony.

"Gaara-sama!" Umibe exclaimed, "Look what I found for you!"

Gaara took the bracelet from his mouth and lifted it to the light. He then turned & made sure Umibe could see as he placed it in the cabinet he kept his most prized positions in. when he turned back, Umibe was visibly shaking with happiness.

"Umibe." Gaara said, kneeling in front of the young one.

"Yes, Gaara-sama?" Umibe asked. If sandworms had eyes, Gaara was sure Umibe's would be twinkling.

"Soon I will be heading off to participate in the chunin exams in Konohagakure. I have a mission there that, when I complete, will put me in a situation that may result in my never returning here."

Kousou rose from the sand, looking grief-stricken.

"Is this true, my lord? You will never return to us?" he asked.

Gaara stood, looking up at the high priest.

"While I may not return here, I have still signed your contract. If I ever need you, I will summon you."

Kousou seemed to relax at this, but he wasn't completely settled.

"Then please, allow us to send an emissary with you, to document your quest so we may add it to our holy book."

Gaara felt slightly embarrassed that details of his life would be open for the generations to see. But he didn't show it. At least his existence among the sandworms would be proven completely.

"Having a large sandworm following me around would hinder my progress." Gaara stated.

"Then let us send a small worm. How about Umibe?"

Umibe whipped his head up to his leader, frozen to the ground. Very slowly, he lowered his head to face Gaara, awaiting his answer hopefully.

"Alright."

Umibe exploded. Literally.

* * * * *

In Kazekage tower, a meeting was taking place between the Godaime and a young shinobi.

"Very well, Kabuto-san, tell your master Suna will be there." the Kazekage said, "But if you double-cross us, your lives will be forfeit. Understood?"

Kabuto smirked.

"Orochimaru-sama thanks you. We will see you there." he said, leaving.

The Kazekage rubbed his eyes. He turned in his chair to look outside.

"Kazekage-sama?" his assistant enquired. He sighed.

"Get me Baki." he ordered.

* * * * *

Gaara sat on a bench near the main gates, flexing his right arm. He hadn't expected the bonding to be so painful. As he tensed the arm's muscles, small blue markings appeared. When he released, they vanished.

Umibe was sitting next to him, on the ground. He was still ecstatic about his new position.

"Umibe." Gaara said.

"Gaara-sama?" the young worm asked, looking up at him.

"It's not a good idea for people to see you. I want the sandworms to be my last resort, ok?"

"What do you want me to do?"

Gaara removed his gourd & poured out some of the sand. Umibe understood and dispersed, flowing into the gourd. As soon as he was gone, Temari came round the corner.

"Hey Gaara." she said, sitting next to him, "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Gaara looked straight ahead.

"Nothing will stop me." he said in a strong voice.

"You two ready to go?"

Temari looked up. Baki & Kankuro were in front of them.

"Come on, we're gonna be late!" Kankuro complained.

"Lets go." Gaara said. Getting up & walking off.

Kankuro watched as he walked by them, rolling his eyes, before following.

* * * * *

Four days later, they arrived in Konohagakure. The village was packed with genin from all over. As far as Gaara could tell, his squad were the only Suna shinobi there. Baki was showing his credentials to the gatemen, Temari & Kankuro were looking around, smirking.

Gaara walked off, leaving the rest of his squad behind. He passed a ramen stand where a young woman was washing a dozen bowls, muttering something about "that kid". As he walked further he saw into a restaurant where a bearded Konoha jounin was crying into his hands as an overweight genin placed an order which, judging by the pile of bowls in front of him, clearly wasn't his first. Opposite him was a dark haired boy who looked like he was taking a nap.

Later that day, Gaara was still walking through the streets when he heard Temari nearby.

"Hey! You're going to use Karasu?"

"Karasu?" Gaara thought. He leapt up and stood in the shade of a tree, hanging from a branch.

The street in front of him was filled with genin & children. A short, blonde genin in orange jacket & pants was standing with a small, ugly child. Behind him was a pink haired girl shivering in fear with two more children hiding behind her. Sitting on a branch on the other side of the tree, was a dark haired genin who was having a glaring contest with Kankuro, who was holding his covered puppet by his side.

"Kankuro stop." Gaara ordered.

Everyone's heads snapped in Gaara's direction. It was obvious none of them had noticed his arrival. Kankuro looked afraid.

"You're a disgrace to our village." Gaara said.

"G-Gaara-" Kankuro stammered.

"Why do you think we came all this way to Konoha?" he demanded.

"Listen, Gaara. These guys started it."

"Shut up. I'll kill you."

Kankuro raised his hands.

"It was my fault. I'm sorry, really sorry."

Gaara turned to the Konoha genin.

"Excuse them, you guys." he said, before his eyes locked on to the dark haired boy.

"You." he thought, eyes narrowing, "I finally found you."

"You." the boy said angrily, "Why do you look at me like that?"

Gaara glared at the boy.

"Uchiha Sasuke." said Gaara.

"Wha- how do you know my name?!" demanded Sasuke.

Gaara looked away.

"I don't feel obliged to answer that." he replied.

"ANSWER ME!"

Gaara locked eyes with Sasuke. His eyes were opened as wide as they could & his grin stretched across his face.

"Why Itachi. Why did you do it?" he said in a whiny voice.

Sasuke paled.

"How… how do you know that?" he whispered.

"Sasuke-kun?" the pink haired girl said, looking worriedly at him.

"How do you know that?" Sasuke repeated, clearer.

Gaara's eyes returned to normal size & his grin disappeared.

"If you can defeat me." he said, "At the end of the chunin exams, if you defeat me in combat, I will tell you."

"TELL ME NOW!" Sasuke yelled, lunging at Gaara, who disappeared in a whirl of sand.

* * * * *

"Gaara-sama?" Umibe piped up.

"What is it?"

Umibe seemed nervous.

"Why were you like that to the boy?" he asked.

Gaara sighed.

"My mission may require me to kill him. But it would be wrong to kill him without facing him, that is cowardly. So I made sure to give him a reason to fight me, so that he will fight at his strongest. I think I understand Itachi-san better now."

"I see." Umibe said quietly, before becoming energetic again, "So what are you going to do next?"

Gaara smirked and tossed Umibe a piece of herb filled bread.

"I don't know what these exams involve, but I from what Madara-sensei told me, the second stage will isolate us from the rest of Konoha. When that stage starts I must find Sasuke-san as soon as possible."

They were sitting in the shade of a tree, overlooking Konoha. The sun was setting & the Hokage monument was lit up. Gaara's ears picked something up.

"Don't move." he ordered. Umibe froze.

Temari climbed the hill, walking towards him. She paused as she saw Umibe.

"Gaara. Did you make that? She asked, assuming he was a sculpture. Gaara nodded.

Temari sat on Umibe's other side & ran a hand across him.

"No." Gaara thought.

Umibe burst out in giggles. Temari let out a small scream & leapt to her feet. Gaara sighed.

"Good work Umibe." Gaara said.

Umibe looked ashamed, "Sorry Gaara-sama." he said, sadly.

"Gaara, what is that?" Temari demanded.

Gaara looked up at her.

"He is a sandworm." he said simply, "Sit down, you look like a fool."

Gingerly, Temari sat back down, not taking her eyes off Umibe.

They sat there for a while, Temari staring at Umibe, who was staring at Gaara, who was staring straight ahead. Finally he sighed.

"She's ok." he said.

Umibe jumped in the air & did a complete turn before landing, so that he was now facing Temari, who was leaning away, twitching.

"Hi! I'm Umibe." the young worm said happily.

Temari stopped twitching and leaned forward slightly.

"How old are you?" she asked.

Umibe stood as tall as he could.

"I'm four!" he said, proudly.

Temari blinked. Gaara wondered what was going through her head.

"You… you're…" she stammered.

Umibe tilted his head slightly.

"What?" he asked.

"Your so cute!" Temari said, wrapping her arms around Umibe & hugging him. Umibe yelped in surprise. Gaara groaned and palmed his face. Temari really loved young children. She probably had some natural mothering instinct or something.

"Temari." he said.

"Yeah?" she asked, her eyes squeezed shut with a big grin.

"Your crushing Umibe."

She wasn't really, but she let go. Umibe looked like he was in a daze.

"Aww." Temari cooed.

"Great." Gaara thought.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Baki-sensei said he needed to see us." she replied.

"Well lets go then." he said

Temari was petting Umibe, who was purring.

"Umibe, return." Gaara ordered.

"Ok Gaara-sama!" Umibe said, dispersing & flowing into the gourd.

"Wow. So is he, like a pet or something?" Temari asked.

As they walked to the hotel, Gaara told her about the sandworms and the oasis. Temari had a small smile.

"So that's where you went." she said in a sad voice.

"Gaara! Temari" Baki called.

They both looked up. Baki was leaning over the balcony. They both jumped up to him & followed him into the room.

* * * * *

"War?!" Kankuro exclaimed, "We can't go to war with Konoha, they're our allies!"

Baki sat still.

"Those are our Kazekage's orders." he stated.

Kankuro grunted & sat down.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Temari asked.

Baki stood and walked to the window.

"We are to ensure that Gaara gets through to the final round. That is where we need him to be during the first assault, because that is where the Hokage & ANBU will be. When the attack starts, Gaara will transform into Shukaku & do as much damage as possible."

Gaara hadn't said anything on this matter. He didn't care about the Kazekage. As soon as he completed his mission, he was leaving to join Akatsuki.

When the others were asleep, Gaara headed outside. He ran across the rooftops for a while, stopping at one with a bench. He took off his gourd & lay on the ground, looking up at the sky.

"Things are getting complicated." he thought, "How am I going to complete my mission & escape when there is a war going on around me?"

"Hey."

Gaara lifted his head. The dark haired boy he spotted in the restaurant was standing not far from him.

"I see it's not only me who likes this spot." the boy said, laying down on the bench.

Gaara lowered his head again.

"Hey, you're name's Gaara, right? Naruto-kun told me about you. He said you were some kinda "crazy manic killer". That sound about right?"

Gaara continued to look at the sky.

"Naruto-san would be the blonde kid in the orange outfit?" he asked.

The boy smirked.

"Yeah, that's him." he said, "Name's Shikamaru. So what are you doing out here?"

"I needed a place to think." Gaara answered, "What about you?"

"Something like that. My mom's pretty steamed at my dad, so I came to the one place in Konoha that isn't troublesome."

They lay there silently for a while, both looking at the stars.

"So are you taking part in the chunin exams?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah, but it's gonna be a drag. I'm just doing it for my sensei."

Gaara smiled to himself.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

They lay there for a little while longer before Shikamaru stretched & stood up.

"Well, I hope I don't have to face you in the exams." he said, leaving, "See ya."

Gaara thought about the exams. From what he had heard, the first exam was a written test. Shikamaru would have no problem there. Temari was a genius, Gaara recognized them.

"So here you are."

Gaara tilted his head up & saw Sasuke standing on the roof, upside down from his perspective.

"You're persistent, Sasuke-san." Gaara said.

"Tell me what you know about my brother." Sasuke demanded.

Gaara sighed, "We've been through this. If you can defeat me at the end of the exams, I will tell you everything I know."

Sasuke parted his feet & took on a combat stance.

"Why don't I just defeat you now?" he said, challengingly.

Gaara raised a finger.

"I am an insomniac. You are tired."

Gaara raised a second finger.

"I know all about the Uchiha's abilities. You know none of mine."

Gaara raised a third finger.

"I have eight years more experience than you."

Gaara raised a fourth finger.

"I have already defeated you."

Gaara closed his fingers into a fist, causing the sand gathered behind Sasuke to slam into the back of his head. He immediately lost consciousness.

* * * * *

The next day was the start of the chunin exams. Kankuro had immediately seen through the genjutsu on the door, making the sand siblings one of the first teams to get to the correct place.

As they waited for the first exam to start, three Konoha genin approached them. Gaara didn't look but Temari & Kankuro did.

"You there, you are Subaku no Gaara, correct?"

Gaara opened his eyes. In front of him was a boy dressed in light clothing. His brown hair was tied & fell down his back & his arms were bandaged. Gaara looked at his face.

"Yes. And you are a Hyuuga." he noted.

"Yes, how did you know that?" the Hyuuga boy asked.

Gaara reached into his satchel and pulled out a small case. He opened it up for the boy to see. As soon as he realised what those were, the boy stepped back.

"How did you get those?" he demanded, angrily. His comrades looked grossed out.

Gaara put the case away & looked at the Hyuuga's comrades. One of them was a tall boy clad in green. He had a bowl cut hairstyle & a pair of the largest eyebrows he had ever seen. The other one was a girl. She was wearing a pink sleeveless shirt & had her brown hair tied up in twin buns. She was giving Gaara a hard stare, but her eyes wandered over to the naginata strapped to his back.

Gaara could swear hearts appeared in her eyes.

"Aaaah! Is that…? Can I see it, please, please, please?" she begged.

Gaara stared at her.

"Is she out of her mind?" Gaara thought.

"Please? I'll do anything!" she promised.

Gaara stood. He could tell Kankuro was grinning stupidly. Pervert.

He pulled his weapon out and held it horizontally in front of him with one hand. With the other, he pulled the sheath off.

"GYAAAA!!!" the girl squealed, cupping her hands together over her mouth. In an instant, she was inches away from the weapon, eyes glistening.

"Tenten-chan, get a hold of yourself!" the Hyuuga ordered.

"Neji-kuuun…" Tenten whined.

"Tenten-chan." Neji repeated.

"GAI-SENSEI!" the large eye browed one shouted.

"LEE!" yelled a voice from far away.

Tenten sighed & stood up.

"What do you want for it?" she asked, seriously.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at her.

"She is one of my most prized possessions. I will not part with her."

Tenten blinked.

"Her?" she asked, before her eyes started shining and her hands cupped over her mouth, "She has a name?"

Gaara nodded.

"Yes, Sasayaki." he said, holding her at his side.

"KYUUUUU!!!" Tenten squealed again.

Neji palmed his face & Lee looked like he was getting pumped from the excitement.

"THE ATMOSPHERE IS SO YOUTHFUL!!!" he yelled, fire burning in his eyes.

Suddenly, the proctor for the first exam appeared.

"All right scumbags, get moving!" he said, leading them away.

Neji smacked Lee across the back of the head & walked towards the door. Tenten gave Gaara a determined look.

"Later, you & I are going to spar. My best weapon against yours." she said, before turning & heading towards the door.

"Tenten-san"

Tenten turned her head towards Gaara, a questioning look on her face.

"When you asked to see Sasayaki, you promised you would do anything." Gaara said, hearing a snicker from Kankuro.

"Y-yeah?" Tenten replied nervously.

Gaara closed his eyes for a second before saying something in a very serious tone.

"You will go on a date with my sibling."

The snickering stopped.

The group was silent for a moment. Even Neji was still, foot sticking out the door.

Tenten was taken aback. After a few seconds, she recovered & smiled at Temari.

"Ok, when will I pick you up?" she said brightly.

Temari twitched. Kankuro blanched. Gaara shook his head.

"Not that sibling." he said.

Tenten raised her eyebrows & looked at Kankuro, who was gaping at her.

"Take off your hood." she ordered.

Kankuro instantly obeyed. Tenten looked him over for a couple of seconds. She shrugged.

"Alright." she said, walking off. She gave a wave to Kankuro, "Come find me after the exam big guy."

Kankuro watched as she left. When she was gone he was on his knees at Gaara's feet.

"Thank you Gaara, I am forever in your debt!" he said, eyes shining.

Gaara started walking.

"Maybe now you'll have better things to do than torment small children." he said.

As he left, an old man with long, white & spiky hair burst in.

"What did I miss?" he demanded.

* * * * *

"All right scumbags!" he yelled, "You will answer the nine questions on your paper. You start the test with 10 points. Any incorrect answers will cause you to lose a point" … "if you are caught cheating three times, you & your team will be disqualified from the exam" … "at the end of the exam, you will be given the tenth question" … "alright begin."

Gaara looked at his test paper. There was no way he could answer these questions. He looked up & saw Temari flying through the test. Another glance confirmed that Shikamaru was a genius, although he wasn't putting nearly as much effort in. Some others, however, were less fortunate. The boy called Naruto was panicking, Lee had his hands in his hair & the overweight guy seemed to have his mind on a food stand outside.

Gaara noticed that some of the chunin at the sides were already taking notes of cheaters. But he saw the ones they didn't. Sasuke was staring hard at the back of the guy in front of him, Gaara guessed his Sharingan was active. It also seemed there was more than one Hyuuga in the room. Even Kankuro had replaced a chunin with Karasu.

Gaara smirked & decided to try his own thing. After forming a few hand signs under the desk, he placed his fingers over an eye and used his Daisan no Me. He soon had the answers he needed & copied them onto the paper.

He waited.

"Alright!" Ibiki yelled, "Now it's time for the tenth question. But there are special rules. First, this question is the hardest. Second you can decide to back out now. You & your team can try again next time if you do. Third, if you fail this question, you will fail the exam & be banned from all future chunin exams. Now decide."

Gaara didn't move. He needed to get to the second stage of the chunin exam. No matter what.

"I'm out." someone said, standing up.

"Alright, you're excused." Ibiki said, grinning slightly.

The guys teamates got up & left too, muttering darkly under their breaths.

Some more teams left before a short silence were no one moved. The pink haired girl looked like she was about to raise her hand, but her comrade, Naruto, beat her to it. Shakily, he rose his hand in the air, like it was the hardest thing in his life. He suddenly slammed his hand on the desk.

"Screw you! I'm not going to run away!" he yelled.

Everyone was staring at him, but he didn't seem to care.

"I'll take this problem! Even if I become a genin forever, I'm going to become a Hokage no matter what anyway!"

He got to his feet, hands pressed firmly on the desk.

"I'm not scared!"

He sat back down & folded his arms, looking very childish.

The other genin seemed to become more confident from his words.

"This guy." Gaara thought, "He has to be the most pathetic excuse for a shinobi I have ever seen. And yet, he still won't back down."

"I will ask one more time." Ibiki said, "This is the choice that will impact your life. If you want to quit, now is the chance."

"I'm not going to take back my words." Naruto replied, "That's my 'Way of the Ninja'."

Almost all the genin were now wearing confident smirks, the exceptions being Gaara, Neji & a Konoha genin with sunglasses on. Ibiki cast a last glance across the room.

"Nice determination." he said, "Then… for the first exam, everyone here…"

The genin tensed.

"Passes!"