Finally, Gaara is going to complete his mission. What is going through his mind? Am i being a tease? Ah well. I wonder what would happen if the Sandaime kazekage's iron sand jutsu got hit by Raikiri/Chidori?

Disclaimer: Some guy told me that Naruto is a rip off of Dragonball. That guy is now a scumbag in my eyes. Masashi rules!

A word like a bond

"Hm?"

Gaara had heard the door knock. He got to his feet & answered it, finding a genin standing before him.

"Message from the Hokage!" the genin said, handing Gaara a slip of paper. Gaara thanked the boy & closed the door. He unfolded the paper & read the writing on it. He narrowed his eyes.

"Temari! Kankuro!" he called. His siblings came out from their rooms, weary eyed & yawning.

"What?" Kankuro asked.

"It's time."

Temari & Kankuro were suddenly wide awake, rushing back into their rooms. Gaara grabbed his gourd & Sasayaki, strapped them on his back & waited. A minute later, his siblings were ready.

"I see you finally worked out how to use that." Gaara said, nodding at Kankuro's new bandaged bundle.

"Yeah, I've pretty much got the hang of it now." he replied, grinning.

They left the hotel room for possibly the last time & headed to Hokage tower. When they got there, they were ushered straight in. They entered the Hokage's room to find Shikamaru & Naruto standing in front of Tsunade's desk.

"Ah, you're here." Tsunade said, speaking into her hands. Gaara & his siblings stood next to the other two & waited for the Hokage to speak.

"It has recently come to my attention that last night, Uchiha Sasuke left Konoha to join Orochimaru." she said.

Naruto & Shikamaru both looked shocked.

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, "Are you serious?!"

"I'm sending you two to bring him back." Tsunade said, "Gather up a team of any other available genin & leave immediately. They are heading in the direction of the Valley of the End. If they cross Fire Country's border, there's nothing we can do, so move fast."

"What do you need us for?" Gaara asked.

"Your team are to act as backup for Shikamaru's team." Tsunade replied, "You will leave an hour after they do, to offer help if needed if anyone on Shikamaru's team who is too injured to go on. If you find someone like that, use a chakra flare to alert us. Any questions?" None were asked, "Ok, dismissed."

Naruto & Shikamaru ran out of the room. Gaara walked, his siblings behind him.

"Kankuro…" Gaara said.

"Yeah," he replied, quietly, "She's out on a mission, but I'll leave a message at her home."

Kankuro left, leaving Gaara & Temari alone.

"You ready for this?" Temari asked. Gaara looked straight ahead.

"I've been ready for nearly nine years." Gaara replied, "I'm tired of waiting."

They headed for the main gates, silent. They found Shikamaru's team already there. They really had moved fast. Gaara surveyed the people there, realizing they were no longer his allies, but his competition. Naruto was speaking to Sakura, giving her a thumbs up & a broad grin. They looked like they were about to leave.

"Shikamaru-kun, Naruto-kun," Gaara called out, "We won't be far behind."

They nodded back at him & left with the rest of the team. Sakura walked over to Gaara, she looked upset.

"Gaara-san." she said, holding back tears, "Naruto, he promised he'd bring Sasuke back, but… if he can't…"

"Sakura-san. Naruto is the only one capable of bringing him back." Gaara replied, realizing what he may have to do to his friend. Sakura nodded sadly, & walked off. Temari watched as she left.

"She really needs to grow up. People leave, it happens. She needs to accept that." she said, tutting. Gaara looked at her.

"Like you did?" he asked.

Temari fell silent. They waited for Kankuro to catch up with them. When he did, he looked a little lost.

"Kankuro, I'm sorry." Gaara told his older brother.

"Huh? Oh, it's alright." Kankuro replied, before changing to a determined look, "Lets do this!"

Gaara turned to the direction of the forest.

"Hopefully I can get through this without hurting any of them." he thought, "But if I can't, then I just have to immobilize them."

They waited the remaining hour before setting off.

"Alright lets go, we don't want them getting too far ahead." he said, running to the trees. He leapt up to the branches & left Konoha for the last time. His siblings weren't far behind.

They travelled for a few miles before finding the first casualty. Shikamaru's friend, Akamichi Choji, sitting against a tree, barely breathing. He looked like he was at deaths door. Not far from him, lay a large Oto shinobi who looked like he had been hit by a mountain. He was definitely dead. Temari used a chakra flare, as Tsunade had ordered. There was no reason to just let him die. Once she was done, they moved deeper into the woods.

The trees grew taller as they progressed further in. Like in the Forest of Death, the sunlight was obscured by the branches & leaves.

It was there that they found Neji lying on the ground, gravely injured. He had a large hole in his chest, like something had drilled straight through his flesh. Temari cast another flare after checking that he was still alive & they moved on.

"Wait." Gaara said, "There's fighting going on up ahead." he turned to his siblings, "Kankuro, you help Kiba, he's nearest. Temari, go to Shikamaru's aid. Naruto's fighting up ahead, I'll help him."

His siblings nodded & they split up.

Gaara moved as quickly as he could to catch up with Naruto. From what he could tell, Sasuke wasn't there, he'd gone on ahead. But as he got closer, Naruto left, chasing his friend. In his place was… Lee?!

Gaara's eyes widened as he realised that Lee was not only fighting, but managing to keep up with his opponent. It appeared Tsunade had successfully healed him.

Gaara, Temari & Kankuro each reached their opponents at the same time, the Oto shinobi each asking the same question.

"Who are you?"

The sand siblings each gave the same response.

"Former shinobi of Suna." Temari told the Oto kunoichi.

"Now turned missing-nin." Kankuro said.

"We are Sand Siblings." Gaara finished.

Lee stared up at Gaara, a mixture of fear & shock on his face.

"Gaara-san!" he exclaimed, his thick brows raised.

"Lee-san, please return to Konoha." Gaara said, "I will deal with him."

Lee unsteadily got to his feet. He glared at Gaara.

"No! I can still fight!" he replied. Gaara sighed.

"Lee-san, you can barely stand." he said, "Please let me take care of this one. I can see you are not fully recovered. If you strain your body, you'll just go through the same as before. What would Gai-san say if you hurt yourself all over again?"

Lee hesitated. He clearly didn't want Gaara's help, but his words made sense.

"Fine." he said, "I shall return to Konoha. I leave him to you."

Lee ran past Gaara with one last thing to say.

"Do not fail."

Gaara faced the white haired shinobi. When Lee was out of view, the shinobi spoke.

"If you fight me, you will die." he said, in a calm voice.

Gaara glanced back to make certain that Lee was gone before replying.

"I am not your enemy." he said, taking the shinobi by surprise, "I too wish for Uchiha Sasuke to join Orochimaru."

The other looked disbelieving.

"Why would you want that?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"The organization I work for believe that Sasuke will be more useful to them if he joins your master."

The shinobi tensed.

"Orochimaru-sama intends to make Sasuke his new body." he replied, "My mission is to ensure he gets there in time."

"Then you have failed." Gaara said, "I can see Orochimaru's remnant chakra on you. It is now too late for him use Sasuke as a body this time."

"I see…" the shinobi replied, "Then I must make sure he gets there for the next time round."

Gaara nodded.

"There is no need for us to fight." he said, "Right now, Sasuke is fighting with Uzumaki Naruto. He won't want either of us interrupting him, so it's best to leave him be until after the fight. But when the fight is over, I would like to talk with Sasuke before you take him to Orochimaru."

The shinobi paused, thinking to himself.

"Very well, I will-" he suddenly collapsed.

Gaara rushed to his side, lifting his head. The shinobi looked weak.

"My disease…" he whispered, "I am finished."

With his dying breath he uttered his last words.

"Jūgo… I'm sorry."

His head fell back. He was dead. Gaara lay his head on the grass & stood. He used the Shukaku eye to see which way Naruto & Sasuke had gone & ran to meet them. When he got their, he was surprised to find himself at the Valley of the End. What surprised him even more, was the giant statue of Madara. He passed a tree with a strange looking branch & walked to the edge of the cliff, peering down. Naruto was unconscious, Sasuke was leaning over him, two large holes in the back of his shirt. Gaara jumped off the cliff & landed not far from Sasuke, who whipped his head up in surprise.

"Sasuke-san." Gaara said, "It appears you have become stronger."

Sasuke stood straight, frowning at Gaara.

"Are you here to bring me back as well?" he asked.

"No. In fact, I encourage your joining Orochimaru." Gaara replied, to Sasuke's surprise, "I am currently working for an organization that is greatly interested in your abilities. But before I tell you more, I have come to a decision. It is time."

Sasuke looked shocked, "You mean-"

Gaara nodded sharply. He walked past Sasuke, towards the waterfall, so the roar would drown out any other sound that may reach the strange 'branch'. Sasuke followed him, his eyes wide with anticipation.

"Sasuke-san," Gaara began, "The truth about your brother is…"

* * * * *

Sasuke gaped, his eyes open to their fullest.

"Is all this true?" he asked, "I can't believe this."

Gaara watched the Uchiha as he attempted to comprehend what he had just been told.

"It's all true. He never stops thinking of you." he replied, "Even to this day, he has accepted his fate. He awaits the day you become powerful enough to kill him."

Sasuke's surprised look turned into one of pure rage.

"THE BASTARD!" he screamed, punching the wall of the cliff, "THAT GODDAMN BASTARD!"

His breathing grew heavy as he leaned against the cliff for support.

"I want to see him." he said, resting his head on his arm.

"You will." Gaara replied, "Once you become stronger, he will seek you out."

Sasuke nodded, "So… what do I do now?"

"Go to Orochimaru. Get him to train you. When you become strong enough, kill him. Itachi will find out about this & look for you."

Sasuke didn't react for a while, he just breathed heavily, water from the falls soaking him.

"Ok…" he said, getting off the rock, "I'm going."

He walked past Gaara, his eyes staring out into space. He paused.

"Gaara-san… thank you."

He ran off. Gaara stared at the spot where Sasuke had leaned against just seconds before. It was strange. The mission he had been preparing for years to complete was now over. His eyes widened in surprise as he heard a soft thump. He turned around, Kakashi was standing behind him.

"We were too late." he noted, looking at Naruto. Gaara sighed & nodded.

"I'll take him back to Konoha." Kakashi said, picking Naruto off the ground & placing him on his back. He glanced at Gaara before jumping up the cliff & disappearing. When he was gone, Gaara took a few steps forward.

"You can come out now." he said.

"Impressive, only one person could ever spot us before, and he's now dead. How did you know we were here?"

Gaara looked Zetsu up & down. He had thought Kisame was strange-looking, but this guy was on a whole other level.

"Uchiha Madara was my master, he told me all about his 'most trusted spy'."

Zetsu nodded, "Your mission is complete. I will escort you to our current base. It's time for your initiation."

Gaara nodded.

"Very well." he said, "But first, let me get my subordinates."

Zetsu chuckled, "You mean your siblings? It's funny that someone so young can use the word 'subordinates'. Or that they would remain so close with their family."

Gaara closed his eyes, annoyed.

"Umibe." he said, "Go find Temari & Kankuro. Bring them to me."

"Hai, Gaara-sama!" Umibe replied, pouring out of the gourd & blowing away in the wind.

"Alright, lets go." Gaara said, following Zetsu.

"So you were Madara's apprentice then?" Zetsu asked, "I wonder if he told him- quiet! If he hasn't, then telling him could cause problems! But how will we know if we don't ask him? It doesn't matter, if he knows, then he knows!"

Gaara frowned as Zetsu argued with himself.

"If you are referring to Madara's original plan for Akatsuki, then yes, I do know." he said. Zetsu snapped his head round.

"You do?" he asked, "So what are you gonna do?"

"Don't worry about it." Gaara replied, "I know exactly what I'm doing."

"Hey Gaara!"

Gaara looked back to see Temari & Kankuro running to meet him. Umibe, who was sitting on Temari's shoulder, flew back into Gaara's gourd.

"Who's this guy?" Kankuro asked when they caught up.

"This is the person who will take us to Leader-sama." Gaara replied, walking on.

"It's alright, I know his identity. You can call him by name."

"Fine, Zetsu-san will take us to Pein-san."

As they walked, Zetsu eyed Temari & Kankuro.

"Do these two know?" he asked. Gaara shook his head, "Good job, now they're curious. Shut up, they'll only grow more curious if you keep talking about it! Well then you quit talking about as well! I'm not talking about it! Neither am I!"

Temari & Kankuro stared at Zetsu, a look of horror on their faces.

"What the hell is wrong with this guy?!" Kankuro asked.

Zetsu whipped round & grabbed Kankuro by his face.

"Be careful of what you say, I'm feeling hungry." he said, licking his lips.

"What the hell are you, a cannibal?!" Kankuro exclaimed fearfully.

"That's right. You should try it!"

"Zetsu-san, please don't eat my brother." Gaara said calmly. Zetsu chuckled & let Kankuro go. When Zetsu had his back turned, Kankuro silently switched his body with Karasu's, hiding in the bandages.

"What kind of people are in this organization?" Temari hissed into Gaara's ear.

"S-class missing-nin." Gaara replied. Temari stepped back, not taking her eyes off Zetsu.

They travelled for the rest of the day, Zetsu often complained that if he was by, he would have been there hours ago. But eventually, they reached their destination. They stood at the base of a mountain, in front of a boulder with a seal tag attached to it. Zetsu stepped forward & placed a hand on it. The boulder groaned into life as it rolled out the way, letting them enter into a hallway. The boulder returned to its place behind them, darkness almost absolute. The only source of light came from torches attached to the walls.

The hallway opened up into a large chamber, resembling a cathedral. The stonework & pillars reaching up to the darkness attested to that. There were also stained glass windows, which were somehow shining from a strange light. There were six of the windows, three on either side. Each window revealed a different figure, one in a combat stance, souls flying from surrounding bodies. One with animals resting on his arms, the creatures looking at the figure with reverence. One with his hands in a river, drawing energy from it. Another held a figure bearing many faces & arms, evil looking shadows surrounding him. There was one that stood proud, a large, fiery gate behind him. The final one looked down on the world, light shining from his silhouette. It was clear that these were each of Pein's bodies. Apparently Pein's megalomania was even greater than Gaara thought.

Halfway across the room was a short flight of stairs. At the top of them was a large, empty pedestal, behind which stood a giant statue with two hands & many eyes. On each finger, an Akatsuki member stood. Gaara recognised some of them. Itachi & Kisame were there. Zetsu took his place on one of the fingers. On the other fingers, there was a man with blonde hair even more gravity defying than Kakashi's. There was also a short & stout figure with cornrows for hair & a rag covering his mouth. Another figure stood with dark skin & a face mask, his eyes black & green. There was also a rather tall person, his face almost completely obscured by an ornamental mask, only his eyes peering through the slits. In the shadows stood two figures, their faces unseen, but Gaara knew they could only be Pein… and Konan.

"Gaara-san." said Pein, in a voice slightly gruffer than before, telling Gaara this was a different body, "So you finally made it. Please step forward."

Gaara held a hand up, telling Temari & Kankuro to wait. He climbed the stairs, stood before the pedestal & looked up at the figures above him.

"Allow me to make the introductions." Pein said, "You already know these two." he pointed to Itachi & Kisame, he then gestured towards the two masked men, "This is Kakuzu-san, head of our finances, & his partner, Higaisha-san."

Gaara nodded to the two, they didn't return the nod.

"This is Zetsu-san, our spy." Pein continued, then gestured to the short man, "This is Sasori-san."

Pein was interrupted by a cry from Kankuro who which was soon muffled by Temari.

"My apologies." Gaara said, bowing, "My brother is a fan."

Sasori cast a glance at the packages on Kankuro's back, nodded & returned to staring at Gaara. Pein gestured to the blonde man.

"And finally, this is Deidara-san." he said. Deidara gave a small wave to Gaara, revealing a mouth on his palm.

"Now, Gaara-san." Pein said, "I believe you have already heard of the oath that each member of Akatsuki must take?"

Gaara nodded.

"Very well, mould your chakra." Pein ordered. When Gaara did so, he formed a hand sign. Suddenly, a large fiend appeared, a giant head looking down upon Gaara, grinning maliciously. He faltered for a second under the presence of the thing, but soon regained his composure.

"Do you, Gaara of Sunagakure, vow to stand beside your fellow members of Akatsuki & to ultimately meet Akatsuki's goal, no matter the risk to your life & limb?" Pein asked.

"I do." Gaara replied.

"Say it."

"I, Gaara of Sunagakure, vow to stand beside my fellow members of Akatsuki & to ultimately meet Akatsuki's goal, no matter the risk to my life & limb."

"Tell us your reason for joining Akatsuki."

Gaara thought carefully, chose his words & spoke.

"I wish to find out the true worth of my existence." he said, "I want to make my mark on history, so I will never cease to exist. My reason for joining Akatsuki is 'existence'."

Pein paused, as if waiting for something to happen. The giant head faded away. Pein looked down to Gaara.

"Well done, Gaara-san, welcome to Akatsuki." he said, "Please place your ring on your left little finger."

Gaara complied. When he did, he felt a slight tingling sensation.

"The ring has now adapted to your chakra." Pein said, "You can use it to contact your fellow members of Akatsuki, but you cannot remove it. Now you are a full member of Akatsuki. Congratulations."

He then spoke up to the other members.

"We have three years before we officially start our search for the Jinchūriki." he said, "Until then, you are to travel across the nations, doing missions for less than the offered price. As always, you are to give 60% of your profits to Akatsuki. The rest is yours to keep. Gaara-san, we are yet to find a partner for you, so we will assign you to Sasori-san & Deidara-san for now. All of you, dismissed."

Pein turned & left the cathedral through a side door. Konan waved to Gaara before following him. Deidara jumped from the finger he stood on & walked over to Gaara.

"Hey Gaara-san." he said, grinning, "You & your siblings are going to working with us, un?"

Gaara looked back to Temari & Kankuro, gesturing for them to come over. When they did, he introduced them.

"This is my eldest sister, Temari & my older brother, Kankuro." he said, both his siblings bowing to Deidara.

"Hey, no need for that!" Deidara grinned, "You can relax, just be cool. This is gonna be a blast, un!"

"Shut up & move." Sasori ordered, passing Deidara without looking at him. Deidara smirked.

"One thing you should know about Sasori no Danna, is that he hates waiting & making people wait, un."

"So, wait a minute." Kankuro butted in, "We're gonna be working with Akasuna no Sasori?!"

Deidara scoffed, "You know, his art has got nothing on mine, un!"

"I SAID MOVE!" Sasori yelled. Deidara sighed & followed Sasori, as did Gaara & his siblings.

"This is gonna suck." Temari said.

"This is gonna be awesome!" Kankuro exclaimed.

"This is the first step… are you watching?" Gaara thought.