Man, having to put these line breaks in is annoying, did the asteriuxes I used ever work? If so, why not now, and if not, why am I only hearing about it now?! It's gonna be tough to remember, but I'll do what I can. Anyways, here you go.

Disclaimer: ... Gaara with a mohawk.


To follow ones goal

Inside the base, in the room with two beds, Gaara lay still and unconscious. Fuu knelt beside him; ready to follow any order she was given. On the other side of the bed was a middle aged man with fading brown hair and rectangular glasses. The white coat and stethoscope around his neck made it clear what his profession was; he was a doctor.

Much had already been done for Gaara by this point. His sweater had been cut off and his waist was wrapped in bandages. The bleeding had already been stemmed, but just for safety sake he had been sedated to make sure the stitches didn't break should he move. The doctor was studying him closely, his brow creased in concentration.

"Using sand to stop the blood flow…" he muttered, rubbing his chin as he looked to the paper tissue holding the substance he spoke of. The crimson sand sat in a small mound, looking far from desirable as it was, "It's not something I would recommend, but it looks like in this situation it helped at least some. However I should like to take him to a more suitable facility, who knows what could be in his system because of it."

"Um… well…" Fuu mumbled uncertainly. She felt rather lost in this situation, she didn't know what to say or do. And so she kept quiet out of fear of making the situation worse than it already was.

The doctor straightened up, folding his arms and closing his eyes as he let out a long, deep sigh. "It's a shock that he's even alive, wounds like this would kill stronger men much faster." He said, before eying his face seriously, "Along with that, judging by the rings around his eyes and the faded colour to his skin, he is either abusing something, or is a heavy insomniac. In that case, his immune system should be just about nonexistent."

Fuu bowed her head nervously, she wasn't really sure she should say anything by this point. The doctor seemed to take no notice of her silence though, it was probable that he was just thinking aloud when he spoke, and not to her at all.

"He's a Shinobi, so he's not quite your average stab wound victim."

Fuu snapped her head around, surprised to see Yagura finally awake. Despite the situation, she beamed brightly at him. Yagura however took no notice as he rubbed his eyes, by the time he was looking embarrassment had forced Fuu to halt the expression. He turned his eyes to the doctor, who had a look of dawning realisation on his face from that explanation.

"I see, that makes much more sense." He murmured, bowing his head to study Gaara again. He looked up however as he began hearing footsteps coming from outside, it sounded like more than one person was coming their way. Moments later, Utakata appeared in the doorway half carrying half dragging a barely conscious Naruto into the room. "What, another one?" the doctor asked, with a look of shock.

"No, this one's just fine." Utakata replied, smiling weakly as he pulled the blond boy into the room. Naruto was muttering something to himself, and everyone bar the doctor could feel the negative aura he was exuding quite strongly, "Just a headache and a sore ego."

"Like hell." Naruto muttered, taking his arm from Utakata's shoulder and standing on his own. But then he raised his head and looked to Gaara, the anger on his face being replaced with regret as for the second time that day he found his friend to be in an unconscious state. He looked over to the doctor, who had returned his attention to Gaara, "How's he doing?"

The doctor took a moment to reply, collecting his thoughts as he rubbed his unshaven chin. He then placed his hand on his knee and got to his feet, turning around to face Naruto with a serious look. "He is in quite a bad state I'm afraid." he said, deciding against sweetening his words, "There's a chance he can get infection from the sand, but I can give you something to help with that. Aside from that it's best he doesn't move until he is fully recovered."

"I'm sure he'll love that." Utakata said, wearing an ironic smile at the thought of it, "Anyone care to be the one to break it to him?"

"I'll do it." Naruto replied, taking a few steps toward Gaara's bed as he watched the red haired boy. The doctor studied the blond for a while, before crouching down and picking up the bulky leather case that sat beside him.

"Now, there's another matter that I need to discuss." the doctor said, looking directly at Utakata. As the eldest, it would seem that he was the one the doctor judged as being the authority figure. However, it was Yagura who drew attention with his well noticeable sigh.

"Yeah, we can't just let you leave empty handed." he said, removing the quilt from his body and getting out of the bed. Fuu rose to her feet as he did, watching as he opened the bedside drawer and took out what looked like a chequebook with a pen attached. He opened it up and scribbled something inside as he approached the doctor, before tearing out a piece of paper and handing it to him.

The doctor accepted the cheque and looked it over, his brow creasing in confusion. He held it out at arms length, before looking at Yagura uncertainly, "This is far too much."

"It's not to pay for the medical care." Yagura said, slipping the chequebook into his pocket while giving a look that was both pointed and a little dangerous, "It's to buy your silence."

The doctor's face hardened at Yagura, his expression becoming lacking. He gave a nod as he slipped the cheque into his pocket, before he turned and made for the door. "You need a ride?" Fuu asked, just before the doctor left. He came to a stop, looking blankly over his shoulder.

"No thank you, I think I'll walk." he politely replied, before taking his leave. Everyone but Naruto watched the doctor disappear, before their eyes moved towards Naruto.

The blond could sense the attention he was being given, and had enough intelligence to know why they were all looking. He let out a hollow sigh; they definitely weren't going to let him be without an explanation. He turned to the door and walked towards it, rubbing the back of his aching head as he walked out into the hallway, "Can we take this downstairs? I need an aspirin or something."


"So 'fess up!" Fuu said, propping her elbows up on the bar and resting her chin in her hands. She looked at to her right at Naruto with curious eyes, ignorant to the blonde's mood and his migraine. Utakata looked past Naruto to give Fuu a calm but warning look; she shouldn't try to push things along.

"Who were those guys?" Yagura asked, looking straight ahead at the shelf of bottles from his place beside Utakata. He could just see Naruto in the reflection of the glass, his head bowed as he stared into the glass of water he held in his hands.

To each the three of them, Naruto seemed to be in a poor mood. They were taken by surprise then when he lifted the glass to his lips and downed it in no time at all, before letting out a content sigh. "So Gaara's gonna be alright." he muttered, looking at his own distorted reflection in a large bottle of whisky, wearing a smirk. "I guess I'll leave it to him then."

The other Jinchuriki looked at each other in confusion, wondering how his mood could have changed so quickly. In the end it was Utakata who raised the question they were each thinking, deciding to be as eloquent as the situation needed, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Naruto let out an inward chuckle as he pushed his glass aside; he wore a look of nostalgia mixed with malevolent excitement that was rather unbecoming of him. "Gaara's gonna be pissed, that Uchiha guy is his target." he said, shaking his head lightly. He acted almost as if he was on his own, his words more like spoken thoughts than directed speech. "A few years ago, Pein-san had Kisame-sensei take us out on a training journey. He tested us along the way, checking our skill levels and stuff, but nothing too major. He led us up through the north side of Hi no Kuni, when he decided to really test our abilities. He'd heard from Zetsu-san that there were a couple of Genin from Konoha that were defecting to Otogakure.

"After disappearing on us, me and Gaara were left to head off to some valley to meet up with him, but he wasn't there waiting for us. It was the two defectors, Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji. I'd already fought with Neji a few months earlier, and he sorta had a grudge against me. Gaara on the other hand… well he just sorta went along with it. Next thing I know, the four of us are tearing up the place, me taking on Neji, and Gaara taking on Sasuke."

He took a pause, collecting himself as he let his mind slow down. Fuu, Utakata and even Yagura had become quite interested in his story. Fuu was even eager for him to continue. "What happened?" she asked, her eyes fixed on Naruto's distant expression.

"Heh, we just about got killed, that's what happened." Naruto replied, resting his head onto his limp hand casually. Utakata and Fuu were both surprised by this, though the former was to a lesser extent.

Fuu couldn't help thinking about how Naruto had thought against that Hayashi Seiryuu from just a few days ago, and then how that Uchiha Sasuke had hurt Gaara before she even realised he had moved. She wasn't sure just whether she could imagine what Naruto was saying, or if it seemed unlikely.

"Anyway, it was that defeat that woke the two of us up." Naruto continued, turning around on his stool and resting his elbows on the bar. The others leant back to look at him, beginning to wonder if maybe he was in shock. Why else did he look so peaceful when his friend had not too long ago been in critical condition?! "That day Kisame-sensei gave us an order. Well not really an order, but with the way he said it, he knew we wouldn't refuse. He said "I'm not having a piece of shit who gets his ass kicked by some punk he'd already fought before as a student." then he told Gaara "What the hell's the point in living if there's some bastard out there who knows he can kill you?".

"So he made a deal with us. He'd train us to become strong enough that we wouldn't get taken down that easy again, and in return we'd kill the guys who defeated us. We thought it was a sweet deal, so we agreed. Nearly three years of training later and here we are getting our asses kicked again."

Yagura let out a small smirk as he read Naruto's feelings. It was the same with Utakata; he too could sense the anger and bitterness behind Naruto's otherwise cheery look. If anything, he seemed to be getting high off the feelings of wrath inside him, a dangerous way of coping indeed.

Naruto got to his feet, stretching his arms back as he grinned at the people still sitting behind him, "I'm gonna watch over Gaara, chances are when he wakes up, he's gonna be very very pissed." he said, before heading off to the door with his hands behind his head. No one tried to stop him, they were each fairly content with the story they had been told.

"Wow, Naruto-oniisan is pretty scary, huh?" Fuu said, her eyes becoming tired as she cocked her head. Utakata and Yagura both froze, slowly turned their heads to her, their brows creased and their eyes wide as they stared with gaping mouths. Fuu looked at them and was quickly confused by their reactions. "What?"

"I uh… I didn't know you looked at Naruto that way." Utakata said, his brow twitching as some sweat dripped down his brow. Fuu blinked in surprise, looking between the two boys curiously. It took her a moment to catch on, her realisation made obvious by her flushed expression.

"W-wh-what did I say?!" she demanded, her eyes shimmering with desperate tears as she worriedly prayed against the words gathering in her head. For her sake, the two boys quickly averted their gazes. However, that seemed to have the opposite effect as Fuu got the sudden feeling she was being avoided, "Heyyyy!!!"


Naruto sat against the wall by Gaara's bed, slouching down with Eko resting beside him. He had taken to twirling a senbon he'd found between his fingers, gripping it between his thumb, fore and middle finger. He had spent a while practicing this, and was now able to do it absent mindedly. However there was one person who took notice of the little habit he had adopted. "You seem relaxed." Gaara said, looking at Naruto with his half open eyes.

Naruto smiled to himself, catching the senbon in his hand and gripping it tight. He knew that Gaara had been awake for a while now, but had been waiting for him to give indication. "Better hope Kisame-sensei doesn't notice that hole in your stomach." He said, though not in a teasing tone. He and Gaara both knew what would happen should that person learn of what transpired today. They didn't need to say anything to know that it would be best to keep quiet about their little encounter. "If I knew you were that bad I'd have been watching that Uchiha guy too."

Gaara let out an inward scoff, though he couldn't stand even Naruto talking down to him, in this case he had no place to make that point clear. However, there was one point he was well aware of; Naruto was much to clean to have engaged in battle. "Looks like you didn't fare too well either." He said, turning his eyes to the ceiling, "How would he feel knowing that the person he gave one of those blades to got defeated without even being injured?"

Naruto laughed lightly, though that was mixed with a sudden nervous sweat. If Kisame found out he'd been taken out without so much as a broken arm, he would probably break both of them to compensate.

"So what now?" Naruto asked, turning to face Gaara. He sat in the exact same position, though with no support to hold his slouching frame. He leant back and slipped his hands behind his head, appearing to recline on the thin air. "Shinmaru could probably pick up the trail; we could still catch up with them."

Gaara thought about Naruto's suggestion, glancing at the boy for a moment. "No." he replied, turning his eyes once more to the expanse above him, "Uchiha Sasuke can move faster than the sand. I will need to find a way to counter his speed if I am to put up a fight."

Naruto raised his brow in surprise, before he began smiling again. He knew what Gaara was saying, the prospect made him quite excited. "You're gonna try that training again?" he asked, looking straight at Gaara's face. The red haired boy considered it, before giving a nod of reply. Naruto's smile grew into a wide grin at this provoking idea. "Mind if I take advantage of that?"

Gaara took a moment to reply, letting his breaths come in steady ebbs and flows. Eventually though he gave a small nod, making Naruto's excitement peak. He stopped himself however as he remembered Gaara's condition even if he agreed it would be a while yet before he was ready to do training of any kind, never mind the sort he and Naruto would wind up doing.

"Guess you better heal up fast." Naruto said, pushing himself up to his feet. He reached out and picked up Eko, slipping him in place on his back before giving Gaara a grin, "You don't get out of bed soon, we might have to start taking orders from Yagura. Don't wanna risk making this place into a mini Village of the Bloody Mist, right?"

"Hold on-" Gaara began, sensing that Naruto was about to leave.

"Yeah yeah." Naruto interrupted, predicting Gaara's request before it could be uttered. He headed over to the bed as Gaara removed the quilt from his body, and helped the red haired boy to his feet. The moment Gaara straightened up, he grabbed his stomach and winced. Naruto watched his reaction to the pain he received from the movement, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Probably one of the worst outcome of having a sensei like ours; we don't like to waste time recovering."

Gaara gave a small nod of agreement, his pain was considerable, yet more bearable than laying in a bed he most likely wouldn't be sleeping in. together the two of them made their way to the door, Naruto taking care to move slowly for Gaara's sake.


"You're not even making any sense." Yagura said, sitting back and crossing his arms. He looked towards his right at Gaara, who had taken position in an armchair acquired earlier from an upstairs room. The red haired boy sat very still as he tried not to stress his stitches, looking over the three Jinchuriki gathered on the sofa. "This is about this Uchiha and Hyuuga guys, isn't it?"

"Yes." Gaara replied in a simple manner. There was no need to stage any façade about the subject, he was aware that there would be little doubt in any case. But it was no issue either, no need to hide the fact. "Though Naruto and I always intended to deal with them at some point, there were other matters of greater importance. That hasn't changed. What has changed is that they are moving faster than I expected. The ideal plan would be to track them down and take them out before they can become a problem… however…"

Naruto looked at Gaara from his place against the wall, frowning curiously at his friend. Even he had no idea what Gaara had been planning on telling them, and now that they knew, he couldn't figure out his reasoning either. But he listened nonetheless, knowing that Gaara wouldn't be doing this at all if it didn't matter.

"This is a purely personal matter; we have other goals as our priority." Gaara said, at long last. Naruto raised his brow in surprise; of all things he had never expected that to be Gaara's reason. This was a guy who would ruin all the plans in the mission for the sake of killing someone he was interested in, so taking a path like that was far from expected. "Which is why I'm bringing this up now. It'll take at least a week for me to recover, that's time we already can't afford to lose. We're in a difficult situation, which is why we need to act fast."

The room quickly drifted into silence, three of the four boys looking quite troubled as what Gaara was saying began to make sense to them. However, Fuu shared no such look with the others, instead opting to look at each of them with a raised brow, before settling her eyes on Gaara. "What's the rush?" she asked, with a blank look.

All four of the boys resisted letting out an exasperated sigh, thus leaving Fuu unaware of how obvious the answer to her question was. Gaara was the one who maintained himself best, and also was the one to give her an answer. "There isn't one of us here who doesn't have people looking for us." he explained, raising his hand to lazily gesture at the person to his right, "Even Naruto has Konohagakure keeping an eye out for him, even though he was never a Shinobi in the first place."

Fuu blinked in surprise, looking at Naruto with wide eyes. Yagura and Utakata both already knew of this, Fuu was the only one just hearing about it now. "Is that true?"

"Yeah, it's a pain in the ass but it's true." Naruto replied, letting out a sigh as he rubbed the back of his head. He straightened up and placed his hand on his waist and wearing a prideful grin, "Failed the academy exam three times, certified failure of failures, Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet ya."

Gaara cleared his throat, bringing attention back to the subject at hand. All eyes returned to him as he rested his head against the back of the chair for a moment, before dropping it back down to look at Yagura and Utakata, "In one week, Naruto and I will be leaving to seek out the Gobi Jinchuriki in Tsuchi no Kuni." he said, reiterating the statement that had caused Yagura's initial doubt. Though it still remained, he was willing to hear Gaara out since he was the only other person here who had any sense of professionalism. "We will use some of the money we have gathered to hire a member of Akatsuki to assist use. While we're gone, it will be up to you three to find and take missions to make up for what we will lose."

"I still say this is a bad idea." Yagura stated, allowing his pessimism to once more make itself known. Though Utakata and Fuu said nothing, the looks they tried to keep themselves showed that they agreed with the idea. Gaara and Naruto however silently and expressionlessly stated their own views; together their force was greater than the other three. In the end they conceded, with just Yagura being the one to look reluctant. "We don't need Iwa on our ass too."

"Yeah, cos Iwa's gonna come chasing our asses through Hi no Kuni." Naruto mockingly replied, rolling his eyes tiredly. He was well aware of what Iwa was like; Kisame had once taken them on a… tour of one of Iwa's border patrol posts about mid way through their training. It was about then that Naruto had decided to abandon his red died jacket and trouser combo, and replaced them with his haori and slacks.

"I think in your case they'd make an exception." Yagura said, his words a little too cool and cutting for Naruto's liking. The words however left him a little confused, indicated by his narrow eyes and slack expression. In the end he decided against using words, and instead turned to Fuu.

"Hey, do me a favour." he said, speaking in a fairly quiet monotone. His peculiar attitude had drawn the attention of all those around, earning frowns as he raised his hand and pointed to Yagura. "Pinch his ear would ya?"

Yagura frowned in surprise, before turning his head to give Fuu a look of warning. Unfortunately for him however he was too slow; Fuu's fingers were already gripping his ear. "Like this?" she asked, squeezing lightly with her thumb and for finger.

"Hey, get o- HYEH!" Yagura groaned, as he suddenly broke into a fit of shivers. Fuu whipped her hand back in shock as Yagura seemed to recoil in on himself for a moment. But then it past, and he was left looking very confused indeed. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" he demanded, whipping his head from Naruto to Utakata, the most likely accomplice to what just happened.

His thoughts were confirmed as he saw Utakata do everything he could not to make eye contact, though all the averted gazes he could pull failed to hide the faint titter that peeped from his mouth. While he made further demands for an explanation, Fuu stared at her hand, a sly look creeping onto her face. "This could be fun…" she thought, gaining a thin smile that caught Yagura's notice.

"Uh… Fuu-san?" he said, with a worried look on his face.

"Let's go." Gaara said, looking up at Naruto with a tired expression. As always he was in no mood for participating in the idiocy that had managed to crawl in with Fuu and Utakata's habits. Naruto helped the invalid to his feet and directed him out the room, flashing Utakata a thumbs up in the process.

Utakata tried to respond with the same, but all he could do was grin as he gripped Fuu's wrists. The hyper girl was making an over zealous attempt to re-enact Naruto's request, receiving a thump on the head from Yagura in return. "Get off me." he muttered, his brow twitching in annoyance. Fuu gripped her head in both hands, tearing up more from shock than actual pain.

"Yagura-kuuun!" she complained, her voice causing Gaara to pinch the bridge of his nose and let out an angered grunt. Naruto looked at him with an uncertain smile, now definitely wasn't the good time for Gaara to develop a headache.

"Maybe we should hand her over to Kisame-sensei for a little while?" Naruto jokingly suggested, letting out a light laugh in a vain attempt to lighten the mood. He could as well be playing tug of war with Hotei; it would save him energy if he just conceded now.

"A week…" Gaara muttered, before letting his head hang.