Chapter V:

Deja vu

It was half-past noon before Temari finally managed to dig her brother out from his sleeping bag and Gaara awoke to a coughing fit.

After his run-in Sasuke, Gaara crept cautiously back into the campsite only to find Temari snoring gently where he'd left her. He was still sopping wet and had to sit by the fire for quite a while so that she wouldn't notice his water-logged pants when she checked on him in the morning. This was probably the reason he now suffered a bad cold, but at least she had no idea what he'd been up to.

Should he tell her? Should he tell Naruto? Should he tell anyone that he'd seen Sasuke? By all accounts, he was a danger to all the ruling nations and to let him remain hiding between Sunagakure and Konoha could be considered as a betrayal to both countries if anyone was to find out.

Then again, Gaara had promised that he wouldn't tell. And what would it matter? Sasuke seemed docile enough and even helped a stranger without any real personal gain. Granted, it had been Gaara in disguise, but Sasuke had no idea – he could have secured his hiding place just by murdering him.

It would have been so easy.

Gaara remembered their last meeting two years ago. Tsunade came to Suna, along with a number of Leaf genin, for the chunnin exams held in Suna of that year.

Sasuke and Naruto were the only remaining shinobi of their year that were still genin (on paper) and they both were guaranteed to pass with flying colors. There was an amazing turnout for that event, perhaps three times the usual number of people that showed up to watch the chunnin exams. Gaara recalled the trouble the village had to go through to accommodate that many visitors.

Everyone came to see the world famous shinobi of the Fourth Ninja War perform and Sunagakure made quite a lot of money that year.

But having such a world famous outlaw enter his village came with no small addition to security. Sasuke had been escorted by the Hokage herself and the guards at the front gates of Suna came up with some ridiculous idea of putting him in chains and parading him around the village on their way to the Kazekage's office. It was reported later that Sasuke complied without so much as a frown.

Gaara hadn't been at the compound at the time. He was at home writing letters to various lords when he was informed of the Hokage's arrival. Hurrying to his office, he was confronted by a very furious Naruto who demanded to know why Sasuke had been treated in such a humiliating manner. Of course, Gaara had no idea what Naruto was talking about until he came across the entourage of idiot guards waiting with a seething Tsunade and an otherwise nonchalant Uchiha Sasuke with his hands tied behind his back.

Before Tsunade even had the chance to utter a rebuke, Gaara the Kazekage waved her aside and calmly asked for the keys from his guards. He unlocked the chains holding Sasuke then Gaara the Bully pulled each of the guards' feet from under them, letting them fall flat on their faces.

Gaara gestured for his two stunned guests to enter his office. "Have a seat inside while I go make us some coffee," he said politely.

It was here that Gaara remembered accepting Sasuke's passport. He spoke briefly with Tsunade about the terms of his participation in the exams then stamped the passport with the Kazekage's seal.

They exchanged a look as Gaara handed it back to him. Sasuke's eyes appeared tired but focused as he stared down at the Kazekage's sitting form. A brief silence stood within the room as they both must have reflected upon the struggles each experienced because of each other up to that point.

Gaara targeting Sasuke before the tournament. Gaara mocking Sasuke in the forest.

Sasuke making Gaara bleed. Sasuke running to Orochimaru. Sasuke rejecting Gaara's words of redemption.

Sasuke attacking Naruto.

It was only a few seconds and then the spell broke. Gaara let go of the passport and nodded at him.

"Good luck on your exam, Sasuke."

They hadn't traveled long before Team Gai surprised them at the edge of River Country. The big green form of Might Guy greeted them with as much enthusiasm Gaara was sure he could take and his only comfort was the sight of Tenten and Neji sulking self-consciously a small distance away, letting him confirm the existence of normal people who would rather not be associated with such a display.

Rock Lee certainly didn't help things. Gaara hadn't seen him in a couple years, but that didn't discourage the boy's bowl-cut from tossing itself near his face as Lee smiled that ridiculous smile of his.

"Nice to see you again, Gaara-kun!" - Gaara-kun, why is it always Gaara-kun with these people?

He was given the thumbs up, perhaps as some sort of warning, before he felt himself being swept from his feet and somehow being replaced in the piggy-back position against Lee's back.

Oh… my God.

By sunset, Gaara finally allowed himself to peer cautiously over Lee's shiny head to drink in the sight of Konoha's big double doors. Throughout the entire journey, Lee had repeatedly called over his shoulder to ask questions like:

"How are you doing?"

"Do you need to take a break?"

"Are you comfortable back there?"

Yes. Yes, I just love the feeling of my crotch getting mashed against the edge of a kunai holster. Not only that, my hands are getting covered in sweat and something tells me it's not mine.

Lee carried him all the way to the entrance before Gaara began to signal he wanted off. He had a hard time wiggling his legs from Lee's tightly locked arms, but Gaara was adamant about keeping the remaining shreds of his dignity intact by walking through the gates on his own two feet.

Many of the others felt differently, of course. As soon as Gaara's feet touched the ground, his knees began to wobble.

"He looks half dead," observed Tenten, an expert on stating the obvious.

Lee took one of Gaara's thinning wrists and looped his arm around his neck, a gesture Gaara would have normally appreciated if he wasn't so fixated on the beads of sweat that were soaking his sleeve. Perhaps he was just too tired to be thankful.

A brief visit to the clinic and then a meeting with the Hokage. Gaara obediently sat across from Tsunade as she berated him for his careless behavior toward his own well being.

"It's not just your physical health we all should be worrying about. Are you mental? You're mental. I'm fully persuaded that you've gone absolutely insane. What the hell were you thinking hiding your condition from everybody, huh? How can you hope to protect your village when you can't even stand on your own too feet?" roared Tsunade, her voice accompanied by the loud slamming of her fist on her cluttered and battered desk.

The sight of the Hokage lecturing Suna's infamously testy Kazekage like a four year old put many on edge, but throughout what Gaara assumed was a verbal spanking, Temari appeared entirely uninterested in stepping in to defend her leader's honor.

Hmm… make that former leader's honor. Perhaps this was what spurred Tsunade into thinking she had any right to tell him what to do. It didn't help that Temari was silently agreeing to everything the Hokage had to say.

"The damage is done. At the very least, it would have been better to die watching over Suna from its enemies while defenses are obviously weak than to give the village another reason to worry," replied Gaara, tersely.

"You're lucky we found a way to treat this early. Any longer, I'm sure the damage would be irreparable and I'd be sitting across from the sixth Kazekage arranging your funeral."

"As of now, we have not formally announced my abdication. Like I said before, there's no need in letting our enemies know about our situation. If the rest of the world believes that Gaara of the Desert is still in office, I expect the problems we may face in the near future will be kept at bay for a little while longer."

"What about appearances? Won't people on the outside expect to see you out in public?"

"I'm already insane, as you've so generously established earlier, and I'm known to be a social recluse. My absence from the public eye won't be that unusual. I'll have my shinobi impersonate me when it is necessary to do so."

Gaara was growing tired of the Hokage questioning him. Granted, he held Tsunade in the highest of respect and, on a number of occasions, horrified the elders by agreeing with her over international disputes when he was rightly expected to follow the opinion of Sunagakure's all-too backward, ritual council. But there were times Tsunade could become frustratingly stubborn, merely because she held the power of seniority. She constantly reminded him that he was too young to fully understand the world – he was having his youth thrown rudely in his face.

The meeting came to a relatively civil end. When they weren't discussing politics and moved on to the subject of his health, Tsunade had been equally stern, but Gaara knew that she was being generous with her concern.

"I've prepared a room for you in the hospital. It's on the second floor in the west corner where it's a little quieter. However, due to all the patients recovering from your village, you'll have to share with somebody else so we could fit everyone in."

"I understand."

"Now Gaara, I need to remind you to take proper care of yourself while you're here. The worst is yet to come and I need you to comply to everything my assistants require for your treatment. From now on, your life is Konoha's responsibility and I trust that you'll respect the terms we've arranged in aiding your recovery."

"I understand," Gaara replied again. "Suna is eternally grateful for your aid and generosity and I won't forget what you're doing for my people."

His manners appeared to please her. "I'm glad," she said, smiling. "Please get some rest, you've had a long journey. I'll send Sakura over to examine you after you've gotten settled."

Gaara nodded and stood, giving her a deep bow, an act that would have had his council members shit bricks. Bridges would have collapsed in Suna if they saw their infamous and almighty leader performing an act of modesty, though Gaara believed that in many other customs, bowing was merely an act of common courtesy.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and her smile widened by a small margin.

"There's no need. As allies, it's natural for one village to help the other. This generation is responsible for making friendships – real friendships between countries that go beyond alliances on paper. It will take quite a while for you to recover, so please, make yourself comfortable here. This will be your home."

Gaara's face turned up to meet the Hokage's. He was not wearing his robe of office, but his eyes held the same earnestness and strength that made him the leader Suna respected and adored.

It was the same as the first time she met him, in this very office, across from this very desk. A boy of twelve with ruffled red hair, a gourd on his back, and a grim air felt around only seasoned veterans, Gaara was capable of surprising Tsunade from the start. She had heard rumors of Suna's powerful, but crazed jinchuuriki and the damage he'd done during that year's chuunin exam.

Tsunade fully expected to meet something monstrous. What she found instead was something adorable.

She could see the boy hesitate behind those pale green eyes. His two siblings stood on either side behind him, watching him with confusion as Gaara stepped forward.

Slowly, Gaara lowered his head until all Tsunade could see was a crown of red hair. Judging by his sibling's reactions, Tsunade knew that Gaara never bowed to anyone in his life.

His voice was quiet, but clear.

"Hokage. I'm here not only on behalf of the debt owed by my village to Konoha, but also for a personal debt I owe to Uzumaki Naruto. Please accept our sincerest apologies as well as our aid in Uchiha Sasuke's retrieval."

"He could be a real brat sometimes, but I've always liked that one," said Tsunade to Shizune when the Sand shinobi left the office. "He's got a certain way about him that's different from anyone his age."

"How so, Tsunade-sama?"

"Some of us go through life not knowing what to do with ourselves until we die. Gaara seems to see the right things and make them happen. I'm sorry to see him in such poor health. The boy's suffered too much."

"Many people are suffering, Tsunade-sama."

"Yes, and Gaara sees that. That's why he doesn't want to think about his own suffering while all of this is going on. He's got a big heart, but he's left no room in it for himself."

Gaara and Temari checked into the hospital and were immediately rushed into emergency care. A medic came out pushing a wheel chair. Gaara fought him off with a terrible glare.

A nurse greeted them as they approached the elevator and led Gaara away to the shower rooms while another took his things and led Temari into the waiting room. Half an hour later, Gaara felt warm and clean dressed in thin cotton pants and a polka-dot hospital gown. The only setback was the cloth mask covering the lower half of his face to muffle his coughs. They itched behind his ears.

"If you are feeling well enough, please go ahead and wait in your room," said the nurse. "Do you know how to get there by yourself?"

Gaara nodded behind his mask.

"Oh, good! I'm sorry, but I have a lot of other patients to see."

The nurse smiled and bowed apologetically before hurrying off. Gaara watched her leave then made his way back to the elevator. During his youth, Gaara and his siblings made many trips to Konoha, sometimes spending months at a time in the village for different assignments, be it infiltrating the chuunin exams or tutoring groups of Leaf genin in the summer when Suna simply became too hot.

It was only natural that Gaara became familiar enough to navigate Konoha with little problems, the hospital in particular. After all, he had had to find a way to creep around the hospital in order to smother Lee in this sleep after the preliminaries. Those were fond memories.

Ironically, the room he was assigned was the same one Lee had been using when Gaara tried to finish him off. Perhaps it was finally he who would die in this room instead. It was inappropriate, but the irony of his circumstances tickled him to no end.

Temari was waiting for him in the hallway. She looked a bit rattled.

"I've unpacked your things. Someone's sleeping behind the partition, so keep it quiet. You've got the window bed," said Temari.

"Okay. Is Sakura coming?" asked Gaara as he padded toward the door.

"She just left. She needed to get a new thermometer."

Gaara entered the room, leaving the door open. His eyes scanned the hospital quarters, noticing the huddled figure sleeping in the bed darkened by the shade of the partition.

Turning around, Gaara was surprised that Temari had not followed him in.

"I'll be back in a few," said Temari, hurriedly. "I need to ask Sakura something."

"Alright then. I'll wait for you here," said Gaara, nodding. He sat on the bed and watched her go.

Temari was hiding something, but she was also tired. There was no need to press her for information at the moment. He surveyed the room once more.

To his left, Gaara found a tiny dresser stacked with his belongings. The picture of his family from his room back home was placed facing the starched pillow on his bed. He leaned over and opened the drawer and found his clothes folded neatly inside. Check.

The drawer slid with a bang, louder than expected. Behind the partition, Gaara's roommate stirred awake.

Whoops.

"Sorry," he whispered to the other side. The patient made no verbal response, but Gaara could hear whoever it was getting up into a sitting position. Curious to see who it was, Gaara pulled the curtain back to greet his new roommate.

For a moment, Gaara felt his heart stop.

Hands trembling in anxiety and anticipation, a six year old Gaara held the bag of ointment out in front of him, the paper crumbling in his nervous hands.

"S-sorry about earlier," he said, his voice soft and friendly. "I brought you some medicine."

The door was opened by just a sliver, but Gaara could see the girl's bandaged face twist into a scowl.

A faint pause of shock skipped over the woman's face as her mind processed the identity of the young man in front of her. Then she opened her mouth and her hateful eyes bore into his soul.

"Go away, you monster."

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. And to answer a reader's question, this is not supposed to be an entirely romance genre fic so don't worry about it being just another yaoi fic if they make you uncomfortable. I can't reveal too much but I'll give a small explanation about my intentions regarding this story. Gaara's grown up a lot since we first saw him in the show, but there's always room for him to grow. As far as I know, he's a thoughtful and mature kid and he's quite sensitive to others despite coming off as quiet, cool, and occasionally insolent.

Being Kazekage, he doesn't have time to connect with people his age on a personal level - there's a noticeable awkwardness between Naruto and Gaara even as they try to reach out to one another. In this story, Gaara's trip to Konoha will allow him to understand his peers at a deeper level, but it's mostly Gaara that has to put in the effort since everyone else is settled in long-term friendships. But as we have seen, he seems very capable at accomplishing things he sets his mind to. One of his goals in this story is accomplishing the simple yet difficult task of becoming a good friend to Naruto. Although Naruto doesn't seem to understand the gravity of his actions and the effect they had on Gaara's life, Gaara will use this as a reminder to take on everything that is thrown at him to repay his debt to Naruto. Ironically, I've made Naruto a side character to show that Naruto doesn't have to be around all the time to be a big part of Gaara's life.