Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. Finals and stupid MCAT study got in the way. Hope you like the chapter. I feel pretty good about it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Twelve: Kindred Spirits

Kakashi observed Iruka from a tree outside of Chuunin's small but cozy looking home. The scarred Academy teacher was still clearly upset about the Chuunin Exam nominations.

Kakashi hadn't liked getting into a fight with Iruka over how ready his team as for the Chuunin Exams but he felt that nominating them was right. He believed in his team. He knew they weren't perfect, particularly in terms of their teamwork but they came through when it mattered. This Exam would teach them a good lesson in a mostly risk-free setting considering the Chuunin Exams were in Konoha this time.

Iruka would understand his reasons sooner or later.

He broke out of his reverie when he had to dodge a kunai. Looking at the culprit, he found Iruka glaring at him from his open window.

"Why are you spying on me?" the Chuunin frowned, looking adorably incensed in Kakashi's opinion.

"I just wanted to see how you were," Kakashi answered truthfully.

Iruka huffed. "How do you think I am?" he snapped, walking away from the window but leaving it open.

Kakashi took it as an invitation and entered the home, eyeing Iruka as he busied himself in the kitchen.

"I know you're angry, Iruka-sensei, but I really believe Team Seven is ready for these exams. They've worked very hard… and they've grown so much, especially Naruto. If you saw them, you'd see that I'm right," Kakashi stated.

"It's only been six months," Iruka said. "The Chuunin Exams are dangerous… they could die!"

He'd seen that himself too many times. One of his own teammates had fell in the Exam. He didn't want to see that happen to Naruto.

"Naruto won't let that happen," Kakashi commented. "You know as well as I do, if not more, just how determined Naruto gets when he puts his heart into something. He's a lot stronger than he lets on."

"I suppose you're right," Iruka stated, sounding a little uncertain. "I just thought that…"

"That I was like the rest of those prejudiced bastards wanting to see Naruto dead, right?" Kakashi finished Iruka's sentence, noting the scarred Chuunin's guilty look. I assure you, I care for Naruto just as much as you do. He's like a little brother to me."

"But you've only known him for a few months," Iruka frowned in confusion.

"Officially yes, but I've known him a lot longer," Kakashi said. "You see, I was one of his ANBU guards."

Iruka's eyes widened as he recalled the ANBU that used to watch over Naruto when he was younger. One of them had been silver-haired… in fact, it was the very ANBU who had saved Iruka from a messy demise when the teacher had tried to save Naruto from the Kumo nin that had attempted to kidnap him all those years ago.

"…Hound…" the Academy teacher said, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks. After that incident, Iruka had developed a small crush on the mysterious ANBU. He thought he'd gotten over it but seeing the legendary nin unmasked in front of him – well… sort of, - brought it all back.

"You remember," Kakashi beamed, brushing a hand against Iruka's cheek. Seeing Iruka so selflessly protect his student had been what had first attracted Kakashi to the Chuunin.

"I'm sorry for misjudging you," Iruka stated, feeling ashamed of himself.

"Maa, it's alright, Iruka-sensei. You can make it up to me by coming to dinner with me tomorrow night," Kakashi said, enjoying the sight of Iruka's blush.

"Alright," Iruka agreed shyly, causing Kakashi's smile to grow wider.

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he felt somebody's presence near him. He pulled a kunai out from under his pillow and prepared to attach when he noticed it was Gaara.

He placed a calming hand on Sakuya's head, causing her to stop growling as her mother deemed Gaara safe.

Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow at Naruto's actions. "I could kill you… why are you so relaxed?" he asked coldly.

"If you wanted to kill me, you would have already done so," Naruto pointed out. "You're here for something else."

"You are like me," Gaara stated simply.

"Yes," Naruto agreed. "Nevertheless, you seem to have difficulty suppressing your Bijuu. Can I see your seal?"

Gaara stared at Naruto silently for a moment before pulling his shirt off and then turning his back to the blonde.

Naruto's eyes glowed gold for a moment as Minato took over conscious thought. He frowned at the seal. It was primitive and not doing the job it was supposed to do.

"I can fix the seal," Minato spoke through Naruto. "I can make it so you have better control of Shukaku without worrying about him taking over. This way you'll be able to sleep."

"You'd do that?" Gaara questioned. "Why?"

Naruto smiled softly at Gaara. "Because I understand you. I can see the loneliness and pain in your eyes. I know a kindred spirit when I see one. If I can make your life a little better tha it was before, then I'm happy," he said.

"You don't even know me," Gaara stated, frowning. "You're like yet you're so… happy and selfless… how is that possible?"

"I have my precious people… they kept me from becoming a monster. They are the ones who define my existence," Naruto explained, shocking Gaara.

~Don't listen to his useless drabble. Crush him and prove your existence!~ Shukaku shrieked ferally.

Gaara grunted as Shukaku tried to take control but Minato, pulling out of the seal, made a few hand seals before placing a hand on Gaara's forehead. He calmed instantly.

Doing so created a mental connection between the two Jinchuuriki and the memories of their lives in their respective villages was shared.

When they finally returned to full consciousness, they had a better understanding of one another.

"You've had such a hard life," Naruto said, gazing upon Gaara with sympathy. "I don't know what I'd do if my Tou-san tried to assassinate me."

"I would never," Minato, now visible to Gaara said, sounding affronted. "I'd rather die again."

"When you fight to protect someone you become strong," Gaara quoted Naruto and Minato's strongest belief. "You honestly think it works?"

"We know it works," Naruto said with conviction. "It can work for you too."

"I have no precious person," Gaara responded, eyes darkening.

"Yes, you do," Naruto stated. "You have your siblings, and now you have me too."

"What?" Gaara frowned. Naruto held a hand out.

"Friends?" the blonde asked. Gaara didn't move at first before he eventually took Naruto's hand.

"Let's get started on your seal," Minato told Gaara. "While I do so, can you elaborate on the planned Sound/Sand invasion?"

Both he and Naruto had seen the plans for the invasion while looking through Gaara's memories.

Gaara complied while ensuring his new precious people that he and his siblings would not participate in the invasion… at least not against Konoha.

Thirty minutes later, Minato had finished fixing Gaara's seal and the redhead was fighting off sleep.

"Are you certain I can sleep without fear of possession?" Gaara asked Minato.

"Very," was the ex-Hokage's response. "You can stay here for the night if you like."

Gaara agreed. He didn't have the energy to return to the hotel the Sand Siblings had chosen to reside in.

Naruto scooted over in his bed, leaving room for Gaara to climb in.

"You don't mind?" Gaara queried uncertainly.

"Not at all," Naruto said. "We're as good as brothers after all… given everything."

"Brothers," Gaara repeated, a ghost of a smile flashing on his face.

"I wouldn't mind having another son," Minato inserted with a fond smile. "You can look after my little Naru-chan, can't you?"

"Don't call me that, Tou-san," Naruto whined with a pout.

Gaara smirked in amusement. "I can do that," he said calmly, eyes falling on Sakuya, who was much more accepting of him now that her mother seemed to trust the other Jinchuuriki. She even let him pet her.

The next day, Sasuke and Sakura went to collect their teammate from his apartment because he hadn't appeared at the bridge at the designated meeting time. Considering that Naruto was rarely, if ever, late, they were curious about what had kept him.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino exclaimed, tackling him with enough force to cause him to stumble.

"What are you doing here, Ino-Pig?" Sakura scowled. "Just because we did a mission together doesn't mean that you can hang around us all the time."

Ino glared at Sakura. "We can do whatever we want, Forehead!" she shot back, referring to herself and her two teammates.

"What are you all up to?" Chouji asked Sasuke in between eating chips.

"We're collecting the dobe," Sasuke grunted, disliking the sight of all the nuisances.

"Cool, we'll come with you," Shikamaru declared, surprising everyone.

Ino smiled slyly at her teammate. "Wishing to see your wife, Shikamaru?" she teased.

The brunette fought back a blush before scoffing. "Don't be ridiculous," he retorted. "Naruto's not my wife."

"You didn't deny wanting to see him," Sakura pointed out gleefully.

"Troublesome women," Shikamaru groaned, deciding to ignore them.

They were getting closer when they bumped into a flustered Temari and Kankurou.

"What's going on? Chouji asked, frowning in confusion.

"Gaara's missing!" a worried Temari admitted. "He disappeared last night."

"How's that our problem?" Sasuke sneered. Kankurou glared.

"Gaara had been acting funny ever since your teammate spoke to him. That, and Gaara's chakra is currently intertwined with your teammate's meaning one thing: they're in the same place," he stated.

"What?" Sakura gaped. The scary redhead was near Naruto? That spelled trouble.

Everyone else seemed to think so because they all hastened their pace toward Naruto's apartment.

When they arrived at the apartment, they found it locked, but that posed no problem for Shikamaru, who unlocked it using the shadows.

He and Sasuke entered the apartment, kunais in hand, scanning for any sign of trouble.

They heard a yip and saw Sakuya standing outside the bedroom. She then scurried inside and the two geniuses followed her in.

What they saw left them stunned.

Naruto and Gaara lay in bed together, both shirtless, with Gaara using Naruto very much like a teddy bear. The rest of their bodies were covered, making it unclear about their overall state of dress.

Sasuke let out an angry growl while Shikamaru just stood there in stunned silence.

The image was burned in the shadow nin's mind, creating an unfamiliar feeling to bubble up inside of him. He'd like to say he didn't know what it was, but he did.

Jealousy.

As much as he'd denied any attraction to the blonde dobe, it had all been for naught. The enigmatic Jinchuuriki had drawn him in past the point of no return.

'So much for my dreams for the future,' Shikamaru thought, before glancing at Sasuke. 'I won't lose to you.'

Sasuke's anger got the better of him and he was about to attack Gaara when Sakuya leapt up and bit Sasuke's hand.

Sasuke let out a loud cry of pain before flinging Sakuya away. "Bitch!" he swore, waking both Gaara and Naruto.

Shikamaru dove to catch the fox kit before glaring at Sasuke. "What the hell's wrong with you?" Sasuke ignored him.

Gaara glared at the intruders murderously for interrupting his sleep and invading Naruto's home so callously. "Get out…" he growled summoning sand from his gourd that was leaning against a nearby wall.

Minato placed a calming hand on Gaara's shoulder. "Calm down, let Naruto handle this, okay?"

Gaara retracted the sand reluctantly.

"What are you all doing here?" Naruto asked with a frown, oblivious to Ino and Sakura gaping at his well-toned upper body.

'Who knew? Naruto-baka is kind of hot,' Sakura thought before shaking her head to get rid of the traitorous thoughts. "We were coming to pick you up for the team meeting when we bumped into Team 10 and the Sand Genin. They said their teammate was with you and we got worried," she spoke aloud.

"Then we find you sleeping with him!" Sasuke growled, angry that the dobe had offered his bed to another person.

Naruto glared at Sasuke. "What's it to you?" he snapped. "Gaara and I just spent a long time talking last night and we both got tired, so I invited him to stay over because it was too late for him to leave."

Temari and Kankurou paled at that.

"But Gaara… you can't…" Temari began but Gaara interrupted them as he redressed.

"It's been remedied," he said coldly. "Let's go." His siblings could only follow him as he left.

"You just met the guy yesterday and you already let him stay over?" Ino queried in disbelief. "You trust too easily."

"It's quite the opposite, really," Naruto declared, a little coldly. "As it is, I trust Gaara a lot more than I do my own teammates!"

This left everyone stunned.

'Are we really that horrible to him?' Sakura thought, guilt rising as she remembered incident after incident of her mistreatment of the sunny Genin. Realizing how much she had wronged him, Sakura vowed to make it up to him whatever way she could.

'I can't blame him,' Shikamaru thought as he stroked Sakuya's fur. 'He doesn't exactly have the most cooperative team.'

"That still doesn't explain how you bonded with Gaara so quickly," Sasuke grunted.

"He and I have a lot in common," Naruto stated. "Now if you don't mind, can you get out of my room so I can change?"

Everyone complied, save for Shikamaru.

Naruto didn't quite notice as he was rummaging in his closet for clothes. That is, he didn't until he heard Shikamaru shuffle forward.

"I thought I said…" Naruto began to say as he turned around, but Shikamaru silenced him.

It took a moment for Naruto to realize that Shikamaru was kissing him. It took another moment for him to completely melt into it.

Sakuya yipped and covered her eyes with her paw.

Shikamaru pulled away, smirking at the dazed look in Naruto's eyes. It looked like he finally found a way to make the blonde loudmouth speechless.

Naruto backed off slightly, a little weak-kneed and blushing. "What was that for?" he asked once he found his voice. Shikamaru's smirk didn't waver.

"I'm merely stating my interest," Shikamaru responded calmly before walking out of the room to allow Naruto to get dressed.

Sasuke looked at Shikamaru suspiciously but Shikamaru just ignored him.

~I'm surprised Tou-san didn't do anything,~ Naruto mused, knowing how overprotective his father got.

~I kept him busy,~ Kyuubi informed her kit, unveiling a ruffled looking Minato from her tails.

~The nerve of that brat,~ Minato scowled. ~Touching my Naru-chan…~

~You can't protect Naruto from those who are interested forever,~ Kyuubi pointed out.

~I didn't think it would start so soon,~ Minato scowled, acting very much like a child.

~If it makes you feel any better, Naruto seemed to like it,~ Kyuubi stated. Naruto blushed furiously while Minato looked chagrined.

~It doesn't,~ the Yondaime muttered.

"What did Shikamaru tell you back in your room?" Sasuke asked Naruto as they sat at the bridge, waiting for Kakashi.

"He didn't say anything," Naruto said, which was somewhat the truth. Shikamaru really hadn't said all that much.

"Don't lie to me, dobe!" Sasuke snapped.

"I'm not," Naruto stated. "And why should it matter to you? I can do whatever I want with my friends!"

'Just wait until I claim you,' Sasuke thought darkly, glaring at the free-willed blonde. When Naruto finally succumbed to Sasuke, he'd keep him isolated where the blonde could only interact with him and no one else.

At that moment, Kakashi finally arrived.

"Yo," he greeted all of them.

"You're late," Sakura reprimanded.

"Gomen. An old lady required my help," Kakashi stated.

"Liar," Sakura and Naruto chorused.

Kakashi just smiled.

"I've got good news for you," Kakashi declared with a smile. "I've entered the three of you in the Chuunin Exams."

Minato's eyes narrowed. He hadn't expected Kakashi to enter his subordinates into the Chuunin Exams so early. He knew Naruto was ready to become a Chuunin but the exam did revolve around teamwork to a certain degree and that factor of Team Seven was still lacking… and with the Iwa nin already interested in his son, it would be risky. He didn't want to expose Naruto to them too much with the risk of them realizing just how similar Naruto was to their most hated enemy outside of his appearance.

While Naruto was busy being excited over the news, Minato materialized and shot Kakashi a silent look. They would need to talk.

Kakashi nodded subtly before filling his Genin in on the details before letting them go for the day. Minato headed over to Kakashi while Naruto prepared to leave.

It was then Sakura called out to him.

Blinking in surprise, Naruto turned to her.

"Can I help you with something, Sakura?" he asked her.

"I was hoping to talk to you about what you said earlier," Sakura commented, looking at the ground.

Naruto frowned, expecting her to start screeching at him for being so rood but he was surprised by what she said next.

"You had every right to say what you did. We haven't been very nice to you… I've been a bitch to you," Sakura stated, sounding ashamed of herself. "I don't know if you can ever forgive me but I wanted to say I'm sorry. I should have been more understanding and cooperative with you… the way a teammate should be. I'll try to be a better person… I promise."

'She really feels remorseful,' Naruto realized in surprise. "That's alright, Sakura," he spoke aloud. "I think we just had a bad start. How about we start over?" He held a hand out for her.

Sakura looked surprised at how willing Naruto was accepting her but she wasn't going to question it. She took his hand and smiled.

"I'd like that," she agreed, glad to have been given a second chance.

"Great," Naruto smiled. "And don't worry about the Chuunin Exams, we'll do great." He had noticed how nervous Sakura had gotten.

Sakura nodded with a matching smiled on her face. Waving goodbye, she went on her way.

'Looks like there's hope for our team after all,' he thought to himself happily. 'Now if only we could get Sasuke to cooperate…'

He paused as he realized that his father hadn't rejoined him yet. He hadn't known what the Yondaime Hokage had wanted to talk to Kakashi about. Minato had kept most of his thoughts to himself. "What's taking him so long?" he mused aloud as he turned back to go find his dad.

He didn't know that what he was about to hear would lead him to having his very first argument with his most precious person.

I was going to have the argument between Naruto and Minato in this chapter but I wanted to do it right, so I thought I'd take more time contemplating it. If anyone has any suggestions that could be helpful, it would be much appreciated. I want to do it tastefully.