A.N.: So here is the next chapter. Sorry the last one was so slow, but the action starts to pick near the end of this one. The aftermath of the fight is nearly over and the Exams can finally begin. And please read and review, there's never enough of those. Last chapter barely got ten.

A.N.2: Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do you remember it now or do I have to repeat it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Streets of Sunagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto knew he probably shouldn't be doing what he was doing right now, but that knowledge rarely stopped him. Tenzo had ordered him to stay out of trouble and most importantly not to go anywhere alone, but he felt like he had a good reason for disobedience.

He couldn't get Gaara's eyes from his mind. When he saw him lying there after the battle, so broken, eyes empty, repeating he couldn't die there and yet silently begging for the nightmare to end, he couldn't help but feel for him. The other boy had started out the same as him, yet he ended completely different. But why was it so? The Suna jinchuuriki had said something before their fight, but the blond felt it wasn't the whole story. He was just too curious not to try and dig into it deeper.

He also felt responsible for the state the redhead ended in. If they hadn't met, if they hadn't fought, it wouldn't have happened. But what would have happened instead? Would the other demon vessel still go around killing whoever caught his fancy to 'prove his existence?' He supposed it was so, that his actions might have saved countless lives, but that failed to make him feel better about his role in Gaara's fate.

To sum it up, he had to see the boy again or he wouldn't be able to sleep for a long time to come. That was why he sneaked out of their hotel window, it was small, but so was he, and crisscrossed through the village in search of his psychotic acquaintance. The fox granted him a good nose, not quite like Hana's, but enough to track a person not trying to cover his trail.

It was harder than he imagined. Even though Gaara's scent was unique, influenced by his demon, he couldn't find it anywhere in the village. Did the desert winds blow it away or did it mean the redhead hadn't wandered the areas for days? He supposed it could be the case, the other jinchuuriki was badly wounded during the battle, and he might not have healed yet.

He thought about asking for him, but then he imagined how well would going into hospital and asking about their living weapon go. He would probably be arrested on spot, and he didn't even want to think about what Tenzo would do to him once he learned about it. No, asking around was out of the question. He had to solve the problem on his own.

He got lucky when he overheard two villagers talking about 'the demon.' He understood that Gaara lived in a house on the outskirts of Suna and the general direction of said dwelling. It was a piece of cake from there on. Soon he was knocking on Gaara's door.

There was no answer, but he knew the other boy was there. He could feel his presence, he could see the sand floating around in patterns defying the wind. He considered what he should do. He could just leave and not intrude where he wasn't wanted, but then his curiosity would torture him for a long time to come. He knocked on the door again. Maybe the other boy just didn't hear him the first time. No sound came from inside, but the sand whirling around quickened its pace. So the occupant of the house did hear him, but pretended not to. He could deal with that. Too many people pretended not to notice he was there, so he had lots of experience dealing with them. He knocked on the door one last time.

"I know you're there, Gaara, I'm coming in!" He didn't wait for an answer and opened the door. It wasn't locked. The sand whirled around him, but didn't try to hinder him. He decided it was a good sign and entered. The interior of the house was dark, but that was nothing strange. The architecture of Suna preferred small windows. When Naruto's eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he noticed the room was bare. Lighter rectangles on the walls suggested there once used to be furniture, but it had been removed. He pondered what could it mean.

He didn't see Gaara in the first room, so he went to search the others. They weren't as empty as the first one, but whatever equipment he saw was weathered or outright broken. 'What could have happened here?'

Finally he found the only inhabitant of the house. Gaara was lying on a bed that just screamed 'uncomfortable.' He was wearing the same clothes he did during their battle, the holes and blood still present. His dark-rimmed eyes were staring at the ceiling unfocused. When the Konoha genin entered, he shot him a disinterested glance and resumed his staring.

Naruto was taken aback. He didn't know what he expected, but it certainly wasn't this. Didn't anybody take care of Gaara? Didn't he even get the basic medical attention? Was that any way to treat the Kazekage's son? He couldn't comprehend it.

"Hello, Gaara," he greeted. The Suna jinchuuriki didn't outwardly react, only the sand twitched for a moment. "I thought I could drop by and ask how you're doing." It sounded stupid even to him, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. Gaara didn't answer, but he turned his attention to the visitor. His eyes stayed empty.

Naruto walked closer to him. Only now he could properly assess the damage he inflicted to the Suna boy during their battle. It was even worse than he imagined.

"Does it hurt?" he asked. He immediately called himself stupid. Of course it had to hurt.

"Yes," the redhead answered.

"How comes nobody looked you over?" the blond asked. "One would think the Kazekage's son would get the best medic in Suna."

"The Kazekage's son yes. A broken weapon not." The statement was delivered in completely unemotional voice, as was typical for the Suna jinchuuriki.

"That's just sick," Naruto stated. "Maybe I could help you," he offered. "I'm no doctor, but I can at least clean the wounds and dress them."

"Why would you do it?" The vessel of Shukaku seemed genuinely puzzled, though it was hard to tell.

"What do you mean: why?" the Konoha genin didn't understand. "You're hurt and you need help."

"Why do you care?" It was a good question. The blond wasn't sure how to answer it.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I just do. So would you let me help?"

"Yes," Gaara said after a moment of consideration.

"Good," Naruto smiled. "Where do you have bandages here?"

"Bandages?" The redhead asked like he truly didn't know what they were.

"Bandages," the young Leaf ninja explained, "you know, that long white stripes of gauze you wrap on injuries."

"I wouldn't know," the tattooed youth replied, "I've never been hurt before."

"Oh, well, no matter," the blond genin said. "I have some in my emergency kit. It should be enough. Now I just need some water. Where's the bathroom here?"

"Second door on the left," the owner of the house answered.

"Thanks!" Naruto ran out of the room and returned shortly with a basin full of water. "Here we go. Now let's get you out of these dirty rags that used to be your clothes." Gaara watched him impassively, but helped his self-proclaimed nursemaid in undressing him. "I'll cleanse your wounds now," the Kyuubi jinchuuriki explained, "it hurts but it has to be done or else the wound festers and that hurts even more." The patient listened in silence. Naruto then proceeded to clean and dress his wounds. It was hard, the sand insisted at getting in his way. Gaara endured the whole ordeal stoically, even though he was obviously in pain.

"It's done," the Konoha boy announced after a while. The redhead looked relieved. It was barely perceptible, but compared to his usual stony mask it was a huge change. "Though I wonder, shouldn't your demon heal you?"

"Should it?" The vessel of Shukaku seemed puzzled.

"Mine always heals me," the foxy boy explained. "No matter what happens to me, I'm alright in a couple of days max, and that if my wounds were really serious. Small cuts disappear almost instantly."

"Mine protects me from injury," Gaara answered.

"That's a good thing," the spiky-haired blond said.

"Not always," the bedridden youth stated.

"What do you mean?" The blue eyes bore into him questioningly.

"It doesn't matter," Gaara replied. Despite finding talking to Naruto refreshing, there were things he would never tell anyone. Ever. "I want to know," the redhead started his first question in the conversation, "where do you get your strength from?"

"You mean my power?" Naruto wasn't sure what the other boy was talking about.

"No," Gaara shook his head, "I mean your strength. What makes you fight even against overwhelming odds?"

"I fight to protect," the Leaf shinobi answered. "I know that should I fail, it would mean not only my death, but deaths of those I hold dear as well. That's why I cannot give up no matter how hurt or exhausted I am."

"Is that so?" the Suna boy asked. "I've always fought only for myself. I thought that made me strong, but then you came and defeated me. I realized I wasn't strong after all."

"If it helps you, you were the toughest opponent I ever fought," Naruto offered.

"But I lost anyway," Gaara objected. "I want to be strong like you. I want to be of use again."

"That's good," the Konoha jinchuuriki smiled, "but why do you look like you expect to fail?"

"I don't have anybody to hold dear." Even this statement was delivered in the same tone as a weather forecast.

"That's not good," Naruto scrunched his forehead in thought. "I know how it is to be all alone. I used to be alone too, but that was a long time ago. Since Tenzo-sensei took me in, I had somebody to care for and who cared for me. Then I got my teammates as well, I guess I got lucky. I can't imagine what would have happened if I stayed alone. But we were talking about you. Is there really nobody you could call a friend?"

"No." It was an expected answer, but it hurt to hear it anyway.

"What about just an acquaintance?" Naruto prodded. "Somebody who isn't quite a friend, but treats you well?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure what 'treating well' exactly is." It brought home the point of just how bad Gaara's life had been.

"That's a start," The blond smiled reassuringly. "What about family, then? We already covered your parents, but do you have any other relatives?"

"I have a brother and sister," Gaara answered. "I rarely see them."

"I see," Naruto nodded. "It's not much, but it's a beginning. There are people you can make friends with."

"I tried that before. It didn't go well." The redhead didn't even want to remember that time. It made him feel so powerless. Thankfully it was long in the past.

"I understand," the Kyuubi jinchuuriki nodded sagely. "In Konoha, there are few people outside my team who don't treat me like a contagious disease."

"Naruto," Gaara asked with uncertainty in his voice. "Can we be friends?"

"You want to be friends with me?" The blond was surprised. Never ever in his whole young life had anybody asked him that.

"Yes." Gaara's dark-rimmed teal eyes were full of hope.

"I… yes, Gaara, I want to be your friend." There really wasn't any other answer he could give to those eyes. "That is if you don't mind that I live in Konoha and we probably wouldn't get to see each other often."

"It's better that nothing," the redhead pointed out. "And you'll be here at least for the Chuunin Exams."

"Yes," Naruto nodded, "but they won't last long."

"Than we should make the most of the time we have," Gaara suggested.

"Very true," Naruto smiled. It seemed something was for once going right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Somewhere in Sunagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The spy wrote his report in silence. He was too experienced to throw worried glances over his shoulder every minute, but his ears were perked to catch even the smallest rustle of sand that would betray the presence of an intruder. He didn't even want to think about what would happen to him should he be ever caught. Suna shinobi detested traitors and they weren't known for being merciful.

He usually didn't send his reports so often, but the latest occurrence within the village was something his master would want to know about immediately. It concerned just the thing he was so interested in after all. Cold ran along his spine at the thought of his enigmatic master. He didn't like him a bit and would have quit a long time ago if the man didn't scare him worse than the whole Suna T&I squad put together.

He wrote the last kanji on the paper. There, all finished. He carefully folded the paper into a tiny square and put it into an inconspicuous looking message tube, similar to those used on the messenger birds. He hid it in one of his pockets and took a winding route toward the drop-off point. The whole time he expected Suna ANBU to jump down on him and take him to custody. In his mind, everybody was eyeing him suspiciously, like he had a 'Here comes a traitor' sign hanging over his head. Every random passerby seemed like an agent following him to him.

Yet nothing happened during his journey. He left the encoded letter lying on the designated place and then took a long road to his favorite bar. He felt like getting wasted today. He really didn't have the nerve to keep going like that much longer. Part of him wished he would get so drunk he would spill all his secrets in a drunken ramble and get arrested, ending the torturous wait. Another reminded him of everything he ever heard about the T&I. He sighed. There just was no way out of the mess his life became after meeting his master. He proceeded to get sloshed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi was pondering over the implications of the message that had just arrived from Sunagakure. He took a puff from his pipe. He might have known that if he sent Naruto somewhere, something was bound to happen there. His battle with the Sand jinchuuriki was no small matter, but he reckoned it could have been worse. At least nobody came to permanent harm there. And the way the Kazekage managed to sweep it all under the carpet was neat as well. He felt like he could have gained more from it, but it would take too much time and effort. 'I sound like a Nara now,' he thought idly. 'I'm really getting too old for this.' That brought his mind to the matter of his possible successor, which inevitably lead him to the matter of his students, followed by wondering what Orochimaru was up to and regretting past choices.

He cut off the train of thought. It helped nothing and depressed him needlesly. He turned back to the letter in his hands. There would be a lot of smoothing things over when he went to Suna for the finals, that is assuming one of the Konoha teams makes it that far. He hoped they better would. He wasn't looking forward to a trip into the Great Wind Desert in his age, but sacrifices must be made. Compared to others he had to make during his life, this one wasn't that bad.

But even if a diplomatic crisis was averted, there were still other matters that needed addressing. Namely the fact that Suna had a jinchuuriki, they had him for the last nine years approximately, he was clearly psychotic, whole Sunagakure knew it and Jiraiya's spy network didn't give him a single report about it. Just what was his pervert of a student doing? Did he spend all his resources on chasing after Orochimaru? It was true that he had ordered him to do so lately, but… If he just had been more decisive, if he just had had been a better teacher… Stop it, he chided himself. He returned back to the matter of Jiraiya, his spy network and their competency. How comes that in all those years they weren't able to dig up a public secret? He'll be having a word with his wayward student the next time he visited, which might be years later.

He sighed. He really was too old for this. He should find a successor soon. Hopefully one that would actually last. Oh, he already got through this routine once today. But that didn't make it any less true. He was just about managing during the peacetime, he was almost certain he wouldn't be able to handle another war. And his instincts told him there was something big brewing. He had no idea what, but experience said he wasn't going to like it. Few people would.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Morning before the Exams~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto could barely sleep with excitement the night before the exams. He realistically knew it was going to be tough, but after he had defeated another jinchuuriki, he just couldn't bring himself to care. Sure, there was the matter of being prohibited from using the Fox's power during the Exams under the penalty of being disqualified along with his whole team, but he didn't intend to take the arrogant demon on his offer anyway.

He took a while to polish his brand new ninjato. His old one was broken by Gaara's sand and Tenzo bought him a new one at a local shop. It was expensive, but it allowed him to better channel Wind chakra. One simply had to admire such a piece of work.

Speaking of Gaara, the two boys had made fast friends. Tenzo had at first been furious, when he had learned that Naruto had snuck off and threatened to lock him in a cage. That didn't prevent the boy from sneaking off again the next day after training. Gaara was now feeling better and they spent the evening talking about anything and everything, Naruto learning a lot about what the life of a jinchuuriki in Sand Village was like, telling much about his own in return.

Then barking announced the arrival of the Haimaru triplets, their mistress and their sensei and Naruto was dragged back to the hotel by his ear and locked in a brand new wooden cage for the night. He didn't mind. The next morning the Exams started and Tenzo had to let him out. If only the girls didn't snicker the whole morning, his life would be perfect.

Hotaru wasn't so excited. Her previous experience with Chuunin Exams cured her of that. She might be better prepared now, but the fact that she got injured before the contest even started, and by a child no less, brought worry to the forefront of her mind. 'At least the psycho isn't competing,' she consoled herself.

Hana was talking to her dogs. The Haimaru siblings still had a hard time dealing with the desert heat, but they got used to it enough to manage. She was confident they would preserve through whatever ordeal the proctors would chunk on them.

They ate their breakfast and picked their backpacks filled to their brims with sealing scrolls containing mainly water. As Tenzo had hammered into their heads, that was the only supply you really couldn't do without in the desert. Everything else was expendable, but never water. After only a couple of days in Wind Country they agreed with him completely.

Then it was finally time to depart for the Exams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Beginning of the Exams~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo accompanied them to the building at the outskirts of Suna. They thought they were early, but there was already an enormous queue leading towards the door.

"So many," Naruto whispered.

"You should have been there the last time," Hotaru remarked, giving off an air of an experienced Exams veteran. "This is nothing" They joined the queue. Tenzo left.

They waited. And waited. And waited some more.

"Uh, girls," Naruto started. "Is it just me or is the line really not moving?"

"It's not just you," Hana answered. "They would probably let everybody in at the set time."

"But that should be very soon," the youngest of the team worried.

"You worry too much," Hotaru smiled. "First time I took the exam they set up a false examination room and…crap." The skimpily-clad girl paled. "It's a test. They're making us wait in front a wrong door. I bet half of those waiting are actually proctors in disguise."

"What do we do?" the blond asked worriedly.

"Find the right one, of course," the Inuzuka replied. They left the line and went in search for the correct entrance. It wasn't easy. The door had been hidden under a rather complex genjutsu, but Hotaru was good at detecting those and the Haimaru triplets managed to sniff their way through. It was a close call, but they managed to find the gathering room for the examinees in time.

There were less people than in front of the building, but it still was a fair-sized crowd. Genin teams from almost all around the Shinobi nations were gathered here. There were all styles of ninja clothing and weaponry present. The most notable feature about them was that they were all older and bigger than their team. Naruto felt anxiousness settle in the bottom of his stomach, but he tried to chase it off by repeating that he was an awesome ninja. He couldn't quite make himself believe it. Hana's dogs started snarling when they caught scent of a giant feline accompanying one of the local contestants. The boy with markings on his cheeks resembling the Inuzuka's looked down at them.

"Little leaf kids came to play," he scoffed. "You should just go home. This is no place for young puppies."

"Like I'm scared of a kitten," Hana shot back. "I'm going to chase you up the nearest tree, no mater how far it is, Cat-boy."

"So you made it," a familiar voice sounded near them. They all turned to the speaker. Sure enough, Team Oboro was standing there. "And here I thought Team Leftover was good for nothing but causing trouble. Never mind, you'll fail soon enough."

"Can you cut it, Tokiko," the dog mistress growled. She had little patience for her deceased teammate's sister's jabs. "Have you already forgotten what Oboro-sensei said?"

"She isn't here now," the girl pointed out.

"We shouldn't fight among ourselves," Noriaki chastised her.

"Everybody's our enemy here," Tokiko barked.

"You're giving Konoha a bad name," her even-tempered teammate pointed out.

"And what do we have here?" somebody new joined the conversation. "Stupid Leafs fighting each other? That's just too good." The speaker was a slim girl in a red miniskirt and mesh leggings. A tight fitting top completed her attire. There was an Iwa headband tied in her black hair. She was accompanied by one rather plain boy with a fierce scowl and weird collar and what must have been the biggest genin in the Exams. He was already taller than most grown men and he looked like he had several years of growth still before him. Naruto didn't want to see how he would look once he grew up.

"Some Rocks rolled our way," Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "They must really be as thick as rocks to provoke us."

"Yea, we're an awesome team," Naruto added.

"Didn't somebody just call you Leftovers?" the Iwa kunoichi shot back. "Just look at yourselves, a bitch, a beauty queen and a little kid. Konoha must be desperate to send washouts as you."

"Shut up everybody," a voice thundered around them, putting an end to the idle chatter, boasting and shows of bravado going on in the room. Swirls of sand appeared all around them and dozens of Suna shinobi appeared, all of them dressed in the standard Sand uniforms, complete with the head cloths. They seemed to tower intimidatingly above the young chuunin hopefuls. The previously so tough elite genin suddenly felt like fresh Academy graduates again.

'Genjutsu,' realized Hotaru. She lifted her hands in the dispelling sign. Her companions mirrored her actions upon seeing her. Nothing happened. Maybe there wasn't a genjutsu and the proctors were so scary on their own. A few of the other genin tried the same, but their faces betrayed their lack of success.

"I am Matsumoto Hiroki," the scariest of them said, though they couldn't say why they thought he was scariest, "and I am your proctor for the first test. So those of you, who think they can try for chuunin and survive, line up and hand your application forms to my assistant here. Once you do so, there is no turning back. If somebody has second thoughts, leave through that door and don't come back." He let his words echo in the sudden silence. A couple of examinees felt their effect and eyed the door longingly, but their teammates prevented them from abandoning the exam before it could even start. Everybody left their forms with the scowling proctor and walked back to wait for the first test to be revealed.

"Everybody finished," Hiroki asked. "Good. Now you punks listen because I'm not going to repeat myself. There is an old monk living in the Great Rock Labyrinth not too far from Suna. Your first task is to find him and convince him to give you a key. Once you have it, you will go to the Morning Breeze guard outpost, where you would learn about your Second Exam upon showing the key to the next proctor, Museitabi Asami. No violence is allowed during the first exam. If anybody is caught fighting, his whole team would be immediately failed, no pardons given. Now don't dawdle around, you have a task to complete." With those words he disappeared from the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsewhere in the building~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hiroki reappeared in a swirl in another room, sand circling his feet. He was greeted by a woman in standard Suna shinobi uniform.

"Weren't you supposed to tell them more?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Was I?" the man replied. "I think I covered everything important."

"Did you now?" she raised an eyebrow. "How are those poor little dears supposed to find the Labyrinth?"

"If they can't, they shouldn't be here," he shrugged.

"Too true," she laughed.

"And what about you?" he asked. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?"

"Nah," she waved her hand. "It would be hours before anybody gets that far. I spoke to Eiji. He's looking forward to this. He'll hold them up for hours, that is those who can get through him."

"Good old Eiji," Hiroki snickered. "I don't believe they made him do this."

"Why not? He's going to enjoy it," she pointed out.

"That's exactly why," the First Exam Proctor replied. "Did you see the poor little kids? They're so scared already."

"Yes," she smiled. If somebody from Konoha saw her at the moment, he would have wondered whether she was related to Anko. "Like a flock of sheep without their shepherd. What are such punks even doing here? It's for their own good Eiji would weed them out. They wouldn't stand a chance to survive what I have in store for them."

"Not many people can survive you," Hiroki commented.

"And that's why I'm the right woman for the job, is it not?" Now the hypothetical observer would lose his doubts. That woman must be Anko's long lost sister. "And I really should be going now. I'll have to get into the proper gear."

That's it for now.

Next time: The first test. I hope I haven't done the Exams too tough.