Colors of Life and Death series

Truth in Dreams
by Songbird21

Chapter 5

Hey all. Sorry this chapter took so long. Battles always do with me. Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)

I went back and rewrote Gaara in the previous chapter. I decided I made him too bitchy the first time out. Also, I change a couple lines from the part in the final chapter of book 1 where Naruto confesses to Hinata. I tried to make it a little less cliché. Hope you like.

Radioplay news: I cast a new Sakura (Thank you to all who auditioned) and chapter 3 has a full minute complete. I'll let you all know when it's ready. :)

Doujin news: I've pretty much given up on the doujin idea. I haven't heard from my artist in ages and I can't draw. So unless a miracle happens the doujin is dead. However, if any of you would like to submit fanart of any COLAD scenes I will gladly post them on the COLAD homepage for all to see. :) Speaking of which, there's a couple new pieces of art on there. Check 'em out. :)

Please read and review. I love reviews! Thanks!

He walked into the Kazekage's office and found Gaara seated to the leader's right. The Kazekage looked up and smiled. "Ah, Naruto. What is it that you need?"

"I was looking for Gaara," Naruto stated.

The Kazekage held up a finger. "He'll be with you in a moment." He turned back to Gaara. "Now, you do understand that this will not be an easy task to accomplish? More than half of the village still fears you."

"I understand. I will do what is necessary," Gaara said with a hint of a smile.

The Kazekage put his hand on Gaara's shoulder. "Good man," he said with a warm smile.

Gaara nodded and slowly stood to leave. It was as if he were slightly in shock. "Let's go," he said to Naruto as he walked by the blonde.

Naruto remembered the instructions Kakashi had given him and gave the Kazekage a short bow before leaving. "Sorry to interrupt you." Inwardly, he was twitching at having to be so formal, but Kakashi had promised to cut off his ramen supply if he wasn't polite. He and Gaara left the building.

The buildings all had a rounded finish to them, the streets contained a fair number of people and all the shops were lit. Naruto watched Gaara as the sand nin walked. He seemed to be in deep thought and it left Naruto wondering. "Neh, Gaara?"

Gaara didn't look at him. "Hm?"

"What was the Kazekage talking about?"

"Don't you ever leave people to their own business?" Gaara asked in irritation.

Naruto sighed. "You're right...Sorry."

They passed a street light and Gaara spoke again. "I'm not going to be a jounin..." he stated in a far off voice.

Naruto frowned. He had been jealous of Gaara's potential promotion. Now he felt like a jerk. "I'm sorry."

"He asked me to succeed him as Kazekage..." Gaara nearly whispered.

"WHAT?!" Naruto yelled, causing Gaara to wince.

"Must you be so loud?" Gaara grumbled.

They walked past a roughly six year old little girl in a flowered kimono splashing in a puddle. She had looked up when she heard Naruto's loud protest and saw Gaara. Her eyes went wide, then she dropped her odango and screamed before running away. "MOMMYYYYYY!!"

Gaara closed his eyes and sighed. "But with reactions like that, I don't see how that's possible."

"Well, his decision is final isn't it?" Naruto offered.

"Not without the approval of the council," Gaara countered. He suddenly looked contemplative. "I wonder if things would have been different if he had been my father."

"He took over after your dad was killed, right?" Naruto asked carefully.

"Nhm," Gaara said. They came upon a large restaurant with a neon sign on the front. The sign was a bowl of ramen with a chicken relaxing in it like a hot spring. Words under the sign read: 'The Ramen Farm'. "We're here," Gaara said and then headed inside.

The inside of The Ramen Farm lived up to its name. The walls looked like those of a barn and there was farm paraphernalia everywhere. The tables were a light-colored wood and the "chairs" were bales of hay. "This place is great!" Naruto exclaimed.

Suddenly a timid man with dark hair and glasses was in front of the pair. "G-G-G-Gaara-sama," he bowed low, "p-please forgive me for not showing you to a table the moment you walked in!"

Naruto took Gaara's sigh and rolling of his eyes to mean that this sort of thing happened a lot and decided to help. "Aw, you don't have to worry about him anymore," he said with a grin. The restaurant manager's eyes went wide as dinner plates as he watched Gaara carefully—trying to look for signs of an attack, "He's a good-guy now," he said with a thumbs up.

The poor manager looked like he would pass out from fear at any second and then...

"Could you just show us to a table, please?" Gaara said with his arms folded and a look of exasperation.

The manager cleared his throat in order to calm his nerves. "O...Of course, Gaara-sama. Right this way please."

Naruto and Gaara followed the manager as he led them to a table near the back. They sat down and the manager turned to them. "Your waitress will be with you in a moment," he said with a smile before leaving the boys by themselves.

"So, you get that a lot?" Naruto asked as he picked up the menu.

"Yeah," Gaara replied just as a waitress with her black hair tied up like dango greeted them.

"H-Hello, Gaara-sama," said the nervous girl.

Without looking up from his menu, Gaara replied, "Konbonwa, Kurumi-san."

Kurumi's pen and order pad promptly fell from her hands to the floor. For a moment she stood there, open-mouthed. "He said my name...Since when does he remember my name?" She let out a calming breath. "Alright Kurumi-chan—step one accomplished. Now I just have to get him to talk to me. Yeah, right. Like that'll ever happen." She picked up her belongings and swallowed. "Konbonwa t-to you too, G-Gaara-sama," she said with a smile.

Gaara looked up in surprise. Never before had he heard this girl say more than her name. "I will have the pork ramen with sushi and get my companion whatever he wants."

Kurumi looked over at Naruto. "Oh my God, he's cute," she thought with a blush. "Down girl, it's Gaara-sama you like."

"I'll have...ummm...Aw heck with it. I'll have one of everything!" Naruto said with a grin.

For the first time in his life a look of wide-eyed surprise and trepidation graced Gaara's features.

Kurumi looked at her crush and suppressed a giggle. "I-Is that okay, Gaara-sama?"

Gaara's face returned to normal as he considered his answer. "Yeah."

Kurumi smiled. "Okay." She almost walked away but stopped. "And Gaara-sama?" She leaned over to Gaara's ear. "I'm glad you have a friend," she whispered happily. She walked away, leaving a very perplexed Gaara in her wake.

Gaara looked over at Naruto, who now wore a look of utter amusement. "What?"

"She likes you," Naruto teased.

Gaara cocked an eyebrow. "I think you're seeing things."

Just then Kurumi returned with some sodas. "Here you are," she said cheerfully as she handed one to Naruto. She turned to Gaara, her cheeks gaining a bit of extra color. "And this one's for you, Gaara-sama."

Gaara took the drink. "Arigato."

Naruto chuckled softly. "She definitely likes you."

Gaara shot Naruto a look of irritation and then sighed. "Even if she did like me, I wouldn't pursue her."

"Why? She's really cute."

"Think, Naruto—what would happen to her if she was seen holding hands with me?" Gaara said sadly.

A look of realization crossed Naruto's face and he looked down. "Oh..."

Gaara looked up to see several wait staff coming toward them with trays.

The first plates were set down in from of them and Naruto happily cracked his chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!"

Naruto happily patted his rounded belly as he exited the restaurant. "Thanks, Gaara! That place was awesome!"

Kurumi's voice entered Gaara's head. (("I'm glad you found a friend.")) "Neh, Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"What's it like...to have friends?" Gaara asked.

The question took Naruto by surprise, but he quickly regained his cheerfulness. "Just like this," he exclaimed as he waved a hand at Gaara.

Gaara was startled. "Like this? You mean...you consider me a friend?"

Naruto smiled. "Sure. Why not?"

"I tried to kill you. I tried to kill your friends. Why would you want to be friends with me?" Gaara asked seriously.

Naruto's face took on a slightly more serious visage. "Because we're the same."

Gaara shook his head. "But even that shouldn't be enough for you to forgive me for the things I've done."

"Yeah. But I also know that you wouldn't have done them if your life had been better...If you'd had friends," Naruto explained with a compassionate smile.

"I see."

"So how bout it?" Naruto asked with his hand held out. "Friends?"

Gaara looked at Naruto's hand for a moment before grabbing it. "Sure," he said with a smile. "Well, this will be interesting."

She was getting tired. Hinata'd had her Byakugan activated for almost a half hour now. She was about to turn it off when she noticed two genjutsu disguised figures kneeling behind some trees. "Sasuke, I see some suspicious people."

Sasuke kept his composure. "How far out are they?"

"Around eight hundred feet," Hinata said with a smile to hide her unease. She was also careful to make sure her mouth was not at what would be the proper position for lip reading.

"I'll inform the Kazekage. You keep an eye on them," Sasuke instructed.

"Hai," Hinata replied.

Sasuke leapt away, leaving a nervous Hinata to watch the potential attackers.

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto and Gaara looked behind them to see Sakura moving toward them at top speed. "Sakura-chan?"

"Hinata spotted something!" Sakura said as she skidded to a halt, leaving wispy trails of dust in her wake. "They're sending out Kankuro as a scout. Kazekage-sama wants us to stay casual, but find something to do near the east side of the village—just in case."

Naruto looked at Gaara. "What's there to do on the east side?"

Gaara thought for a moment, trying desperately to come up with an idea that didn't involve food. He didn't want to empty his wallet any further than he had to. He finally sighed in defeat. "There's an ice cream shop that's not far from the wall."

"Ice...cream?" Naruto repeated as though testing out the unfamiliar word.

Gaara cocked an eye ridge. "Just how backwards is Konoha?"

Naruto shot Gaara a glare. "We're not backwards!"

"Naruto, any other village is modern enough to have the new things that come from the west. It's a dessert," Gaara explained with a small smile of amusement.

Naruto was fuming, but Sakura put her hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Naruto-kun—let's try it. It might be good," she said with a calming smile.

"Fine..." Naruto folded his arms and pouted a little. "...but we're still not backwards."

Naruto stared curiously at the sign on the building in front of him. It had a picture of a blob of colorful...something, sitting on top of what looked like a waffle. He felt a hand tugging on his sleeve. "Will you quite staring and come on?" Sakura chided.

Naruto blinked back his thoughts and followed the others into the shop.

She tensely watched Kankuro's outline as he moved through the trees. Once in a while she would look, without turning her head, at the two people she had seen earlier. They had moved a bit closer, but had otherwise remained unchanged in their actions. Hinata had been told to keep an eye on the puppet user just in case things went sour, but she was still uncomfortable. "Are you sure he'll be alright by himself?" She asked Sasuke.

Sasuke frowned. "I don't know—but sending out only one scout keeps the risk of discovery low, so it's unavoidable."

Hinata sighed and resumed her watch.

Kankuro was confident in his fighting ability, but he still wasn't thrilled with the idea of possibly being forced to face Akatsuki members by himself, should he be discovered. He sent his puppet ahead, looked around with it for a moment and rejoined it when he was sure the coast was clear. He repeated this pattern until he was near the area Hinata had said the intruders occupied. He scanned the forest floor. "Alright, now where are you?"

"Someone's watching us," Sasori said with no real interest in his voice.

Deidara smiled. "We gonna go after him, Sasori no Danna (A/N- Master Sasori)?"

"Of course. You can do it if you like," Sasori replied as he continued observing the village.

"You bet—yeah," Deidara said as he made a small clay spider and sent it on its way.

Hinata's eyes widened when she saw the odd looking spider-thing climbing up the tree. "Sasuke-san! Kankuro is in danger!" she whispered sharply.

"Do we have time to get to him?!" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know."

"You find Naruto! I'll tell the anbu captain!" Sasuke leapt away. As he sailed over the rooftops his mind drifted to a thought that made his heart pound fiercely. "If it's Itachi...this might be my chance..."

Kankuro's face crinkled into a calculating frown as he caught sight of his quarry. "Damn. It is Akatsuki." He was about to leap from his perch and head back to the village when he felt something crawling on his leg. He looked down. "A spider?" As the arachnid climbed higher he noticed it seemed very unnatural and suddenly realized it was some kind of attack. "SHIT!" The spider exploded and Kankuro, covered in flames, fell to the ground.

He stared at the brown lump in the bowl in front of him and then at the tiny spoon in his hand. "How the heck am I supposed to get any food to stay on this thing?" Naruto asked as he pointed to the western spoon.

"You scoop," Gaara stated plainly. Just then, Sakura took a bite of her vanilla and her eyes widened for just a moment before she began rapidly eating spoonful after spoonful.

Naruto looked at her in shock. Sakura had always been so lady-like anytime they'd eaten together. "Sakura-chan?"

Gaara cocked an eye ridge. "Sakura, I strongly suggest you don't eat that so fast."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

Suddenly, Sakura dropped her spoon and her hands flew to her forehead. "Ahhhh!" she cried in pain.

Naruto was instantly concerned. "Sakura-chan!" he yelled as he grabbed her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Naruto. It happens when a person doesn't give their head time to adjust to the cold by eating too quickly. It will pass in a moment," Gaara explained calmly.

Sakura slowly removed one of her hands and groaned. "So, if I eat slower that won't happen?" she asked hoarsely.

"Right," Gaara replied just before taking a bite of his strawberry ice cream.

As Sakura resumed slowly eating her ice cream, Naruto tried to take a scoop of his chocolate—it slid off the spoon and straight down his shirt. "Gyah!" he said as he shook out the offending lump of cold. He frowned at his bowl and took another scoop—this one made it to his mouth. His eyes widened and smiled. "This stuff is awesome!" He had only taken around four bites when Hinata burst into the shop.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata called out as she caught site of him. "Kankuro-san is in danger!" she said through her slightly heavy breathing.

Gaara's head snapped upwards. "Kankuro?!" With an expression that was full of concern, he turned to Naruto. "Naruto, let's go!"

Naruto nodded sharply. "Hai!"

Hinata turned around and bolted for the meeting spot beside the tower she and Sasuke had been posted to. Naruto and Gaara followed her closely.

Gaara gritted his teeth. He was angry that he allowed himself to be sidetracked. "Kankuro, hang on!"

Kankuro dragged himself out of the bindings that had held him on the back of his puppet. His forehead was bleeding and he had a few second degree burns. "Damn it! What the hell was that thing!?" he growled. He heard a footstep behind him and grimaced. "Shit!"

A smiling Deidara stepped in front of Kankuro. "Wasn't it beautiful?" He clenched his fist in pride. "The grace of the spider and the raw power of an explosion. It's perfect art—yeah."

Kankuro took his opponent's gloating as a chance to act. He flicked one of his fingers and his puppet shot forward. Deidara dodged backwards into the trees. "Impressive—yeah. I thought you'd be down for the count, but you used that puppet as a shield—yeah." He smiled. "It'll be nice to fight a fellow artist. It's almost a shame you have to die—yeah."

"Damn, he's fast. I'll need to plan a little further ahead."

Deidara put some of his clay into the mouth in his hand. A moment later five clay birds were flying towards Kankuro. He managed to dodge them before Deidara made them explode, but the concussive force of the bombs still sent him flying sideways. He hit the ground hard.

Deidara frowned. "Maybe fighting you won't be so interesting. It's disappointing—yeah." Suddenly, six small puppets in the form of praying mantises flew out from the trees and began slicing at Deidara with the blades attached to their sickle-like arms. He began grabbing them and throwing them off, but they kept coming back, so he smashed them together instead. It was only a few moments before all the puppets were destroyed. "You'll have to do better than that—yeah."

Kankuro smirked. "Look around you."

Deidara's eyes widened in shock just before the ninja wire that had encircled him (Thanks to Kankuro's puppets) was pulled tight, sending him hurtling toward the waiting open belly of Kankuro's main puppet. He quickly threw a bird bomb into it and the resulting explosion pushed him backwards out of harms way. He was smiling as he pushed himself to his feet, wincing a bit as the pain of his newly broken rib hit him. "You'll pay for that—yeah."

...TO BE CONTINUED

Ugh. My brain hurts. Battles make me think too much. Lol. Please let me know what you thought.