Special thanks to xTotallyEclipsexx97 for helping me think of ideas when im stuck! ^^

Naruto lay on his Massive bed, staring up at the ceiling. The sand had formed a flawless ceiling, so looking for figures that could possibly exist in the texture was kind of pointless. He turned his head slowly to look out the window on the opposite side of the room where the sunset was visible sinking below the cliffs, a pleasing show of reds, oranges, yellow, and pinks. He blinked in a daze, not seeing the sight that his eyes looked at. His mind reeled as he recounted his meeting with Gaara. He had just arrived! Why did this happen now?!

~Flashback~

Naruto knocked on The Kazekage's door, containing his excitement. He was Kurai right now, and it wouldn't do for him to just charge right in to the Kazekage's office without permission. He heard Gaara's voice from the other side telling him to enter. He opened the door and walked in, nodding his thanks to his escort. He pushed his sunglasses up on top of his head and turned to Gaara who was seated behind a mahogany desk that was lost in piles of paperwork. Gaara was sitting stiffly in his leather backed chair and his green eyes rested wearily upon Naruto, examining him critically.

He gestured to a chair on Naruto's side of the desk with a wave of his hand and told him to sit. Naruto did so, keeping his head down respectfully until he was comfortable. Gaara waited for him and then cut straight to business, taking Naruto by surprise.

"The village of Sunagakure that you see as an outsider is actually not the entire truth. The peace is only a temporary illusion. The villagers don't know it, but we are actually in a spot of potential danger." He said, watching Naruto carefully. "We are not sure of the actual source, but we do have suspicions about it."

Naruto recovered himself and distrustfully back at him. "This is very…sudden. Why tell me this now?"

"Of all people, you should be able to help us, obviously. You're an ambassador from Konoha, which means that you have a special position back in your village, and here as well. Your position gives you the ability to convince your Hokage of things."

Naruto didn't miss the small jibe at his ability and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Yes, I do have the power to do such a thing," He returned, keeping his tone normal, "but I still don't know what you're talking of."

Gaara was silent for a moment, still examining him, and then he talked again. "There is someone who is possibly targeting this village. For what purposes, I have no idea. He is incredibly strong, and I think that only certain people have the ability to handle him if he were to attack. The guards would have no chance against him, and even most of the higher level shinobi wouldn't last either."

"That strong? Surely, even if most of shinobi couldn't handle him, he would still be outnumbered against you and the remaining forces, right?" Naruto asked, disbelief audible in his voice.

"Konoha has been targeted under similar circumstances so you shouldn't have to ask."

"Well, yes…So, um, is there anything you want me to do?"

"Yes. Contact Tsunade and request her aid here. She herself doesn't have to come, but as much of the highest level shinobi she can spare."

Why he couldn't do that himself, Naruto had no idea, but he obliged anyway. "One more thing, Kazekage-sama, who is this person who is targeting your village?"

"Oh, I think that you should have heard of him." Gaara said, a bit of anger appearing in his usually emotionless voice. "I am a bit familiar with him, having run across him a couple of times. I thought he was…similar to me in some ways. I was mistaken." He scooted closer to his desk and turned his attention to the papers on his desk, his face now the usual mask.

Naruto took that as his cue to leave and got up, chair creaking a bit with the movement. The urge to discover the person who was responsible had faded as worry started to creep upon him.

~End Flashback~

Naruto buried his face in the soft pillow and let out a low groan at his bad luck. If the mysterious person came, they weren't supposed to attack for a couple months at the earliest. He had sent a message to Tsunade using the fastest hawk that was supplied anyway thinking that the sooner she knew the better. Maybe she would send Kakashi over to help. That would be nice, he thought glumly. At least he could talk comfortably with one person if that happened.

He was roused from his musings as someone knocked at the door and talked through it.

"Kazekage-sama wishes for you to join him for dinner as you are a guest here. It will be in the reception room you saw earlier in an hour."

Naruto gave his understanding loudly enough for the person to hear and then listened as the footsteps then left down the hall. Well, at least he would have something to do tonight.

Naruto walked into the hall after having showered, changed, and a brief fight against his hair as he had discovered a mat in it. He immediately saw Gaara who was sitting at the head of a large dining table, wearing the same outfit as always. Around half the seats were filled with high ranking officers who were all chatting unconcernedly and laughter often broke out among them. The table was brightly lit by tall candles every foot or so that were placed in decorative silver holders. Gaara saw him standing in the doorway and waved him over to an empty seat next to him, and pointed him out to the officer next to him.

"Ah, Kurai-san, so nice of you to join us." Said the officer as Naruto took his seat. He held his hand and Naruto took it in a viselike grip as the officer smiled at him. As Naruto briefly looked him over, he saw that he was a rather good looking guy. He had evenly tanned skin, from what Naruto could see, and he had brown hair with front pieces that stylishly framed his face while the back was cut short. His brown eyes, however, did not show the emotion that was in his smile. They were dark and confident, but arrogantly confident. They almost seemed to smirk at him as he took in Naruto.

"This is Dageki, commander of all our armed forces, such as the guard and our army if we needed one. He's quite a capable man with that sword of his." Gaara said, noticing the two of them sizing each other up. Naruto was sure his eyes were smirking at him now, though he was still outwardly smiling.

"Nice to meet you." Naruto said, returning the smile.

"If you don't have anything to do during your stay here, I could train with you, but I don't know if you could keep up with me. No insult meant, of course!" Dageki said, giving a rich laugh.

"Of course." Naruto responded, pulling a plate of something towards him. He may have no idea what it was, but it smelled good.

"AS Kazekage-sama told you, I'm the commander of all that good stuff. The best one there is, you know? Except for the Kazekage, obviously. Why else would I have my job? It takes real skill to handle it, organizing everyone, telling them what to do, you know?" He said proudly.

"Do you fight in the battles? Frontline, perhaps?"

"Frontline? Oh god no! What would my men do if I died? No, I cheer them on. I give them a reason to fight. I am the one who provides them with inspiration and motivation. On the battle field, I am like a ray of hope to them!"

Naruto stared at him, chopsticks forgotten halfway to his mouth. Was this guy for real? He glanced at Gaara, but he was ignoring them and chatting with someone else. Naruto resumed his eating and looked back at Dageki, who was looking quite pleased with himself, having made Naruto speechless.

"So you're a…cheerleader…?"

Dageki shook his head frantically. "Not a cheerleader, but a Cheer-Leader, You know?" He gave another hearty laugh at his joke.

Naruto stared at him some more before looking at his plate. "What an idiot…" he muttered, shaking his head at this sad excuse for a guy. Why the heck had Gaara chosen him, of all people? Especially since he obviously had no sense of humor.

Dageki started to talk again but Naruto glared at him, reaching the end of his patience.

"Keep talking, someday you'll say something intelligent." Naruto said icily.

He spluttered obviously at a loss for words. "You-I never-all my life-" he started to say angrily.

"Please. You've obviously mistaken me for someone who gives a damn." Naruto turned back to his plate and ignored him for the rest of dinner.

At the end, Naruto pulled Gaara aside and gestured at the retreating back of Dageki.

"Why did you chose him?! He is a babbling idiot! He is no proper shinobi! Did you hear him?! Talking about his role in battles?! He's a freaking cheerleader!" Naruto bushed some stray strands of hair out of his face and was about to continue on when a quiet voice interrupted him.

"It wasn't my decision." Gaara said, obviously agreeing with Naruto. He held up a hand as Naruto started to interrupt, and continued. "He simply appeared as the commander one day, and trust me when I say it wasn't my decision. I know he is not the brightest, Kurai-san. Something is happening, and I'm going to need to help. Hopefully you can help me. May I visit you tonight to discuss this without others hearing?"

Naruto started to cool down and nodded, but boy, was Gaara going to get a piece of his mind later.

Later, after everyone had gone to bed, Naruto was laying on his bed unable to sleep. He was waiting for Gaara to come and explain to him what the hell was going on. He shifted restlessly on top of his covers, getting impatient. Gaara didn't have to make him wait this long. A quiet knock at the door startled Naruto and he hopped out of his bed, heading to the door. He opened it and bowed his head as the Kazekage walked past and stood in the middle of the room, waiting to get started. The moonlight streamed through the window and lit up Gaara's porcelain skin, making it glow faintly. Naruto closed the door softly and bowed properly.

"I am very sorry for my actions earlier, Kazekage-sama. I forgot my place and shouldn't have let out my temper on you."

"Its of no consequence, Kurai-san. I too am sorry for intruding upon you this late. Now, get up. We have better things to do." Gaara waved a hand, telling him to stand properly. Naruto obeyed, clothes rustling as he moved.

"Please, sit Kazekage-sama." Naruto said softly, well aware that guards were patrolling the corridors outside the door, but Gaara shook his head.

"I wish to keep this brief. Earlier, when i said that Dageki simply appeared, that's not actually quite true. Its more like he was forced upon me. i had no choice but to appoint him as the commander. He is actually pretty skilled with his sword, but his ego is too large. It very well may be his downfall, as well as his stupidity." Gaara paused, taking a deep breath. "Did you contact Tsunade yet?"

"Yes. right after you talked to me in your quarters. I used One of your fastest hawks, so she should get it soon."

Gaara nodded slowly. "Good. Now, the main problem is that we know, well, basically nothing. All of this, the idea that we are under surveillance, is simply an idea. We have no proof, but better safe than sorry."

Naruto nodded his agreement as Gaara looked out the window unto his village outside. He seemed to be debating something and looked back at Naruto.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, all emotions carefully sealed.

"Sorry?" asked Naruto, a bit nonplussed.

"Why are you here? Especially like that."

His stomach twinged as he began to understand what Gaara was saying. "I'm an ambassador, Kazekage-sama. That's all."

"No, you're-" He was cut off as Naruto interrupted him.

"I'm sorry, Kazekage-sama, but i think you've mistaken me for someone else. I am Kurai, ambassador from Konoha. No more, no less." Naruto shielded off his emotions as he put on Kurai's indifferent mask. Gaara looked at him carefully, and then sighed sadly.

"I'm very sorry, Kurai-san. I was hoping you were someone else that i haven't seen him in a long time. It has been 2 years and he hasn't talked to me once. I'm sorry, but please excuse me." Naruto gritted his teeth against the urge to grab Gaara's shoulder as he passed, lightly brushing against Naruto's shoulder. The door shut softly behind him and Naruto stood motionless, staring at the space where the redhead had been previously.

"Gaara...I'm so sorry! I-I didn't realize...I didn't mean to hurt you..." Naruto whispered softly, a single tear overflowing his moist blue eyes.