DISCLAIMER: No matter how much I want it, I do not own Naruto. I am still only borrowing the characters and only killing off a few…I promise to return them in good condition – well, maybe slightly battered!

Wow, so many reviews and so fast...made me go ahead and publish the next chapter early!

Chapter Twelve:

The Other Jinchuriki

I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I feel like a monster

~Skillet~

The door slowly opened and someone entered his room; someone he had never seen before, but he somehow knew. The curtain beside his bed was drawn back, the scrape of the rods loud and shrill in his ears…

"Who are you?"

The strange boy stepped closer to Naruto and studied him for a moment. "What are you?" he asked. "Why was I drawn here?"

Naruto put his hand over his stomach as it gave a mighty twist. The startling revelation came to him unbidden in his head. "Tanuki," he said, pointing to the dark rings around the other boy's eyes. "You're a Jinchuriki, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you are talking about, I am Gaara of the sand," said the red-haired boy tonelessly.

"Kitsune," said Naruto touching the whisker marks on his cheek. "And yes, you do. I am the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. We are brothers. I am Naruto." He added cheekily, "…of the leaf!"

"You are not my brother. I have no one. I am death."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably in the bed, a little shocked at the other's response. "Can't you feel it?" he asked quietly and earnestly.

"I feel nothing."

"You aren't alone."

"I will kill you."

Naruto's mouth fell open. He stared for a second before blurting out, "Why?"

"To prove my existence."

Stranger and stranger… "Killing me won't prove your existence."

Sai and Sasuke walked into the room and saw the red-haired boy standing next to Naruto's bed. They could tell instantly that something was wrong. "Get away from him," snarled Sasuke. "You have no business here."

"Why do you care? Don't you want him to die? Isn't he a monster?" asked Gaara. Their reactions confused him. In his experiences, everyone hated him. Everyone wanted him dead. Why should this boy be any different?

"He is no monster," stated Sai. "He is our friend, our comrade, and our brother. We will not allow you to harm him."

"He is a Jinchuriki…a demon."

Sasuke gritted out, "He's not a demon; he's our brother. Now step away from him or I will have to kill you."

"Why don't they hate you?" he asked Naruto. He was honestly baffled at their signs of friendship. "Does your village treat you with respect as the Jinchuriki?"

"Well, no…" he reluctantly admitted, "Most don't… but my father and his friends like me though. My teammates here like me too."

Gaara had come to believe that there was no such thing as love for another. How could he when all he had known was despair, hate, and betrayal? He could only rely upon himself and Shukaku. He was taught that he had to kill to prove his value, to confirm the why he was allowed to exist. Why would it be any different for this Jinchuriki? Why did he get to have people who cared for him, to love him? Why didn't they hate him?

The cold hard anger which had been a part of him for so long reared its ugly head. He glared at the boy lying in the bed with narrowed eyes. "Why does he get to be loved? What made it so that this fellow demon doesn't scare others the way I terrify people around me?" Gaara felt his stomach twist with an unknown feeling, his hatred for the puzzling riddle increasing.

If he killed the boy, he wouldn't be confused any longer… wouldn't be feeling those weird feelings… His aura turned murderous and sand began to drift out of his gourd…

The door burst open and two new figures burst into the room. "Gaara!" said the relieved kunoichi, "Father told us to find you. We are ready to leave now. Hurry up."

"I don't have to do what you tell me to," he said coldly.

The older boy, who was wearing a black one piece suit and hood with cat ears, gave the murderous boy a frightened look. He swallowed hard and said as soothingly as he could, "It's not Temari who's telling you what to do; it's the Kazekage."

Without a change in his expression, Gaara said flatly, "I am not ready to leave yet. I have someone to kill first. I must prove my strength."

Sai and Sasuke rushed in front of Naruto's bed, tense and ready to defend him while Temari and Kankurō drew back in fear.

From behind the boys taunt forms came Naruto's soft voice. "I still can't get over the fact that you think killing others to prove your existence is true strength. That's bullshit…" Sai and Sasuke parted to allow him to look at Gaara.

Temari and Kankurō winced and turned frightened eyes upon their little brother while the boy continued, "True strength is protecting others. It's keeping the people most precious to you safe." Sai and Sasuke exchanged haunted, guilt-laden looks with one another for their failures and then quickly looked away. "True strength is never giving up and never giving in," concluded Naruto.

"And you two," he suddenly shouted and pointed at the sand siblings, "Aren't you family?" They both gave slight nods at his accusatory glare.

"Family is supposed to love one another, to support one another, and to always be there for one another. Why are you afraid of your own brother?"

"W-Well, we really don't want him to kill us…" stammered Temari.

Kankurō quickly nodded and pled, "Maybe we should leave now Gaara. We don't want to be late for the chunin exams in Konohagakure."

Gaara finally noticed the hitai-ate's on the boy's heads and nodded. He would see them again and finish what he started then; he had too many strange thoughts floating in his head right now and needed to concentrate on them in privacy.

"We will meet again," he promised. Without another word he turned and walked out of the door. The other two sent the trio contemplative looks before they too exited the room.

"We can't leave you alone for a minute, can we?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and fell back on the bed with a pained groan. "Hey, I don't go looking for trouble, it just seems to always come looking for me."

"You better clear space on your calendar," Sai said seriously. "There will be an inquiry."

~~O~~

When Jiraiya came back to the hospital, the boys were still not speaking much to each other. Sai was drawing in his pad and Sasuke was studying a scroll. Naruto was pretending to be asleep. Several times he opened his mouth to speak, but in the end decided to wait and give them time. Their emotions were just too raw at the moment.

Less than a week later, Naruto was well enough to travel. The boys left Kusagakure pale and withdrawn. Nightmares seemed to plague them all, but still they didn't want to talk. Every time Jiraiya tried, they would become mute and angry.

The Sannin was greatly relieved to stop at the spa for a few days. He wrote very long and detailed letters to the boy's families to add to theirs and prayed they wouldn't kill him when they arrived in Konoha…especially Kakashi. He knew the man would be beyond furious when he saw the life gone from his boy's eyes.

He had to find a way to release them from their suffering.

AN:

Yes, I know that the boys part is really small here, however it needed seperation from the next chapter. As for the Omake, well, I really hope you like my version of Sakura. She is what she should have been if Masashi Kishimoto wasn't such a sexist! (Still love him despite it - Naruto Rocks!) I had a previous beta tell me that Sakura shouldn't become a medic because it was always done and I agreed, but the more I thought about it, the more I changed my mind again. Sakura just wouldn't be Sakura. Her main focus won't be medical though.

Sakura's Omake

The gentle movement of the swing soothed her. She became aware of the birds singing in the trees overhead, the breeze stirring the dark leaves on the tree. Sunlight filtered through the fading leaves, mingling with the dancing shadows on the ground to create the perfect mosaic. The air held the faintest hint of autumn.

So this is what it feels like to be free of stress…to be calm and peaceful. She didn't think she'd ever known this kind of contentment before. She liked it. Since becoming a genin, life had certainly changed a lot.

Sakura had been constantly trying to meet her parent's high expectations while running from her fears and mistakes for so long, she'd forgotten how to stop and rest. She opened the letter that she had kept in her pouch and read it again.

A shiver of excitement raced down her spine. He was finally coming home after nearly two whole years, but first they had to stop at Takigakure again…the Village Hidden by a Waterfall. That was the place where he and the other two had fought their first battle without Jiraiya Sensei being present.

What a thrilling letter that had been to read. He was so proud of his and his team's accomplishments. She wondered what he thought of hers. He was always been supportive of her and proud of her new training as a medic. All she had done so far were boring D rank missions and a few lousy C rank escorts. She hadn't even engaged any enemies yet.

Sakura felt as though she knew Naruto better than anyone in her life, even Ino. She understood the essentials of him, the shape of the spirit that lived in his heart, the strength of the heart that was the compass of his mind.

Her friend…

At the same time, he remained a mystery to her. He was smart and an idiot, clever and clueless, serious and funny; he was Naruto Uzumaki - the perfect oxymoron.

Now that she was no longer under her mother's thumb she could finally relax and not be so uptight. She looked at the letter again and laughed.

…so when we woke up, there was a skunk in our tent. I screamed, and tried to get out, but the zipper was stuck. Pervy Sage was outside laughing his butt off at us. We smelled so bad for two weeks. Nothing worked...and I mean nothing! I have never taken so many baths in my life and the worst part was our sleeping bags got skunked as well so we couldn't even sleep at night. Jiraiya wouldn't let us go into any of the villages we passed by. He made us wait while he went in and had a great old-time. I had a great idea on how to get back at Jiraiya for doing that to us. I told the guys we should put itching powder in his pants before he left to do 'research', but Sasuke said that I was out of my mind. So I told that teme, "Of course I'm out of my mind; it's dark and scary in there!" He didn't think it was funny, but Sai kinda laughed. So then I told him that he was just jealous because the little voices talk to me.

I've got to say, Sakura, he's really got that little eye twitch thing down pat! He does it almost as good as Sai's dad…

Oh yeah, before I forget, please tell my uncle Gen to stop telling you embarrassing stories about me when I was a kid or I'll put itching powder down his pants!

Ja ne,

Naruto

She had to admit to herself how stupid she had been. When she first started receiving his letters, she poured through them eagerly for the faintest hint of Sasuke. Months passed before she realized what an incredible person Naruto truly was. Sasuke was right; he was brave, loyal, and funny. When they were kids, his bravado used to annoy her to no end. He always seemed so clueless. Now she realized he wasn't clueless at all. He was a lot more clever and intelligent than anybody knew. His mischievous nature hid it well.

Ever since that day when Sasuke shattered her view of the world she lived in, she began to change. She fingered the long tail of pink hair; braided to allow her freedom of movement. She thought that maybe she should cut it, but it had taken so long to regrow it and Naruto told her he hoped she wouldn't change. Maybe after he gets back, she thought with a smile.

At the sound of her name being called, she looked up to see her teammates coming her way. They were fourteen years old. Heirī was tall and slim with red-tipped brown hair. He was a second generation shinobi. Shēn was also tall, but muscular. He had black hair and eyes. He was from a minor clan and had a huge chip on his shoulder. They had both failed their sensei's test last year and had to go back to the academy while their third team member decided to stay a civilian. Sakura ended up a part of their team due to the uneven number of graduating students.

"Did you guys hear the news yet?" she asked brightly, "We've been signed up for the chunin exams."

Her team mates, both nodded excitedly. "Yeah, Genma Sensei just told us about it. Are you ready to go train?" asked Heirī with a slight blush. He had a one-sided crush on the pink-haired girl.

She carefully folded the letter and was about to put it back in her pouch when Shēn snatched it and mocked her in a sing-song voice "Is this a love letter from your loser of an idiot boyfriend?"

Sakura's heart skipped a beat and her face grew red with anger, "Don't call him that! You don't know him. And he's my friend, not my boyfriend." She tried to grab the letter back, but the older, taller boy held it out of her reach. She punched him, but he blocked and jumped back.

He waved it playfully in the air and teased, "Come and get it pinkie!"

Sakura's analytical mind studied the distance between them. She focused chakra around her foot and scuffed her sandaled toe on the ground. A small fissure opened in the earth, trapping his leg. She smirked in satisfaction as she sauntered over to Shēn, plucked the letter from his hand and safely stored it back in her pouch.

"Aw, I was just kidding, Haruno. Let me out," he whined.

"I swear, I don't know why I had to get stuck with you two as team mates!" she grumped as she pulled him out. She ruffled his hair as if he were a little boy and teased, "I sometimes wish I was put in a team from members of my graduating class instead of last years rejects!"

"It's not like we wanted some pink-haired menace to be on our team! You are a real bitch sometimes Sakura!" said Shēn smugly.

"If by "bitch" you mean intelligent, witty, and not afraid to speak my mind, then yes I am a bitch. Thank you," she said coolly. She really didn't like the other boy. He held animosity towards her ever since she beat him up during a training match up. Anko told her there would be plenty of men like him in the ninja world, but that didn't make him any easier to deal with.

Heirī, trying to ease the tension, said, "Hey, we need to hurry and meet up with Genma Sensei. Come on, he said he would show us a new jutsu. Aren't you guys curious to see what it's going to be?"

Sakura ran off, shouting Anko's favorite saying over her shoulder, "Curiosity will kill whoever gets in my way!"

The boys on her team were hot on her heels, but Sakura was faster. She nearly reached the training post when Shēn grabbed her ponytail. He let it go with a hiss of pain.

"What the hell was that!" he yelled looking at his bloody hand.

Sakura gave him a smug look and pointed to the small ball of spikes she had braided into her pink tresses. "I happen to like my hair long like this, but Anko Sensei pointed out that it could be used against me. I figured if anyone dared to take unfair of advantage of me like that…well, I would just have to let them," she said innocently.

She reached into a pouch on her thigh and pulled out a small sealed tube. She held it teasingly out to him. "I built up immunity, but I highly doubt you have…"

"What are you talking about?"

"How's you hand feeling?" she smirked. "Have you lost the feeling in it yet? Hmm, your lips look a little blue too."

Shēn's eye's widened. "You actually poisoned me?!"

"Yeah, about that…you might want to go to the hospital pretty soon."

Sakura laughed softy as the genin ran off. Heirī guffawed loudly. "Man, Sakura," he said hesitantly, "Of all of Anko's apprentices, you are definitely the scariest. You're definitely not a people person."

"It isn't that I'm not a people person; I'm just not a stupid people person. And you're not saying that to me to be nice are you?" she teased.

"Um…no?"

Genma suddenly appeared next to them. He nonchalantly leaned against the post and chewed on his senbon. "Where's the other brat?"

Heirī grinned, "Probably at the hospital by now."

The jonin sighed. "I was hoping to have the whole team here. Sakura, go see that he gets whatever antidote he needs this time and bring him back here."

"Sure sensei," she chirped then turned to leave. Genma cleared his throat loudly and held out his hand with an expectant look on his face.

Sakura huffed then began to take off her pouches filled with sharp and pointy things. She reluctantly handed him her chain whip, saying, "I wasn't going to use it."

"Mm hmm," he said doubtfully, "Heirī, maybe you should go with her and make sure she doesn't kill your teammate."

Heirī grinned. "I'm on it sensei!"

"Uh Sakura…?"

"Yes sensei?"

"I'll take the rest of them now."

"Oh hehe, I guess I forgot." She plucked several shuriken from her boots, the senbon weaved into her hair and a kunai from Kami knows where before running off with a disgruntled look.

Genma chuckled softly to himself as he watched them run off. He didn't even turn as his two best friends tried to sneak up on him. "They sure are shaping up quite nicely, aren't they?" he stated.

"Are you sure they're ready?" asked Asuma. "My team
is pretty good."

"As ready as any genin can be."

"Why does that boy seem so familiar to me?" asked Kakashi.

"Ah you mean Shēn don't you? Yes, I thought you would remember."

"Refresh my memory."

Genma laughed, "Remember the midget's first year at the academy? I was watching him for you and you came back early. You met me at the school to get him and found him and Sasuke sitting in the detention room with two much older boys."

Kakashi laughed. "Let me guess, one of them was Shēn's older brother."

"Yup!"

"Well, what happened?" asked Asuma.

"So we walk into the room to see two eleven year old boys sitting there with bruises, black eyes and split lips. Naruto and Sasuke are sitting across from them in torn, dirtied clothes and glaring at them with murder in their eyes. Shēn's brother started muttering insults at the boys. My pup; who was barely half their size, stood up and threatened to blacken his other eye if he ever dared to put a finger on them again."

Genma burst out laughing as he recalled another detail. "Do you remember what Sasuke said?" Kakashi shook his head while Asuma waved his hand at him to continue. Genma chuckled again. "He shook his fist at them and said; don't make me go all Uchiha on your ass!"

All three men burst out laughing even harder than before as they pictured the two little five-year-olds and their cocky attitudes.

"It would seem that those boys thought they could pick on the pups. Not so." Kakashi sighed happily, "Mah, he made me so proud that day."

Asuma laugh good-naturedly and said, "I can't wait to see how much he's improved. I miss the little squirt."

Kakashi's expression turned wistful as he thought of the ball of sunshine and how quiet his home had become without him. "Me too."

AN:

Big huge thanks to my beta for this chapter. COOKIEMONSTER77, I would not have been able to get Gaara right without you!

Thanks to everyone that has favorited/followed/commented on my latest chapter.

Ja Ne,

AZFAERYDUST