Title: A Demon's Tale
Author: swiftstar85
Genre: Drama/Friendship/Romance
Rating: T for some strong language, violence, suggestive material, and crude humor.

~Chapter Two~

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, though I wouldn't mind if I did.

As Gaara had thought, Quoi threw a little fit when he found out about the mission that he was going to go on with Team Seven.

After the meeting with Tsunade, both Gaara and Yamato parted ways, the ANBU requested that the young Kazekage would go to find Naruto and Sakura and tell them that they needed to meet in the morning near the Konoha Gates. The young Kazekage only nodded and said that he would before he went off to search for them. He didn't have to look too long because they weren't far at all. They were only just outside the building, looking up at the Hokage mountains. Quoi was actually looking down at the park, watching children play together and had a very lonely, sad look on his face. It was a fact to all of the Sand Village that he didn't have any friends, other than Gaara and his siblings. All of the children had been too intimidated by the fact that he was Gaara's apprentice. Plus, they all thought he was a troublemaking loser.

Naruto and Sakura were actually listening to Kankuro talk about what was going on in the Sand Village. They were smiling as the Puppet Master told them about Gaara's accomplishments and what he had been doing for the village. They looked very proud of their friend. But then Kankuro told them a little more about Quoi and what happened to him through his life. At least from what he knew. He explained to them about how Gaara met the boy and what he had tried to do for him. He also told them that it was Quoi who spoke to Gaara last before he had been captured by the Akatsuki member, Deidara. That brought a serious frown on both of the Leaf Ninja's faces. They didn't like to be reminded of how Gaara got caught in the first place. Still, hearing about the pain that Quoi had been in and all the trouble he, himself had been causing made Naruto's brow furrow deeply before he spun around on his hind quarters and looked at the boy. He caught sight of the sad look on his face and only was reminded of himself when he was a kid. Himself and Gaara.

"Hey, Quoi!" He bellowed at the boy, who turned around and grimaced at him. Quoi still really hadn't forgiven him for punching him. "Come 'ere, Quoi! I wanna ask you something!"

Giving Naruto a suspicious look, Quoi slowly walked over, but kept his guard up. He didn't want to get hit again by this blonde guy. No matter if he was his master's best friend. He kept a good distance away from Naruto and stood by Sakura instead. He was scared of her but he'd rather have her defending him instead of her beating on him. "What do you want?" He flinched when Naruto frowned at him grumpily. "Eh?"

Naruto, still a little grouchy that Quoi was talking to him like that, just folded his arms and plopped down onto his butt and folded his legs. "Why are you goofing around anyway when it comes to your ninja studies? Don't you want to be a ninja?" He asked grumpily right back at him.

Quoi gritted his teeth and glared at Naruto but nodded. "Yeah! Of course I want to be a Ninja! I want to be the best ninja in the Sand Village so I can protect Lord Gaara from those Akatsuki assholes! I don't want him to ever get hurt again! I swear that I will be the best and I will protect him!" He nearly shouted before flinching when Kankuro thumped him on the head for yelling and swearing at Naruto. He gave the Puppet Master a look for it but then sighed. "But....."

"Quoi, if you're not paying attention to your studies, how are you suppose to protect Gaara then?" Sakura asked, softly but it was no doubt she disapproved his goofing off too.

Sighing, Quoi's shoulders slouched and he lowered his head. "I don't know. I will somehow. But I.....I just don't know." He murmured.

"Well, if you're going to protect Gaara, then you better stop goofing around. You better stop being late for classes and stop back talking to everyone that tries to reassure you of what you're doing wrong. And stop cracking dirty jokes." Kankuro told him, sternly. "The only person you don't back talk is Gaara. I just don't see why he's wasting his time on you if you're not going to even make an effort to becoming a ninja." He said dryly. Quoi only lowered his head, looking very sad at being scolded like this.

However, Naruto shook his head with a serious look on his face as he was giving Kankuro his own dry look. "I do. I see why Gaara's wasting time on him." He received surprised looks from Kankuro, Sakura and Quoi. But he just looked directly at the young boy standing in front of him, smiling faintly. "Gaara believes in you, Quoi. That's why he's taking his time on training you. He knows that you can do something better with your life. I was exactly like you when I was a kid. I was always getting trouble and pulling pranks just so I could get some attention. No one liked me when I was young. They always treated me like I was a monster or like I didn't belong with them. I didn't have anyone to stand by my side. Until.....until I met Gaara. He was just like me. We were both lonely and we needed a friend. He always stayed by me, defending me from anyone who tried to hurt me. He took up his own time and patience to be my friend and help me. Just like how he's trying to help you. He knows you can do it. But first, you have to believe in yourself. You have to believe that you can do things that no one believes that you can. Only then will everyone start believing in you. You can't always goof around and do it. If you want to be a ninja and protect Gaara, you have to work for it. Even if it's not always fun. And you have to do it by your ninja way."

There was a long silence between all four of them as the other three stared at Naruto with wide eyes. They couldn't believe this was the same goofball they knew. They couldn't believe he had changed so much. Making a weird face, Kankuro slowly shook his head. "Oh, my gawd. I can't believe it. Naruto actually said something intelligent and that made sense. Now I have seen everything." He remarked. Naruto shot him a look for it.

Quoi just grinned as he rubbed the back of his neck. He understood what Naruto was telling him. He realized that he had a point. He couldn't goof around if he was going to protect Gaara. Speaking of which, he spotted his sensei walking towards them with a smirk on his face. Grinning, he waved at him and started running over to him. "Hey! Lord Gaara! I promise I'll become the best Ninja ever! I'll stop messing around now!" he told him.

Gaara just nodded with a faint smile on his face. He turned his eyes onto Naruto, who grinned sheepishly. The blonde knew very well that his best friend had heard him talking to him. He didn't care either. And neither did the young Kazekage. He only looked at his young apprentice and gave him a nod. "I know you will, Quoi. And while we're staying here, I've gotten permission that you learn with some of the students in the Ninja Academy here." He told him, getting a surprised look. But then he looked seriously at Naruto and Sakura again. "Naruto, Sakura, Tsunade's just told me that we're leaving on the mission tomorrow morning I've met your new team captain that will be replacing Kakashi on the mission to retrieve Sasuke. And we will be meeting with your new teammate tomorrow before we leave." He informed them.

Everyone blinked in surprise at his words. Especially Kankuro and Quoi. They had specifically heard him say that "We" was in that sentence. "What?" Both of them asked breathlessly. The Puppet Master frowned as he tilted his head to the side giving his younger brother a confused look. "What do you mean 'we', Gaara? Are we going somewhere?" He asked, unfolding his arms.

The young Kazekage looked directly into his brother's eyes and slowly shook his head. "Naruto and Sakura will be joined with two team mates on a mission to go after Sasuke tomorrow, Kankuro. I will be going with them. You will stay here and keep an eye on Quoi. Make sure he stays out of trouble being here." He told him.

"What?! No way! Master Gaara! I'm going with you!" Quoi said with a look of disbelief on his face.

Gaara turned his eyes sharply onto his apprentice for making such a demand. He only shook his head at his young student, giving him a stern look. "No you will not. This is an A class mission, Quoi. You aren't a ninja yet and even if you were, you couldn't go with us because you would be a Genin. You will stay here with Kankuro." He then frowned sternly when Quoi opened his mouth to argue. "Quoi, I said no. I brought you here to train you here. I wasn't expecting this mission to come up so suddenly when I first got here. But I must be apart of it. Sasuke Uchiha was once my comrade and friend. He saved my life once. I must return the favor. You can't go with us because it will be dangerous. I will not be able to protect you when the time comes." He told him.

"But I......" Quoi tried to argue.

Now, Gaara was giving him a very serious look. He didn't want to argue about this with his young student. He didn't have the patience for it right now. His worry was mostly on the mission that Naruto and Sakura had to go on. That and the new teammate from Root. "Quoi, do not make me decide to have Kankuro take you back to the Sand Village. I've asked the Hokage if my former sensei, Iruka could teach you and she's granted that permission. He's a good teacher and will take care of you in my absence." He dipped his head down a little, still looking very stern. "Until I return, you will behave. I'm not going to argue with you on this. I have to go on this mission with Team Seven." He turned his eyes onto Kankuro, looking seriously at him. "Kankuro, do you understand why I have to go on this mission?"

There was a pause as Kankuro stared right into his eyes but then slowly his face grew serious and he nodded. He did understand. He knew Gaara had his own reasons for going and he knew that if they weren't serious, he wouldn't have gone on this thing with Naruto and Sakura. "Yeah, Gaara. I get it. Don't worry about the kid. I'll take care of him. He'll be safe." He told him.

Gaara only nodded but then looked down at Quoi when he looked as if he was going to keep protesting. He wasn't going to keep arguing about this subject with him. He had already explained himself, if not all the way when he hadn't needed to. So with a sigh, Quoi bobbed his head up and down into a nod. "All right, Lord Gaara. I'll do as you ask. I'm sorry for questioning you." He said with his head lowered. Gaara narrowed his eyes a little at his apprentice. He knew better though. He knew very well that Quoi was a mischievous little devil and would probably try something. But he'd have to depend on Kankuro to make sure that didn't happen. So he just nodded to Sakura and Naruto, who nodded back. They had been surprised by the news that they were leaving on the mission in the morning but pleased. They knew that the sooner they got Sasuke back, the better. And they were happier that Gaara was going with them.

Early morning came and Gaara left Kankuro and Quoi in his apartment. They were both still asleep when he left, which was right before the sun even came up. He did so quietly so that he didn't wake up Quoi, which he knew very well that would take a lot of effort. Still, he left quietly just in case. He didn't want to take the chance.

Gaara was, of course, the first one to arrive at the gates where he was meeting with Naruto, Sakura, Yamato and the new teammate. He usually was the first one to arrive. He didn't have to wait long though when Yamato showed up. The ANBU wore the usual Jounin garb, much like Kakashi's outfit. So he didn't look too much like the ANBU Gaara knew he was. They greeted each other with only a nod of their heads before leaning against the wall to wait for Sakura and Naruto, which they both arrived shortly after. Now they had to wait for the new teammate. It didn't take very long at all for him to show up.

The new teammate showed up not too long after the other two arrived, and Gaara had noticed him first. He had sensed him coming up from behind them through the passage of the wall, which he turned around abruptly to look at him. Neither Naruto or Sakura noticed him just yet. They were both complaining about how the new guy was late. But soon enough, Gaara saw him.

It surprised him, though, on how pale this new recruit was. The ninja was paler than Gaara was, and he was very pale as it was. It was like he had not seen very much sun. The ninja's skin was almost chalk white and it almost glowed upon the black material of his outfit. He wore black ninja pants that cut a little short around his ankles, showing his legs. He also wore a short sleeved jacket the cut high, right under his chest, showing off his pale skinned stomach. He also wore a short blade katana on his back, along with his travel pack and a hip pouch, which was slightly larger than others the young Kazekage had seen before. The ninja, himself, was an unusual character. He had sleep black hair falling around his pale face, which he wore a very strange smile. It looked almost forced. Gaara could tell that this ninja wasn't exactly smiling a real smile. His eyes, however, were dark but....blank. They were almost lifeless. It was like he wasn't exactly a real person. Gaara didn't really like the looks of this new teammate. He wasn't very much older than Naruto, Sakura and himself. He could have only been a year or two older. It surprised the young Kazekage that this was the new teammate, the Root ANBU.

'He's sure young, isn't he? He's kind of an odd looking dude.' Shukaku offered his observation.

Gaara merely frowned as he looked the new teammate over, taking in his appearance. He had to agree with Shukaku on this one. He was very odd. Still, he was surprised that this young man was an ANBU. He didn't look very much as he was. So what kind of ANBU was he? He figured he was about to find out.

However, when Naruto finally noticed the new teammate, he seemed to know him. Because he literately leapt several feet back away from him and pointed at the ninja in black with a look of shock on his face. And obviously, he did not see this ninja as an ally. He yanked out the kunai he kept within his sleeve and looked as if he was about to fight him. "IT'S YOU!" He exclaimed. Everyone looked at him surprised that he knew who this guy was. Gaara frowned with Sakura and Yamato but tried to ignore it.

"Heya." The ninja in black greeted them, trying to sound friendly. But Gaara could tell that it was an act, which proved to be very confusing.

Both Gaara and Sakura looked at Naruto as he looked ready to start fighting the new team member, who just looked relaxed as ever. They didn't like the looks of this at all. The ninja was too relaxed while Naruto looked pumped up to fight. "Naruto, do you know him?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side.

Naruto nodded vigorously as he pointed his kunai at the new team member, looking furious. He didn't like this guy one bit, obviously. "Yeah! This guy attacked me, Shikamaru and Choji the other day! Just up and out of nowhere! I didn't know who he was or why he even attacked us!" he nearly shouted. That put Gaara on high alert, causing him to shoot the Root ANBU a serious look. That did not sit too well on his part to hear that this young ninja attacked his best friend for no reason.

"Sorry about before." The ninja immediately stated, still sounding friendly. He just kept on that strange fake smile while looking right at Naruto, not looking worried at the least that the blonde was still pointing his kunai at him. "I wanted to see the abilities of my new teammate. So I just forced you into combat. Please, forgive me." He told Naruto, who straightened, looking very confused but angry at the same time.

"So you attacked Naruto?" Gaara asked, coolly.

The ninja looked over at him, still smiling the fake smiled but with an instant it was gone. He actually blinked, looking blankly surprised to see him. It was like he hadn't even noticed the young Kazekage at all. And in truth, he hadn't been expecting to see him there. Nor did he even know who he was. He took a moment to look him over, observing the red head before he nodded, still looking slightly confused. He tried to force the fake smile again, giving it to Gaara as if he was a friend or something. "Yes. I was only learning his fighting style and abilities. Just so I could know what to do to help him on this mission." He tried to reassure them.

Naruto frowned as he relaxed a little and slid his kunai back into his sleeve. He still looked confused and unnerved to see the guy who attacked him but at least he was relaxed. "Oh. Well, why didn't you just say so? That way we could have avoided another fight like that." He grumbled before tilting his head. "So.....you were just trying to learn about how I fought?"

The ninja nodded smiling fakely at the blonde and even placed his hand onto his waist as he tilted his head to the side. "Yes. I was only observing your techniques. And I have come to a conclusion about your techniques." He paused to draw out the drama a little. "You not only have no dick, but you have no skills, Loser." He said, sounding very pleasant. Everyone froze with alarm. Even Gaara had to. He couldn't believe that this ninja would just come out and say stuff like that. More or less, to Naruto Uzumaki, who always took things like what the new teammate said seriously.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!! I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!!" Naruto exploded and lunged at the ninja, who kept that fake smile on his face.

Before he got too close to the ninja, both Sakura and Gaara grabbed a hold of his arms and held him back. They knew that Naruto would have exploded like that the instant those words came out of the ninja's mouth. They still couldn't believe he had even said that to Naruto. They had only just met him and now they were very sure that they hated him. It annoyed Gaara a little that this guy would insult his best friend like he just did. He didn't like it at all.

"Hold on, Naruto! He's going to be our new teammate! You can't just attack him so suddenly like that!" Sakura cried out as she tried to restrain Naruto. Naruto was sure pulling hard though. Gaara eventually had to call out some sand to holding him back and hold his feet down. He kept frowning right at the ninja though, still looking very annoyed that he had insulted him like that. Sakura turned her eyes onto the ninja frowning at him. "As for you, you're being a real unfriendly jerk." She told him.

The ninja only merely laughed as if he found what she said was funny. He just kept on that ridiculous fake smile on his face while shifting his weight to the other foot. "Really? I didn't know that. Thank you for telling me that, Ugly." He told her.

Once again, everyone froze at the words that just came right out of the ninja's mouth. Even Naruto stopped moving and looked fearfully up at Sakura. He and Gaara knew very well what was about to happen next.

"WHAT'D YOU JUST SAY, YOU ASSHOLE?!!" Sakura now exploded as she threw Naruto off to the side and lunged at the ninja.

However, Yamato quickly intercepted her, catching her arms and pulling her back. It was very hard for even him to keep a hold of her. So when Gaara quickly moved forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, he let him take her. He only stepped back looking very un-nerved of how strong she was. He had been holding very tight on her and yet she almost broke loose from his grip. For Gaara, however, it was a little easier for him to hold on to her. He even had to wrap sand around both of them to keep her against him. He was glaring at the new teammate though. And almost as viciously as Sakura had been wanting to rip the new guy apart. He really did not like this new teammate at all. Not when he was insulting his best friend and the girl he was in love with. He could even hear Shukaku demanding to kill the ninja for insulting.....which he sweat dropped at, their mate.

Problem was, Gaara was tempted to doing it.

Sakura almost broke loose again but he kept a firm grip on her with his own arms and the sand pressing her against him. He had to force her to turn away from the new teammate and bury his face into her hair near her ear while trying to soothe her temper with soft words. Slowly, Sakura began to calm down while she clutched onto his jacket rather tightly and leaned her head against his shoulder. She was so close to him that he smelled the salt of her tears. Obviously those words hurt her just a little. His eyes darkening, Gaara turned to the ninja, giving him a very cold look. The look even made the ninja step back a little, his fake smile fading a little. "If you want to stay alive to continue on with this mission," the young Kazekage stated. "You will never call her that again. Because if you do, I will kill you myself. I won't tolerate you insulting them." He said very coldly.

The ninja didn't reply for a long moment. He was slightly un-nerved by the cold stare he was getting from this red head. "Oh....well.....forgive me then." He said very carefully.

After a very long moment of trying to get Naruto and Sakura to calm down, Yamato sighed wearily as he watched Gaara keeping a firm hold on them with his sand. He was actually surprised to find himself already a little tired from this little excitement. He just shook his head as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked the four ninja over. "Okay. Let's try this again." He began, motioning to Naruto, Sakura and the ninja in black. "The four of us make up the new Team Seven and we will be going on this mission together. But....." he reached up and rubbed his head, looking dissatisfied with the progress so far. Especially when Naruto and Sakura were glaring viciously at the new team member. "Jeez, look at you guys. I don't have the time to toss you in a cage and let you guys get to know each other. So let's try and play nice, all right? Why don't we introduce ourselves to each other. My name is Yamato. I'll be taking Kakashi Hatake's place as team captain for now on. Now, why don't you introduce yourselves. Starting with you." He said motioning to Naruto.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said dryly as he continued to glare right at the ninja in black.

Then it was Sakura's turn. She too was glaring dryly at the young ninja on the other side of Gaara, whom was trying to keep her away from him. "Sakura Haruno." She said coldly.

"Hi! My name is Sai!" came the ninja in black's introduction. He was looking back at Gaara, though. "So, who's the Spook?"

"ARGH!!!! Don't you insult Gaara either, you jerk!" Both Naruto and Sakura yelled, losing their tempers again as they tried to lunge at the new guy.

But once again, sand wrapped around them and kept them back. Gaara narrowed his eyes dangerously on the ninja in black but didn't say anything. He didn't care if this guy called him by a name like that but as long as he didn't do it to his two friends. He just gave Sai a very cool look of warning while Yamato sighed and shook his head. "My name is Gaara." He said even more coldly than Sakura had said hers.

"I'd be careful of who you insult, Sai, was it?" Yamato interrupted. "You might find that you're going to regret it later on."

Naruto nodded as he glared fiercely at the ninja on the other side of Gaara. He even pointed at his best friend. "Yeah! Yeah! He's the Kaz......!" He was yelling.

But Gaara had a hand over his mouth to keep him from yelling it out. He didn't care if Sai knew who he was but with Naruto yelling it into his ear, he didn't want him to tell the new teammate. "You'll find that I'm not a very forgiving person when it comes to insulting my friends and comrades. I don't care what you call me, but be careful of what you call Sakura and Naruto. You might not like me later on." He warned him. Sakura seemed to have caught on though.

"Well, at least we have the introductions out of the way." Yamato tried again to calm everyone down. "Now, time to explain the mission that we, Team Kakashi will be taking. The five of us will be heading out for a bridge called the Tenchikyou, where we will be meeting a spy for the Akatsuki who infiltrated Orochimaru's Organization. We will capture him and bring him back to the village for questioning. If we're lucky, we'll get information on Orochimaru and Sasuke Uchiha." He didn't pay too much attention when Naruto and Sakura's faces grew very grim at the sound of Sasuke's name. But he did pay attention when Sai blinked and looked over at Gaara. "If we succeed with this mission, it will allow us to gain valuable access to important information that will allow us to assassinate Orochimaru and Sasuke's retrieval. So keep our minds on our goal." he told them firmly.

Sai then held up a hand for a second to get their attention but his eyes were still on Gaara. He was still smiling that fake smile but there was a hint of confusion over him. "You said the five f us. If my calculations are correct, there are only suppose to be four team mates on Team Seven. Am I wrong to think this?" He asked, his head tilted to the side.

"No. You are correct. There are suppose to be four teammates of Team Seven." Yamato said, though there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. He merely folded his arms and let his eyes flicker over to Gaara. "The Lord Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village wishes to accompany us to retrieving Sasuke Uchiha. He used to be apart of Team Seven before he became the Fifth Kazekage of Suna Village." He smiled faintly when Sai looked slightly surprised and turned his strangely blank eyes onto Gaara. "That's right, Sai. This is Lord Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village. He's here to help us with this mission. With me, he is in charge. In a way, he's the head hauncho of this little mission." He informed not only Sai but Naruto and Sakura, who looked very surprised to hear that.

"Whoa! Gaara! You're in charge?!" Naruto asked, brightly now looking very excited with Sakura.

Merely shrugging, Gaara looked at his best friend and girlfriend with a soft look. "Not entirely. I'm only here to assist Team Kakashi. But otherwise, we are only teammates." he then looked back at Sai, who was frowning slightly as he listened to the whole ordeal. "Now then, should we be on our way?"

Yamato nodded as he decided to interrupt again. He knew that it was better that if he did. He didn't want another fight breaking out again. "Yes, Lord Kazekage. You have a point. We should....." He was saying.

Gaara shook his head as he looked directly at the ANBU and frowned. "And enough with the formalities. It's just Gaara on this mission. Don't think of me as the Kazekage. On this mission, I am your teammate and your equal. We are a team and we will treat each other like one. So, just call me Gaara on this mission." he told everyone. Both Naruto and Sakura smiled.

All the while Yamato just faintly smiled as he bobbed his head into a nod. "Very well......Gaara." He glanced over at the other three. "Well then......Team Kakashi will move out now." He told them before taking the lead of heading out of the Gates of the Leaf Village. He merely glanced over his shoulder at the four following him, faintly smiling. He knew that this was going to be very interesting from there on out. If only knew how interesting.

Author's Note: Funny Facts:

You know, it's funny. When I finished writing The Sand Prince, I wasn't even planning on keeping the character, Quoi. He might have been mentioned a few times during this story but when I started writing this story, he just kind of placed himself into this story. Especially becoming Gaara's apprentice. That was not planned out at all. It just clicked. And now that he's become a sort of main side character, he's got a somewhat important role in this story. Tell me, I'm very interested into knowing. What do you ladies and gentlemen think of Quoi? Do you like him, hate him? What?

Anyway, please read and review and if you will, share your opinion on Quoi's character and personality.