-Fayre-

I couldn't believe the size of this place. It was huge!

"Welcome Lord Gaara. Lady Temari. Lord Kankuro."

The guards said and I tried not to feel upset that I had been ignored. They led us through the streets to a huge building in the middle of the city. We were led up stairs before we were ushered into a room. Once the doors were closed I looked around. It was nice, but pretty plain. There was a bookcase in the far corner, a window facing the east and south, some chairs, and a desk covered in paperwork. I saw a blonde mass of hair underneath some of it and wondered who it was.

"So, after you finally become Hokage the first thing you do is sleep on the job?"

Gaara asked as we walked over to the blonde mass of hair beneath all the papers. He did something and the blonde mass of hair suddenly shot up to reveal a blonde haired boy around my age with cerulean blue eyes and what looked like whiskers on his cheeks. He was definitely cute, almost as cute as Gaara.

"I wasn't…I mean I just…."

The blonde said and I heard Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara all laugh at him.

'Okay, just who the hell is this guy?'

I wondered. Temari must have noticed my confusion because she introduced us.

"Oh, sorry Fay. This is an old friend of Gaara's and the new Hokage of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki."

She said as she pulled me towards him. I looked him in the eyes and blushed.

"Naruto, this is the newest and best warrior of the sand ANBU and our friend, Fayre."

She said and Naruto smiled at me as he held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you Fayre."

He said as I shook his hand.

"Is it true you wiped out the entire ANBU squad by yourself?"

He asked excitedly and I just blushed.

"Awesome! Come on, let's go out and celebrate properly."

Naruto said before rushing us all out of his office and to the ramen shop down the street.

We ate till our stomachs were close to bursting, then Temari ordered sake. She and Kankuro got drunk, while me and Naruto were in the middle of a drinking contest. Gaara just watched, keeping track of how many we drank. I threw back my glass and slammed it down on the table while Naruto struggled to finish his.

"That's seventy eight to your forty three. I believe she has you beat."

Gaara said and I smiled when Naruto nodded in agreement.

"You…."

Naruto started, but stopped before trying again.

"How do you handle your sake so well?"

He asked and I smiled at him.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

I asked with a smile and he just stared at me.

"You can fight. You can drink. Hell, you can even eat. Is there anything you can't do?"

Naruto asked and I blushed.

"Hey Gaara, you've got to let Fayre help me train my men. They need someone to whip them into shape, but they just won't listen to me."

He said and I waited to hear what Gaara would say.

"She can make her own decisions. It's fine with me if she wants to help."

He said and I smiled at him before standing up, pulling Kankuro and Temari with me.

"In that case, I'll see you bright and early in the morning Naruto."

I said as Gaara helped me carry his siblings back to our hotel.

The next day on the ANBU training field

-Fayre-

"Okay, so what exactly do you want me to do?"

I asked Naruto as I walked up to him.

"Simple. Just train my men like you do Gaara's."

He said and I nodded as the ANBU entered the training field.

"Alright."

Naruto said, getting everyone's attention.

"This is Fayre, and she's gonna help me train you guys."

He said and I heard several scoffs from the men before me. There weren't any women in the group of people before me.

"A woman? Is this a joke Lord Naruto?"

One of them asked and I glared at him. Naruto was about to say something, but I held out my hand and stopped him.

"If you think I have no right to be here then fight me. If you win, I leave and Lord Naruto will be the only one to train you."

I said and heard laughter from the men again.

"But if I win, you will treat me with respect and we start your training."

I said and he walked forward and shook my hand in agreement. He squeezed my hand, trying to hurt me.

"This will be a piece of cake."

He said and I smiled sweetly at him.

"If you say so."

I said before squeezing his hand back, stopping only when I felt the bones in his hand about to pop out of place.

-Naruto-

I hadn't expected my men to be so rude, and to be honest it pissed me off. I liked Fayre, she was nice and seemed to have an open mind towards those like me and Gaara. She was cute too. I was going to reprimand them, but Fayre stopped me. I smiled when she made a deal with the head ANBU. I saw him try to hurt her hand, but had no effect. Then she tightened her grip on his hand and I saw Daichi trying to keep from showing his pain on his face. Fayre let go of Daichi's hand and beckoned him to attack her which made Daichi angry. I watched as he charged at Fayre and she just stayed still. Daichi pulled a kunai and I tensed when he charged at her. Gaara said she could fight, but she didn't look like she could. I was shocked when she grabbed his arm, side stepped the kunai, and pulled his arm behind his back all in one fluid movement. She pulled the kunai out of his hand and held it to his throat. A collective gasp went through the ANBU watching and I could help but smile.

"Don't let your emotions get in the way. That's the best way to lose to your opponent."

I heard her say to Daichi as she let him go and held his kunai out to him. Daichi took it from her and sheathed it.

"Thank you Lady Fayre."

He said and I was shocked when he got down on his knees, head bowed. That was the ultimate sign of respect and usually the ANBU only did that to the Kazekage or Hokage.

"No problem. Now, who says we get to training?"

She asked with a smile and Daichi nodded before standing up. The other ANBU all listened to her as she explained how she dodged Daichi's attacked, grabbed his arm, side stepped, and brought his arm behind him. Then she had them break off into groups of two to try on their own before she came over to me. This girl was amazing.

"That was remarkable. I had no idea you were so skilled."

I said and she blushed at my compliment.

"Thanks Naruto, but you haven't seen me serious yet."

She said and I smiled as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

"I'd like to."

I said and her blush darkened.

-Gaara-

Temari had left to go find Shikamaru and Kankuro started asking me about how far I'd gotten with Fayre. I told him this morning that I liked her and now he wouldn't leave me alone about it. I left when he went to the bathroom. I hadn't realized how much I enjoyed Fayre's company till now. She was with Naruto helping him train his men, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I just stopped by to watch.

I followed their chakras till I got to the ANBU training field. I stopped when I saw Naruto with his arm around Fayre's shoulder and a blush on her face.

"What the hell kind of training is this!"

I yelled and they both looked up at me with wide eyes.

"No, Gaara man, it ain't what it looks like."

Naruto said, but I ignored him and looked at Fayre. Her face was beat red and she refused to look me in the eye.

"Fine."

I said before using my sand and appearing back at the hotel. Kankuro looked at me confused until he noticed the mood I was in.

"Gaara, what's-"

"We're leaving."

I said and he nodded before going and grabbing our stuff. Temari walked in with a smile on her face till she saw Kankuro running around the room and picked up on the atmosphere.

"What's going on?"

She asked.

"We're leaving."

I said and she frowned.

"But we just got here."

She said and I glared at her.

"Now!"

I said and she paled before helping Kankuro pack our things. We headed for the gates and Fayre and Naruto came running towards us.

"Look Gaara, it really wasn't what it looked like honest."

He said and I just glared at him. Fayre noticed Temari and Kankuro had our things packed.

"We're leaving?"

She asked and I just turned and walked out of Konoha. I heard them following silently behind me. I heard Temari ask Fayre what happened, but tuned them out as I ran through the forest.

-Fayre-

I can't believe this. I was just being friends with Naruto and Gaara suddenly started yelling at us and made us leave. I caught up to him and fell in step with him.

"Gaara, what's wrong?"

I asked and he ignored me.

"Dammit Gaara, don't ignore me!"

I snapped and he suddenly threw me against a tree. Temari and Kankuro gasped in shock, but didn't interfere.

"Now you want my attention. Did you get your fill of Naruto or do you want to go back?"

He asked and I looked at him confused.

"What are you talking about?"

I asked.

"Did you really like how he touched you? How he was so casual with you? You obviously like him better, so go back and protect him!"

He snapped and moved away from me.

"I don't like him like that!"

I yelled at him as I finally understood why he was so upset. He thought there was something going on between me and Naruto.

"You could have fooled me!"

He yelled back. I ran to catch up with him and pulled him so he'd face me.

"I don't."

I said and he just pushed past me. I felt tears stinging my eyes.

"What do I have to do to prove it!"

I yelled after him, but he just ignored me. I was about to say something else when I noticed a change in the forest. It was suddenly too quiet. I fanned my chakra out and my eyes widened in shock. I raced after Gaara and pushed him to the ground just as a kunai landed where he had been standing. I stood up and looked around, but I didn't see anything. I heard a rustling in the leaves and turned just in time to see the glint off another kunai. I grabbed Gaara by the sleeve of his shirt and pulled him up with me as I ran over to Temari and Kankuro. I pushed him into their arms as I pulled my kunai.

"Keep him safe and get out of here."

I said and they just looked at me.

"Go!"

I yelled and they nodded as they moved out of the clearing. I looked around and heard something behind him and turned just in time to block an attack from a fair skinned, brown haired ninja. I jumped away from her and looked her over. She had hip length brown hair tied into two pony tails. She wore a Jonin vest with a fishnet shirt underneath stopping at her abdomen. She had on a pair of black shorts under a long skirt with slits up to her thighs. She wore knee high black ninja shoes and wore a headband over her eyes. I noticed the emblem on the headband and stared at the girl confused. If she was a sand ninja then why was she attacking Gaara?

"Who are you and why are you attacking the Kazekage?"

I asked, but she charged at me in response. The force from her charge had me tumbling back and through the forest in the direction that Kankuro and Temari had taken Gaara. I stabbed her in the shoulder and we stopped rolling. I heard a gasp and looked up to see we'd managed to fall into another clearing and I saw Temari and Kankuro in a tree with Gaara between them.

"Don't look away from your enemy!"

The girl beneath me yelled and I looked back down just in time for her to ram her kunai into my stomach. I grunted in pain and rolled off her. I pulled another kunai and waited for her to get to her feet.

-Kankuro-

We'd ran like Fayre told us, but we couldn't just leave Fayre so we stopped in a clearing a few feet away and waited. We jumped up into a nearby tree when we heard sounds coming our way. Temari and I gasped when we saw Fayre tumble into the clearing fighting with another ninja. The brown haired girl wore a Jonin vest and what looked like a sand headband. She was extremely hot.

'No, bad Kankuro. I can't think that, she's an enemy.'

I thought as I shook my head and watched the two below continue their fight.

"Why do you protect him? He's a murderous monster!"

The brown haired ninja said and I had no doubt of who she was talking about. Fayre charged at the girl and pinned her to the ground, knocking her headband off in the process.

"No he's not!"

She yelled and I was shocked at the amount of emotion in her voice as she defended my brother. The ninja beneath Fayre glared up at her and stabbed her with her kunai again. I heard Fayre hiss in pain, but she punched the girl beneath her and took the kunai from her. They rolled around on the ground before the brown haired ninja kicked Fayre away from her.

"Why? Why do you protect him?"

She asked and we all held our breath waiting for her response.

"Why do you want to kill him?"

She asked and I groaned in annoyance. I was hoping for something else, but what did I expect in the middle of a fight? Her to say she loves him?

"He killed my parents!"

The brown haired ninja said as she charged at Fayre again. She blocked and knocked the girl's feet out from under her and pinned her to the ground. The brown haired ninja punched Fayre in the stomach and she grunted as she fell to the ground. The brown haired girl moved and pinned her down.

"He's not the person he used to be, he's changed!"

Fayre yelled up at the girl and I saw her eyes narrow. I felt Gaara tense beside me when she pressed a kunai to Fayre's throat.

"You're blinded and you'll die protecting that murderer!"

The girl said.

Gaara moved to interfere, but Temari stopped him. We looked at her and she pointed down at the two below. We turned back to see Fayre grab the girl's arms and flip her overhead. She scrambled to her feet, picked up her fallen kunai and charge at the girl. They tumbled out of view and silence fell in the clearing.

"I don't know about you bro…."

I said to Gaara as I stared at the place where Fayre and that girl had disappeared.

"But I think Fayre likes you more than Naruto. Did you hear the amount of emotion in her voice when she defended you?"

I asked and he looked at me before looking back at the ground.

-Fayre-

The girl had gotten away from me and was running towards the river. I chased her down and threw my kunai, pinning her to a tree. I heard her grunt as she struggled to get free. I pulled one kunai from the tree and pressed it to her throat making her still in her efforts to escape.

"Why do you think Gaara killed your parents?"

I asked and she narrowed her light purple eyes at me.

"The one who sent me told me."

She said and I sighed.

"Who sent you?"

I asked and when she didn't answer I pressed the kunai against her throat making her bleed.

"Meratee."

She said and my eyes widened at the name of the Sound ninja that was known throughout all of Suna as a mercenary. He hates all tailed beasts and wants them dead.

"He told you that Gaara killed your parents? Gaara hasn't killed anyone without cause in years. He's a changed person. Does he have any proof that Gaara was the one who killed them? How do you know Meratee didn't kill them and said Gaara did it to piss you off so you'd kill him for him?"

I asked and she narrowed her eyes at me. She kicked me away from her and tried to attack me again. I sighed as I dodged her. I was really getting tired of this.

I grabbed her arm and slung her down to the ground and pinned her arms behind her and held them down with my knee while I pressed my kunai to her throat.

"Go ahead and kill me!"

She yelled up at me and for a brief moment I thought about doing just that, but she'd been lied to by Meratee. I let her up and got to my feet.

"Why are you letting me go?"

She asked as I resheathed my weapon.

"Because, you were lied to by Meratee. He hates all tailed beasts and would stop at nothing to have them eliminated."

I said.

"That has nothing to do with anything. Gaara killed my parents two years ago with the use of Shukaku."

She said and that only confirmed my suspicions that Meratee had lied to her.

"That's seems kinda hard considering he hasn't had Shukaku inside him for the past five years."

I said and her eyes widened in shock as she realized what I had. She fell to her knees and I walked over to her.

"Not again."

She said and now that I was this close up I noticed the kanji for truth under her left eye.

"Gaara didn't kill your parents, Meratee did. I know the pain of losing those close to you, if you'll accept my help then I promise to help you kill Meratee for what he's done."

I said and she looked up at me as if trying to see if I was lying. Something apparently made her see I wasn't and she nodded.

"Thank you."

She said as she got to her feet.

"No problem, just promise me you won't try to kill my Kazekage anymore."

I said and she smiled at me.

"You've got yourself a deal."

She said and I sighed as I looked up at the sky. The sun had set and it was getting dark.

"Where did Meratee send you from?"

I asked.

"Believe it or not, Konoha."

She said and I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Alright. Let's set up camp here and come up with a plan."

I said and she nodded. I'm not sure when, but at some point in time we got off the topic of killing Meratee and got to telling each other about ourselves. By the time we fell asleep we'd become friends.