Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Walking Corpse	By : suomynonakun Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 7267 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Naruto could feel the eyes on his back as he walked. He and Gaara walked at the very front of the group, as close as possible to one another to keep the demons relaxed. Fortunately, having Gaara at his side also kept the others from confronting him with the questions he knew they all had, particularly Kakashi and Sakura.
Temari and Kankurou were at the back of the group, ready to go if any attacks came from behind.
�Do you think this is a good idea?� Naruto said quietly to Gaara. Kyuubi�s feelings were running through his veins and he fought down a blush as the fox put certain dirty thoughts into his mind.
Gaara continued looking ahead. �It isn�t long.�
�It doesn�t take all that long, Gaara,� Naruto said.
�You don�t want to go back?� Gaara asked, changing the subject.
�No.�
�Why?�
�I�m afraid I won�t be able to leave again,� Naruto told him.
�They won�t let you?� Gaara asked.
�I don�t know,� Naruto answered, thinking about Sasuke.
�Then I will stay and make sure they do not stop you,� Gaara said.
Naruto looked at him in surprise. �Gaara, you don�t have to do that.�
Gaara didn�t answer.
The gates of Konoha eventually came into view and the ninjas in the group never felt so happy to see their small village. Several Anbu came out to meet them, already expecting their arrival. Medical nins also came out, instantly helping the injured to the hospital.
Temari and Kankurou moved to the front of the group, Temari taking the position next to Naruto while Kankurou stood next to Gaara.
�Ninjas of the Sand,� one of the Anbu said in surprise. �We were not informed that you were to visit.� He turned to one of his masked comrades. �Go find the captain,� he said.
Naruto closed his eyes. He knew there would be no way to avoid Sasuke, but he didn�t want to see him as he stood flanked by the sand siblings, covered in blood that was mostly his own, trying to ignore the fox, who desperately wanted Naruto to stick his tongue down Gaara�s throat.
�That won�t be necessary,� Shikamaru said, stepping forward. �They helped us when we were ambushed and I asked them to accompany us here in case we were attacked again.�
The Anbu nodded and Naruto relaxed when he saw that no one was going to get Sasuke.
Sakura walked up to them. �Naruto, you should get to Tsunade-sama,� she said, noticing that blood had begun to seep through the clean bandages she had wrapped around his arm a few hours before.
Naruto nodded and headed towards the village. Everyone watched as Gaara followed, not removing himself from his side. Temari and Kankurou exchanged glances. They had thought they were going to leave once they made it to Konoha. They trailed after Naruto and their brother, wondering what had changed.
~*~*~
Sasuke knew someone was behind him, but he didn�t turn. He was too focused on venting his frustration on the tree in front of him. Bits of bark went flying as his leg continuously kicked at the trunk, and his knuckles were bleeding from punching the rough surface of the tree.
It wasn�t enough, Sasuke realized. He wanted to break the tree; to hear it splinter and crack as it fell over.
Gripping his left wrist with his right hand he summoned up a massive amount of chakra to his palm. He rushed at the tree, shoving his fist through it and watching with a self-satisfied smirk as it leaned precariously before finally falling with a loud crash.
And yet, as he stood panting over the broken tree, he didn�t feel any better.
Finally the man behind him spoke.
�Sasuke, I know trees tend to be difficult and tricky opponents, but I�m not sure you needed to use Chidori on it,� Kakashi said, peering at the younger man over the latest edition of Come Come Paradise.
�What do you want, Kakashi?� Sasuke said, wiping the sweat from his brow as he turned to look at him.
�You didn�t come greet us when we got back,� Kakashi said.
�I�ve been training.�
Kakashi grew serious and closed his book, placing it in his pocket.
�What happened during the battle the other day?� he asked. �Kyuubi surfaced. Why?�
�I don�t know,� Sasuke said, wanting anything but to talk about Naruto.
�Does it have something to do with why Naruto pretended to be dead?� Kakashi persisted.
�I don�t know,� Sasuke said, beginning to get angry. He wasn�t talking about this. He spent the last three hours training and destroying trees on the training grounds so he wouldn�t think about Naruto, he didn�t need Kakashi bringing him up again. He pushed past his old sensei and began to head home. �Ask Naruto if you want to know,� Sasuke sneered, knowing full well that Kakashi wouldn�t be able to.
Sasuke nearly tripped over his own feet at Kakashi�s next words. �I would, but between Tsunade and Gaara he�s never alone.�
Sasuke turned around so fast that Kakashi had to wonder if he�d given himself whiplash. �What?�
�As soon as we got back Tsunade ushered him into surgery, and Gaara has been in his room ever since.�
�He�s here?� Sasuke said, breath catching.
�Yeah, it�s weird though. Naruto seems to really trust him, but they almost killed each other when they were twelve,� Kakashi said.
Sasuke blinked in confusion before he understood what Kakashi was talking about. �No, not Gaara. Naruto. Naruto is in Konoha?�
It was Kakashi�s turn to look confused. �Yes. He came back with us earlier.�
Sasuke didn�t even say goodbye, turning and taking off towards the hospital.
When Sasuke reached the hospital he quickly found Naruto�s room number. He purposely strode down the white hallway, not really sure what he would say when he got there. He just needed to see him.
Lost in thought, he almost didn�t hear the voice say his name. �Uchiha Sasuke.�
Standing across the hall from Naruto�s door were Temari and Kankurou, the latter of which had called out to him. Kankurou was leaning against the wall with his arms folded; the white sack-like object that he normally carried on his back was propped up next to him. Temari�s tall metal fan was next to her and she was leaning comfortably on it.
They were glaring at him, and he stared back evenly.
�I�m surprised you�re here,� Temari said.
�Why is that?� Sasuke asked, not really in the mood for this, but humoring them.
�Well, we heard you tried to kill Naruto a couple of times. Why bother checking on his welfare now?�
Sasuke was surprised but his stoic face did not show it. How would they know about that? Only he and Naruto knew exactly what had happened at the Valley of the End. Kakashi had told him that Naruto had not told anyone when he had been brought back to Konoha, and Sasuke certainly hadn�t spoken of it.
Kakashi had said something about Naruto trusting Gaara. Had Naruto told them?
�Why is that any of your business?� Sasuke asked.
�Naruto is important to us,� Kankurou said. �We saw him through some of his worst times.�
Sasuke�s face did show some of his surprise then. When had this happened? What were some of Naruto�s worst times? He knew more about Naruto than anyone in Konoha and still he felt as though he knew nothing about the other man at all. But these strangers knew so much.
Naruto had gone to them for help?
�If you try to hurt him again, though, you won�t have to deal with us,� Temari said. �However, Gaara won�t be very forgiving.�
�If I recall,� Sasuke said, fists clenching. �Gaara, tried to kill Naruto himself.�
Anger was rising in him. Anger at them for implying he�d ever hurt Naruto again. Anger at Gaara for even wanting to protect Naruto. Anger at Naruto for going to the Sand siblings instead of him. But most of all, anger at himself for being the cause for it. He had betrayed Naruto and tried to kill him. How could he expect the other man to trust him after that?
�Yes,� Kankurou agreed. �But Gaara wasn�t his friend at the time, was he?�
Sasuke didn�t know what to say to that. He turned and knocked on Naruto�s door, waiting for the muffled �Come in� before he entered.
Naruto was sitting up in the hospital bed, a pillow behind his back and his bandana�d head leaning against the wall. His eyes were closed, but when Sasuke entered and gently closed the door they opened, brilliant blue orbs looking at him.
�Sasuke,� Naruto said with a small smile.
�Naruto�� Sasuke moved forward, but stopped when he noticed Gaara sitting on the other side of Naruto�s bed, watching him unblinkingly. His eyes narrowed when he saw Gaara�s hand resting lightly on Naruto�s uninjured arm.
Of course Sasuke had no way of knowing that the hand was there to pacify the beasts inside of the two men. Unfortunately, even though the demons stopped attempting to take over, the contact did nothing to quell the desires they were putting into their hosts, even if they were not the feelings of the actual men.
Both blue-eyed men were watching him, but there was warmth in Naruto�s eyes that Gaara could never accomplish. Sasuke finally got his voice back.
�Are you okay?� he asked, ignoring Gaara, whose gaze hadn�t left him.
�Yeah,� Naruto responded. �Tsunade-baba used chakra to heal the bone after the surgery this time so if I get into a battle again, hopefully the worst that can happen is I may tear open the stitches.�
�How long are you staying?�
�Until Tsunade tells me I can leave,� Naruto said, not meeting his eyes.
Sasuke had a lot he wanted to say, and all of it he wanted to say in private. Glancing at Gaara, who was still watching him, Sasuke realized that the red haired man had no intention of leaving.
Sasuke stood for a long moment staring at Naruto, who stared back, a hint of sadness in the blue depths of his eyes. And since Gaara didn�t seem to need to blink, he was staring as well.
Naruto finally broke the silence. �Gaara, can you give us a minute?� he said. Only then did Gaara�s gaze shift from Sasuke to Naruto, and after observing him for a moment, he silently stood, going to the door and leaving.
Naruto paled slightly as Kyuubi began to struggle. He�ll be right back, bastard fox, he said silently, hoping the demon would calm down. To his surprise Kyuubi listened, and began restlessly pacing instead of attempting to take over. It was a useless struggle when Naruto was awake anyway. At least for the time being. Once the seal was weakened, Kyuubi had a chance.
Sasuke moved closer to Naruto�s bedside. �I didn�t realize you and Gaara were so close,� he finally said, not quite masking the harsh edge to his voice.
�Yeah, well, we have a lot in common,� Naruto said with a shrug.
�Don�t compare yourself to him,� Sasuke said. �He has a lust for blood that you�ll never have.�
�Don�t judge him, Sasuke,� Naruto said, becoming serious. �He�s been betrayed too many times in his life to not be bitter, but he�s also not the same person that we met as kids. Besides, I feel the blood lust in me just as he does. I almost killed you two days ago, or did you forget?�
�That wasn�t your fault,� Sasuke told him with a shake of his head.
�It�s not my fault, but it�s my responsibility. I�m putting everyone in danger here.�
�You are the reason we even survived that battle. Without you using Kage Bunshin we would have probably died,� Sasuke said, moving over and sitting on the side of Naruto�s bed.
�Great. I save everyone, then celebrate by eating them all,� Naruto said, rolling his eyes.
�You didn�t eat anyone. You got back control.�
�No. That�s the whole point right there, Sasuke. I�ve never had control. Not one aspect of my life has ever been under control. I didn�t have control over having this parasite put in me, I didn�t have control of the villagers hating me for it, I didn�t have control of you betraying us all, I didn�t have control of having to leave Konoha, and I don�t have control of Kyuubi.�
�You have control of me,� Sasuke said, surprising both Naruto and himself. It was unlike Sasuke to ever admit that someone had power over him. But it was true. As soon as Naruto had said goodbye through Gamakichi Sasuke had known it was true, because never in his life had saying goodbye hurt so much, except when he had tried to do it at Naruto�s grave. Back then he�d dismissed the ache in his chest as guilt, but this time there was no denying it. Naruto was the only person who could make him feel.
�That scares me more than not having control ever has,� Naruto whispered, gazing at Sasuke�s sincere dark eyes.
There was a knock at the door and Tsunade came in, pausing as she saw Naruto and Sasuke staring intently at one another. �Sorry, Sasuke,� she said. �I need to check on Naruto. You�ll need to go.�
When Sasuke exited Naruto�s room he wasn�t sure if he was feeling better or worse. Naruto had made no promises to stay in Konoha.
He walked by all three sand siblings, who silently followed him with their eyes until he was out of sight.
~*~*~
The next afternoon Sasuke and Shikamaru were summoned to Tsunade�s office to give her an account of their mission in full detail.
�Naruto lost control of Kyuubi?� Tsunade said, her face grim.
Shikamaru nodded. �Yes. I don�t know why it happened at that particular time��
�He fell asleep,� Sasuke interrupted. He wouldn�t have them thinking that Naruto lost control at random. They both turned to look at him. He was standing in the corner of her office with his arms folded over his chest. His fox mask hung from his hip. �The snake venom knocked him out.�
Tsunade looked thoughtful. �Well, if that�s the case why doesn�t Kyuubi try to take over whenever Naruto sleeps?�
�It does,� Sasuke told her, his expression stony. �Naruto hasn�t actually slept since he was a teenager.�
There was a stunned silence as Tsunade and Shikamaru let his words sink in.
There was a loud knock on the office door and Tsunade had barely begun to say, �Come in,� when the door opened and Kakashi walked through.
Tsunade sighed at the sight of him. �Kakashi, I already told you I can�t answer your questions, there are things that not even I know the answer to.�
Sasuke smirked slightly.
�Forgive me, Tsunade-sama, but that is not when I�m here,� Kakashi said. �Naruto and Gaara are about to spar.�
�What?� Tsunade and Sasuke asked in unison.
�I thought you should know, since their last fight ended in the destruction of a quarter of the forest,� Kakashi said.
�Yes, Kakashi, thank you,� she said, rising and striding quickly to the door.
Sasuke and Shikamaru were right behind her.
~*~*~
�Rules?� Gaara�s monotone voice asked. He stood about ten feet away from Naruto in an otherwise empty training field. Temari and Kankurou were off to the side, making sure to leave plenty of room to get out of the younger men�s way. If there was one thing they had learned over the years it was that Naruto and Gaara�s spars often covered a lot of ground.
Naruto tightened the hitai-ate around his hair, appearing thoughtful. �No killing one another.�
Gaara actually made the effort to roll his eyes. �I think that�s a given,� he said.
�Well with you you never know,� Naruto said with a grin. �I like to establish the no death rule upfront.�
Temari stifled a laugh and Kankurou smiled. Naruto was the only one who could insult Gaara without being introduced to Gaara�s Desert Graveyard technique. He was also the only person Gaara deemed worthy enough to spar with.
The gourd on Gaara�s back was suddenly lidless and sand began to pour from it as gently as sand in an hourglass. The sand trickled to a stop and Naruto waited for Gaara to make a move.
The red haired man, however, was perfectly willing to wait as well.
After a few minutes Naruto sighed. Gaara knew that patience had never been one of his strong points.
�To hell with it,� Naruto mumbled, raising his hands in front of him and performing familiar seals. He smiled. Kyuubi had managed to heal up his arm to the point that he only felt a small discomfort now, nothing compared to the sharp pains of before. �Kage Bunshin no jutsu!�
There was a cloud of smoke and five Naruto�s now stood before Gaara. Gaara knew that Naruto had some sort of plan, otherwise he would have summoned a lot more clones and run at him, though they had sparred enough that Naruto knew that that approach never worked.
Naruto fingered the kunai and shuriken in his pouches on his waist. They usually served to distract an opponent or throw them off guard, but what was the point when sand moved to protect Gaara without the other man even having to think about it? His finger brushed across a scroll and his eyebrows rose.
Sakura and Lee had been coming to train when they saw five Naruto�s and Gaara facing off. They worriedly wondered if it was an actual fight until they saw Temari and Kankurou calmly watching from the sidelines.
�Are they sparring?� Sakura asked, when they reached the two siblings.
�Yeah,� Temari said, watching Naruto and wondering what kind of plan he was developing.
�Oh!� Lee said excitedly. �Think they�ll care if we watch?�
Temari shrugged. She and Kankurou heard a few more people approaching them quickly, but neither turned to see who it was. Averting your eyes during one of these spars could mean missing a key move.
Naruto and Gaara�s matches were more like chess games than spars. Naruto of course had to do most of the thinking and it was always interesting to see what he came up with to try and get past Gaara�s defense. His speed was sometimes enough, if he was able to come up with a good enough distraction. They also had to pay close attention because sometimes simply watching them proved to be dangerous since both men tended to use their more dangerous and deadly moves on one another.
�What is going on here?� they heard the Hokage demand when she drew even with them.
�Naruto and Gaara are sparring,� Lee said in excitement, his own plans for training completely forgotten.
Kankurou chanced a glance at the Hokage, noting that the shadow user, the silver haired copy ninja, and the Uchiha were with her.
�I don�t think this is a good idea,� Tsunade said, stepping forward to intervene before things got out of hand.
�I wouldn�t, Hokage-sama,� Temari said. �Naruto�s about to make a move and when Gaara gets started�well, it�s best to let them finish.�
�Don�t worry,� Kankurou said. �They already established the no killing rule.�
Six pairs of astonished eyes turned towards the siblings, who were watching the younger men intently.
Sasuke made to move forward, not planning on watching Naruto get hurt again, but one of the Naruto�s suddenly pulled a scroll from the pouch around his waist. Biting his thumb, he opened the scroll, smearing blood along the length of it before closing it once more.
With the scroll still in his hands he began performing a series of seals and Kakashi recognized the technique.
�Summoning no jutsu!� Naruto said, slamming the scroll into the ground.
A huge cloud of smoke blocked all visibility. When the smoke began to clear everyone watching stared in bewilderment at the whickered man, who was standing with his hands on his hips looking distinctly proud of himself.
They had been expecting something impressive, a large frog or maybe even Gama Bunta. They had not expected to see hundreds of frogs the size of Gamakichi hopping all over the clearing asking one another whether or not there were snacks.
�He�s still a moron,� Sakura said in amazement. Lee nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.
Gaara, however, was still watching him intently, treating him as no less of a threat.
�Hope they can run, Naruto,� he said, then finally made a move.
Sand that had poured from the gourd earlier rose into the air, splitting into small balls that were then hardened by Gaara�s chakra. The balls of sand began to rain down upon the small frogs like hail.
�Of course they can run. They�re cowards,� Naruto said as the frogs began shrieking in high pitched voices and hopping all over the training field, trying to avoid the sand. The frogs that were hit would yell, �Ow!� before disappearing with a pop.
All in all the battle had turned to chaos, which seemed very fitting when dealing with Naruto.
�Where are you?� Gaara asked, calmly watching as more frogs began to disappear.
Sasuke, Kakashi, Shikamaru and the sand siblings had been wondering the same thing. Sakura and Lee were confused at the question, but Tsunade realized what Gaara was asking and wondered how she had missed it before. There had been four clones of Naruto before he had summoned the frogs, but afterwards he was standing among the hundreds of frogs alone.
Suddenly one of the frogs to Gaara�s right turned into Naruto, who said, �Right here!� before tossing two kunai at him. One flew at Gaara and was blocked by his sand; the other flew off target and landed uselessly behind the sand ninja.
with a flick of Gaara�s wrist, sand flew into the attacking Naruto, who disappeared upon impact.
�One,� Gaara said.
�Kage Bunshin and Henge,� Lee said in amazement.
The sand hail hadn�t stopped and the frogs were still squealing as they hopped around.
There was a pop and another frog became Naruto, who immediately tossed two kunai at Gaara�s left side. These two both made contact with the sand shield but had no effect on Gaara, who sent sand crashing into this Naruto, turning him into nothing but a cloud of smoke.
�Two,� Gaara said.
With a loud cry another Naruto appeared in place of a frog, tossing several shuriken at Gaara only to watch them bounce harmlessly off the sand. A fist of sand dispatched that clone quickly as well.
�Three.�
Shikamaru shook his head. �He�s fought Gaara before,� he said to Sasuke. �He knows weapons won�t get past Gaara�s sand. He�s wasting his time.�
Kakashi nodded and Sasuke didn�t say anything.
They expected Gaara to wait for the fourth clone to emerge and were surprised when he suddenly stretched out his arm. All of them except for Tsunade understood what this motion meant and watched as Naruto, who had been standing calmly across the clearing, saw the sand fly towards him with wide eyes. He attempted to get away, but sand he hadn�t noticed on the ground grabbed his ankles and held him still.
The hand of sand wrapped completely around the struggling Naruto until they couldn�t see him anymore. They watched to see if Naruto would find a way out of his prison but after a few moments of silence they assumed the spar had been won by Gaara.
Tsunade gasped, Sakura stifled a scream, and the others froze in shock when Gaara closed his fist, causing the sand to crush Naruto.
Only Temari and Kankurou seemed unfazed.
Shikamaru was the first to notice that the blood that always seemed to accompany Gaara�s Desert Graveyard was not present.
There was a pop and smoke slid gently out from between the sand.
�Four,� Gaara said, dropping his arm and returning his attention to the several remaining frogs.
Sasuke nearly sunk to the ground in relief. He was certain his heart had stopped when Gaara had closed his fist. Looking at the pale faces around him he realized he wasn�t the only one.
What was Naruto�s plan, Kakashi wondered. The real him must be out among the frogs, but he had no idea what good that was going to do him. The frown on Shikamaru�s face told him that even the young genius hadn�t figured it out yet.
Gaara began aiming sand at each remaining frog.
�Rasengan!� came a loud call from behind him.
�Where did he come from!� Kankurou asked.
�The kunai,� Kakashi said, having just realized it himself. �The first kunai that the clone threw. It missed Gaara and landed behind him.�
�He transformed himself into a kunai?� Lee asked.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura exchanged knowing glances. It was not the first time Naruto had used such a technique.
Gaara had been caught completely by surprise. There had been no frogs behind him. Where had Naruto come from?
He had just enough time to crouch and put his hands on the ground, causing a thick wall of sand to fly into the air, blocking him from Naruto. Gaara did not relax, though. He backed away from the wall, performing several seals.
Naruto crashed through the sand wall, and wound up sinking the Rasengan into a great amount of sand that had taken the shape of a fat raccoon wearing a hat.
�The ultimate shield,� Lee breathed.
�What?� Sakura and Shikamaru asked.
�That is Gaara�s ultimate defense,� Lee said, remembering the goofy looking thing from the fight with Kimimaro so many years before. �What is that jutsu that made Gaara have to call on that?� Lee asked, watching Naruto dislodge his hand from the sand.
�That is the Rasengan,� Tsunade answered. �Only three people have ever mastered it. Naruto, Jiraiya, and the fourth Hokage.�
They looked at her in amazement then gazed back at the young man who had just used such a powerful jutsu. He was whining at Gaara. �Using your giant raccoon isn�t fair!� he said, pouting.
�You use Rasengan and I�ll use the Shield of Sukaku,� Gaara said, impassive as ever.
He reached out his arm and sand flew at Naruto, who quickly found himself surrounded. He struggled but soon he was cocooned.
�Give up?� Gaara said.
�Like hell!� they could hear Naruto yell from inside the desert coffin.
When Gaara closed his hand slightly Sasuke made a move to stop him. He would not watch Naruto be crushed to death.
�Relax, Uchiha,� Kankurou said. �Gaara won�t hurt him.�
�Besides,� Temari said. �With Naruto�s chakra control Gaara couldn�t crush him anyway.�
�What do you mean?� Sakura asked.
�Naruto can make his chakra surround him and harden, like an invisible shell,� Temari said. �It�s sort of like Gaara�s armor of sand, except Gaara�s does it on its on. Naruto has to think about it.�
Kankurou nodded. �So if he�s distracted he can still be hurt. But in a case like this the sand won�t be able to crush him. Gaara is just increasing the pressure to make him uncomfortable.�
The ninjas of Konoha stared at the sand that housed Naruto. Was such chakra control even possible? Not even Tsunade had heard of anything like it.
Sasuke suddenly thought back to the night he and Naruto had fought in the hallway of Hokage Tower. A shield of chakra. That must have been why Naruto was unaffected by Chidori.
Gaara�s hand tightened a bit more. �Done yet, Naruto?� he asked.
Naruto didn�t answer, but Gaara could hear the whispering of seals. He raised an eyebrow. Perhaps the match wasn�t as over as he had thought.
�Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu!� was yelled from inside the sand. Several of those watching looked at Sasuke, who was wide eyed. That technique was rare to know, in fact most fire techniques were exclusive to the Uchiha clan. Those who had on the rare occasion seen Sasuke perform the jutsu knew that a lot of flames must be coming from Naruto�s mouth. But with nowhere to go�what would happen to Naruto as the fire remained contained in the sand?
�He�s a fire fox. Fire calls him out.�
Sasuke stared at the ball of sand. What was Naruto doing?
From the outside the sand looked no different, but Temari and Kankurou could see by the way Gaara�s hand began to shake that something was definitely going on inside. Suddenly the sand began to glow red and they could feel the intense heat it was giving off, even from their distance.
�Glass,� Shikamaru said suddenly. Everyone looked at him in confusion. �If you heat sand at a very high temperature it becomes glass.�
They looked back at the sand and sure enough it was gradually becoming transparent. They could see Naruto standing in the center, unharmed as flames flew around his body. The sand began to melt away from him, becoming a pool of liquid glass on the ground. Naruto leapt to the ground avoiding the glass and stopping the fire jutsu, grinning at Gaara with red eyes that quickly receded to blue.
Naruto then ran at Gaara and they all waited for the sand to leap up and block him. It was a surprise to everyone when Naruto tackled Gaara, who would have landed painfully on his back, but his sand shield caught him before the impact and gently laid him down, Naruto sitting smugly on his stomach.
�Why didn�t the sand block Naruto?� Kakashi said.
�It can tell if there is harmful intent,� Temari said. �Otherwise no one would ever be able to touch him.�
She and Kankurou smiled as Naruto continued to straddle their brother, excitedly saying, �What did you think of that, Gaara? It took me forever to think of a way to defeat your damn Desert Coffin.�
Gaara raised his eyebrows, feigning indifference but a tiny smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth as the twenty five year old on top of him acted like he was twelve.
Sasuke watched the scene with a mixture of anger and jealousy.
This was the first time he had seen anything that even resembled Naruto�s old personality. Around him Naruto was always quiet and almost depressed, but with Gaara he seemed�happy.
Tsunade, Kakashi and Shikamaru were discussing the spar with Temari and Kankurou, and Sakura and Lee were involved in a conversation of their own. Sasuke was the only one paying attention to the two that were still on the field. Naruto was still explaining how he had come up with the glass idea, his eyes closed as he remembered a particular detail.
It was then that Gaara�s eyes flickered over and met with Sasuke�s blazing gaze. Calmly, never removing his sand colored eyes from Sasuke, he slid his hand up Naruto�s leg and rested it on his thigh, an action the man on top of him either didn�t notice or didn�t mind.
Sasuke clenched his jaw, waiting for Naruto to make him remove his hand, which was now slowly inching up his thigh. Finally Naruto�s hand reached for Gaara�s, but instead of slapping it away he just gently removed it from his leg and intertwined their fingers instead.
�Gaara,� he whispered, gazing down with a smile into Gaara�s eyes, which had turned back from Sasuke to him.
Sasuke felt his breath catch and backed away, before turning and stalking off, ignoring the intense ache in his chest.
~*~*~
Naruto smiled down at Gaara, whose eyes had changed from a yellowish brown to his usual pale blue, then let go of his hand.
Gaara looked disoriented for a moment, then realized what had happened. �Sorry, Naruto,� he said, looking up at the man sitting on him.
Naruto stood, offering him a hand and pulling him to his feet. �It�s my fault,� Naruto said. �I shouldn�t have gotten so�physical.�
When he�d felt Gaara�s hand on his thigh he knew Sukaku had gotten brief control of his friend. It had happened to both of them over the years, especially when they spent too much time together. Naruto had infused some hot chakra into Gaara�s hand when he�d held it, discreetly waking the other man up.
That was the only good thing they could see about the attraction. When the demons took over and the other one was around they didn�t immediately try to go on a rampage and kill everything in sight. Unfortunately they usually ended up molesting the other demon�s holder until they were woken up.
�I think we upset Uchiha,� Gaara said as they walked towards the group of people near Temari and Kankurou. Naruto hadn�t even realized anyone else was there.
Naruto looked at him in alarm. �Sasuke was here?�
�Yes. Sukaku seemed to be deliberately trying to provoke him.�
Naruto bit his lip. Maybe it was better that way. If Sasuke was upset with him he wouldn�t try to stop Naruto from leaving. For some reason though, leaving under such bad terms seemed impossible.
�Gaara, will you be okay if I go off for a while?� Naruto asked, wanting to be sure the other demon carrier would be able to handle the ruckus that their respective demons were sure to create when they were separated.
�Of course,� Gaara said, sounding affronted that Naruto even had to ask.
�I�ll see you later,� Naruto said, taking off towards Sasuke�s house, hoping that was where the other man had gone.
~*~*~
A/N: Hmmm. Well, Sasuke and Naruto obviously need to have quite a chat. Again, those of you who love me, I love you too. Those of you who love my story, I�m sure it loves you as well. Those of you who love Gaara, well� he a complex guy, I can�t say whether or not he loves you. And those of you who love Sasuke, I think he�s in love with someone else. Sorry.

Also, if the previous links to the fanart I received didn't work, go here to check it out:

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/dazdnconfusd730/fanart.html
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Walking Corpse