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Chemistry	By : acidprince Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Rock Lee/Gaara Views: 1184 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto as it belongs to a genius called Masashi Kishimoto. I make no money from writing fanfiction.

Chapter List
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Comments: Hopefully things will get a little more interesting this chapter and the plot will make a bit more sense, too. Thanks for the reviews, enjoy~

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The two nin who had apparently been using the Henge looked far too similar in their real appearances to not be related. They each had thick black dreadlocks wrapped around wooden D-hoops at the ends, though the woman's hair was far longer than the tall, broad man whom Gaara presumed to be her brother. She herself was taller and fuller-bodied than most women in Suna, and, judging from the bodies of the dead kunoichi, the women of her home country, too. They were tanned, quite heavily pierced and had five small, upside-down triangles in semi circles beneath each of their eyes; a pattern that was tattooed around their bodies. The equipment they had been wearing was currently being removed from the room; face respirators and gas masks, the same as the ones their comrades had been wearing.

"Any clues as to why they were using the Henge?" Temari asked, to no one in particular.

"You got me. They were covered nearly completely by all that equipment they were wearing, why did they want to disguise their identities..?" Kankurou replied, hands shoved in his pockets as he swung on a nearby chair, Karasu propped up against the wall.

"They weren't trying to hide from us. They were traitors," Gaara said, "or something to that extent. Undercover shinobi for an external force."

His brother and sister were silent for a moment. "That's possible, but what kind of external force would send them on a dangerous mission to such a distant country if their identities were so important?" Temari asked.

"One that wants internal information, perhaps," the redhead replied contemplatively, "but we don't know anything at this point. We won't until they're interrogated."

After a minute or so, Kankurou sighed. "As if this shit pile of a situation wasn't complicated enough," he grumbled, standing. "I'll go make the arrangements for the investigation," he added as he swung Karasu behind him and strapped him to his back.

Temari watched her brother leave the quiet of the hospital room, and then glanced at her other one. Gaara looked as though he were plotting to destroy the particular patch of linoleum flooring he was staring at, his brow furrowed and eyes deep with thought.

"Gaara," Temari said softly.

Gaara didn't look up. "It's my fault," he muttered.

"No, its not-"

"Do not lie to me. It is my fault I didn't see any of this. It is my fault Suna is in danger. It is my fault my soldiers are dead."

Temari was silent for a few minutes. "I wouldn't lie to you. It is not your fault. This is all a big misunderstanding that will most likely be sorted out in a few months."

"That's awfully naïve for you. And what of our shinobi? How many more of them will die as a result of a 'misunderstanding'?"

Temari didn't reply. She knew from experience that this slightly hoarser voice was of a different entity than her usual Kazekage. This was the troubled, hurt and far less rational side to her brother that was best left alone until it dissolved away once more, and was replaced by the cool, collected one who had come to rule their village.

"You need to go home," Temari said finally.

Gaara didn't answer. He simply walked over to the window, slid the large pane open and hopped out onto the many buildings of his home.

*

Gaara returned to the village in the early hours of the afternoon. After he had changed into his robe of office and eaten something, he made his way to the hospital to see how their guests were doing. The guards on either side of the door saluted as he approached, and the Kazekage nodded before opening the double doors to find his brother on the other side. As he glanced over to the beds, he noticed that the girl had woken up, though her brother was still unconscious.

"Hey, bro."

Gaara nodded. "How long has she been awake?" He asked, looking back at his brother.

"Some time this morning."

"Has she said anything?"

"No. She's been like that all day."

The woman was sat cross-legged, eyes closed and with a concentrated expression. She appeared to be meditating, and could've been the only one in the room for all she seemed to take in.

"She better say something soon unless she wants to be tortured." Kankurou said disinterestedly.

She flinched, and Gaara didn't miss it. "She can understand us," he muttered quietly.

"What?"

"Just then. She flinched. She knows our dialect."

Kankurou glanced over at the girl, who still had her eyes closed, though he sensed a slight difference in the movements of her chakra.

"If you don't want to be put under interrogation, I would suggest you start talking," Gaara said, and despite apparently not knowing who she was talking to, she visibly shrunk back at the tone of his voice.

Her eyes opened and she opened her mouth to speak. She appeared to be looking for the right thing to say.

"So, those Interrogation Squad guys really know how to get people to speak. Shame most of their friends don't make it…"

"All right, all right, I'm speaking, okay?" She said finally, exasperated.

Gaara and Kankurou were silent.

After a few minutes, the woman began to speak. "My brother and I are not loyal to the group who attacked you."

"Well, we kind of guessed that one when your Henge cancelled," Kankurou replied. Gaara silenced him with a glare that read 'shut up before she goes silent again'.

"My name is Noriko, and we are the indigenous people of Atom Country- I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. We used to be a non-combative mining village in Gold Country. But then, Gold's government declared us a sub state and invaded." Noriko paused, looking down at her palms, which were scarred with what had probably been deep slashes. "They used our home as a testing ground for nuclear weaponry and before we knew it, we were pushed to the borders and forced to live in ghettos, near the labs, testing ranges and power plants while they lived in the houses we built. To them, we were Untouchables. Sub-human. It wasn't long before we were test subjects, too. Shin and I lost our parents to those bastards."

"That was when I was five. Shin was seven, and we were taken in by our neighbours- they didn't have any children. All that radiation floating around really does stuff to a foetus, you know…" Her brow furrowed and she seemed to be getting angrier and angrier with every word that she said.

"What does this have to do with the attacks?" Gaara asked. Kankurou shifted.

She didn't seem to hear him. "Anyway, after a couple of years, our adoptive parents started going to these meetings. We didn't know what they were at first, but then they began this physical training regime." She looked up to face the two men. "I was fascinated. Such strength… I used to watch my father train in the little courtyard behind our house, and I still remember asking him to teach me… He refused at first, but he gave in after a while, and Shin and I started getting stronger, just like mother and father."

"When I turned eleven, he told me and Shin that we were now a part of history. I didn't get it at first, but that night he woke us up at two in the morning… I remember it so clearly, despite how tired I was… me, Shin, mother and father were walking down a clay staircase to a basement with all these other people. After a few minutes, this man stood up and started talking about the 'plan'."

"They were Anarchists." Gaara said, arms crossed.

Noriko looked at the redhead and nodded. "Yes. We were going to take our home back. We are taking our home back," she declared strongly, not breaking eye contact.

"Well, that explains what you were doing undercover," Kankurou replied, "but not what you were doing attacking our Kazekage."

Noriko's face took on a distasteful look. "The leaders of Gold Country were rich enough to begin with. The gold mines created more than enough wealth but it wasn't enough for them. Nuclear Weaponry is a highly desirable product- and a pricey one. They sought to sell it as a commodity and thus, increase their wealth. It's despicable. They don't care whose hands it falls into, they don't care who they kill. They just want the money in their pockets."

"So they began making deals with governments," Gaara assumed.

"Yes. But according to their intelligence, you didn't pay up."

"That would've been our father," the redhead replied.

Noriko was silent for a moment. "What?"

"I am twenty years old, I have been in office for five years. From our intelligence, this deal was made eleven years ago, when I was nine. My father was Kazekage before me. He's the one who made that deal, and he is now dead," Gaara explained, "and considering that whatever it was he 'ordered', so to speak, was never delivered, we do not have any obligation to pay."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean they're going to just let it go," Noriko replied.

"What?" Kankurou asked, piping up for the first time in a while.

"Those scumbags aren't the type to just write something like this off. They're going to want something for their time."

Kankurou and Gaara were silent. At that moment, Temari walked through the door.

*

It took a while to explain to her what was going on, and her reaction to the information was the same.

"They expect us to pay for something we never wanted or received?!" She exclaimed. "That's-that's bullshit!"

Kankurou blinked at his sister. It wasn't often her heard her swear. "Look, sis, I know its ridiculous, but I'm sure with some negotiation-"

Noriko laughed bitterly. "Don't even bother. You'll be wasting your time - and blood - travelling that distance just to talk to a brick wall."

"I would rather pay in money than in blood," Gaara declared, "what sort of money are we talking here?"

"Well, the identity of the Gold kunoichi I stole didn't have rights to access that department, but I did some snooping anyway. It's a considerable amount, but with how… 'delayed' the payment has been, they're bound to slap a load of interest on top of that. Probably more than this country can afford, unless you borrow it from your allies."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Gaara asked. "It's looking like war is the only option here."

There was a dark silence.

"…Probably. But it might not be the kind of war you're thinking about."

"What kind of war is it, then?" The redhead asked.

Temari could feel something deep moving in her brother, something darker than what had emerged the night before.

Noriko blinked and looked at the floor with an apprehensive sigh before tilting her head back up to face the others. "The Organisation… We need all the support we can get. The testing and sickness caused by the experiments and our lack of resources have almost decimated our population. There are so few of us, we need as many supporters as we can get."

Temari chimed in. "This weaponry… just how advanced is it?"

Noriko looked down at her palms. "I don't believe its on a level where it could deal huge amounts of damage- as far as I'm aware its mostly secret attacks and minor weaponry at this stage. But that's just what I know. Everyone - even the shinobi who work for the government - are so deliberately cut off from it, they could be at any stage of developing a major warhead."

Gaara turned to leave.

"Thank you, Noriko-san," Temari said as she turned to follow him.

"When will my brother wake up?" Noriko asked, just as Kankurou was leaving.

"Not long, he was hit with the same Genjutsu attack as you." He said. "Try and get some rest."

*

"Gaara, where are you going?" Temari called, trying to keep up with the Kazekage's pace as they hopped over Suna's rooftops.

Gaara didn't answer. He was heading towards his office, seemingly deep in thought with his brother and sister not far behind.

When he arrived, her took out a paper scroll and sat down at his desk, picking up his pen and immediately scribbling symbols over it.

'Naruto,

Once again, Suna finds itself in need of assistance from its allies. A situation has arisen of which we are not able to deal with alone.

Gaara began to describe the details of what Noriko had explained in his letter.

Having explained all of this, I suggest that we hold a meeting in Suna at the earliest date possible to discuss the matter further.

Gaara'

Temari had arrived at some point during his letter and was raving about how they couldn’t possibly go to war after only recently having come out of the last one*, how they couldn't trust the words of a woman who had betrayed the group she had arrived with, and how the situation sucked in general.

"Temari," Gaara said after a few minutes. Kankurou had now arrived too and was doing his best to melt into the wall of his brother's office, seemingly deep in thought.

"What?"

"Calm down. I'm not going to act yet. I'm going to send this letter to Naruto requesting his presence. Do you think you can arrange a meeting of the council, or do you need a tranquilizer?" He asked calmly, though his voice sounded more tightly controlled than usual.

Temari rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Yes," she replied.

"Good." Gaara turned away from her and marched down toward his office door to make his way toward the Aviary.

*

The meeting of the council was fairly uneventful save for a thick sense of suspicion looming over the large, circular table. A traitor, or someone who knew of one, was seated amongst them, and whoever it was, they were causing a great deal of misery.

Gaara left after a few hours of the councillors going round in circles with their suggestions, theories and strategies, not to mention their ever-so-subtle accusations dipped in diplomacy. It was going nowhere, and Temari had told Gaara to leave and get some rest whilst she dealt with it- evidently she could feel the dark side of the redhead beginning to surface, hungry and eager for carnage.

If it were to truly let loose it would destroy the door, the walls and of course much of the Kazekage's furniture, but the redhead didn't feel as though that would be happening tonight. But just to be safe, he wasn't going to sleep. Instead, he sat at the desk in the corner of his office, with the ornamental marble lamp he'd been gifted at his Inaugural Ceremony lighting up the beige and red room.

Gaara's next few days were spent doing much of the same thing, though frequently interrupted by meetings of the council that were still, for the most part, unfruitful. So Gaara found himself either returning home, doing paperwork or on several occasions, such as today, wondering the desert, hoping for something to surprise him. The darkness within him had been coiling convolute and sickening for the last few days, so much so that he didn't think he could contain it for much longer.

The redhead sat down on a small rock formation that didn't look too jagged and took a swig of his water. He stared at the sandy floor beneath his feet, deep in thought, and then he glanced behind him at the distant chasm his village was protected by. From where he was, he could just see the tips of its tallest buildings, but nothing else. If they couldn't decide on how to deal with this situation with as little blood as possible, the prospect of war was a real threat… but Gaara didn't feel like doing any more clearing up after his father. Plus, it hadn't been long since they'd won the War, so their numbers were much lower. That, and their newest blood, Suna's genin and chuunin, were split between being bent on avenging their lost loved ones and fearful of what combat would do to them.

Gaara ran his slightly bony fingers through his dishevelled red locks, dislodging a little sand the wind had thrown into it. If it was money they wanted, he was more than willing to pay to save the lives of his soldiers. But at the same time, he couldn't allow the two nin who had come as a part of the assassination squad to go home without any support for their agenda- if what Noriko had told them was really the truth. However, that would inevitably create war between Suna and Gold, which was just what Gaara was trying to avoid. The world had seen enough carnage, at least for a few years, and the fact that Gold was manufacturing nuclear weaponry added to the mix of things to be worried about.

Gaara sighed and rested his head in his hands, leaning forward on his knees. Though he was used to the heat of the desert, Gaara could feel it was hotter than usual today. So when he saw an oddly-shaped, distant green blur out of the corner of his eyes, he assumed it was due to the heat and ignored it. When it got bigger, he looked up and blinked at it slowly. When it appeared to be screaming, Gaara's eyes widened. Within a few seconds one Rock Lee was passing him, flinging a wave of displaced sand in the Kazekage's direction. But Gaara's green eyes stared hard at the glittering particles just centimetres in front of his face.

Lee skidded to a halt a few feet away and landed flat on his backside. But he got up quickly enough and stood next to the redhead, panting only lightly and saluting.

"Rock Lee, reporting for duty!" He hollered. "It is an honour to be a part of our villages' youthful alliance once again!"

Gaara blinked at him.

Lee slowly took his hand down from his head and smiled brightly. "Hello, Ga- I mean, Kazekage-sama. Long time no see. How have you been?" He asked, slightly more calmly this time.

"How fast did you run coming here?" Gaara asked after a moment.

Lee laughed. "You haven't changed!"

"Answer my question."

Lee blinked, but he still felt like grinning. "Well I didn't pay much attention to my actual speed, but Naruto and the others are probably not far behind."

As it turned out, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi were, in fact, about a day behind him, which meant they would probably not arrive until the early hours of the following morning- and that was if they didn't stop to sleep.

Lee shifted a bit awkwardly as Gaara showed him to his spare bedroom. "Sorry…" He said, unhooking the radio from his neck. "I really didn't think I was going that fast…"

"It's fine." There were something of an awkward silence that followed (not that Gaara would've noticed), but then the redhead simply turned to walk down the short hallway, dumped his heavy gourd on the floor beside the wall and took off his long black coat, hooking it over a nearby chair.

The Konoha nin watched him silently as he stepped into the quite obviously disused second bedroom, taking in the Kazekage's form. It had been about two years since Lee had last seen the other man, but he'd certainly changed physically. It seemed that Gaara had reached his final growth spurt, though he was still considerably small.

Lee, on the other hand, had really grown since the War. He was now around four or five inches taller than Gaara, his facial hair had really taken off (though he tried to keep it as clean and shaven as possible), and his eyes were not as large as they once had been. But of course, they were still round and deep pools of black, and his hair was still in his trademark bowl cut.

After he had placed his things on the bed that was obviously going to be his for the night, he followed Gaara's footsteps to what was a modest, round kitchen with walls made of sturdy bedrock, a small, circular table, long, thin windows with wooden shutters and all the basic appliances. Gaara was standing at a sink and filling a kettle with water, which he carried over to hob before he turned to face the other man, leaning against the counter and folding his arms.

Lee suddenly felt a bit awkward, but he didn't break his gaze. He had, of course, noticed how Gaara had grown since he'd last seen him, but now the other man's coat was off he could really see just how much. Gaara was much broader around the arms and chest, though it might've been because he was standing with his arms folded. His hair, still messy, still deep vermillion, brushed his shoulders and spiked madly at top, just like Naruto's, and his eyes were still as green and piercing with their accompanying black rings.

Lee adverted his eyes, looking at a random sandstone floor tile. "So uh, how are things?" He asked, tucking his hands into his back pockets and trying to look anywhere but Gaara's face.

Gaara furrowed his brow, puzzled. "Did Naruto not tell you? 'Things' are bad. We might be going to war."

Lee winced inwardly. He should've expected that. But war? That would be terrible! And here he was, nearly drooling over the Kazekage! "Oh. Yeah. Yes. Right," he replied.

Things were silent for the most awkward few seconds of Lee's life, but then the kettle began steaming on the hob, and Gaara reached over to turn it off.

They sat down at Gaara's table and Lee hummed in contentment as he sipped at the warm cup of tea. Nearly an entire day running at high speed without any refreshment really dehydrated the body.

"How are the talks going with the council?" Lee asked, feeling a bit more relaxed.

Gaara gave a slight scowl. "Unproductive. The conceited fools just keep going round in circles with their accusations and ridiculous plans."

Lee was silent for a moment. "That bad?"

Gaara nodded. "How is everyone in Konoha?" He asked, not out of manners, but out of genuine intrigue.

Lee glanced at him and grinned. "Fine, thank you for asking! Everyone is now truly in the Springtime of their Youth."

"Okay," the redhead answered. "Is Naruto a good Hokage?"

"Yes, he is. He's very kind and tries to take care of everyone."

"But still a loudmouth, right?"

"What Konoha citizen isn't?!" Lee beamed, grinning widely.

The corner of Gaara's mouth twitched slightly, but it didn't quite make it into a smirk. He had missed this. The war had been harrowing and had seemed to drag on for longer than it lasted, but the moments of camaraderie had kept them going; had kept Gaara going. They reminded all of them what they were fighting for, what they were risking their lives for.

Lee yawned widely, covering his mouth and excusing himself.

"You should get some sleep," Gaara said, "we have a long day ahead of us."

*

Even with the presence of an ally, the board meetings were still unproductive. Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura had arrived early in the morning and had already had a meeting with Temari, Kankurou and some of Suna's Interrogation Squad, but Gaara and Lee were making their way to the conference room, where they were waiting outside in the hallway.

Sakura immediately clocked Lee over the head.

It probably would've fractured a normal man's skull, but, as if to prove her point, Lee's skull was just too hard. "Ow!" He exclaimed, rubbing his head.

"What did I say about running ahead on important missions like this?!" The pink-haired woman screeched. "What if Naruto had been attacked too?!"

Naruto laughed whilst Kakashi ignored them, re-reading a copy of one of Jiraiya-sensei's books.

"Gaara-kun! How are ya dude?!" Naruto grinned, turning to face the redhead. He did look strange in the official robe of office. Hopefully the idiot didn't wear it on his way to Suna.

"Fine," Gaara said, "we have much to talk about. We'll speak more later." With that, he walked past the group and into the Conference Room, sitting down with the few councillors who had arrived before them.

The meeting lasted around three hours, in which time they had decided that they would first find out if what Noriko had said about them being unlikely to let it go unpaid was true, and explain their situation to them via messenger bird. But they still hadn't come to one regarding whether or not they were going to fight them if that was what it would come to.

Gaara dumped his gourd on the floor with much more anger than he usually would. The sand inside gave a minor swirl, reacting to his anger and keen to play. Three hours to decide on practically nothing. Sitting down on the sofa, Gaara ran his fingers through his hair and sighed to himself. Then he blinked tiredly and yawned.

Slightly puzzled, the Kazekage lifted his head back up and thought back to when he last slept. It actually hadn't been that long ago. How strange… it wasn't often his body gave out so quickly, not someone who had been an insomniac since childhood. So Gaara ignored it, instead standing and walking over to the maroon curtain that separated his living room and office to do some work.

About an hour later, Gaara suddenly became incredibly drowsy. He dropped his pen, holding his suddenly very heavy head in one hand. He groaned quietly, and then slumped down on the desk, his head resting on the many papers littered about the surface.

*

…Was this better? I'm really not sure. Please tell me what you think! C&C is much appreciated.

*If you're up to date with the manga, you'll know what I'm talking about.
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Chemistry