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
- 8
- 9
- 10
Tsunade and Jiraiya looked up in surprise when Sasuke burst through her office doors. He�d actually used the doors this time since the hole he�d made several days before was now boarded up. Tsunade was sitting behind her desk ignoring the stacks of paper work littered across it and Jiraiya was leaning comfortably in the chair in front of the desk.
�Is he okay?� Sasuke asked the Sannin.
Tsunade blinked at him before answering. �He�s fine, Sasuke, but��
�Can I see him?�
�Sasuke,� Tsunade said, biting her bottom lip. �He�s not here.�
�Where is he? In the hospital?� Sasuke asked.
�No, Sasuke, he left. He�s not in Konoha.�
They couldn�t see his face under his Anbu mask, but his suddenly rigid body told them that the news wasn�t being well received.
�When did he leave?� he asked in a low voice.
�A couple of hours ago,� Tsunade informed him.
Sasuke turned, preparing to follow him.
�Sasuke, he was with Gama Bunta,� Jiraiya told him. �You�ll never catch them.�
Sasuke rounded on them and Tsunade idly realized that even though the wooden mask�s expression never changed, it was amazing how, when the wearer was angry, the fox face seemed somehow more menacing.
�Why did you let him leave?�
�I didn�t want him to go either,� she said. �But I can�t force him to stay, especially now that we know Orochimaru cannot posses him. He wanted to go.�
Sasuke could feel his chest tightening as Naruto�s departure really sunk in. He�d left him again. Of course, it was selfish to say Naruto had left him. Both times Naruto had left he�d left Konoha. Sasuke was simply just another person living there.
The consuming loneliness Sasuke had lived with all of his life, the loneliness that had slowly begun to abate with Naruto�s sudden presence, suddenly hit him with a force that nearly took his breath away.
There was a �pop� and Sasuke looked at Tsunade�s desk to see a large orange frog sitting comfortably on her paperwork.
�Pop said to tell you that the kid�s fine,� he said to Jiraiya.
�Where is he?� Sasuke asked, swiftly moving towards the desk.
�I�ve been forbidden to say,� the frog said, his mouth curling into an amphibian�s version of a grin.
Sasuke roughly pulled his mask off, sending a piercing glare at him. The frog seemed unaffected.
�I�ll talk to you later, pervert,� he said with a wave.
�You�ve been spending too much time with that brat, Gamakichi,� Jiraiya muttered, fondly remembering a time when all the frogs (except for Gama Bunta) used to treat him with respect.
�Wait!� Sasuke exclaimed as the frog prepared to go. He kneeled in front of Tsunade�s desk so he was eye to eye with Gamakichi.
The Sannin both stared at him, but he ignored them.
�Can you at least take him a message?� Sasuke asked.
Gamakichi studied him for a moment before nodding his consent.
�Tell him I thought that Uzumaki Naruto never ran away. He�s just a coward who talks big, but doesn�t follow through.�
Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged glances. They had expected something more, well, sentimental, but this was Sasuke after all.
With a nod of understanding Gamakichi disappeared, leaving smoke hovering over Tsunade�s desk.
Sasuke stood, paying no attention to the Sannin and stalking towards the door.
A �pop� followed by �Yo, kid!� announced Gamakichi�s return.
Sasuke turned and Gamakichi continued. �He said, �If protecting my friends means being a coward, I don�t want to be brave.��
�Tell him that sneaking off while no one is here is not protecting us. It�s running away from us so you don�t have to face anyone.�
There was a �pop� followed by a silence as the three ninja awaited Naruto�s answer.
A �pop,� then, �No one will want me there anyway when the village finds out who I am.�
Sasuke was about to growl at the frog to tell Naruto to stop making stupid excuses when Tsunade spoke, surprising him, Jiraiya, and Gamakichi. �I want you here.�
There was a pause and Jiraiya added, �So do I.�
Gamakichi looked at Sasuke, as if asking whether or not he should deliver the messages. Sasuke raised his eyebrows and shrugged. The frog took this as a sign to go and disappeared.
He returned a few minutes later. �He said, �Thanks, Tsunade-baba, Ero-sennin, but could you give us a second?�� The frog looked pointedly at the door and Jiraiya took the hint, standing and walking around the desk to grab Tsunade by the arm. The blonde woman did not seem pleased about being forced to vacate her own office, and she was probably even less pleased that she would be missing the rest of the conversation.
When they were gone and the door was shut Gamakichi gave Sasuke the rest of the message. �Sasuke, just forget about me, I need to stay isolated. Don�t worry; I�m used to being alone.�
�So am I, and I�m tired of it!� Sasuke exclaimed. �Please, just tell me where you are. We can be alone together.�
�Pop.�
�Pop.�
�That�s an oxymoron, moron.�
�Shut up, dobe.�
�Pop.�
�Pop.�
�You shut up, asshole.�
�What a response,� Sasuke said with a snort. �Get your ass back here so I can kick it.�
�Pop.�
�Pop.�
�That�s not all you�d like to do to my ass, is it Sasuke-kuuun?�
Sasuke had to give the frog credit, he was giving the messages probably exactly the way Naruto was speaking them.
Gamakichi almost laughed at the pinkish tint Sasuke�s cheeks now had.
The Anbu hesitated with his answer, wondering just how far he should push it. Well, fair was fair.
�No, Naruto-chan that�s not nearly all.�
Sasuke had caught himself off guard with that response so he wasn�t surprised to see Gamakichi staring at him.
�Pop.�
Sasuke quickly sat down in Jiraiya�s vacated chair, putting his head in his hands. What was he doing?
Just because Naruto had kissed him once in the heat of the moment didn�t mean Naruto actually had any feelings towards him other than friendship.
In fact, Sasuke didn�t really know if he had feelings for Naruto, save for the fact that he wanted to grab the other man and kiss him senseless, despite him being miles away.
Seconds turned into minutes and Sasuke began to fear that Naruto wasn�t going to respond.
�Pop.�
Not looking up, Sasuke didn�t notice Gamakichi smile at him. It was not the grin he�d been wearing earlier, more of a sad little smile. �He said, �That is the reason I can�t come back. If you won�t protect yourself from me, I�ll have to do it for you. I�m sorry, Sasuke.�� Sasuke didn�t move and Gamakichi continued. �Sorry kid, but he told me not to wait for a response.� The orange frog was about to leave but stopped. �Oh, by the way, he also told me to tell you that you are the only one he�d let do anything to his ass, kicking or otherwise.�
With that Gamakichi disappeared, leaving Sasuke slumped in the chair.
~*~*~
He�d only just said good bye to Gama Bunta and set off on his own five minutes before Gamakichi had appeared with Sasuke�s message. It had been unexpected, to say the least, but fortunately, with Sasuke being so far away Naruto had been able to keep his wits about him.
Lately the dark haired man had been managing to surprise him whenever they conversed/argued. Be it punching him or kissing him, Sasuke was continuously catching him off guard, which was not an easy task considering Naruto was once Konoha�s number one surprising ninja.
Despite not being face to face, Sasuke had surprised him again with his response to Naruto�s teasing remark about his ass.
When Gamakichi had relayed the message he could feel the heat rise to his face and, judging by Gamakichi�s grin, his blush was more than obvious.
After sending Gamakichi off with a final message for Sasuke, Naruto began walking up the road, mulling over Sasuke�s words in his mind. Was the other man just playing along with the teasing that Naruto had started? Or did he mean the words?
He shook his head. It didn�t matter at this point. He had left. Naruto continued walking, with no destination in mind except for �Away from Konoha.�
He was finally on his own again for the first time since he had traveled to Konoha. It was what he�d been wanting from the start.
So why did he feel so miserable?
Naruto ignored the feeling and veered to his left, disappearing into the forest that ran parallel to the road. The sun was setting and Naruto wanted to remain off of the main roads. He knew from years of experience of living on the road that after dark thieves and bandits prowled the roads for weary nighttime travelers to prey on. Normally it made no never mind since Naruto was perfectly capable of defending himself from common thieves, but Tsunade had warned him not to use his arm as much as possible until it healed. It was bandaged and pulled up in a sling that was draped loosely across his shoulder. It still throbbed painfully from the surgery and Naruto was more than happy to avoid any unnecessary fighting.
As he walked through the forest the sun fully set, and the only dim light he had to walk by now came from the crescent moon. Long shadows of the trees stretched across his self made path as he picked his way around fallen logs and foliage. It was a cool night, an indication of the fall that was rapidly approaching. Naruto made a mental note to see about getting a jacket in the next town he visited. Short sleeves were fine for August, but even in the fire country winters could be brutal.
Naruto had been traveling for a good while when the sounds of a battle reached his ears. It was some ways to his right, not in the direction he was heading at all. He paused in his walking, torn between checking it out or continuing on. He could barely use his arm, so seals and two handed fighting was out of the question.
He had almost decided to ignore the battle when a familiar chakra presence caught his attention. Kyuubi obviously felt it too and Naruto grit his teeth, forcing the fox�s sudden surge of chakra back.
�Stop advertising our presence, baka,� Naruto muttered to the fox. Chakra like that was bound to catch someone�s attention, especially him. Naruto could feel the fox�s sudden desire to go after him and even Naruto�s curiosity was piqued. �I suppose it couldn�t hurt to take a look.�
~*~*~
Shikamaru had awoken with a start to the shouts of those on guard duty.
�Ambush! We�re under attack!�
The Konoha ninja were awake and alert in moments, prepared to fight. Even most of the injured were ready, ignoring their pain.
Kakashi and Sakura dropped from above him, landing in crouches and armed with kunai. The three remaining Anbu stood in various positions around the clearing, each masked and their katana unsheathed.
When the attack came it was from all sides. It only took a glance at the slashed forehead protectors of their enemies to realize that Orochimaru wanted to finish off the small remainder of their force.
The battle began and Shikamaru couldn�t help but notice the extremely low odds they had of surviving. They were wounded, outnumbered, and surrounded, not to mention that three of their best shinobi were in Konoha. A Sannin, Anbu captain, and extremely powerful Kyuubi vessel would have definitely come in handy right at the moment.
Sakura dodged the sword of her opponent and backed away to place some distance between them. Sakura was not a battle ninja. She was a medical ninja, and a damn good one at that. She was intelligent and had amazing chakra control, but these traits only went so far when a man was trying to skewer you with a katana.
Leaping away from a swing of the sword that likely would have cleaved her in half; she pulled four shuriken from the pouch on her hip, tossing them at her attacker, who easily deflected the stars with his sword. He threw a kunai at her and in her haste to dodge she tripped, twisting her ankle painfully as she fell to the forest floor.
Her attacker appeared before above her, dark eyes glimmering in unspoken victory.
Sakura immediately began gathering her healing chakra. If he struck her someplace that wasn�t instantly fatal she could possibly heal herself. Possibly.
He raised the sword and brought it down at her. Her eyes widened in surprise as a figure came between her and the sword wielder, using a double edged kunai to deflect the sword.

The attacker stumbled and backed away, taking in his new opponent. He was obviously one of the wounded, for his left arm hung uselessly in a sling. The sword user smirked. It was noble of this guy to protect the woman, but it was stupid of him to try and fight with only one arm. He would take care of this fool quickly.
Raising his katana he flew towards the man, prepared to make the final blow to his unguarded left side. There was only so much a man could do with one arm and a kunai. Bringing the katana around in a powerful swing he could only stare in surprise when the man twisted slightly, crossing his right arm across his body and once again using the kunai to stop the blade�s momentum.
They stared at one another, locked in that position. The swordsman used the strength in both arms to try and force the edge of the blade into the other man while the other man managed to steadily hold the katana back with only his kunai.
With only the tiniest flash of victory in his eyes, the sword user saw one of his comrades throw two kunai at his opponent�s back. He increased the pressure of his sword on the kunai, keeping the man�s attention on him.
His dark eyes widened in surprise when the man sidestepped the kunai about to strike him and they flew by their original target, slamming into his chest. He fell to the ground, lifeless.
Placing his kunai back into his pouch, Naruto turned to check on Sakura, who had used the opportunity to heal her ankle and was now gingerly standing.
�You alright, Sakura-chan?�
When she recognized him she could only gape in surprise. Naruto�s hair remained covered, but his face was no longer masked and he stared at her with an expression of concern.
She had had faith in Tsunade being able to heal him, but still�seeing him standing in front of her was surreal. She had lived for the past ten years with the understanding that he had died, it was as if she was in a dream.
She snapped herself out of her daze. �I�m fine. How did you get back here?�
Naruto shrugged with a grin that seemed so familiar, yet so out of place on his face. �Long story.�
Sakura eyed his bandaged arm. �Should you be fighting with your arm hurt?� she asked.
�No,� he answered, glancing around. His eyes settled on something he didn�t particularly like the looks of. �Be careful, Sakura, I�ve got to go take care of this.� And just like that he was gone.
~*~*~
The problem with Shikamaru�s shadow jutsu was that using it in the middle a battle with many enemies left him wide open for other attacks. Unfortunately he�d had no choice in the matter. He had been identified as the leader, and twelve Akatsuki had decided to come at him at once. Shikamaru was the first one to admit he was not good at fighting sheer numbers. Naruto, now he was a man for numbers, so were Sasuke, Tenten, Lee, and many of the others. He, however, was much better with one on one combat, and if he couldn�t do that he�d at least need time to think about a way to defeat a dozen men at once. Now, of course, he had the problem of holding twelve men in his jutsu while attempting to dodge any attacks from behind. Not to mention he still wasn�t exactly sure what to do once the jutsu broke, which would be anytime now.
A kunai was tossed at his back just as several shuriken came whizzing at him from his right and he realized dodging both attacks was not going to be an option. He sidestepped the kunai, and, had anyone had a chance to watch they would have seen the humor in the situation as the twelve men under his jutsu all moved to the side in unison, growling as their bodies refused to listen to them.
He braced himself for the hit of the shuriken but only heard the dings of metal on metal as someone stood next to him, blocking each one with a kunai.
�Don�t think I�m letting you die and get off the hook for keeping secrets from me, Shikamaru,� Ino said when the shuriken had all fallen to the ground.
Shikamaru looked at her, smirking. �Are you talking to me now?�
She raised an elegant eyebrow. �I don�t know what you�re talking about.�
Shikamaru�s smile fell suddenly as he began to feel the familiar strain of holding his jutsu. �Hope you�re ready to fight twelve unhappy guys,� he said tightly.
�You�re kidding,� Ino said, blonde ponytail flipping over her shoulder as she turned her head quickly to observe the men he was holding. Ino�s strength at fighting large numbers was not much better than Shikamaru�s since using her specialty jutsu left her even more defenseless than Shikamaru�s. .
�I wish,� Shikamaru said as his shadow suddenly retracted back to him.
The men remained still for a moment, surprised at their sudden ability to move. Then as realization came over them they grinned, moving towards the two and quickly surrounding them. Shikamaru and Ino stood back to back, both holding a double bladed kunai in each hand.
The men rushed at them, several at a time. Shikamaru and Ino tried to remain back to back to avoid being split up but the men quickly managed to separate them, four continuing to attack Ino, while Shikamaru was surrounded by eight enemies of his own.
Shikamaru didn�t have the chakra left to try and use Kagemane no jutsu again, not when he needed to stop that many people. One of the several men managed to connect a punch to his face and he stumbled backwards into another one, a giant muscled man. Shikamaru�s head barely came up to his chest. He grabbed Shikamaru�s arms, twisting them behind him and forcing him to drop his kunai. He felt the air in his lungs leave him as one of his attackers used his incapacitation to throw a heavy punch to his stomach.
When Shikamaru looked up again there was a man in front of him, a kunai raised. He struggled, but the grip on him only tightened and with his arms behind his back he couldn�t do any seals.
Ino had managed to kill one of the four men she was fighting, but the other three were relentlessly attacking. With a kick to the abdomen she managed to knock one of the men away from her for a moment, giving her a chance to check on Shikamaru.
He was surrounded by at least eight men, a large one holding him steady as he struggled to break free. A shinobi stood in front of him, ready to stab him with a kunai. He was going to die, she realized in horror. He was going to die and she had wasted her last day with him being angry over something that he had had no control over.
�Shikamaru!� she cried, but as she attempted to help him one of her attackers blocked her way and she was forced to block several jabs of his kunai.
Shikamaru heard Ino�s scream but was unable to see her through the circle of people around him. He struggled harder, but stopped as the man in front of him slashed down with his kunai, aiming for his heart.
There was a grunt of pain and a lifeless body dropped to the ground.
Shikamaru looked up in surprise to see Naruto had leapt above the circle of men, throwing a kunai into his would-be killer�s back before landing in the center. Naruto sternly regarded the men around him. �Eight on one isn�t exactly fair, now is it?� he said.
The man holding onto Shikamaru spoke. �How about six on one then?� his deep voice asked, nodding to his comrades who began to close in on Naruto. Naruto pulled a kunai from the pouch on his hip, dropping into a fighting stance.
The burly man laughed. �You�re friend is rather foolish, no?� he asked Shikamaru. �Taking on six men with only one arm�he can�t even use seals like that.�
Shikamaru didn�t say anything but he had to agree. Although, after the conversation in Sasuke�s kitchen he wasn�t overly surprised at Naruto trying to take on more than he could handle. He just hoped he wouldn�t be the witness to Naruto�s actual death.
The men came at Naruto quickly, and they were amazed at the speed he was able to use to dodge the continuous slashes they made with their weapons. When one of their number cried out and fell to the ground they paused in surprise, watching as Naruto swiftly pulled his kunai from the man�s chest, ignoring the blood that splattered across his face.
�Five to go,� he said, flipping the kunai around in his hand for a better grip.
�Cocky, aren�t you?� one of the ninja�s said. He had a slashed Hidden Mist hitai-ate tied loosely around his neck and a long scar ran down his cheek.
�There�s a difference between cocky and confident,� Naruto said meeting his gaze.
�And you should be neither in this situation,� the mist ninja said, raising his hands to form a seal. Four water clones appeared next to him, upping the number of enemies from five to nine.
This would have been no problem if he could use the Kage Bunshin no jutsu, however, that was slightly out of the question. They came at him again and Naruto found himself under a pile of men and clones.
Kakashi could see that something was going on in the center of the clearing. He had heard Ino cry out to Shikamaru earlier and he could only hope that neither one of them was wounded or worse. He unfortunately had no way of getting to them to help. He was fighting five enemy shinobi who were all skilled at taijutsu, which was the one thing that the sharingan had trouble with. Wishing he could switch off with Gai, who would have a much easier time with this than he was, he managed to send a kunai with an exploding tag into a nearby tree where one of the shinobi he was fighting was lying in wait. He nearly groaned when two more ninjas took their comrade�s place, actually raising the number of enemies he was fighting to six.
Near him were Neji and Tenten in their Anbu gear and masks, easily slicing anyone who attempted to attack them.
On the other side of the clearing Kiba had to leap out of the way as Chouji barreled by him. The other man was nearly double his normal size and was rolling so quickly the next thing he came into contact with was going to be flattened.
Akamaru barked at the rolling man. �Watch where you�re going Chouji!� Kiba hollered.
�Sorry, Kiba!� was the response.
Chouji had managed to take out his two opponents, Kiba realized, and using the momentary break he bent down to rub his still sore thigh, which had begun to painfully throb with all the exertion. Akamaru whined at him, knowing he was hurt.
Kiba was about to pet him in reassurance when a handful of shuriken came flying at his head. He ducked and rolled away, struggling to his feet as the throwing stars imbedded themselves into the tree that had been behind him.
Akamaru was at his side in an instant.
Kiba took stock of his opponent. He had only just thrown the shuriken and he had three more between the fingers of his right hand, and two kunai in his left. Noticing all the weapons pouches the man had along his pant legs, Kiba realized that this was a man who favored taijutsu and weapons, just the type of person Kiba didn�t really have the ability to deal with at the moment. His leg throbbed again, reminding him of his hindered speed.
With a grin the weapons user threw the shuriken at him, then let the kunai fly at Akamaru, who was too busy watching the shuriken to even notice.
�Akamaru!� Kiba said, scooping up the dog and placing his back to the kunai. There was no way he could dodge them, his leg was nearly ready to give out on him completely.
When no hit came he turned, only to see Hinata standing between him and the weapons user, having caught the two kunai.
�Are you okay, Kiba-kun?� she asked softly, her pale eyes narrowed at the weapons user.
�Yeah, I�m fine,� he said, looking beyond her to the man who had attacked Akamaru. Now he was pissed. Setting the dog down, he took a limping step to stand next to Hinata.
The weapons user just grinned, reaching into the pouches and pulling out several kunai, shuriken, and a few long daggers. �You can only dodge so much,� he said.
�Unless nothing gets thrown,� a low voice said from behind him.
He turned his head quickly to see a man standing behind him, a long white coat covered by a jounin vest and his hands stuffed into his pockets. The weapons user snorted as he took in his sunglasses covered eyes. It was almost midnight; the man probably could barely see anything at all. He raised a two kunai to finish this man off first when he noticed in the moonlight that several black dots were moving along his weapons. Then suddenly there were more, crawling out from underneath his sleeves.
�What is this?� he yelled, trying to flick off what he now realized were small black bugs.
�It�s not worth it to explain,� Shino said, walking past him as more bugs appeared on him and walking over to Kiba and Hinata. His two former teammates were used to seeing this kind of thing and ignored the man as he screamed and frantically tried to remove the growing number of bugs, running off into the forest.
�Shino,� Kiba growled. �I was going to kill him.�
�Not on that leg,� Shino said impassively.
Kiba was ready to angrily respond, Shino was ready to quietly ignore him, and Hinata was ready to shyly try and interject, a scene the three had played out many times over the years, but a loud yell of �Gai-sensei!� got all of their attention.
Gai and Lee were taking on nearly twenty men, and the three shinobi were about to go help when they realized neither man needed it. The yell they had heard was actually Lee calling out in awe, tears of joy streaming down his face as Gai twisted and kicked three men several feet into the air, all the while laughing his booming laugh.
�See Lee-kun!� he said loudly. �You do not have to be young to have great strength!�
�Gai-sensei!� Lee cried, knocking two men out with fists over his shoulders, not bothering to turn and look at his opponents. �You are truly the greatest shinobi in Konoha! Even though you are so old!�
�Lee-kun! I am glad you think so!�
Kiba, Shino, and Hinata exchanged glances as the two green clad men continued sending their opponents flying away.
�I know I can be loud, but at least I�m not a moron,� Kiba said, shaking his head.
�Who lied and told you that?� Shino asked, turning to go back to battle.
�You son of a��
�Kiba-kun, please calm down!�
And everything was normal with the former Team Eight.
When Shikamaru saw Naruto disappear under the large group of men he tried again to get away from the man who held him, but the grip on his wrists only tightened and he realized that if he moved any further he was going to break his wrist.
Naruto felt himself hit the ground, painfully landing on his left side. White hot pain shot up his already wounded arm at the contact. He rolled to his back as a kunai slashed towards his head, landing in the dirt next to him. This was no way to fight. Ignoring the pain in his left arm he clenched the fist on his right, feeling the familiar tingle of chakra beginning. He hadn�t planned to use this technique on a bunch of ninjas that normally wouldn�t be worth his time, but he now had no choice. This was the only technique that he could do with no seals and one hand, even if it had taken him years of practice to get it that way.
The ninjas on top of him looked down in confusion as a blue light began to fill their vision. All they heard before they were blasted away was �Rasengan!� They were dead before they made contact with the ground.
Shikamaru, his captor, and anyone in the area stared at Naruto in shock as he struggled to his feet, his right hand smoking. When the ninja�s of Konoha quickly returned their attention to their battles, their opponents were gone. They all looked around in confusion, tightly holding their weapons, prepared for a trap.
A sharp breeze had begun to blow.
Kakashi knelt down by where his two opponents had last stood, tracing his fingers through the sand on the ground.
Naruto ignored the sudden disappearance of enemies. His narrowed blue eyes met the wide eyed gaze of the man who had Shikamaru.
�Going to let him go now?� he asked.
The burly man snorted, twisting Shikamaru�s arm so sharply that the brown haired man grimaced in pain and fell to his knees to reduce some of the pressure that was on it. With one swift movement the man had pulled out a kunai and had it pressed against Shikamaru�s exposed neck.
�Shikamaru!� Ino cried, now free to see what was going on since the remaining two men she was fighting had disappeared.
�Come near me and I�ll kill him,� the man said, pushing the dagger closer to Shikamaru�s throat to prove he was serious.
�You�re surrounded,� Naruto said. �How far do you think you�ll get if you kill our leader and comrade?�
�My allies will keep you all busy,� he said.
�What allies?� Naruto asked, gesturing around the clearing, which held only Konoha ninjas and dead bodies.
�Wh-where did they go?� he stuttered, beginning to panic.
�Looks like they deserted you,� Naruto said with a malicious grin. Those who could see his face shivered. That was not the type of expression they had ever seen on Naruto when he was a boy.
�Well,� the man said with sudden grim determination. �If I�m going to die, I�m going to take as much of you Konoha bastards with me as I can.�
�No!� Ino, Chouji, and several others from the rookie nine called, all of them moving forward in a futile attempt to stop him from slashing Shikamaru�s throat.
�What?� the man said in shock, trying to move his arm, but finding himself unable. Looking down he saw what looked like sand wrapped around his entire arm, not allowing him to move. The sand flowed far off into the woods, its end not visible to those who stood in the clearing. It began to pull his arm, slowly moving the kunai away from Shikamaru�s neck. Then it suddenly jerked the man with a quick movement, picking him up into the air and dangling him there by his arm. The Konoha ninjas watched in amazement as the sand then pulled him into the forest. There was a scream, then nothing.
Ino ran to Shikamaru, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. The pony tailed man blinked at her in confusion before slowly hugging her back. Several of the friends exchanged grins at the scene and began to slowly move towards the center of the clearing.
Naruto remained where he was, only moving once, holding his uninjured arm in the air in a silent warning for everyone to stay where they were. They all listened, standing still.
�Uzumaki Naruto,� a low voice called out from the deep shadows of the forest where the sand had taken the man.
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows, coming into full view of those in the clearing.
They looked towards the trees and those who had taken the chuunin exam together immediately recognized the speaker. They remained where they were, although nothing but grim determination kept Sakura from backing away a few steps. She had seen only half of what this man could do when he was twelve and the thought of him growing more powerful made her stomach flip. Shikamaru and those in from the former Team Eight also felt a growing dread inside them, having had the misfortune of seeing the man in action once before.
A short man stood across from Naruto, his arms crossed over his chest. Ninja garb hung loosely on his gangly body and on his back was a large tan gourd, the cap obviously not on it as sand poured gently from its opening.
Dark shadows surrounded his light blue eyes and his blood red hair stood out in stark contrast to his pale skin. On his forehead was the symbol for love in a deep red color that matched his hair.
�Gaara of the Sand,� Naruto returned calmly.
Two figures stood behind Gaara, nearly hidden by the shadows but Naruto didn�t need to see them to know who they were. �Temari,� Naruto said with a nod to the figure on Gaara�s right, �Kankurou,� to the left.
The Konoha ninjas remained still. The sand siblings were allies of Konoha, however, they were also very dangerous, Gaara in particular. All of the rookie nine, several jounin, including Kakashi and Gai, and Gai�s former team had heard about Naruto�s fight with Gaara. No one but Sasuke and Kakashi knew the details of what had happened; all they knew was that somehow Naruto had defeated Gaara.
From the scowl on his face it seemed that Gaara still held a small grudge.
The Konoha ninjas watched in muted horror as the red haired man stretched out an arm.
Sand that was previously lying unnoticed on the ground leapt up at his command, taking the shape of a hand. With an unspoken command the sand rushed at Naruto, who didn�t move from his position.
�He�s going to get killed!� Kiba said and Hinata�s hands flew to her mouth. They knew what would happen if the hand wrapped around Naruto. The next thing they would see of him would be goo all over the forest.
Naruto didn�t even blink as the hand of sand rushed by him at a speed that rustled his clothing. It flew to a tree behind Naruto where an Akatsuki ninja was hiding, poised to throw a kunai at Naruto�s back.
Gaara closed his hand into a fist and the Konoha ninjas flinched at the strangled cry and sound of crushing bones. Gaara�s arm then returned to cross casually over his chest as the sand began slowly creeping back into his gourd.
�What do I always tell you about watching your back, Naruto?� Gaara said. Most of the people in the clearing watched wide eyed as the red haired man allowed a tiny smirk to cross his features.
Naruto grinned. �What�s the point when you can do it for me with so little effort?�
Naruto broke eye contact with the other man, glancing down at his arm for the first time since he�d started fighting. It was bleeding profusely; a red stain was slowly getting larger on the sling making it obvious that he was hurt. The wound had reopened when he�d been slammed to the ground and sharp pain was now shooting up his arm.
He had refused to let Kyuubi even give him chakra in this fight because he knew that the presence of Shukaku drove the fox insane. Even now he could feel him struggling to take control, if only long enough to get near Shukaku�s carrier. Naruto knew for a fact that Gaara was feeling the same pull within him.
The demons were attracted to each other�s immense power. They could feel the other�s presence even when they were far away, which was how Gaara had known Naruto had not died. He had run into the sand siblings several times throughout the ten years he�d spent wandering. Temari and Kankurou enjoyed his presence. He was like a little brother they could tease without worrying about being killed for it. And although it was only the slightest difference, barely even noticeable except to his siblings, Gaara became protective of him. He understood what it was like to have something inside you constantly trying to get free. They had a strange connection.
Naruto had stayed with them for a few months, not long after he�d left Konoha. It was when Naruto and Gaara realized that the demons were not only attracted to one another�s power did Naruto decide to go.
Naruto and Gaara really knew nothing about demons mating, love, or sexual drives, but they knew the strong pull of the demons towards one another was more than platonic. And the demons began to try harder to break free of their human prison.
They knew they had to distance themselves, so Naruto had left. Whenever they ran into one another the demons acted up, so they kept meetings as brief as possible.
Naruto began to feel drained as he struggled with Kyuubi. There was no way he would loose control and end up molesting Gaara in the middle of a forest with everyone watching. They had unfortunately found out the hard way that the demons didn�t distinguish between themselves and the carriers.
Naruto had used a good bit of chakra during the fight and as he kept Kyuubi back he found that remaining standing was no longer an option.
His knees buckled and he would have fallen ungracefully on his ass if a chair of sand hadn�t suddenly appeared under him. Naruto looked at Gaara, who was watching him impassively.
Realizing that there was no threat of a bloody battle between Naruto and Gaara, the Konoha ninjas began to relax.
After Ino had removed herself from his neck, blushing in embarrassment, Shikamaru began to take a mental tally of their losses. More of them were injured, but somehow they were all still alive. He doubted the outcome would have been the same if Naruto and the sand siblings hadn�t shown up. He knew for certain that he�d have been dead anyway.
But what were they doing here? Especially Naruto, he had just gone to Konoha the day before. The medical nins quickly went to work, moving through the clearing and giving help to those who needed it.
Gaara made his way to the center of the clearing, nodding to Naruto in greeting. Temari and Kankurou followed him and when Shikamaru saw the bits of blood on their clothing he began to get an inkling of where their enemies had suddenly disappeared to.
Several of Naruto�s friends watched in complete surprise as Gaara stood next to Naruto, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder as the other man sat tiredly in the sand chair. It looked as though the normally frightening and emotionless Gaara was actually trying to comfort Naruto.
Onlookers didn�t realize that the close proximity managed to calm the two demons and Naruto was able to relax slightly as Kyuubi became a bit more content with the contact and gave up on his frantic struggle.
Shikamaru ignored his surprise and began walking towards them, Ino hot on his heels. It seemed she had no plans to let him out of her sight any time in the near future. He didn�t particularly mind, for she was quiet and allowed him to think. He needed to figure out what was going on. The sand ninjas were not scheduled to be anywhere near Konoha as far as he knew and Naruto�s presence was especially surprising, more so because he was without Sasuke or Jiraiya.

Sakura followed Shikamaru. She could see that Naruto had once again hurt his arm and she needed to ensure he hadn�t done any further damage.
Kakashi trailed behind the three younger ninjas, hoping to get some answers for once. Also, the silver haired jounin simply did not trust Gaara; especially not after Pakkun had explained the fight Naruto had had with him in detail.
When the four ninja neared the group around Naruto they could hear him complaining. �Could you have waited any longer to join the fight?� he asked, looking up at Gaara, who was staring impassively at the tree above the other man�s head. �I know you were there.�
�We were doing little things here and there,� Kankurou said with a shrug.
�Well, isn�t that nice,� Naruto muttered. �I�m getting dog piled by nine guys and you three were �doing little things here and there.��
�Oh stop complaining, you get more immature every time we see you,� Temari said, leaning lazily on her tall metal fan.
Naruto humph�d and looked away from her with a pout, but Shikamaru noticed the small upward tilt of his lips and the little smile on the fan users face.
They acted so familiar, Shikamaru realized. As if they were friends. Now that he thought about it, none of them seemed surprised to see him alive. Had they known?
�What are you doing here?� they heard Naruto ask. �Last time I saw you was near your village.�
�Gaara felt your most recent��battle� and we decided to see if you had died,� Temari said with an air of teasing. �Looks like we got our hopes up for nothing.�
Naruto snorted. �Sorry to disappoint you.�
Kankurou shrugged. �There�s always next time.�
Naruto shook his head good naturedly. Gaara turned his head to watch Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, and Kakashi approach.
�Gaara of the Sand,� Shikamaru said nodding to him and then his two siblings. �Temari, Kankurou.�
Sakura moved over to Naruto�s left side, leaning down to get a good look at his arm. She was surprised when another chair of sand appeared next to Naruto�s, giving her a way to sit levelly with him. She looked up at Gaara wide eyed, but the man hadn�t removed his gaze from Shikamaru or Kakashi. She also noticed he hadn�t relinquished his grip on Naruto�s right shoulder either.
�Go ahead,� Naruto said, inclining his head towards the seat. He had noticed her hesitancy. �It�s just like a chair.�
Sakura sat down tentatively then carefully removed his arm from the sling and began to unwrap his bandages. Naruto turned his attention to the conversation next to him.
�Tsunade-sama would like to thank you I�m sure,� Shikamaru was saying.
Kankurou spoke up. �Sorry, Konoha isn�t on our way.�
Shikamaru sighed. �I don�t want to beg but you saw what almost happened here tonight. Many of us are injured and the rest of us have been up all night. If we are attacked again there is no way we�ll be able to survive. We could really use your protection.�
Kankurou and Temari exchanged glances before turning back to look at Gaara. When it came down to it he was the one who called the shots. They would do what he said. Especially in this situation.
�It�s only half a day�s walk from here,� Shikamaru said. �Please.�
Sakura called Naruto�s attention to her. �You need to go back to Tsunade,� she said quietly. �I honestly can�t believe she let you leave so quickly. The wound has reopened and it appears that the contact with the ground has re-fractured the bone. This rapid blood loss leads me to believe the bone may have punctured an artery.�
�Can�t you just heal it?� Naruto asked. He couldn�t go back to Konoha now.
�No, Naruto, this isn�t the type of wound that can just be healed with chakra. It might need surgery again.�
�And if I don�t get treatment?�
�You could loose your arm,� she told him seriously.
Naruto managed to remain impassive as Gaara�s hand on his shoulder tightened painfully.
�We will go to Konoha,� the red haired man said. He was looking at his siblings, but Naruto knew that he included in that order.
~*~*~
A/N: I didn�t plan on having the sand siblings in this at all and then they decided that if they weren�t invited they were going to crash. Ah, well.
And to the several of you who have informed me of their love, I love you too, in a purely platonic never met you kind of way. Thanks for reviewing!
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Walking Corpse