Author's Note: Huzzah! Another chapter for you! I hope you like it. It got kind of long on me but I didn't want to break it up because I felt as two chapters they were too short. Sorry for the delay but, I was really disappointed with the reception the last chapter received and it made it hard to work up enthusiasm for this fic. I do want to say thank you so much to the two positive reviewers. Your kind words encouraged me to keep going with this fic despite the vulgar, rude, and completely unconstuctive nature of the third review I got. That said, getting flamed did make me step back from this fic for a few days. I took that time to read some other Naruto fics and reacquaint myself with the characters. Please review and please let me know if you feel I am wandering too far out of character. I haven't watched Naruto in years so I'm struggling a little. Especially on side characters. I still don't own Naruto and I make no profit off this work. Anyway, thanks for reading my ramblings. Now, on with the fic...
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Chapter 36: Dreams, Doubts, and Dates
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Naruto watched in horror as Gaara's blood dripped from his clawed hands. The redhead looked at him with shock and sorrow on her pale face.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..." The blonde stammered; catching the sand user as she started to fall.
Blood poured from her abdomen and soaked Naruto's clothes, turning the sand around them as crimson as his beloved's hair.
"I love you, Naruto." Gaara choked out through blood tinged lips.
Naruto wept as the redhead breathed her last, the blood pooling at his feet.
"That's what killed her." A familiar voice chuckled darkly. "Haven't you noticed it, boy?"
The leaf chunin glared at the Kyuubi; pulling Gaara's body closer as if to protect her, even though it was too late to matter.
"What?"
"Everyone who loves you...your mother, your father, Shukaku's abandoned shell...you kill them all."
Naruto shook his head wildly in denial, tears streaming down his whiskered cheeks. "I didn't...it was you..."
Kyuubi grinned "Only because you were too weak to stop me."
Naruto closed his eyes and gently lowered Gaara's corpse to the ground. "This isn't real. That's not how it happened." His voice shook as he tried to separate truth from dream.
Kyuubi's laughter scraped the air. "Ah...but how long until I get to try again? You can't keep me locked away forever, little leaf."
The monstrous fox snapped up the pale girl's body in one bite and Naruto screamed.
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"No!" The blonde ninja jolted upright, finding himself in a hospital bed.
"Whoa!" A firm hand held him steady as he fought to shove the nightmare induced panic back down.
After a few seconds, Naruto managed to calm down enough to recognize the hands on his shoulders; and the pink haired girl they were attached to.
"Sakura-chan?" He blinked at the mednin dumbly. "What...where's Gaara?"
Sakura gently pushed the blonde back down with an air of irritated fondness. "She was exhausted. I sent her home amd told her not to come back before dawn."
Naruto sagged in relief, finally letting his friend settle his sleep heavy limbs back on the bed.
"She...she was hurt..." The jinchuuriki frowned, remembering.
"Not too badly. A few scratches and bruises. Mostly she just seemed really tired." Sakura assured him with a shrug.
Naruto let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't killed Gaara; not this time. Kyuubi's dream threats lingered in his mind and his mouth was moving before he could even fully process his thoughts; which, to be honest, wasn't really unusual for him at all.
"Do you think me marrying Gaara is a mistake?" He asked shakily.
Sakura blinked. "What?! Why would you say that?"
Naruto chewed his lip, lowering his gaze to the blankets. "Because I hurt her...Kyuubi...I...he...I couldn't control it. It tried to kill her. It...I think it wants to try again and it's getting stronger all the time. Maybe she'd be safer away from me..." The usually brash ninja's voice was heavy with guilt and fear.
Sakura frowned. "Baka!" She snapped, bopping the blonde on his head, gently in consideration for his injured state. "You're the most stubborn person I know. Your the idiot who always keeps fighting, even when things look totally hopeless! Now you finally have something special; something worth fighting for, and you want to give up?"
"No..." Naruto frowned. It did seem pretty stupid when she put it that way. "I just...I don't want to hurt Gaara."
"Then you just have to be stronger than the demon." The pink haired girl offered, as if it should be the easiest thing in the world.
"But...I don't...how do I fight something that's inside me?" Naruto frowned deeper as he pondered the problem.
Sakura sat back in her chair, internally ranting about the idiocy of boys and praising her skills at saving a great romance.
"Well...maybe you should start by asking someone who fought that battle already, and won." She suggested mildly.
Naruto's brow furrowed as he worked out her meaning, and then his whole face brightened and he smiled sheepishly. "Gaara. She was in control of Shukaku."
"Uh huh. So maybe instead of breaking her heart because your an idiot, you should be asking her for help figuring out how to control the nine tails."
"Yeah, I'm sure she can help me figure it out. After all, I can't become Hokage if the villagers have to worry about Kyuubi wrecking the place. I just have to be stronger than it is." Naruto grinned; relief bringing his usual enthusiasm back. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."
"Yeah, yeah. Now go back to sleep, baka. Dawn is in three hours and your fiancee will probably be back before the sun finishes rising."
Naruto laughed lightly. "If she ever even left the building. Did you check the roof? Gaara likes high places when she can't sleep."
Sakura sighed and headed for the door; grumbling about stubborn idiots and sedatives as she headed for the stairs to the roof.
Sure enough, Gaara was perched on the ledge, her pale eyes watching the eastern horizon for the first hint of sunrise.
"Go ahead and get back inside." Sakura ordered with a sigh. "The moron woke up asking for you."
Gaara blinked slowly, wondering how she had missed the girl's approach. Either she was more tired than she thought, or she'd grown to trust Sakura and could therefore ignore her as a threat. The crimson haired teen wasn't sure which possibility disturbed her more.
"On one condition." The pink haired med nin added with a stern look that didn't faze the exiled kage in the slightest.
Gaara tilted her head in question.
Sakura offered her friend a wry smile. "Get some sleep, Gaara-chan. Crawl into Naruto's bed if that's what it takes but you have to sleep."
Gaara stared for a long moment, wondering if Sakura knew how often she'd done just that.
"Thanks." The exhausted redhead said quietly, standing and stretching.
"No...thank you...for bringing him back home safe." The pink haired mednin replied hesitantly. "I...there was a time when I wished he'd drop off the face of the earth. Then, I had to work with him, and I got to know him. Naruto is brash, stupid, annoying, brave, loyal, stubborn, and incredibly brilliant, and at some point the idiot became one of my best friends. He's like an annoying brother. Sometimes he drives me crazy, but I don't want to wake up to a world where he's...not." The leaf chunin grimaced and looked at her feet. "So...thanks...and don't tell him I said all that."
She glanced up to see a small hint of a smile on the taciturn girl's face. "I have a brother like that too." Gaara offered.
Sakura grinned. "They're lucky have us to keep them in line, ne Gaara-chan?"
Gaara huffed in amusement and headed for the door, intent on Naruto and some much needed sleep.
Sakura watched the petite redhead move to the stairs and vanish from sight before she followed.
'They're both idiots.' She thought fondly, as she peeked into Naruto's room a few minutes later.
She was unsurprised to see the couple cuddled together on the narrow bed. Gaara's head was resting on Naruto's chest, her arms holding him like a human sized teddy bear, and the blonde's hand was combing gently through her unruly crimson locks. The young kage was already half asleep.
Blue eyes flickered to the door and Naruto offered his teammate a sheepish smile. Sakura just shook her head and went to check on her other patients. Her mind kept replaying the scene she'd just witnessed and it hit her how lucky they'd been. If the Akatsuki had struck further from the village, or if they had sent fewer ninja out in the resuce party...
'Naruto...no, they all might have died.' She frowned. 'We could be planning funerals right now, instead of a wedding.' The pink haired girl shuddered as she imagined a village without half her friends.
'I won't let that happen. I'll get stronger and learn to heal anything those idiots need healed!' Inner Sakura ranted.
Sakura nodded firmly and cintinued her rounds.
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Naruto watched his teammate leave and then turned his attention back to the young woman in his arms. Gaara hadn't spoken a word as she'd slipped into the room, set down her gourd, shed her coat, and crawled into his embrace. She clutched him with a grip that was just shy of being too tight; her only concession to the lingering anxiety the day had caused her.
Naruto kept stroking Gaara's hair long after the possessive grasp had gone lax; his fiancee finally giving in to her need for rest.
'Sakura's right. I'm an idiot. Leaving Gaara wouldn't keep her from getting hurt. It would just make us both miserable and it wouldn't solve my problem.'
He frowned as he spotted the white bandages on Gaara's arms and stomach, peeking from beneath the edges of her black tee shirt. "I won't hurt you again." He whispered.
Gaara squeezed him slightly tighter for a moment, though her eyes remained closed. "I know." She answered evenly. "Sleep now."
Naruto grinned at the top of her head, placing a kiss among her curls before he relaxed and closed his eyes obediently.
"Love you." Gaara mumbled.
"Love you too." The blonde smiled and let sleep claim him.
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Naruto yawned and stretched as he woke, or rather he tried to stretch as one arm was pinned under a warm weight and his chest was being used as a pillow.
He glanced at the blue sky through the window and resigned himself to the need to disturb the redhead.
"Gaara...hey..." The blonde trailed off as the redhead stirred.
Gaara blinked slowly, lifting her head to study the familiar contours of her fiancee's smiling face.
"You should probably get home before your sister worries." The blonde explained.
"She's not there." Gaara yawned, her voice half muffled in his shirt.
"Why? Is she okay?"
The redhead felt a rush of warmth at his concern for her family. "She's fine. The Nara boy was stabbed. She's been in his room down the hall all night."
Naruto looked relieved and a little guilty. "Is Shikamaru gonna be okay?"
Gaara nodded. "I heard them arguing when I was on my way back to you."
"And everyone else? I was kind of out of it but I know there were others..."
"Everyone survived. A few cracked ribs and a lot of cuts and bruises. Kakkashi-san has a broken arm."
Naruto felt some of the tension drain from his muscles. "That's good..er, well...not good but...it could have been worse...and the Akatsuki?"
The redhead scowled slightly. "Three captured, two dead. The rest escaped."
"So they'll be back."
Gaara nodded.
"We just have to be ready for them." Naruto announced firmly.
The pair was quiet for a minute, each lost in thought.
"Gaara...I need your help."
The redhead sat up slightly, totally alert now.
"I have to learn to control Kyuubi." Naruto explained earnestly. He ran a gentle hand over the bandages on her arm. "This...I can't let him do this again. Can you help me?"
Gaara blinked and nodded slowly; not at all sure she could. "I can try."
Her nervousness stirred the kikkaichu and her chest vibrated with their movement.
Naruto stilled, feeling the sensation where she was still pressed against his side. "Are you...purring?"
Gaara blushed self-consciously. They had discussed Shino's offer but now she was suddenly afraid that Naruto would be disgusted by her choice to become host to the insects. "It's the kikkaichu." She explained softly.
The blonde's confused look faded into simple curiosity. "Is it weird?"
Gaara could detect no horror in his tone and he didn't push her away. She gave the question some thought.
"It should be...but it isn't..." The redhead said slowly. At Naruto's puzzled look she tried to explain. "I was the vessel of Shukaku for all my life, I was never alone in my own body. Not having that presence these past months has been...freeing...but also...strange."
Naruto nodded, still looking curious.
"Shukaku...he encouraged my temper, but he also made me have to control it. He nearly drove me completely insane, but he also protected me." She considered the thrum of insects in her chest thoughtfully, as they began to settle now that she was calmer.
"You think the bugs will do the good things you miss about the demon, but not the bad." Naruto said slowly.
"I think..." Gaara frowned as words failed her for a moment. "Yes, but it's more...the Akatsuki took the demon, but for so long the demon was a big part of me. It felt...like I'd lost a limb or an eye, I suppose...and the feeling hasn't gone away. Now, the kikkaichu can help fill that gap. It sounds insane, that I would choose to offer myself as a host for something else after the one tail nearly cost me everything...but I think I finally feel like myself again."
Naruto hugged her, mindful of the injuries he'd caused. "You always felt like Gaara to me."
Gaara felt the last of her anxiety fade. Naruto would not reject her.
"So can you do any cool insect jutsus like Shino?" The blonde asked eagerly.
Gaara shook her head. "No, Shino said he'd teach me some basics but there hasn't been time yet. All I know how to do is make the contract that lets them use me as a host without killing me."
Naruto looked disappointed. "Oh...I was just thinking it would be funny to put bugs in Sakura-chan's pockets."
"You have a death wish." Gaara intoned flatly.
Naruto chuckled. "Nah, Sakura-chan is all...well, mostly bark. Just don't tell her I said so."
Gaara smiled slightly, recalling the pink haired girl requesting the same thing just a few hours earlier.
"Hey, wanna see if Baa-chan will let me out of this place? I could really use some ramen right now."
Gaara stood and donned her coat and gourd in lieu of answering. Her muscles were still sore but she felt stronger than she had since her death.
Naruto grinned and scrabbled from the bed, wincing as he stretched before grabbing his jacket and shrugging it on.
"Better yet, let's not ask. Come on!" He caught the sand user by the hand and tugged her to the window, opening it and peering down at the ground a couple floors below. "Ready?"
Gaara puuled the cork from her gourd and smirked at the blonde. "Allow me."
The sand swept under their feet, making Naruto clutch at her shoulders to keep his balance.
"Sit." Gaara ordered, following her own instructions as the sand flowed over the windowsill like a waterfall.
Naruto grinned and sat on the cushion of sand, laughing as it lifted them off the floor and rode the waterfall of sand to the ground. Gaara pulled the grains back into her gourd as she stood, pleased to feel no chakra fatigue from the exertion.
Naruto noticed it too and he scooped her up and did a little dance. "That was great! So you got your chakra figured out."
Gaara nodded.
"Does that mean you'll be going back to Suna, soon?" The blonde asked, his smile fading slightly.
Gaara blinked. She hadn't even thought about going home early. "No...I still have to train with Shino to use the kikachu safely...and you wanted my help with Kyuubi."
"And the wedding stuff is already being planned here." Naruto added, clearly relieved.
"True." Gaara nodded, glad of another excuse to stay in the village that had slowly begun to feel like home. "Temari says we have to set a date before any other plans can be made."
Naruto took her hand and tugged her into motion as he pondered. "How long does it take to put a wedding together?" He asked, deep in thought.
Gaara shrugged. "Depends on the size of the wedding. I told Temari I want something small. Is that okay?" It only then occured to her she should probably have asked him first.
"Huh, oh sure. I don't really have a lot of people to invite anyway." The blonde shrugged off that sad fact with his usual cheerfulness.
Gaara was relieved that he agreed with her preference.
"Would the first weekend next month be too soon?" Naruto asked hesitantly.
Gaara stopped walking. In Suna, long engagements were tradition and while she knew she didn't want to wait years before marrying the young man at her side, she hadn't quite wrapped her head around the wedding itself yet. To set it so close...
Yesterday they had both nearly died.
"Okay." She agreed, with an outward calm that belied the churning in her stomach. A fluttering she suspected had more to do with metaphorical butterflies than chakra eating beetles.
Naruto grinned and leaned down to plant a swift kiss on her lips. Gaara leaned into his embrace, snaking her arms around his neck and losing herself for just a minute in his presence. They were alive, and she needed to touch him, to verify his existence.
"Oi, Leaf. Lips off my sister." Kankuro's gruff voice had the pair pulling away from each other with matching blushes.
"Sorry." Naruto's tone and sheepish grin belied his words. "We just picked a wedding date."
Gaara nodded.
Kankuro scowled. "Well you aren't married yet, so no funny business." He grumped, then his eyes lit with curriosity. "So when's the day?"
"The first Saturday of next month." Gaara replied, glancing at Naruto who nodded with a grin.
Kankuro whistled. "That's only three weeks away." The puppetmaster grinned wickedly. "Temari's gonna flip out. Can be there when you tell her?"
Gaara glared at her brother. He was prpbably right but in the end one important thing was true.
"It isn't her wedding." The redhead pointed out flatly.
Kankuro chuckled at that. "Yeah, let me be there when you tell her that too...from a safe distance."
"Do you want to come get ramen with us?" Naruto asked, finding a change of subject wise as the dirt around them began to swirl in a way that had nothing to do with the wind.
Kankuro shook his head. "Nah, I gotta go. I ordered some new parts and they should be finished. I miss my forge."
Gaara nodded, knowing the puppeteer usually made all his own parts and didn't really like trusting anyone else with his designs. It made her feel a little guilty for keeping her siblings away from their home for so long.
"Just keep your hands and lips to yourselves, yeah? See you later, Sis." Kankuro waved flippantly and walked off.
Naruto blushed again. Gaara did too but she refused to let her brother boss her around. She reached out and reclaimed Naruto's hand as she began to walk towards Ichiraku.
Naruto gave her a shy grin and squeezed her hand warmly. "Three more weeks."
Gaara managed a tiny, nervous smile back. "Hn."
"Yep, just three more weeks and we'll be married." Naruto repeated, almost seeming like he was trying to wrap his own mind around the concept.
Gaara felt herself relax at his nervousness. "Three weeks." She agreed.
To be continued...
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Author's Notes: From cold feet to setting the date in less than twenty-four hours. What can I say? Naruto is an impulsive sort of guy. Also, thank you Sakura. Gaara didn't need to hear those doubts and get all insecure. She has enough self esteem issues. Next time: Wedding plans go into high gear as the couple announces the date. Can they manage to pull off a beautiful romantic event in such a short time? Dresses, suits, flowers, food, invitations, madness! What about a bachelorette party and a stag night? Will Konoha survive three weeks of high speed ninja style wedding planning? Find out soon in chapter 37!