[A/N] [Edited 07/2015] I recommend anyone interested in this story reread all edited chapters as I've had to rearrange some things to tighten the plot and make sure there aren't any holes. Also, it should just read better.

Subduing a Fox

Chapter One

The ringing ended abruptly as a smooth bass answered. "Mmmm, I take it you were successful?" That wasn't a question.

"I was. I always am." Sasuke flipped through a manila envelope as he haphazardly watched the road to assure his car didn't crash him on autopilot. "I'm verifying now; it seems like everything you wanted. I'll leave it in the usual place."

There was a moment's pause. "Good, I have another job for you."

Sasuke growled just enough for the other man to hear. He'd finally found himself home from a rather high risk job outside the country before being ordered to snag competition intel for his dear brother. It wasn't like he couldn't perform under duress, but he was currently operating on less than twelve hours of sleep for five days. Performing any type of precarious task in his condition was just more risk topping his already growing pile. "Itachi, you do realize I have another life and have not slept in far too long, yes?"

"Are you implying you can't handle this, Otouto? Simply say so and I will assign it to a group of your subordinates." Came the imperious response.

He looked at the phone now, scowling at it before he snapped his wrist, flinging the manila envelope into the passenger's seat, crinkling the papers. All of a sudden, he didn't give a damn. "Very well. Send me the briefing." With that he hung up on his ever-so-infuriating older brother. Uchiha Itachi, the godsend prodigy. The golden child. Itachi had been the reason their father could finally rest in peace. The man was calm, intuitive and patient as he was ruthless; all in all everything Sasuke need to sustain the trace amounts of hero worship he could never really kill completely. Oddly, he had never really developed any jealousy for his older brother; it helped that Itachi was always first to believe in Sasuke's strength, his word, his being. His Aniki's unwavering belief had laid the foundations for his adoration. A fact Itachi knew well, the arrogant asshole. As it was, Sasuke was head ninja of their clan, while Itachi was it's patriarch. Whatever his Aniki assigned him, as head ninja of the Uchiha, he fulfilled it.

Dusk was just ending as the moon gave itself up to view. A paper slid up from the built in fax machine inserted in the armrest. He read it, scowled deeper, and reprogramed his designated course in his built in GPS. This night was going to take longer than he wanted.

"You know what this means, don't you?"

Sabaku no Gaara turned his kohl rimmed, sea-foam green eyes onto his purple marked brother. Of course he knew what this meant. He was a twenty-two year old with a dead father that he never cared for, and the sudden responsibility to fill his shoes as Kazekage. Instead of saying such, he decided his brother was no longer worthy of his gaze and continued to stare out at the stark dry landscape that was his home. He was uneasy; though no one slight of him would have been able to tell. He needed that person now, needed to actually talk things through even if talking wasn't his strong point. He knew that person would listen, would help him sort out his feelings, because he had always been there for him, always was and always would be. He realized, rather belatedly, that his brother was still talking. "Kankuro, shut up." He droned; his voice as dry and abrasive as the trickle of sand that constantly wound around him, embracing him, comforting him. Absently he ordered it back into the large metal bangle that hung on his wrist. But of course it wouldn't listen for very long.

"Don't you care at all about Father's killer?!" Kankuro seemed to shriek.

There was a pause. "Not particularly." When there was a surprised gasp, he amended his statement. "However I understand that for Sunagakure, there must be justice."

Temari nodded and nervously played with her fan, causing a massive breeze. Gaara felt his eye tick. He hated when she did that. "Apparently there was some interesting evidence left behind at the crime scene, but the detective said he couldn't speak about it until they were absolutely sure." Temari explained. The red head simply nodded. "Gaara, the council has already had the date of the coronation set."

He sighed and turned toward his sister. "To when?"

"A few months from now." She sighed.

Gaara growled in annoyance. So soon? Damn, that barely gave him time to adjust. He turned to Kankuro. "Book me a flight to Konoha."

An eyebrow rose. "You sure now is the time to go-" A narrowed glare sent Kankuro out of the room and on his way to obedience.

"Hinata-sama, this one as well?" Neji asked wearily.

"Hai, hai. He was adamant about this one too."

Neji sighed. "Hinata-sama, you do realize we've given over eight-million to his charities, right?" Not that it had made a dent in their bank accounts.

Hinata blushed slightly. "Hai, hai, just a little more Neji-niisan. We have to be Naruto-kun's number one supporters." Her blush intensified. "It lo-looks good for the clan too right? Since he'll be the future Hokage and all."

Even as she was saying this Neji knew these were not the reasons. Hinata had been infatuated with one Naruto Uzumaki since grade school, and now as a twenty-one year old medical student and heiress, she had yet to do a damn thing about it. "Of course Hinata-sama. How is two-million for this particular cause?"

She brightened considerably. "Yes, of course. Two-million is excellent Neji-niisan. I'll run and call Naruto now."

Neji began to click around and type the necessary accounting information on the charities website. He had been to countless charity functions and knew that Naruto was a major philanthropist. As it was, Neji would rather call the blonde a big swirl of sympathy, or even better, a sucker. He couldn't count how many times he had bailed the empty headed future Hokage from spending his money on another scam covered with a sob story. Naruto was a sucker for a good sob story. Actually it was pretty well known just how much of a sucker Naruto really was, but the Hyuugas were not.

It turned out having Hyuugas as official benefactors to his charities helped add some validity. It became somewhat vital for Naruto to sell whatever recent idea of philanthropy he was having to Neji and Hinata Hyuuga before anyone else. Of course the clan elders loved the bump in authority. But most importantly, this role of importance his cousin was just eating up with a fork, knife and spoon.

Neji sighed. He didn't see Naruto wising up to Hinata's feelings anytime soon. A subtle trill from his cellphone alerted him of a message and he absently reached across the desk to check it before his eyes widened and he looked around to make sure Hinata was nowhere near him. He pushed dial.

"Hai."

"Explain." Neji demanded of Hinata's head ninja and younger cousin, Hinabi.

"The Kazekage has been assassinated. You received the picture, I filched, yes? No one is certain but I'm sure the heat will reach Konohagakure soon as the evidence is everything but evasive. Expect the Sabakus over there shortly."

Neji was completely confused. Of course he could process the information but the motive? If this was concerning who he thought it was, he was more than a little lost on why exactly that man would order something like this done. There was absolutely nothing to gain...not that he could see. And Neji made it his business to see. "Understood, this is most insightful. Find out more information like a possible motive or if you can, strategies on how they plan to deal with this. Anything. No doubt they will bring this to our government and Naruto will catch wind of it."

"Of course, Neji-sama." With that the line dropped just as Hinata passed in the hallway gushing more praise to a certain blonde.

Nara Shikamaru sighed. Not a sigh of sadness, frustration, or even anger. But a sigh of absolute dissatisfaction with his life at large. He put his hand into a green glowing metal box, feeling the slight tingle as it read his biometric imprint; upon confirmation the wide metal doors slid open with a hiss. He approached the daunting figure with two platinum blonde ponytails, ignoring the dozen or so bustling workers in the half-lit room. "Tsunade-sama." He drawled. "I have your intel."

"Good." She snapped in her usual tone, never taking her eyes off the huge blinking screens, and held out her hand. Shizune, her ever shadowing box of morality, took the papers from Shikamaru and passed them to Tsunade. Shikamaru didn't know why she bothered, she was just going to have him repeat everything anyway.

Shikamaru continued. "There are some leads they aren't sharing yet, saying they wish to run more ballistics before they release it. Other than that, Kazekage procedures are running and Gaara should be being prepped." Shikamaru watched her nod and now beside her could just catch the worry in her eyes.

"He's going to want to see Naruto. Speaking of, the brat's current mission…?"

"Naruto is drawing up negotiations with the Hidden Mist right now. He has always been on good terms with Hidden Mist officials so he really shouldn't have any trouble. They arrived here in Konoha about three days ago and he has been showing them a good time. Tonight was the night to finalize terms so I had the appropriate place booked and precautions taken." There was a terse silence where Shikamaru debated going into his other findings. "Speaking of precautions, we're going to have to change his medication."

It was eerie how suddenly that garnered the attention of the entire room. "Explain." shot Tsunade.

"Well Jiraiya sent me a report and...according to him Naruto's strain of Jinchuuriki has slightly evolved passed his current prescribed medication." There was mostly silence but also a few quiet gasps if you included Tsunade's drawn out exhale; as if she had been expecting this. "Nothing too dangerous of course, just some instinctual things. Apparently, knowing the Jinchuuriki disease is one that mutates blood cells and that Naruto's blood cells have nine mutations or tails, his strain is regressing him back to more animalistic instincts. His humanity is certainly still there but his mating and danger habits are reverting back past intellectual thought. Or so he observed. He just wants permission to up the dosage if it becomes necessary."

Tsunade rubbed her chin and turned toward the large screens blinking with at least six different news channels and regular updates from her own staff. One screen showed Gaara and his siblings at a press conference, for once, all of them wearing the same face. "It's ominous he should mention this just as another Jinchuuriki host is planning to visit."

Shizune frowned at Tsunade. "That young man never permitted any type of medication." She looked back to the disinterested looking red head who remained silent while his siblings talked.

Shikamaru shrugged. "He also doesn't have it nearly as bad with only one tailed mutations. At the most he just has some anger problems. Naruto actually regresses to the point where he can't speak human speech patterns."

"This is true." Tsunade reasoned. She turned toward her head Intelligence Agent. "Tell Jiraiya to observe him closely, if things get out of hand he has permission to up the dosage."

Shikamaru nodded. "Understood." He left the briefing room and began his walk to the Jiriaya's office way down in the science wing. "What a bother."

Naruto swayed along the hallway, the slight buzz of sake still with him. He had just relieved himself and was ready to fall into blissful sleep. Having been selected to handle the Kirigakure case, Naruto was slowly gaining more political respect and trust with other nations. Support from neighboring countries was crucial when reaching for the title of Hokage. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Not that the spot wasn't already damn near guaranteed for him already; what with Tsunade-baachan holding it until he was ready.

Naruto sighed contentedly, trying to find his way back to his room through the traditionally set hotel. Although it was nice to be invited somewhere so ritzy he was having trouble distinguishing the hallways with all the similar hardwood flooring. Each direction looked the same. Or maybe he had had too many glasses of rice champaign? Eh. Another sigh left him as he reasoned that he was good and lost. He supposed he would just wander until he came across an elevator, take it to the lobby and ask someone to escort him back to room...Ahh shit. What was his room number?

Naruto was in the middle of pondering when something struck him. It wasn't a sound, or a sight or anything more palatable than a whiff. A scent. Spicy, something hinted with the spice of...danger?...of...of what Naruto had no idea, but even his buzzed brain told him to follow the scent. It was male, the Kyuubi came to realize, as the more base part of his brain easily usurped his drunken consciousness. He put his nose in the air and inhaled silently, letting it fill his nose, his mouth, his throat until he could taste it. He most suddenly had the desire to find it. He had to find it, and it was moving, skimming along just barely staying out of his reach. Slowly the blond grew more excited, his skin hummed with the act of hunting this spicy-scented hare. He wasn't positive when he began to walk lower to the floor, his hands sometimes aiding him like a four legged animal. The scent became stronger; like black cinnamon, if that made any sense. It began moving faster, farther away and Naruto's Kyuubi instincts told him he had been found out and the chase was on. He wasn't even running anymore, just flat out flitting with his feet and knuckles on the ground. He hit the back terrace just in time to see a black clad figure crouching on top of a spire on an adjacent building. They were very far up, and if Naruto had been operating sober he would note, perhaps seventy floors up.

But he wasn't. He was growling, low in his chest. Not a growl of anger or even defense, but of amusement and approval. Whoever this was, whatever this was, it was most enchanting. His partially purple eyes met those of cold black. For a moment in time they both did nothing but assess each other. Crouched on a point, arrogantly glaring with a raised brow, the figure made a slight scoffing notion with his head before, most literally, disappearing. With the scent gone, the red from Naruto's blue eyes left as well. And he was left standing on the balcony wondering just who that was and what he was doing on a floor reserved specifically for the Hidden Mist village.

"What are you talking about?" Was growled out across the expensive glass table where two glasses and a nearly full decanter rested. Anyone else would have been terrified; seeing as the slate-haired male nearly never rose his voice. Across from him sat, in his opinion, one of the slimiest people to ever do the world a disfavor by existing.

Oorochimaru utilized his wide mouthed smirk. "Nothing you need worry you're pretty little head over. Just keep the other pretty little pet working in tip top order and nothing should come knocking at your door." He sang out slightly.

Itachi counted to one hundred before he spoke again. "I do not recall ordering any assignments outside of Sasuke."

"Well," The smirk became, if possible, creepier. "I took the liberty of utilizing the rights you gave me, since I have no clan of my own. You understand."

"Who was it?"

"Now that everything has been securely taken care of, I don't feel you need to worry about the little details."

"I mean-" Itachi took another, slower breath too keep from growling. "I mean, who did you send?"

"Again, an unnecessary detail."

"I think you forget who exactly the head of this clan is." The vein in his temple was throbbing to the sound of his heartbeat. He wanted to kill him, wanted to kill him so bad. Wanted to end him.

All benevolence left the reptilian man immediately. "And I think you forget your place. Do you enjoy having a whole sibling?"

It worked every time. Itachi stopped existing for just long enough for those words to sink in. Sasuke. Yes, that was the reason he was enduring this. Just the thought of his baby brother ripped from his hands or not…whole, was enough to reel him in. Oorochimaru knew this well. "We had an agreement." Itachi returned to his soft spoken countenance. "You are far surpassing your own prescribed limits."

A shrug was given; like these limits he spoke of were of no consequence. "It seemed a bit of a dire situation so I suppose I jumped too quickly. None of that should really matter now." The smirk slowly grew to encompass his face once again. "You have your wonderful little brother, who is safe and sound, and I have….well my research. Everyone is happy, for now." The snake stood and made his way to the entrance to let himself out of Itachi's impressive office.

Only when he was gone did Itachi take a deep and relaxing breath. No, he could not kill that man, at least not now. He had decided to never tell Sasuke about Oorochimaru and the time he had been captive in that man's care. By his design Sasuke had simply forgotten it all. Blocked it out. Like that period of time never even happened, and Itachi made sure he never inquired about it. "I just have to persevere; until I find it." He whispered to himself. Until he saved his baby brother.

If Naruto could get any more excited he'd be literally bouncing down the walkway of Konoha Hi National University. He checked his phone for perhaps the fifth time since the half hour prior when he had received the message.

'Come pick me up at the airport, I need to talk to you before I do anything. My flight lands around 8 pm.'

Damn, it was already five. He was going to have to leave now if he wanted to be on time picking him up; the airport was all the way on the other side of city. Naruto walked out of his campus' Business Management building, towards the adjacent parking lot. Another few months and he would have his Master's in business and political science; a fact he was brimming with pride in. It was only natural for a future Hokage, was it not? He had just chosen to decline graduate housing and bought an apartment between KHNU and City Hall. Even though he was looked at as a political genius he was still only twenty-two and often treated like a kid.

It was twilight and the blonde was distracted, he couldn't wait to see Gaara, so he didn't notice the sleeping figure lying under a tree in the lush grass he was trampling over. "Gah!" Naruto blinked. On his way down, black eyes had shot open, twisted their bodies and were now boring into him from above. Knees were straddling left thigh and something sharp was pressed into his neck; a weapon? "Uh, hey, take it easy buddy, it was just an accident." The blonde one blanched.

"Hn," with a tsk Sasuke glared at Naruto with sudden recognition. It only took a moment before Sasuke had an overconfident assumption that he had nothing to worry about. After all, he had been fully disguised the first time they had met.

Naruto squirmed a bit, clearly uncomfortable at not being able to get up. "Look I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." He smiled, a full genuine smile, one that could bring peace and end world hunger. It had little effect on the Uchiha beyond slight random curiosity; this face was so much different than the feral expression he had donned before. That and the boy's eyes were the most disconcerting shade of blue. The weapon was withdrawn but the Uchiha stayed where he was, his weight braced on his right forearm and his left hand.

"Use the walkway next time, Dobe." Sasuke knew he was just being rude. Firstly, he had, and was still currently, trapping the blonde man and openly insulting him when this should have been their first time meeting.

"Yeah." Naruto laughed sheepishly and went to push himself up, wincing slightly on his right side where Sasuke had forced him to land. The only part of Sasuke that moved with his eyebrow as Naruto hinted that he wanted to be released. "Uhhh…" Things were really uncomfortable at this point; well uncomfortable for the blonde. The brunet felt no shame, quite contrary he was taking this time to closely observe the bubbly student. There was a really awkward stand still where Naruto was quelled into silent submission and the Uchiha was reveling in his dominance, when a breeze wafted by.

In Sasuke's mind a breeze should have meant little to nothing, but suddenly the blonde was very still. Something was tickling Naruto in the back of his mind, some memory. Where… where had he smelled this before? Endorphins began usurping his rational thinking; the base part of him simply had to get closer to that scent. He was unconscious of his own body as he lifted his nose to the air, eyes fluttering closed as he tried to pick up the aroma. He had to remember. It was sparse yet strong and masculine; it smelled of power…of danger. Just a whiff had him longing to bury his nose in the source. His chest purred, his eyes changing ever so slightly from a brilliant blue to a deep purple. He followed the scent; skimming his nose down a cheek, jawline, and into the neck of a somewhat entranced Sasuke. He didn't care that he was being gawked at, or that this was a complete stranger, he had to locate the source of that scent, it was….intoxicating. He continued, brushing aside Sasuke's right to personal space, just as the raven haired man had done to him.

Black Cinnamon. Images flared up. Last night: a large hotel: a brilliant moon behind an all-black clad figure. Obsidian eyes that spoke of a challenge, and an arrogant eyebrow raise before the body simply disappeared. The memories caused his rational self to flare once more, just to be eclipsed by the overwhelming desire to taste the source of the scent. Naruto let his long, textured tongue run from the base of that pale column up to just under an ear. Sasuke shivered and when he felt the slightest scraping of teeth he forced himself into action lest he allow himself to be overrun. He fisted the shockingly yellow hair of the one under him and gave a harsh yank. Naruto bared his teeth in warning, though he made no move to extract himself from the other. Sasuke simply tightened his hold. A whimper let loose as hooded plum eyes stared into endless black pools and a pink tongue darted out to lick pouty lips. The Uchiha reflexively yanked on the hair in his hold; their faces were closer now. Sasuke drank in everything about this feral persona; his belly tightened in anticipation for something he wasn't even sure of yet. Why was he so out of breath? Feeling his brain muddling, the raven haired male backed up a little, relaxing his grip ever so slightly. He witnessed the purple eyes bleed back to their blue, a stunned expression taking over Naruto's face.

Naruto lowered his body back into the ground, his hair still in the other's custody, and said nothing while Sasuke waited with a stoic face. Neither of them spoke but both knew they recognized each other. Yet another silence filled the space between them, but this one was pregnant with decisions. Sasuke briefly wondered if he would have to kill this seemingly oblivious blonde. Finally Sasuke could take no more. "Well?" His tone was not as harsh as he meant for it to be. It had come out husky and ragged from the back of his throat. His brow rose again, challenging Naruto. A reproduction of the night before. Was he going to try and do something? Expose him? Run to the Konoha government that he practically had eating out of his hand. "Uzumaki Naruto." He stated, not really sure why he had said that at all.

Naruto nodded slightly, not perturbed that someone he didn't know knew him. Even in such a large metropolis as Konohagakure, he was pretty well known at this point. But even still it begged the question. "You know my name?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Anyone who lives here would have to be an idiot to NOT know you." He flung a sneer at Naruto, meant to be cruel but came out a bit more leering. "Mr. Future-Hokage, ne?"

Naruto's cheeks pinked, naturally bashful as he was, and he tried to look away but was suddenly reminded of his predicament when the hand fisting his hair dragged his face back. When had this black haired man gotten so close? Naruto's breath hitched and his cheeks began burning, shooting from pink into a deep ruddy color. "Erm…" He just couldn't bring himself to say anything. Somehow all of his words, his protests, his will…were gone.

Sasuke wasn't even sure what he was doing. He knew he could be bold and very much outgoing, but this was just plain sexual harassment. What the hell was wrong with him? Should he take it into consideration that he didn't even care that this was weird, wrong, and just downright inappropriate. "Erm, what?" He mocked. All his redeeming thoughts vanished as his hand tightened, bringing the beautiful head back and forcing a tanned neck to arch and expose. Naruto gasped but oddly didn't protest, his back arching slightly and his tongue darting out to lick his lips yet again. Sasuke very nearly devoured that pertinent little mouth below him. This was a quite the little vixen that had fallen into his lap. Hazy blue eyes watched him, shifting deeper and deeper until they bordered on an amethyst color with red specks.

~Raa Raa Ra-a-aaah! Ra-Ra Ra-a-aaah! Raa Raa Ra-a-aaah! Want yo bad romance!~

That was his cellphone! Naruto jolted and against everything in his nature he shoved, quite rudely, the dark haired male aside and ran/sprinted to his car. His phone trilled all the way into the parking garage, into his car and well onto the main street. He was sure it was Gaara threatening him that he had better be on his way to the airport. The blond glanced at the clock in his dashboard and gasped. That was a joke right? How was it 5:45 and they hadn't exchanged enough words to fill a page in a coloring book? This thought caused Naruto to reflect on his behavior and he blushed from his hairline to his shoulders. What the hell was wrong with him? Some stranger pins him on the green of his campus, traps him, grabs him, taunts him and Naruto had done nothing at all to stop it. He had just laid there and took it like some-some-some-hussy!

Naruto thanked his stars that the stranger hadn't tried to kiss him or anything, but oh—! The blush that had been just fading came back full force and with a vengeance. Naruto had been the one to stick his face in the stranger's neck and-and lick him! Great! Now he really was a hussy! But these thoughts led to his last and final realization; that dark haired man was the one he had spotted at the Kirigakure meeting. As the blond looked back at the situation, he determined that not only was he at a place where normal civilians had been restricted from, but he had been garbed in all black and had run from Naruto. There was no doubt, that man was an assassin, and Naruto had messed up his mission.

Naruto continued to reflect until he got closer to the airport and all his thoughts returned to Gaara, who would no doubt be pissed that he was about a half hour late. A pissed Gaara was enough to incite a sudden religious outlook on even the vilest of men. All other thoughts left him as he prepared to beg his way out of an ass-kicking. What he found was a scowling but somewhat preoccupied Gaara. "You're late." His gravel voice informed with a rather bland expression.

Naruto smiled and hugged his best friend. "I know, I'm sorry."

Gaara's cheeks dusted ever-so-slightly with pink as he awkwardly patted the blonde's back in an effort to reciprocate the hug. "Fine. Take me to the manor. My idiot siblings have already left to attend to themselves."

Naruto randomly wondered why he never felt offended when Gaara ordered him around. Perhaps it was the fact that he barely spoke above a whisper? Whatever it was the brighter one just cheesed and opened the door of his sports car for his friend. "Why didn't you go with your brother and sister?" He asked, once back inside the car and on the road.

Gaara turned toward him. "I wanted to see you." He deadpanned.

Naruto's smile widened to an impossible degree. "Of course, because I'm awesome! I'm happy you're here." The redhead hummed out a response and turned to look out the window. That reminded Naruto. "You said you had something you wanted to speak to me about?"

Gaara nodded and took a deep breath. It seemed as if he was nervous and that was enough to unnerve Naruto. "My father was assassinated." He spoke matter-of-factly. He turned toward Naruto when the blonde had nothing to say. "I am now Kazekage."

Naruto was quiet for a while, his knuckles gripping the steering wheel with enough tension to turn his knuckles white. "I'm sorry and very surprised."

At this Gaara scoffed. "I'm not sorry in the least. What I am, is confused. My father was a corrupt asshole among corrupt assholes, but who killed him? My siblings suggest I put in an effort to find out or it could cause unrest or a scandal." He smirked cruelly. "Wouldn't want anyone thinking I killed my father, of course."

Naruto tried but couldn't hold back a chuckle. After a moment he turned to his friend briefly, his expression incredulous. "Did you?"

The other slid his sea foam gaze to his friend, keeping quiet a moment. "Unfortunately no, I did not. And to keep from being accused of a crime I didn't have the pleasure of committing, I need to find out who did. Or so they say." Gaara held up his wrist and watched a small trickle of sand seep out of his large bangle and begin revolving around his finger. "I don't personally believe that." He looked back at Naruto. "Who here in Konoha would demand to know who killed my father?"

Naruto thought for a moment. Not even Tsunade-baachan would care. "No one really, but this is Konohagakure."

"Exactly." Gaara's tone was bored. "There is certainly no one in Sunagakure that should care. It was a well-known factor that the people did not like my father, or his corrupt ways."

Naruto's mind began to whirl and his political mindset began taking over. "But your people fear you Gaara. It is known that though you're father was corrupt he is still not as feared as you are. And now that you have become Kazekage I'm sure there will be people that would argue that they were more content with your father as Kazekage than you."

Gaara commanded his sand to become a small sphere that whirled on the tip of his finger. He was quiet a moment. "Yes, I am aware."

"You're going to have to gain your peoples trust." Naruto turned into an upscale neighborhood with spaced out mansions and turned down the street towards the Sabaku's Konoha manor. He brightened considerably. "But that'll be easy."

Gaara looked up. "How?"

Naruto shot him a thousand watt smile. "Because I'm going to help you." He pulled into the long driveway that twisted up to meet the manor. "I'm me, and everyone loves me, so stick with me and everyone will love you. Easy."

Gaara stared at his bubbly, blonde friend and wondered if he seriously thought in his heart it would be that easy. "I see." Was all he could think to say to that. Sometimes it was disconcerting, how much the other was able to change his outlook on life just from speaking to him. No one else had that effect, that power. As Naruto pulled to the entrance of the manor, a butler was there to open the door on Gaara's side and then come take the keys from Naruto. "Come," the red head spoke with such calm authority the blond followed on command. He had been to the Sabaku manor before but it was always a bit grander than he remembered. The previous Kazekage had had a thing for decadence. "What floor did you wish to stay on?" Gaara asked as the came close to his room on the second floor.

"I thought I would just stay with you." Naruto shrugged. "I did last time."

Gaara gave one of his signature long glances. "Naruto, the last time you spent the night here we were just graduating middle school."

A blush. "Really? Is it odd to stay with you then?" Naruto looked around. The room was big, huge. The bed alone was enough to fit three sumo wrestlers with room to spare. "It's just so roomy in here, sort of lonely, you know?"

Gaara nodded with finality. "Very well then. We'll change, eat and then my siblings should be back. Our detectives said they were finally ready to reveal whatever their ballistics had found at the scene. We'll make our decision then." The Kyuubi holder was already pacing around the room looking for what had changed from what he last remembered and hummed his agreement. "Oh, and Naruto," The other turned back to Gaara and the redhead's cheeks pinked ever so slightly. "Thank you for helping me."

The brightest most incredible smile graced the future Kazekage. "Of course, what are friends for?"

Sasuke wandered around the lush green of his campus for a while longer before ambling back towards the parking deck. Just what the bloody hell had happened? He tried to pry off the seemingly permanent smirk tattooed on his face, but it wouldn't budge. Uzumaki Naruto. He had known it was that little blond bubble the moment he had escaped the hotel and flitted to the spire across the way. Last night the other had been a beast; elongated canines, slitted purple eyes, claw-like finger nails….a far cry from the ever smiling political figure on television. Sasuke had been surprised, or rather, shocked. The most disturbing fact was the look in those canine eyes, like he, the Uchiha was nothing but a little play thing for the blonde. At that moment, the raven haired assassin had felt a tingle up his spine like no other and he would never admit outside his mind that he had left from fear that the animal would leap right over the space that separated them.

But to see that up close. Sasuke realized he had been wrong. The way the blond had nuzzled him like a vixen in heat, his sapphire colored eyes bleeding deeper, the panting breaths and wanton stare. Oh, all that ferociousness had simply vanished. Sasuke licked his lips in contemplation and opened his car door. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he answered without really looking to see who it was.

"I'm going to assume you have an explanation." Ah shit, Itachi.

"I wasn't prepared for opposition, only stealth. I got out of there once I knew someone was suspicious." Sasuke had absolutely no idea how he was going to explain this one. He hated disappointing his brother.

"Opposition? Come here." And then the line was dead. Well, shit.

The ride back to the Uchiha manor was spent rehashing his failure and creating ways to escape his brother's ever probing cross examination. He wondered if it was prudent to mention Naruto? But then what the hell was he thinking? Of course he would mention him, there was no reason not to. He didn't owe him, if anything, the little blonde twerp had ruined his mission. He pulled up to the side of the manor and hopped out, letting his car park itself before walking inside and immediately to the stairwell to his right. His brother's expansive office was right at the very top.

"Otouto," The elder greeted. For just learning that his little brother had failed him in a mission, he didn't look too angry. But Sasuke never put anything past Itachi; with him, things were rarely as they seemed.

"Aniki, forgive me." Sasuke pulled out all the stops and actually bowed, righting himself after the appropriate amount of time. "There is no excuse, I should not have failed."

Itachi was quiet a moment. "Why did you fail me, otouto?"

At this Sasuke felt himself grow reluctant. Why? Why was he hesitant to say anything about Naruto? "There was an unseen glitch, Uzumaki Naruto somehow detected me and gave chase. Before I left completely he was able to catch sight of me." He sighed out the last part.

"Uzumaki? Figures he would be there. You were disguised properly, I will assume?"

"Of course."

"Well, I suppose that certainly was an unseen glitch." Itachi steepled his fingers as he looked over his precious little brother. He looked just the right amount of contrite; it was adorable. "Uzumaki is certainly not someone to tangle with, not only because his profile is too large and it would risk exposure, but I doubt that there are few that could kill him successfully without extensive planning or major collateral damage."

At this Sasuke's eyes widened. "Excuse me Aniki?" Itachi rose a brow is question. "You-you sound as if you were implying that he is difficult to fight." Sasuke stared at his brother in confusion. That overly bright pushover he'd had fall right into his lap? Surely his brother was speaking of a different Uzumaki.

Itachi was silent a moment. "You know nothing of him, do you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto?" Sasuke thought. He supposed he didn't know any more than the average Konoha citizen. "I suppose not, but I met him today. He attends my school."

"That boy is an abomination with an unfortunate past." At this Sasuke balked further. An abomination? What past? "His blood is full of a rare disease called Jinchuuriki and he has the sole pleasure of having the most advanced case on earth at this moment."

Ah, Sasuke chided himself. Everything made sense now, the drastic outer changes in demeanor and physical appearance. "I see. Is this common knowledge? It isn't mentioned much anymore…"

Itachi shrugged. "It's no secret. Older generations are more knowledgeable about it then say, our generation. But his power is a large reason why people are so accepting of his future position. It would have been quite lethal if he were to have fought you that night, or gained knowledge of your identity. He will, most likely, be the future Hokage and we need to keep a good relationship with him."

Sasuke stopped breathing. Oh shit. Ohshitohshitohshitohshit. He would bet his first born child that Naruto knew his identity. Sasuke tried to calm himself down, ever present of his brother watching him closely. He thought back to their encounter earlier that evening. Perhaps he didn't know; neither of them had said anything explicitly. There certainly weren't any accusations made. But, the way he had smelled him, deeply and familiarly….Sasuke mentally berated himself. He had absolutely no evidence that Naruto Uzumaki recognized him as the assassin from last night. Let alone from his scent…Perhaps the blonde was smelling him simply because he smelled good? Yes, for now, he would go with that. The younger brother nodded to himself for show and looked up to his brother. "Indeed, that would have proven troublesome."

Itachi was quiet for a moment. "Well, it would seem fortuitous that you both encountered one another today. It would be advantageous for us if you both were to forge some sort of bond, friendship or something of the like. At least at face value. This can make up for your earlier failure. Besides, it is said that the future Hokage is actually quite gullible. Can you handle this, otouto?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Of course, aniki."

Itachi chuckled at his little brother and the indignation on his face. "Then that is all." Sasuke was dismissed.

Dr. Jiraiya Sage sat behind his wide oak desk, looking important and quite intimidating as he flirted on an online dating site. It wasn't cheating if it was online. Three knocks resounded outside his door. "Enter," He called with a lecherous grin as he tried to convince some woman to send him nude pictures.

An ANBU black op entered before lifting the mask and setting a manila envelope on desk. "I got what you asked. Fortunately for you, Naruto was put in a sticky situation today so I was able to get stress levels as well, though he didn't appear too stressed." The explanation was dry and tinged with a bit of confusion and curiosity.

Jiraiya brightened, and reached for the info. "Stress levels you say? That is luck indeed, thank you very much Sai."

Sai rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Though I'm sure they were not lovers, they seemed fairly intimate. I don't understand why."

Jiraiya squinted at the heat signal photographs and x-rays Sai had taken from afar. "There are two people here, and I can tell which one is Naruto, but who is this?" He pointed to said unidentified object.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Sai answered promptly with absolutely no inflection.

The white haired scientist's eyes popped. "Uchiha Sasuke?" A lecherous grin began taking over his face. "And just what are they doing?" His curiosity was quite peaked now. Even with the heat photos and the bone x-rays it was a bit difficult to tell what they were doing.

"I couldn't be positive from my position. But I do recall Naruto leaning up at one point, I believe I captured that in the third clip."

Jiraiya flipped through and gasped. The heat output differences from one point to the next was astonishing. "Hmmm, that aside I must say, Naruto is progressing exactly like I predicted." The scientist sighed. If his godson didn't slow down his Kyuubi progression, Jiraiya would have no choice but to up the stabilizers. "Anyway, for now, you're off the case until I ask for more data, good work."

Sai bowed robotically. "Of course." As the ANBU left Jiraiya ran his hand over his face. No doubt Tsunade would want a report and she wouldn't need to have a Ph.D. to understand the problem. He flipped through again, things did not bode well, not at all.

Gaara sat on the plush comfort of his bed. From there he had a direct view into his private bathroom where Naruto stood brushing his teeth at the sink, shirtless. Gaara's perceptive eyes watched the muscles on the blonde's back ripple with just the motion of moving his arm around; it reminded the redhead of his power. Clothed and full of his child-like innocence, Naruto didn't seem all that daunting, but it was that furious power, the one dark and deep below the surface that Gaara had been attracted to. It was to that power that he grudgingly gained respect, and with it admiration and finally friendship. Even as a small child, introduced to his jinchuriki senior he hadn't felt anything but a slightly impartial dislike for the blonde until he had seen Naruto erupt after an unfortunate grown up had insulted his then dead parents.

Naruto gasped with a refreshed feeling and ambled back into the room. He stalked over to Gaara's always stocked but rarely used closet and selected a white T-shirt that fit him a bit snug. Gaara snorted, it was probably the largest he had. Rarely eating and almost never sleeping made the Kazekage pale and thin, not to mention a bit short. He compared all his five foot eight inches, hundred and twenty-five pounds against Naruto's five-ten, hundred and forty pounds. It made his left eye twitch in irritation. "Are you done? Temari and Kankuro should have returned already. This jet lag is irritating; I want to hear this report and rest." He was careful not to say sleep, he didn't want to jinx himself should he actually fall asleep.

"Yeah, yeah, lets go." Naruto was already heading toward the hallway.

True to fashion, Temari sat in the large formal lounge on her phone; Kankuro on a new gaming system with two detectives sitting there stone-faced. Once Gaara sat down it seemed everyone's full attention focused; he was naturally irritated toward anything frivolous. "Kazekage-sama." The detectives greeted formally, standing and bowing. The head agent glanced at Naruto in slight confusion as the future Hokage sat rather intimately close to Gaara and looked prepared to stay.

"Do not question him." Gaara spoke immediately. "State your business."

"Sir." Both sat down again before the assistant pulled out a large manila envelope out of a briefcase. The head agent began to speak. "As you know the former Kagekaze was assassinated while sleeping in his bedroom in the main Sunagakure manor. We had assumed that he was injected with a lethal poison in his neck and died approximately four minutes later for oncological decomposition, or blood breakdown. All evidence pointed to a seemingly perfect crime but we then found this in the sheets." The assistant pulled out a thick clear plastic evidence bag and inside was a small dart. "This was used as the weapon to poison the Kazekage therefore ruling out the theory that the criminal had to be present in the room in order to assassinate him.

Gaara raised a brow. "Was this what was so important you couldn't tell me over phone?"

The agent cast a furtive glance at Naruto but the blonde was listening patiently. "No sir, the importance lies within the dart itself. Please, if you will." He handed Gaara the bag.

The red head held it up and drank in the details. It was finely made, the pin being so small sometimes in certain light it didn't even show. The most remarkable quality about it was the odd oval shape at the end made in a red and white design. Gaara felt he should know that design but it escaped him. "The importance is this design if I'm correct?"

"Yes," The agent seemed even less inclined to answer and could hardly keep himself form staring at Naruto to watch his every reaction. "That dart could be considered an antique, none like those are made anymore, simply out of need for subtlety. That emblem is rather like a calling card."

Gaara nodded that made sense. "Then this is a crest and whoever killed Father wanted us to know it was them."

"Yes. That crest…do you not recognize it, Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara looked again but shrugged, Naruto reached for the bag to inspect the crest himself. "I feel that I should but I do not. This no clan prevalent in Suna."

"No, this is one of Konoha's most prized clans."

"Uchiha." Naruto spoke after he saw it. He didn't need any prodding. He worked his ass off all the time sending petitions to the Uchihas to contribute to his charities. Most of the time he failed but sometimes he managed to succeed, though it was always with the needed help of Neji and never face to face. The brothers; one Uchiha Itachi, tall, pale, long slate-colored hair and Uchiha Sasuke, tall, pale, shorter—Naruto froze quite literally as his brain went into overload.

Tall, pale, shorter-deep black hair and even deeper eyes. Uchiha Sasuke, the pervy jerk that had trapped him earlier that evening….the assassin. Naruto tried not move too much. He didn't understand why he wasn't blurting out this information as soon as it came to him. He didn't understand why he was fixing his face and breathing to seem normal or why he was calmly handing the evidence back to the agent. He could feel eyes on him and he knew he had a duty to….to…to who? To Gaara? He didn't care, in fact from the look on Gaara's face he would much rather be playing with his sand than listening to the detectives. Temari and Kankuro? Naruto looked. Temari was texting and Kankuro seemed asleep with his eyes open. Did they not care either?

That didn't matter! This was wrong! A man had been killed, not just any man, but the Kazekage of Sunagakure had been assassinated in cold blood he likely knew who did it. Why wasn't he saying anything? What kind of Hokage would he be if he kept this to himself? And yet Naruto remained quiet and listened.

"This information, you will pass it on to the Hokage and inform her. Ask what her suggested next course of action is and request a meeting."

"Of course, sir, but Kazekage-sama, is this your only action?" The head agent asked with a bit of incredulity in his voice. At this Temari looked up and Naruto glanced at his friend. It was prudent that Gaara look interested to find his father's murderer.

Gaara fixed his seafoam eyes on that of the detective. "Yes." It was absolute.

"With all due respect-"

"The Uchihas are pillars of support and respect in Konoha and many other countries, not only fiscally, but intrinsically. From what I understand this archaic dart is the only evidence you have pointing to the Uchiha which could have been used from anyone."

"That's just it Kazekage-sama. These darts have not been used for hundreds of years, unless produced from someone inside the clan, it is near impossible to get your hands on one of these."

Gaara pondered this for just a moment before standing with finality. "Do as I said. If what you are saying is true then the Hokage should know this as well, I trust that in the interest of peace, Tsunade-sama will make a wise decision." With that the redhead was leaving and a suspiciously quiet Naruto was following him.

[A/N] Look out for repostings of other chapters.

Ciao,