Chapter 01: Encounter.

Chuunin exam.

Naruto Uzumaki, a very extraordinary kunoichi of Hidden Leaf village, had been waiting for this moment ever since her lazy-ass sensei told her team about it. She was too excited to even sleep, but, she knew that her body needed a rest for what's coming for her. Instead, she decided to just let her consciousness wander to inner part of her mind, a place where something else was sealed inside her body.

"Yo, Naru-kit." Her beloved yet malicious partner said in both joy and irritation. Kyuubi knew that Naruto was bound to come here every time she was too excited to sleep. There had been multiple times when she was like this. The first one was the night before she was officially made Genin, the second would be when she was going to the Land of Waves, and this would be the third time she does it.

"Yo, Kyuubi!" Naruto greeted it ecstatically. She slipped in to her Bijuu's cage and sat beside Kyuubi's overlarge claws. Even though the blond girl never pulled out the seal placed on Kyuubi's cage, she always took the liberty of slipping inside its cage and chattered her mind away. At first, Kyuubi was wary and unwelcoming, but, it warmed up to her eventually.

"Man, I'm so excited!" She slammed her fist to Kyuubi's body excitedly. "Chuunin exam's just a few moments away! How can they ever expect me to fall asleep like this?" She pouted as she whined to her partner. "You know if you're a normal kunoichi, you would be drop-dead asleep by now." Kyuubi growled to her.

"Of course I know, silly! But, still… I'm not normal 'ttebayo!" She wailed. "Believe me, I know about your abnormality more than anyone- anything else does." Kyuubi growled, but it sounded like a laugh or something. So, Naruto decided to giggle. "That's my catchphrase! Believe it!" She said, grinning. "Though, I sense something unnecessarily dangerous. Be careful, kit. I know you don't like me going out to finish your business, but…"

"I know 'ttebayo! I like you too, Kyuubi. Thanks for not letting me get hurt!" The blond girl moved closer to the demon fox and patted its orange-colored fur. The fox didn't say anything. It won't ever admit to its Jinchuuriki about how protective it can be. Kyuubi liked its current host. She's a warm, slightly-idiotic girl who wanted nothing but people's acknowledgement. It was upset because she only smiled and turned into her prankster persona whenever people dissed her, bullied her, or glared at her coldly instead of fighting her way out. But, that's just how Naruto was. She didn't want to hate anyone.

"Well, I can only hope for the best, can't I?" She giggled and yawned before snuggling to Kyuubi's neck. Her partner's neck was always her one-stop place to definitely fall asleep. It was so warm and cuddly, so Naruto couldn't help to just sleep with it. "You know the deal, kit," Kyuubi growled lowly. "Anyone touches you in a wrong way means one way ticket to hell."

Kyuubi can only sigh as it heard the girl's loud snore.

A pink-haired girl walked hastily to a rundown apartment. She huffed as she wiped the sweat on her rather large forehead. Honestly, her teammate's apartment was too far from her house for her own good. She took out the apartment's spare key from the pot under the 'Uzumaki' plate and unlocked her blond friend's apartment.

She walked to the bed only to find her blond teammate sleeping soundly. She was wearing nothing but an orange-colored bra and black-colored shorts. Her blanket was tousled messily on her bed as she hugged her bolster on her big chest. Her bright blond hair was tied into horribly messy loose low pigtails, and she was snoring rather loudly.

"Wake up, stupid Naru-chan!" Sakura yelled on her teammate's ear, only to find the blond sat upright almost immediately, still hugging her bolster. "Sakura…-chan?" She muttered quietly. "Yep! Now wake up because Kakashi-sensei is going to meet us on the bridge for… you know what." Sakura grinned mischievously.

That one word brought full consciousness to Naruto's head. "OH! OH! OH!" She shouted. Cerulean eyes widened in excitement. "Exactly those 'oh!', so wake up and get ready!" Sakura stifled a laugh as she saw her teammate shot up from her bed to wear her clothes. An orange and blue colored, boy-like jumpsuit with shanghai styled collar, along with a tattered and battered head protector. She wore her precious head protector on her neck and tied her shoulder length hair into a messy ponytail. Sakura was ticked by her teammate's messy hair, but decided not to bother as she thought that it suited her teammate better.

Naruto sang many songs as they headed to the bridge, and Sakura can only sigh at her female teammate's behavior. She wished that sometimes, Naruto would ever consider being a little more graceful.

"Kyaaaaaaaaah!"

Sakura turned her gaze to a boy, most likely her age, was yanking an academy student's collar. "What was that?" She asked curiously. But, before she can say anything, her blond teammate had run to the source of commotion. "Konohamaru-chan!" She shouted in a rather panicky tone.

"Onee-chan!" Konohamaru called to her. Naruto was panicking. What did Konohamaru-chan did to be threatened by a very dangerous looking weirdo that had something bandaged to his back? Well, Konohamaru-chan could be a little annoying, but, he's a nice kid.

"What are you doing to him 'ttebayo? !" She rushed to take her little friend. But, the black-clothed weirdo just moved stealthily to the side, avoiding her. "Nothing, really. I just hate midgets." He said with a mocking smile. "Give him back! Konohamaru-chan didn't do anything wrong!" She shouted. A blond girl with a huge fan rolled her eyes. "I'm not involved in any of this." She said in a bored tone.

"What was that? You're a midget yourself, aren't you?" The weirdo let go of Konohamaru, who instantly run to Sakura's welcoming arms. He walked closer to Naruto and grabbed her collar. "So, let me play with you instead?" Naruto's cerulean eyes widened, but she soon shook her head and stuck her tongue out. "Never!" She was about to kick the weirdo on his manhood before a stone hit him on his face.

"What are you doing playing with him?" A familiar cocky voice came from the tree branch near her. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura-chan squealed in delight. "What are you doing with my teammate? I might throw more according to your answer." Sasuke said coolly. "I didn't need your help!" Naruto seethed. "I was about to do something spectacular to his manhood!" That made every Hidden Leaf ninjas present laughed.

The weirdo and the huge fan-girl blushed. "Why you little midget!" The weirdo was about to punch Naruto on her face. Sasuke was about to throw another rock before another voice joined their fiasco.

"Stop it, Kankuro," Naruto instantly looked to the tree branch directly on top of her. A red-haired boy was hanging there upside-down. "You're an embarrassment to our village." He said with a cool, bored tone.

"G-Gaara…" The weirdo (apparently named Kankuro) said nervously. He lets go of her collar and smiled, looking absolutely nervous. Naruto rubbed her neck slowly, trying to ease her breathing. The blond girl noticed as Sasuke was looking at him in a confused stare. She was sure that Sasuke was also wondering how the redhead had gotten there.

"Listen, Gaara, they started it first and-!"

"That's still no reason to stir a fight in someone else's village."

"But!"

"Shut up or I'll kill you."

Naruto shivered from the boy's cold tone, and she can tell that she wasn't the only one. She gulped nervously. The boy came down from the tree with the shunshin jutsu and appeared right in front of Naruto. There was a brief exchange between blank teal eyes and cerulean ones. Both ninja's eyes widened.

"You-"

"You!"

It happened in a flash. Naruto's eyes had changed color from cerulean blue into crimson red. Her nails were longer and were aimed at the redhead's neck, and the boy's hand was firm on Naruto's neck, holding it tight, but not enough to choke her.

"Naruto!" Sakura-chan shouted desperately. "Naruto…? Are you the one mother said will…?" The redhead, Gaara, muttered to himself rather than to the blond in front of him. There was a moment of silence before Naruto's eyes returned to its original color. "K-Kyuubi…" She stuttered weakly. "What… is wrong?" She said, muttering quietly.

Gaara was rather startled by the girl's words. Kyuubi? He had heard of the monster within him, his mother, so to speak. Shukaku was the Ichibi. Could it be that there were other ones like him? A normal human who happened to have been implanted a monster like him? He knew about the tailed beasts, Bijuu, and there were nine of them. He just didn't know that there are other humans like him.

This girl, this girl in front of him was definitely the one Shukaku had told him about. The one who will change him. He was definitely curious on how the girl was going to change him.

The excitement he felt inside had definitely made his hand grabbed the girl's throat harder. She coughed harshly. And somehow, it made him feel something. Something incredibly unfamiliar. What was it…?

Gaara narrowed his teal eyes in anger. He didn't like feeling the unfamiliar. So, he was intending to really crush the girl's throat.

"What an unnecessary…" He heard a low, growling voice that was somehow similar to his mother's own. "…danger you are…" The girl's eyes had changed back into the crimson colored ones. She snickered as a red chakra enveloped her entire body and burst. Gaara was forced to retreat his hand and hide behind his Shield of Sand.

"Something akin to mother…" Gaara said behind his sand. The girl walked to him soundlessly. Red chakras enveloping her like some kind of protective shroud, and it made her look like a fox with one tail on her bottom. She grinned as she tore through Gaara's sand and grabbed his collar.

"Stay away from my kitling, Shukaku's brat." It was the low-growl again. Gaara didn't say anything, too shocked with the fact that she had just tore through his absolute defense. "Oh, well. Naru wouldn't want me to kill you. But, be aware that should you do anything to her, I will personally send you to hell." She whispered to the redhead's ear with her low-growl. "O crap. Until next time then, Shukaku brat." The blond girl staggered and fell and Gaara had instinctively caught her.

He studied the girl's unconscious figure with furrowed brows. She… was like him, right? But, why are those people over there looked at her with such concern? It was like… they fear Gaara for her safety. Why?

He carefully took the girl's feet and carried her in a bridal style. Temari's eyes and mouth were opened, like she was really surprised, and Kankuro looked at him in a makeshift of fear and weirdness. "Naru…to…" He tried her name on his tongue, and that unfamiliar feeling shot up again.

"Put my teammate down." The raven-haired boy said after he shushin-ed to the ground. Gaara looked at the girl one more time before actually putting her down. The male teammate of Naruto walked slowly to him and took the blond girl with the same style he did with her earlier. "I'm interested in you," The Leaf ninja said after lifting his teammate. "What's your name?" He asked in a cool, flat tone.

Gaara spared a glance to the blond girl before tilting his head to look at the raven-haired guy clearly. "I'm Gaara of the Desert," He answered. "I also have an interest with you. Your name?" Gaara asked. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha." He answered with a smirk. Gaara scoffed before walking away, Temari and Kankuro following closely behind him.

When he was a bit farther than his previous spot, he looked back into the direction of a vibrant colored hair that belonged to a mysterious entity that was like him, yet also very different from him.

"I told you, Gaara. She's the host of the strongest Bijuu, and is the only one liked by Kyuubi itself. And she will change you in a way you'll never expect."

Gaara flinched and touched his scar. Please shut up, mother.

"Wasn't that totally unnecessary?" Naruto asked in a half-awake, half-asleep state. She rubbed her eyes as she snuggled to the tailed beast's warm fur.

"Naah. I told him to stay away from you. He's the danger I mentioned, Naru-kit. Do well to stay away from him."

"Hmm, I get it 'ttebayo…"

"Good. Now, wake up. Your teammates are waiting for you."

"Five more minutes, Kyuubi, five more minutes 'ttebayo…"

Kit is a short for Kitsune. And kitsune means fox. That means that Kyuubi considered Naruto one of his own kin.

Pheeeew! First time writing in Naruto fandom, dedicated to my Naruto OTP: GaaNaru! I like GaaNaru, but I love GaafemNaru fics, so I shall comply with the latter! Please review to tell me what you think!