Naruto of the Black Sand

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

"Normal Speech"

'Normal Thoughts'

"Demon/ Summon Speech"

'Demon/ Summon Thoughts'

Chapter 1: A Fated Meeting

An 8 year old blonde orphan walked down the crowded streets of Sunagakure no Sato; he had just been kicked out of the orphanage on his birthday. The reason? He was too old; it was common knowledge that Suna was the lowest of the 5 Great Villages because the Wind Daimyo was cutting Suna's funding and handing over its missions to Konoha. It was also common knowledge that orphanages were funded by their hidden villages so with their budget cut, Sunagakure was forced to find ways to save money. The first place to cut money was the orphanages, once an orphan was 8 they were given 50 ryō and sent away from the only place they knew as home. As a result the slums of Suna were filled with orphaned children who had nowhere to go.

"Stupid Matron, giving me 50 ryō to 'make a new life'. Dumb bitch, how he hell is 50 ryō going to get me anything" muttered the blonde orphan, his name was Naruto. Being an orphan he never knew his surname since he was never told about his birth parents except his mother died in birth. His dusty blonde, spiky hair waved in the air as the dry Suna air blew through the streets, he walked for a few minutes until he reached a park where there were a number of kids playing and running around.

He went to join them until he noticed a redheaded kid around his age sitting all by himself on the swings holding a teddy bear, 'I wonder why he's alone' thought Naruto, it had been the first time he had ever seen the red head at the park.

Naruto walked up toward the redhead as he ignored the villagers and other children whispering amongst themselves.

"Hey!" called out Naruto cheerfully, "What are you doing here all alone?" asked Naruto with a cheerful attitude.

The redhead slowly picked his head up before looking around to make sure the blonde was talking to him, "Are you talking to me?" asked the redhead meekly.

Naruto's smile widened, "Yeah I'm talking to you, do you want to play?"

Gaara had a small look of shock at the blonde's statement while the surrounding villagers looked at the blonde with looks of disgust.

"Ugh he wants to play with the demon?"

"Make sure you stay away from that Demon –loving brat Sochi"

"The demon will probably kill him"

Naruto was oblivious to the villagers' whisperings, "What's your name? Mine's Naruto"

"Gaara" replied the redhead meekly, Naruto smiled before grabbing onto Gaara and leading him away to play. Gaara could sense his sand act up but he used all his will power to force it down, he didn't want the first friend he had ever made to be scared of him.

Gaara and Naruto played games for the entire afternoon; it was the first time Gaara had fun in a long time. By the time the sun was setting, Gaara and Naruto were exhausted from playing so long.

"That was fun Gaara, I like playing with you!" exclaimed Naruto, "I like playing with you too Naruto" replied Gaara with a small smile.

"So I guess this is goodbye huh?" said Naruto with slight sadness. Gaara frowned as well, "Yeah Tou-san is probably expecting me home, where do you live Naruto?" asked Gaara curiously.

Naruto smiled, "I live over at the orphan…" Naruto stopped before frowning since he remembered he had been kicked out, "…I don't know where I live actually, I got kicked out of the orphanage this morning."

Gaara frowned knowing his new friend was a street orphan, "Well, you can come stay with me. Tou-san never pays attention to me so he probably won't notice you."

Naruto beamed, "Really…" Gaara nodded with a smile, "Alright!" cheered Naruto. Gaara led Naruto toward the upper parts of Suna until they finally reached the Kazekage's mansion.

Suddenly Naruto stopped and looked at the large mansion, "WOAH YOU LIVE HERE!" exclaimed Naruto loudly.

Gaara nodded, "Tou-san is the Yondaime Kazekage" Naruto looked at him in disbelief before grinning, "You are awesome Gaara" said Naruto.

Naruto followed Gaara inside; they snuck through the house until they reached Gaara's room. Naruto looked around the room to see it was nothing like what he thought the child of a Kage would have a room. The walls were barren of pictures and there were very few toys, "Gaara dinner!" called out a feminine voice.

"Who's that?" asked Naruto as he played with one of Gaara's toys, "My Nee-chan Temari, I'll bring you something to eat when I come back" Naruto nodded and watched as Gaara left the room.

Curiosity got the better of Naruto, he had never witnessed a family eat dinner. Being an orphan it was first come first serve so scarfing down food to make sure you ate was the norm at the orphanage. He quietly opened the door to the hall and crawled as stealthfully as possible toward the stairs and watched as the Sabaku family ate dinner.

He was confused when all he was met with was tense silence. An older blonde girl, who he figured was Temari, ate in silence as she darted her eyes between a brown haired adult, who he figured was the Kazekage, and a brown haired kid, probably a year older and Gaara's brother, while Gaara ate silently at the end of the table.

"Kankurō, how are your puppetry studies?" asked the Yondaime Kazekage.

"T-They are fine Tou-san, Chiyo-sama says that I am a prodigy at puppetry and that I might even surpass her in puppetry" replied Kankurō.

The Kazekage nodded, "Good, puppetry is a very difficult art to master. To have you be a prodigy in puppetry makes me proud."

The Suna leader then turned to Temari, "What about you Temari?"

Temari was interrupted from her thoughts, "Oh Baki-sensei says that I'm making great progress with the small fans, he says that if I continue to do well he'll give me a war fan to advance my Fūton training."

The Kazekage nodded in acceptance of the answer before looking at Gaara, who was silently eating, from the corner of his eye. "Gaara" spoke the Kazekage with authority.

Gaara flinched at the hard tone his father talked to him with, "H-Hai Tou-san"

"Did you lose control today?" asked the Kazekage.

Gaara shook his head, "No Tou-san, I didn't lose control today."

The Kazekage looked at Gaara suspiciously, "Good, we will have to step up your training" spoke the Wind Shadow coldly before he turned back to his food.

"H-Hai" replied Gaara meekly before finishing his plate, he looked around and saw no one was paying attention to him so he grabbed a handful of fruit and stuffed it into his pockets before leaving the table without a word.

Naruto looked at the scene shocked to the core, was that what a family was like? No, he remembered some of the other orphans always talking about the warm and happy time with their family, before their shinobi parents were killed in duty, during dinnertime. Was there a reason the Kazekage treated Gaara with distain? Naruto shook his head before quietly slipping back into Gaara's room. A couple seconds later Gaara entered the room with a slight smile, "Here" spoke Gaara as he emptied out his pockets of fruit for Naruto.

Naruto smiled, "Thanks Gaara" said Naruto quietly, as to not alert the people present inside the house. Naruto ate the fruit with gusto, "Ne Gaara why is your Tou-san so mean to you?" asked Naruto as he took a bite of an apple.

Gaara slightly stiffened, "What are you talking about?" asked Gaara. "I saw how he treated you when you guys ate dinner, he looked like he really hates you" spoke Naruto.

Gaara looked down at the ground, "He's just mad at me because I don't do as good in shinobi training as Nii-san and Nee-chan" lied Gaara, Naruto nodded in acceptance of the answer.

Once Naruto was done with his food, Gaara set up a Futon for Naruto to sleep in. The moon was high in the sky when both friends laid down to sleep.

"Thanks for doing this Gaara…" Naruto held out his hand with a grin, "I promise that I will always be your friend, no matter what happens. From now on we are brothers in all but blood"

Gaara smiled as wide as he could and a few tears left his eyes, he reached out and grabbed Naruto's hand before grabbing it firmly, "Hai!"

Naruto grinned happily before letting go and both kids fell into a deep slumber.

The Next Day: Kazekage Mansion

Naruto woke up to the sound of shouting; he got up and walked toward the window as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked out the window to see the Kazekage in his normal civilian attire surrounded by gold sand; Gaara was on the other side of the backyard with sand surrounding his body as he gasped for air.

"Come on! Attack me!" yelled the Kazekage in slight anger.

Gaara scowled and stood back up; he moved his arms and commanded his sand. The sand charged at the Wind Shadow and tried to wrap around him but was stopped when gold sand wrapped around Gaara's sand. Gaara eyes widened when gold sand exploded from the ground but his sand immediately rose to protect him. The gold sand started to mix with Gaara's regular sand and forced the sand to be weighted down giving the Kazekage an opening. Gold sand once again exploded from the ground and hit Gaara in the back. Gaara's regular sand, weighed down by the Kazekage's gold sand, was too slow to protect Gaara. The redheaded child fell to the ground as he tried to catch his breath.

"Pathetic!" growled out the Kazekage before he turned around and left in a swirl of wind.

Naruto who had been hiding behind the backdoor stepped outside and walked up toward Gaara, "You okay Gaara?" asked Naruto in concern as he offered Gaara his hand.

Gaara nodded and took Naruto's hand as he helped him up, "I'm fine, this always happens" spoke Gaara before he turned to his friend with a smile, "Come on, I'm going to go visit Yashamaru-ojichan."

Naruto followed after Gaara, noticing the glares and looks of fear from the villagers and the children directed at himself and Gaara but deciding to ignore them. After walking deep into the heart of Suna, they reached a medium sized house. Gaara was giddy as he knocked on the door, Naruto looked at Gaara with his brow raised, never had he seen his friend so excited.

The door opened to reveal a middle aged man with sandy blonde hair, fair skin, and violet eyes, "Gaara-kun it's good to see you!" exclaimed Yashamaru, said man looked behind Gaara to see a blonde boy looking at them curiously.

"Is he a friend of yours Gaara-kun?" asked Yashamaru curiously, Gaara nodded happily as he hugged his uncle, "Hai! His name is Naruto."

Yashamaru smiled and rubbed Naruto's head affectionately, "It's nice to meet you Naruto-kun, and any friend of Gaara's is a friend of mine." Naruto blushed in embarrassment, no one had ever touched him affectionately he kind of liked it.

"Ne ne Yashamaru-ojichan, can Naruto learn the shinobi arts with us!?" asked a giddy Gaara, Yashamaru slightly frowned, "I don't know Gaara, does Kazekage-sama know?"

"N-No" replied Gaara meekly, "Okay then, he's more than welcome!" exclaimed Yashamaru happily causing both Naruto and Gaara to brighten up.

Yashamaru ushered them inside and for the rest of the day the medic-nin/ teacher taught Gaara and Naruto, after he taught him to unlock his chakra, chakra theory and the history of Suna. Naruto's favorite part was when they learned about the Sandaime Kazekage's ability to use Iron Sand, for some reason he felt a sense of familiarity to the Sandaime Kazekage but as soon as it was there it was gone. At the end of the day, Yashamaru sent them outside to play for a while until he called them back.

"Ne ne Gaara, how can you control sand?" asked Naruto curiously, remembering the fight he had seen between Gaara and the Kazekage.

Gaara looked at his friend, "I don't know I just can" responded Gaara, Naruto looked at him suspiciously before shrugging and running toward the park. As soon as they reached the park, Naruto could see that the other children were staying as far away as possible while the parents kept an eye on them. Naruto wondered why the other kids didn't play with them while Gaara was already sitting down on the swing like he did before. Pretty soon Naruto got tired of trying to play with the other kids and just sat next to Gaara on the swings.

Naruto and Gaara were enjoying their times on the swing until a ball rolled at Gaara's feet; the kids looked in horror as Gaara picked up the ball and held it out to them with a smile. Naruto watched as the older kids hesitated to even approach Gaara, finally one of the braver kids approached Gaara with his hands held out to grab the ball but to his and Gaara's horror; his sand lashed out and whipped the older boy away.

The boy cried as he bled from his head, Gaara tried to get closer to apologize but his sand reacted to a kunai being thrown. Suddenly a shinobi, chunin from his vest, landed across from Gaara with a kunai shakily in his hand.

"Get out of here! You've done enough!" yelled the shinobi as he tried to steady his kunai from the fear, but Gaara's reputation as the Ichibi container was too much. Gaara was about to say something but Naruto put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, Gaara looked down before he let Naruto lead him away from the park and back to Yashamaru's house.

After some walking they finally entered Gaara's uncles' house, "What happened Gaara-kun?" asked Yashamaru in concern, even though he had a vague idea of what happened.

"I'm sorry" muttered Gaara, "I hurt that boy" whispered Gaara shamefully, "Gaara it's alright, it was an accident" spoke Yashamaru, "Yashamaru-ojichan, what does pain feel like?" asked Gaara.

"Pain is difficult to explain Gaara-kun, but it is a very unpleasant feeling" responded Yashamaru, "Do you hate me Oji-chan?" asked Gaara, Yashamaru walked up to Gaara and looked at him with a smile.

He took out a knife and cut into his finger, "Bleeding wounds may seem painful at first but the pain will subside with time while the worst are the injuries to the heart and are more difficult to treat. There are ointments and medication for bleeding wounds but one thing that can cure the pain in my heart ... love. Gaara didn't understand. "How can that be?" Gaara asked, "Love will always be in your heart Gaara-kun, your sand protects you because your Kaa-san is still in your heart she makes sure you are never hurt.

Gaara looked at his uncle before nodding and going toward the door, Yashamaru just smiled and waved goodbye as Naruto followed after Gaara to make sure his friend didn't get in trouble.

Gaara walked down the streets with Naruto at his side as he carried a paper bag, "So run this by me again, you want to give the guy that got hurt some ointment in hopes he forgives you?"

Gaara nodded, "I personally don't think this'll work, people won't just forgive you if you apologize. I mean did you see the look that shinobi was giving you? If a shinobi looks at you like that, then a civilian won't want to get close to you…" Naruto wrapped and arm around Gaara, "Besides why do we need him, you've got me now."

"I still feel bad about hurting him; if he accepts this gift then I'll be happy. If not then I won't be surprised" spoke Gaara.

They finally reached the house and Gaara knocked at the door, the door cracked open and the boy that had been hurt peeked out, "Get out of here…monster" the door was slammed shut and Gaara looked down in sadness.

Gaara started walking away as he was followed by Naruto, unfortunately Gaara wasn't paying attention and he bumped into a shinobi who was walking the streets.

"Hey! Watch where you're going brat!" yelled the shinobi; said shinobi looked down to see Gaara looking at him with a scowl. Before he even knew it sand was wrapped around him and imploded killing him.

"Gaara what the hell!" exclaimed Naruto, Gaara was snapped out of his trance and saw what he had done, "I-I didn't m-mean to" stuttered Gaara, "Forget that, we need to go!" yelled Naruto as he grabbed his arm and pulled him into an alley as they ran away before civilians started crowding the body.

After some running they found themselves sitting on a rooftop overlooking Sunagakure, "Naruto, am I a monster?"

The blonde looked at his friend, "No Gaara, you're my friend and I don't think you're a monster."

Gaara gave a weak smile; suddenly his sand defense acted up and blocked a barrage of kunai that was thrown at Gaara's back. Both children turned to see a shinobi wearing a jonin vest and a mask, "Who the hell are you!" yelled Naruto.

The shinobi didn't bother answering as he took out 10 kunai and had them float in the air using chakra strings, Gaara recognizing the danger to him and his best friend commanded his sand. The sand shot forward and slammed into the shinobi causing his ribcage to explode and him to slump against the wall.

Naruto and Gaara approached the shinobi with caution, Gaara reached out and pulled off his mask only to gasp and fall to his knees when he saw it was his beloved uncle Yashamaru. Tears fell from Gaara's eyes as he watched his uncle, the only person that showed him love, bleed out. Naruto himself shed a few tears; the man had been nice in his opinion and was like a father to him.

"W-Why?" stuttered Gaara, Yashamaru gave a weak smile, "I was ordered to kill you. The Kazekage thought you could master the power of the desert Shukaku gave you…" Naruto looked at Gaara in shock, now the looks of hate and disgust made sense, "…So far you have failed to show any progress and your father and the council have deemed you a threat to the village and ordered your death.

"A-And you couldn't r-refuse him r-right?" stuttered Gaara as tears continued to fall, "You're wrong, I could have refused if I wanted…" Gaara felt his entire world shatter as Yashamaru spoke his last words, "I didn't probably… because somewhere deep in my heart…I still hated you. You're the reason my precious Nee-chan died, I tried so hard to love you Gaara but in the end my hate for you was stronger than my love. You're the reason my sister was sacrificed for this damn village, she was killed so Shukaku would be sealed inside you. She died cursing you and this village by naming you Gaara…a self-loving carnage… No one will ever love you Gaara!"

Yashamaru ripped open his vest to reveal his entire torso covered in explosive notes, "Now please die."

With those final words Yashamaru detonated his explosive tags, Gaara's sand automatically rose to protect him but Naruto was left unprotected. Gaara's eyes widened as he saw the explosion engulf his friend, "Naruto!"

Naruto looked as the explosion got closer and closer until he was pushed to the ground, he shut his eyes tightly and waited for death to come but it never did. He opened his eyes and saw black sand had wrapped around him and protected him from the explosion. Once the explosion died down, the black sand fell to the ground, Naruto walked up to the black sand and picked up a few grains, "Iron sand?" spoke Naruto as he examined the sand, he was knocked out of his thoughts when sand started swirling around Gaara dangerously.

"No one loves me… I can only love myself... I can only trust myself" muttered Gaara as his sand painfully engraved the kanji for love on his forehead.

"I finally understand… I'm alone. I won't believe in anyone, or love anyone. I'm alone" muttered Gaara as sand continued to swirl around him until he felt someone grab him; he scowled and turned to see an unharmed Naruto looking at him.

His eyes widened in shock, "N-Naruto?"

"Gaara calm down!" exclaimed Naruto; "No I finally understand that I am all alone in this world!" yelled Gaara in anger.

"You're wrong Gaara! I'll always be here for you, I promised no matter what happened that I would be you friend… WE ARE BROTHERS GAARA!" yelled Naruto as he hugged his brother.

Gaara's eyes widened in shock, 'Even after everything he still considers me his brother… maybe I'm not alone in this world' thought Gaara as his sand calmed down and he returned the hug as he let years of sadness out into Naruto's arms. Naruto just held Gaara and let him cry until he finally fell asleep.

In the distance the Yondaime Kazekage, dresses in his traditional Kage robes looked toward where Gaara had fallen asleep. "It seems his mind is at so much ease that Shukaku can't take control" mused the Wind Shadow, "And to think that boy Gaara befriended has the ability of my predecessor the Sandaime Kazekage. The ability to manipulate iron sand, he will make an excellent shinobi if I can train him properly."

The Kazekage turned around and walked toward his home, "I guess the Gaara still has the potential to become Suna's ultimate weapon."

Next Morning: Kazekage's Mansion

Gaara woke up to find himself in his room; he looked around and saw Naruto standing in the corner.

"N-Naruto, what h-happened last n-night?" asked Gaara.

Naruto looked at his friend with a weak smile, "Don't worry Gaara, everything's alright" assured Naruto.

Flashback

Naruto carried Gaara on his back as he slept soundly, being 2 inches taller, it let Naruto carry Gaara with ease. They approached the mansion and immediately Naruto noticed the Kazekage waiting at the door with an ANBU at his side.

"Take him to his bed" ordered the Kazekage, the ANBU nodded but immediately stopped when black sand swirled around Naruto protectively.

"I don't think so, I'll put him in bed before I have a word with you Kazekage-sama" spoke Naruto in a hard tone that left nothing to be discussed.

The Kazekage let an amused smile cross his face before he nodded and let them in the house, Naruto's eyes never stopped looking at the Kazekage. Finally Naruto put Gaara in his bed before he followed the ANBU to the Kazekage's office.

Naruto entered the office and saw the Kazekage waiting for him, he motioned for him to sit and Naruto did so.

"I've noticed that you've become very protective of Gaara, I know Yashamaru told you about Gaara containing the Ichibi before he killed himself" spoke the Kazekage.

"Gaara helped me during a time of need Kazekage-sama, I swore that we were brothers and I would never leave him no matter what happened… I grew up in an orphanage where only the strongest ate and slept somewhere warm, I'm very familiar with the cruelty of this world and even though Gaara is thought as the Ichibi he still tries to make friends and doesn't curse this world like myself" spoke Naruto.

The Kazekage nodded, "Yes in this world only the strongest survive and everyone else is killed, I can see that you are very strong and your Jiton is the same as the Sandaime Kazekage, the ability to manipulate iron sand."

The Wind Shadow looked at Naruto, "I want to make you an offer, agree to be loyal to me and I will train you to fully master your bloodline and adopt you into my family."

Naruto looked at the Kazekage in disdain but he knew that the Kazekage was probably the only one who could train him in his bloodline, "Very well" spoke Naruto, "I agree to be loyal to you only."

The Kazekage grinned, "Good welcome to the family" Naruto mentally snorted but nodded and left the office.

End Flashback

Naruto looked a Gaara with sad eyes, "Gaara do you remember last night when you said you were all alone in this world."

Gaara nodded, "You're not wrong, this world is cruel and only the strong survive. There are very few people in the world I trust and even fewer I can call my brother…" Naruto held out his hand, "I trust you with my life Gaara. It's just you and me Gaara; we can trust no one except ourselves, it's us against the world that will try to hurt us. Are you with me Gaara?"

Gaara looked at Naruto before he grabbed his hand, "Hai Naruto…nii-san"

Naruto grinned and rubbed his head, "Good Gaara…otouto"

It was that day that the two outcast agreed to always be side by side no matter what the world threw at them.