Okay fair warning I accidentally backspaced in here somewhere and idk where my cursor was 

Third person pov

Minato had been right. Rasa had the One Tails sealed in his son, and the elders he had perform the ritual did a horrible, horrible job at it.

The kid gets possessed if he dares to fall asleep and will go on killing rampages. No person or thing can touch him physically, the tailed beast's sand apparently some kind of ultimate defense. He's grown more violent since the death of his uncle, which Rasa (suspiciously) refuses to elaborate on no matter how high Minato raises his eyebrows. The Ichibi needs to be resealed, or else it will break free and lay complete waste to Suna.

Minato supposes this means they're justified in asking Minato to not only make the journey all the way here, but to put up with Jiraiya in the process as well. Maybe. He could be spending quality time with his son right now, framing Danzo for a crime he probably committed anyway and giving the Uchiha back their place in the village. Restoring order. Fun little Hokage things, you know?

Instead he's here. Jiraiya keeps staring at him like Minato kicked his puppy. Minato's got sand in places he didn't even realize existed, and he has no idea what his son is doing. Probably being cute and perfect, and literally everyone else in the whole entire world is getting to witness it except Minato. 

What's worse is that he has no idea how long this is going to take, but he knows it isn't a one-day-long type of deal. They're going to have to catch the kid to inspect his current seal first, which is going to be real fucking hard when it's apparently impossible to touch him. Minato has no idea how they're going to pull that one off, but he volunteers Jiraiya to try first.

After they catch him-- if they even can-- they're going to have to paint intricate symbols on him, and the slightest aberration in said intricate symbols will fuck the entire thing up. Which means he has to be dead still the entire time. The only way Minato sees that happening is if he's knocked out for it, but oh, wait! He gets possessed by an actual, literal demon anytime he's asleep. So.

"Why aren't we being paid for this?" Minato wondered aloud, though nothing could ever make up for the surely very important chunks of Naruto's childhood he was actively missing. "Why aren't you paying us for this? This sounds life threatening. To us. And everyone else. I just came back to life." 

"We have an alliance." Rasa responded, tone just as dry as the sand coating this godforsaken village. No hate to Suna, but also all the hate to Suna. Minato should've lied and said he was sick. Then he could not only stay in Konoha, he could also stay home. And then he could lie and say Naruto was sick too, and they could stay home together, coloring and bonding.

Minato stared at the ceiling into an empty heaven with an absent god in search of guidance that would never come. Why did he ever want to be Hokage again? Fatherhood was the only career he needed. Naruto was surely more important than an alliance. 

"Right. Of course." Minato eyed him dubiously after a moment of gathering himself. He should've send Jiraiya all on his own. If he could laboriously spend years and years tracking down whoever this potentially imaginary 'Akatsuki' group was, he could laboriously come catch a demon-possessed child and seal the evil forces within them. "Then, do you... happen to know where this child is? Or how to catch him?"

Rasa made a face, and Minato resisted the urge to find the nearest wall and slam his head into it.

~~~~

Gaara, Naruto has decided, is a far better friend than that moron Sasuke could ever hope to be.

Has he tried to kill him a minimum of six times now? Yeah, but he was subtle about his attempts, and Naruto can respect that. Gaara was just testing the boundaries was all! He had a right to be suspicious. Naruto would be wary too if he were in his shoes. Some random kid from an entirely different village showing up out of nowhere and befriending you, impervious to your murder sand? Yeah, talk about shady. 

See? Naruto can be socially aware when he wants to be! Sometimes. Vaguely. Sakura-chan says that he has the emotional comprehension of a slug, but she has a forehead the size of the village gates, so what's her opinion matter? Only Shikamaru had agreed with her, and Shikamaru's the smartest in their class whether he shows it or not. So maybe Naruto's lacking in tact, but Gaara seems to be taking in stride! Barring the murder!

There's something magnetic between them. Naruto can feel it, and that probably means Gaara can too. There's an ingrained familiarity that shouldn't exist but does, an immediate kinship Naruto can't shake. He knows that this is because of Kurama, and that this is confirmation that Gaara must host one of his siblings. 

Naruto wonders which one it is. He wonders if Kurama will tell him-- if Naruto asked, he'd be admitting to knowing he was the nine tails, and... well, that didn't really fly with his current plans. He needed more flowers in their mind field to let that little tidbit of information spill.

Kashi is a constant presence on the outskirts of Naruto's awareness, hovering anxiously. He obviously knows something isn't right with Gaara but he doesn't want to say it. Naruto ignores him, ignores Gaara's skepticism, ignores the sand that sometimes tries to creep up on his back only to once again warble, unable to quite reach him-- again, likely due to his own tailed beast.

Kurama's getting so many hugs for that. Can you imagine? Getting strangled to death, crushed slowly until the blood pops and oozes out of his body, and his eyeballs fall out, and he bites off his own tongue off on accident from the pain, and all his bones slowly begin to crack and shatter and shove inwards, piercing his organs which would compress and squeeze out of his body in the form of fine mush? That would like, suck. And probably not feel all that good.

Gaara didn't seem to know what to think of him. He eyed Naruto like he was some strange, alien creature. He'd probably never had a decent conversation in his entire life, so meeting someone like Naruto-- who was the greatest and best conversationalist to ever walk this earth, obviously-- had to be pretty overwhelming. He seemed a little hopeful, but mostly skeptical and fearful, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Naruto knew how that felt. That's how he'd felt with his dad in the first days after his return, living with the constant expectation that it would all turn around for the worse and bite him in the ass so hard he'd feel it for weeks. Gaara hesitantly followed his lead and seemed to somewhat enjoy himself between all the uncertain glances and quiet attempts to get his sand to touch him.

"So like, therapy is all about opening up about your feelings, you know? And then you talk about them and it fixes stuff." Naruto made another sand brick and stacked it atop their growing wall. Even if Gaara was trying to kill him, he was a great sand castle builder. "I really don't know how it works. Mostly he just invades my privacy and then it makes me feel better. It's super weird, but you should totally give it a try. Ayumu has great rates."

Gaara didn't respond, staring at him. Their life-size sandcastle was beginning to slowly take form. The first few times he'd tried to make and stack bricks they'd fallen apart, but then Naruto had requested Gaara's help. Or... demanded it, kind of. But Gaara was listening and doing whatever it was he did to keep the walls from collapsing in on them, so he was all here for it!

"But my dad says therapy isn't for everyone. Apparently he tried to get Kashi to go to therapy tons before he died, but Kashi would just sit there in silence and refuse to speak." Naruto blabbered on. He was doing most of the talking. Or really all of the talking, but that was fine too. "Now he mostly just runs when Ayumu tries to confront him about his feelings. Or pretends he's gone deaf."

Gaara paused, then, squinting at him. Naruto blinked back, smiling brightly. That was like, way more of a reaction to what he'd said than he'd gotten for anything else! Way better than the small frowns and nervous looks he'd been getting shot his way since they started!

Wait... that made it sound like he'd kidnapped Gaara and was holding him hostage or something. Which he definitely hadn't done. Right? Was Gaara here of his own free will? If Naruto asked, that might pressure him into saying yes when the answer was actually no. Oh, wow. What if Naruto's a horrible person? His conscience is whispering to him and it doesn't sound happy. He must've misstepped somewhere.

"...You said that was Kashi outside." Gaara's voice came out quiet and relatively hesitant, but there all the same. Naruto swallowed a scream of sheer excitement and nodded encouragingly, perhaps a little too eager if Gaara's gulp was anything to go off of. "But you said you came here with your dad. But... you just said he died." 

"Oh, yeah. He died the day I was born and then like, came back six years later." Naruto waved a hand flippantly. Gaara squinted a little harder, clearly trying to figure out how that worked. Naruto shrugged. "I have no idea how it works either, but he's really nice! He doesn't call me a monster, and he gives me great hugs. He also feeds me!" 

Gaara straightened up abruptly at his words, looking at Naruto like he'd never seen him before. Naruto backtracked. Okay, maybe he was socially inept. What had he said this time? Is it because he has a nice dad and Gaara's is probably a shithead? Does he even have a father? Oh god, is Gaara an orphan? Naruto should've asked, they could've had some bonding! 

"A monster?" Gaara asked, strangely attentive now. He leaned closer, almost uncomfortably close, actually. So close there were mere inches between their noses. His eyes were wide and unblinking, something in them sparkling. "Does your village call you a monster too?" 

Naruto probably should've led with that.

~~~~

By the time Kakashi puts his foot down and decides it's time for them to go home and get some sleep, the sand castle has taken form into more than just a castle. It is a fortress. Apparently the key bonding point between Naruto and Gaara was their shared experiences in discrimination. They'd started a club. A two person club, but still a club.

Gaara seemed relieved. Naruto talking to him out of kindness and a wish to get to know him hadn't made sense in his mind, but Naruto talking to him because they were the same did. He'd relaxed, ceased his murder attempts, and they traded war stories. Gaara's had a little more murder in them than Naruto's-- the blonde felt a little one-upped, actually-- but whatever.

Gaara is like, definitely sort of a psychopath. Who doesn't have character flaws, though? Besides, it's not Gaara's fault. His uncle tried to totally murder him and that's so not cool. Naruto would go psycho too and start killing people. Gaara had been sad over his death, but Naruto had fist bumped him for it. They were survival of the fittest conquerors. Top of the food chain twins.

Minato gets back just after Naruto does, and he looks like every ounce of life has been drained out of him. His eyes are empty up until the moment he sets sights on his poor, unsuspecting son. Naruto doesn't so much as blink as he's snatched up by what is essentially nothing more than a yellow blur at that point, but Kakashi and Ayumu both visibly jump.

"How was your day, Naruto?" Minato asks, sounding hyper-focused and strangely desperate. Naruto raises his brows at the haggard look on his dad's face. What did they do, throw him into a gladiator ring and force him to fight for his life? "God. How did I last so long without you?"

"You're super strong." Naruto responds immediately, patting him in a consoling manner. His dad gives what sounds a little too close to a sniffle for comfort, so Naruto jumps to change the subject before he can start the water works. "I made a new friend today! He's my best friend in the whole entire world now and I'm gonna go meet him again tomorrow! He promised to show me around!" 

Minato visibly brightens at the sight of his son's beaming grin. Kakashi snorts a little, lounging back against the couch. Chasing Naruto around all day had left him relatively worn out. The park had been a nice break, even if Naruto's new friend was a little... off. Something about his chakra rubbed Kakashi wrong.

He had his suspicions. Naruto had been surprisingly tight-lipped about the fine details of his new friend, giving a bare-minimum explanation along the lines of "his village doesn't like him either" that implied some things Kakashi wasn't sure he was ready to think too hard about. Naruto seemed safe. Kakashi'd thought a few times that the redhead might attack him, but the sand he seemed able to control never quite touched, always stopping just before it could.

It left Kakashi unsettled, but they'd seemed to really start to get along near the end. Besides, Naruto had been too genuinely overjoyed for Kakashi to intervene. In the end he supposed it had worked out. Nobody had gotten hurt at least, even if the redhead had looked like an abandoned kitten left out in the rain when it was finally time to leave. One that had gone still in shock when Naruto dragged him into a hug, promising to find him tomorrow morning so they could explore Suna together.

That meant Kakashi wouldn't have to come up with ways to entertain Naruto, at least. Besides, it was good for Naruto to socialize. He seemed to have a... nicer relationship with this new kid than he did Sasuke. His friendship with Sasuke was built on a foundation of insults, whereas the one he was building with this Gaara kid was constructed of something a little more wholesome.

"That's amazing, Naruto! I'm glad you're making friends." Minato pressed a hard kiss to his son's cheek, laughing when Naruto's nose scrunched up. "You'll have to introduce me before we leave! I'll be stuck for the next few days working with Jiraiya, but hopefully I'll get at least a day of downtime when we're all done."

"Believe it!" Naruto chirped happily, reminding him so potently of Kushina that Minato had to blink back tears. "I still don't think we should've invited that pervert guy, though. We could've just lied and said he was dead or something. What are they going to do? Accuse the Hokage of lying? They never would've known!" 

Ayumu sighed, pulling his clipboard back out to make another note. Minato swallowed another laugh, settling for a grin so wide it ached. He'd been right to bring Naruto along with them. Without him, Minato's not sure he'd have had to willpower to survive this.

~~~~ 

Kurama is too goddamn tired for this.

It should be impossible. Of all the brats for Naruto to befriend, what are the chances that he'd end up buddying up with the container of one of Kurama's siblings? Kurama had very little awareness of where his siblings were at any given time, and he certainly hadn't known the youngest of them had been extracted from his previous artifact and also locked away into an insufferable child.

It was clear the foolish ninja of the Sand village hadn't known what they were doing when they sealed Shukaku away. His influence on his host was clear, though it left Kurama with an odd feeling in to pit of his stomach. Though the seal on Naruto was strong, would he do the same things were it weakened? Would he possess him and wreak havoc?

The idea, for some reason, made him feel sick. He thought of the little rat's beaming grin and was horrified to find himself shuddering at the mere notion of taking advantage of it. It was a weakness, or-- was it? Kurama told himself it was because he was above such things. He was a prideful beast. He wouldn't sink so low as to try and control something that pathetic. 

Deep down, he knew it had to be more than that. Shukaku's ill effects on his suffering host made him distinctly uncomfortable because that just as easily could've been him in and Naruto were that damned Namikaze and his wife not so good at sealing. It was odd, to feel suddenly so thankful towards a man he had once hated, towards a woman who had once contained him so harshly. Had they not been as skilled as they were, Kurama never would've...

Nevermind that. Naruto was his, irritating as he was. Kurama was powerful, above all other beings, and he had the ability and authority to claim whatever he so wished. His jailer's nattering was so incessant and stubbornly consistent that he had begun to fold, and so what if he did? There was no one here to judge him. Naruto was a genuine child, if not an incredibly, incredibly stupid one. He... liked Kurama. Loved him, even.

Kurama had not been loved in a very, very long time. And never with such determination and naivety. 

There was a certain sense of shock that came with feeling his brother's chakra again. It was furious and angry, but it too had stilled upon feeling Kurama, upon realizing he was near. Kurama had not been so close in proximity to one of his siblings in what felt like forever, barring the brief brushes during the third war. Though there was no way to communicate with Shukaku, simply being near had brought warm and nostalgic emotions bubbling in him.

Kurama couldn't help but laugh, full and hearty. It was a booming thing that shook the bars of his cage. His jailer was an idiot. An idiot that had claimed Kurama so willingly and without fear, and that had forced Kurama into claiming him back to an extent. Kurama was still wary-- he likely always would be, with the child refusing to acknowledge his status as a tailed beast. One day he'd realize the truth and that would be that, he knew.

But for now, there was a peace between them. Companionship. Friendship-- Kurama had not had that in a long time either, but Naruto was unrelenting. He talked and talked and talked, night after night, and Kurama got to know him against his will. He was the most persistent little thing Kurama had ever met.

"Kurama!" Case and point, the boy immediately shrieked with joy upon falling asleep and opening his eyes in their shared sewer. He charged towards the bars with gusto, as though Kurama couldn't snap him up in his maw in a single, miniscule bite. "I made a friend today! His name is Gaara, and he totally murders people! Just like you!" 

He sounded a little too happy about that fact, actually. Kurama let out a huff of hot air as Naruto scrambled up onto one of his tails, which was coincidentally sticking out of the bars of the cage. It was just the position Kurama found most comfortable to lay in these days was all. The cage didn't have much room, and certainly not enough for all his tails.

 "I do not care." Kurama droned, as he did every night. As usual, he was ignored. Naruto snuggled into his fur, and Kurama glared half-heartedly at him. When had his glowers lost their heat and rage entirely? "Off, you flea."

"You're soft and I love you, so no." Naruto responded with that happy bluntness that always sent a jolt through Kurama whether he wanted it to or not. The boy was never ashamed or reluctant to say exactly what he thought or felt, which was... jarring. "Anyway, Gaara and I are going to meet up again tomorrow! Turns out his village hates him too. Who knew! I wonder if there's a child pariah in every one of the hidden villages. I wonder if we could go on a road trip and find them all. Gaara and I started a club, you see, but it only has us two. So obviously we need to launch a recruitment campaign to grow our forces--"

Kurama's lips curled ever so slightly, his eyes sliding shut as he listened to the brat ramble on, the ghost of his brother's chakra lingering in the back of his mind. 

~~~~

Rasa's youngest son is a murder-prone, highly dangerous individual whom is impossible to physically touch without being blocked by a wall of sand or strangled to death, so of course they find him and Naruto holding hands like they've been friends their whole lives after hours of searching.

From the accounts of Suna's ANBU force and the Kazekage, Gaara was supposedly sociopathic and incapable of love or connecting with children his own age. Getting their hands on him was a rusty pipedream, and they'd really had no idea how they were going to safely bag him, let alone how they were going to get a new seal on the kid. 

The plan had been to track him down and try to peacefully approach first. Minato had insisted despite Rasa's multiple suggestions to go in guns blazing and just forcibly restrain him. That would be a last resort. If they could keep him some level of calm, even just looking at his current seal from a distance without him thrashing about and terrified could be beneficial.

Shown a picture of Gaara beforehand, he immediately coins the boy when he spots him and Naruto trailing along, Kakashi casually walking behind them. Naruto's got Pakkun cradled in his free arm and is bouncing down the street happily, talking a mile a minute in that adorably excited way of his. Gaara allows himself to be dragged, looking a little awed and a little lost in Naruto's brightness.

Panic comes first, because Naruto is holding hands with a child serial killer who often becomes possessed by the demon inside them. Double the panic comes second, because how did Naruto find him in the first place? Of all the children Naruto should befriend, how had he somehow ended up with his fellow tailed beast container?

Minato's never really seen two jinchuuriki interact before outside the brief scuffles in the war Kushina had with Kumo's jailer. Is this a bad sign? Will Naruto's seal be weakened? Will the nine tails in him wake up in the presence of its clearly-conscious brother? The mere thought is almost enough to make Minato shriek in terror, but Naruto looks okay. Perfectly happy and normal. And Gaara, for the record, doesn't look all that murderous.

"This... This is impossible." Rasa sound as flabbergasted as Minato must look. "Nobody has ever been able to touch him. Not since he was a mere infant. Anyone who tries-- they're crushed to death immediately."

"Oh! Great! Crushed-- that's lovely!" Minato's voice comes out a pitch too high, slightly hysterical. He tries to calm down. Naruto's fine. He's fine! Not being strangled! "This... This is good. This is good! Clearly he can be touched. This makes our job easier, right?"

Jiraiya nods wildly in agreement, not daring to speak lest Minato try to kick him in the balls again. Only his opinion doesn't matter and nobody else gives any indication that they even heard Minato, instead staring at the two boys like they're the eighth wonder of the world. Minato fervently tries to dash the horrifying images of Naruto getting mangled by sentient sand from his mind.

 Kakashi notices them as they draw closer, his posture straightening and his lone eye scanning the small platoon. His eyes linger on the ANBU, who are coiled tight and ready to leap into action. He meets Minato's gaze only briefly before he seems to realize why they're all paralyzed, gaze dropping to Naruto and Gaara both. 

Naruto and Gaara who are both staring at them too now, Naruto with raised brows and Gaara with a cold, defensive expression. His grip on Naruto's hand is so tight his knuckles are white, his lips twisted into a frown at the sight of his father. He looks like he isn't sure if he wants to hide behind Naruto or step in front of him in defense.

"Oh, hey! That's my dad. I told you all about him." Naruto chirps out as though nothing is amiss. Though he does eye the Kazekage with open disdain. "Wait, is your dad the Kazekage? Because that would actually make a lot of sense. He looks like the type of person to send assassins after his own son for fun."

Minato turns to give the Kazekage a look. Rasa pointedly avoids his gaze.

Okay. Okay, a picture is being painted and it's not a very pretty one. If Rasa is sending assassins after his own child, maybe said child has a good reason for not wanting anyone to touch im. Rasa had called the sand an ultimate defense, and it was just that-- a defense. Naruto obviously meant no harm, and now he was able to make contact. That made sense, right?

That, or Naruto was just amazing. He was impossible not to adore. Even if the physical contact was unique to Naruto and Gaara's relationship, this was an in they hadn't had before. Gaara obviously wasn't cautious of Naruto in the same way he was of everyone else, seeming like he was enjoying their adventure through Suna before they showed up to ruin it.

That meant Gaara probably wasn't going to strangle Minato's son. Gaara was just a kid himself, small and hurt and looking like he probably needed a hug from a trusted adult. Minato took a breath and braced himself, forcing himself into calm. This would work out. He was here to do a job and he'd do it. This could work out. Yay alliance, or something.

So, donning his best smile, he carefully squatted down to put himself on their level. Naruto beamed, dragging Gaara closer even when the redhead dug his heels in. The poor kid looked terrified, entire body locking up and eyes darting about. The foretold sand lapped around his feet, agitation clear.

"It's nice to meet you, Gaara! I'm Naruto's dad, Minato. I heard a lot about you last night." Minato gave a grin. Gaara blinked at him, glancing between his smiling face and Naruto's. "We actually came to Suna to give you a helping hand! You see, me and my... friend Jiraiya are seal masters. We specialize in blocking things off and containing things, and we hear you've been having trouble sleeping. We think we can help with that, if you let us."

Gaara stared at him, swallowing thickly. His sand rose a little and the ANBU all tensed behind them, but Minato didn't so much as twitch. He watched carefully as the redhead glanced at Naruto for apparent direction. Naruto gave an encouraging grin, looking happy and unconcerned. 

Minato would probably have to explain later why Gaara even needed a seal master badly enough for them to come all this way. His son didn't look confused, though. Did he... know something? No, he surely would've mentioned it by now if he did. Minato had just mentioned the sleep issue. Naruto probably assumed it was that. 

Or maybe Gaara had told him something. Naruto was a very accepting and nonjudgmental child. Suna scorned Gaara in the same way Konoha had Minato's son, so there was undoubtedly a kinship there. The thought made Minato's heart hurt. The man resisted the urge to scoop Naruto up and smother him in kisses. He'd probably get speared through the chest with sand if he tried right now, actually.

"My dad is really, really nice. And you'll be able to sleep, which means we can have a real sleepover!" Naruto reassured exuberantly, tugging Gaara a little closer to draw his attention back to him. "Plus, I bet I can even go with you! If there's something you decide you don't like, you can always say no and he'll stop. My dad never makes me do stuff I don't feel comfortable with. It'll be fun! And we can get ice cream after, believe it!"

Minato's son is the best thing to ever have graced this planet. Minato feels like the gates of heaven just opened right before his very eyes and he's being allowed to bask in their glow. Naruto's an angel. He grew up so kind despite the way people treated him and god, Minato loves him so much he could burst.

There were a few tense moments in which they waited for Gaara to say something. The boy's sand thrashed, tendrils sometimes snapping against the ground like sharp whips. A few almost reached out to Minato, but a look at Naruto's patient but excited expression had him faltering. He looked like a cornered animal somewhat, but also intrigued. It was obvious he wanted to believe Naruto-- he was just afraid to.

"You'll come with me?" Gaara's voice came out raspy, the redhead frowning. Naruto nodded with enthusiasm. "But... but he said Jiraiya-- the pervert stalker man? Can I kill him?"

Minato's lips curled inwards into a thin line. Behind him, Jiraiya choked. Kakashi had to look at the sky to avoid laughing out loud.

"After." Naruto responded without missing a beat. Kakashi closed his eyes and took deep breaths. Minato didn't even bother breathing, afraid of the noise he'd let out if he did. Gaara immediately relaxed, expression smoothing out. He gave a nod. "Sweet! This can be our first club activity!" 

Gaara's lips curled into a small smile, and suddenly the prospects of a successful sealing seemed a whole lot more obtainable. 

~~

Next two chapters out on patreon's early access, as usual! 

Sneak peek into chapter 24: 

"Yeah, that makes sense. Wait, that reminds me! Hold on. I had something for you." Naruto gasped, tone a little too exaggerated to pass as genuine. Minato closed his eyes to stifle a laugh as Naruto shoved his hand in his pocket, pretended to dig around, and then slowly pulled his hand back out with his middle finger raised. "Fuck you, old man. Nobody asked you."

Jiraiya made a hysterical sort of noise in the back of his throat. Minato took a few deep breaths. He was a professional in a professional setting doing professional things. He was not (read: NOT) going to laugh so hard he burst a lung and have to be carted off to the nearest hospital when he was supposed to be sealing away a literal demon.