Above is Naruto (14). Yep, who needs shirts, am I right? Most of the time he has a mesh shirt, like Shika-chan though.

Ohayo, minna! :)

When Our Tails Are Tied- Part Four: True Uzumaki- Section One

Warmth.

It was a foreign feeling that Gaara wasn't used to. Being an insane 12 year old serial killer, it wasn't even a feeling he should even recognize.

Yet, this warmth was different. There was a certain familiarity of the abnormally hot hand atop his head.

"You saved me."

The two different colored eyes gazed at him with an intensity, the sadness and anger reflected through the shattered blue and ferocious red.

Those words left an odd feeling in his chest, and confused him to no end.

He had saved someone... How? How had he, a murderer, saved someone's life? Impossible...

The warm hand slid down from Gaara's mass of blood red hair, to caress his face ever so gently.

The heterochrome eyed boy pushed Gaara's hair out of his face, clearing away some blood in the process.

Naruto frowned. "This tattoo..." he murmured. "It was just a dream but... this wasn't here the last time I saw you."

Gaara flinched slightly.

Naruto chuckled. "'Love', eh?"

"Stop."

Gaara's voice shocked himself.

"Stop doing this..." Gaara pushed down that odd feeling that was still bothering him and glared at Naruto, who looked slightly surprised. Gaara pushed his hand away roughly.

"Just stop.... You don't... You don't know-" Gaara growled.

Naruto stared down at him indifferently. "Yes I do."

Gaara's sand flared dangerously. "Stop lying-!"

"Shukaku, the One Tailed Raccoon Dog. Extremely unstable. Was once sealed inside a teapot, and now tends to drive his hosts to near insanity." Naruto stated icily.

Gaara stumbled backwards. "S-Stop!"

Naruto continued, following him step after step.

"They treat you like a monster, don't they? You're a menace, a freak, a danger to your village..." Naruto intoned, and Gaara shook his head in denial, still moving away.

"You don't understand why they hate you, so you become what they hate. Give the people what they want, and all that shit, right?"

"No! It's their fault I'm like this, I didn't do anything, I swear!!"

At this Naruto halted in his steps, but after a few seconds, he spoke. "No... I know it's not your fault, otouto. Nor is it theirs."

Gaara's eyes held nothing but fear and confusion.

"It's mine, it's my fault you lived these years immersed in nothing but hatred for others, and fear of dying without purpose. It was only in a chakra infused dream that we met, but I should've done something."

"I haven't slept in eight years, not even once... how could you expect me to remember.." Gaara said.

Naruto hung his head. Eight years withought sleep, huh? Well then, sleep Little Brother. I'll take care of you now.

"Then I'll do what I can..." he said softly. Gaara's eyes widened but he couldn't speak, as volatile red chakra had already surrounded him, taking his voice.

Naruto looked up at him, with sad eyes which had returned to their crystal-clear blue color. "Sleep now, otouto. I will always protect you," he said, as the red chakra solidified into a single red tail of chakra.

Gaara didn't know how he wasn't hurt by the hot red chakra, but it certainly was affecting him, the pulsing feeling of warmth was slowly clouding his mind with an unfamiliar feeling-

Exhaustion.

Before he could even ponder at what would happen to the red haired boy and the surrounding ninja, Gaara succumbed to the will of the chakra and passed out cold.

Naruto watched as Gaara fell, tightening his tail around the boy, it expanding and splitting into two larger tails to maintain the massive surge of chakra that emanated from the Ichibi Jinchuuriki. None of this bothered the formerly blonde haired genin, as he simply countered both the new chakra and the luminous red chakra with his own blue core, neutralizing both with a more soothing effect.

"Kyuubi."

The one voice that Naruto didn't want to hear right now, it spoke that wretched name that made his gut twist in an unpleasant way.

Without turning around, Naruto answered, "Sandaime-sama." He could feel the chakra of the Hokage and multiple ANBU, along with most of the jounin of the village.

"I would most appreciate it if you didn't call me that." Naruto growled. He pulled the sleeping Suna ninja closer to his back, the chakra tails curling upward and behind him.

"And why not? That is your title, correct?" Sandaime goaded.

Naruto's hair flickered into flames as he turned to face the Hokage, revealing clear blue eyes that sparked in rage. "No... I was under the impression that my title was supposed to be Lord Uzumaki-Namikaze."

Sarutobi, not quite the aged old man, frowned slightly. "Your eyes... you are not under the Nine Tails' influence."

"Nor am I under yours." Naruto grinned at him, barely hiding beneath the surface of the Hokage's eyes showed a bit of panic.

"How?" Sarutobi asked boldly, needing the answer of how, how could this child disperse of a seal of such high caliber?

Naruto flashed his teeth at the man. "You've made a lot of mistakes, Hokage-sama. No surprise, that seal of yours was one and included one." His tails flexed around the sleeping child again and the ninja tittered on the sidelines.

Naruto eyes wandered, noticing his teacher, the ever lazy Hatake Kakashi, standing a bit behind the Hokage, as tense as ever but no weapons drawn. His hands were out were everyone could see them, clenched into fists, unwilling to fight.

Naruto, seeing this, calmed down. There was no reason to fight here, with all of these innocent people.

"Why?" Naruto rebuked, ignoring Sarutobi's question.

"Why should I tell you? Why should we have to fight, so many people getting hurt without reason? Look at your ninja," he snapped. "Some of them aren't ready to fight the 'Kyuubi'." he mocked. The newer ANBU recruits tightened their grip on their blades.

"Hell, some of them aren't even willing to fight. Why should they?"

Kakashi's fists tightened, what little showed of his face remained stoic, and he did not move under the gazes that were suddenly directed to him.

Naruto glared at Sarutobi. "Give them a reason they should fight. Tell them of your mistakes, what you have done, and what right it gives you to challenge me, after your crimes against me."

Sarutobi's gaze stayed steady, but he said nothing. The shinobi behind him shifted.

"Tell them, old man!" Naruto yelled, chakra tails glowing in anger. "Tell them what you did to me, how you took away the life of a six year old child!"

"I did what I had to do." Sarutobi said calmly.

"You sealed me away!" Naruto roared. "I was a child, who had been pushed over the edge! You didn't try to listen to what my words words told you, my wounds told you, or even what my FUCKING GUARD said! You locked me away!"

The chakra of the imprisoned Ichibi began to leak out at his bloodlust, but Naruto expanded and thickened his tail still.

"How can you stand there and think you have done this village right? After what you have done there is nothing I would like more than to see the Hokage tower burn... 'Will of fire' indeed." Naruto sneered.

"But sadly I have need for this place now, I have...attachments." Naruto scowled.

"Now, I apologize, but I have to take someone somewhere.." Naruto said softly, turning back the way he came when chasing Ko and his friends.

"No."

Naruto paused, then turned back to the Sandaime. "No?" he questioned, seeing the weapons held ready in Sarutobi's hands.

The Hokage's eyes glinted as he shifted his stance. "I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us."

Naruto adjusted his tails once more as his body language turned aggressive. "Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to hurt you."

"Stop."

The two held back their attacks as Kakashi stepped forward between the two.

Kakashi stood between them, his aura making him older than his silver hair made him look. "I was there, that night." he said.

"When?" Sarutobi snapped. "The night this beast killed your sensei?"

Naruto's chakra flared. "The night you tried killing his sensei's son! He was there for both! And that's a hell of a lot more than you've done! You stood by and let my dad die-"

"Shut up!" Kakashi snapped, and small bolts of lightning sparked from his fingers.

"You would betray your village?" Sarutobi challenged, angry that one of his best soldiers would defy him.

"You said he was not being influenced." Kakashi looked his leader in his eyes. "That night.... You sent me after Naruto. You told me you could fix what had been done to him, that if I could only detain him, everything would be fine."

"I've seen how he acted after that incident, and any Nara can tell you that its not natural. Whatever you have done to him, I will not let you do it again."

Kakashi stood with his back to his student.

"Go." he said.

And Naruto went.

Not one ninja dared follow.