Author's Note: This fanfic was one of the many I wrote during NaNoWriMo last year. It currently has 14,000 words, but it isn't finished yet. But, I promised a friend I would start uploading it, so I am.

The idea was taken from a prompt on one of several discussions on the facebook group of NaNoWriMo - what if you could read your soul mate's thoughts on your skin?

I really enjoy writing soul mate fanfics. If any of you would like me to give it a go at one of the prompts out there, please indicate it to me. I'm going to try the "Soul mate timer" one of these days.

This fanfic takes off right after the chuunin exams, and it'll follow canon as closely as I can get it to, at least up to a certain point in time (Naruto isn't losing his arm, for instance). I've also used some of Shippuden filler chapters in the setting. And, yes, I'm well aware what it means for a ninja to have his deepest thoughts tattooed on someone else's arm. That's one major way that canon will change. I don't think I need to warn for violence, considering this is a Naruto fanfic, but consider yourselves warned.

Chapter 1: Missed Meetings

Naruto often sat on the head of the fourth Hokage, staring at his forearm, it was something that he did since he was a small child.

A great dark blue tattoo was scrawled across his forearm. His soul mate tattoo. Almost all ninjas had them, and just as many of the civilians did not. Because having a soul mate was usually a sign that the child had good ability for molding chakra, parents would use it as a sign their children should be enrolled in the academy to become ninjas.

For Naruto, that tattoo had an important meaning. When he was a child, sitting alone, watching the other children play... That tattoo meant that one day he would no longer be alone. It meant there was someone out there waiting for him... and when he met her, they would never have to be alone again.

It was a silly dream that he had clung to over the years. Even when he was a twelve year old, and well aware that soul mates could hate each other, and they could even be unlucky enough to never meet. But for some reason, those were rare... And if you had a soul mate and never met them, you could always fill the void with a Blank partner.

Sasuke had a Blank tattoo. It was a strange thing to see – it looked like vines full of small leaves and thorns like his, but instead of being filled with a solid colors, it was only the outline with barely any detail to it. It was ugly, in Naruto's opinion. His own tattoo, or even Sakura's, they were both much prettier to see.

But because of his blank tattoo, he could take anyone who he wished to in a soul bond. Because of that, every girl of their age range was head over heels in love with the bastard.

Naruto didn't understand why. He would much rather meet the one and only who matched his tattoo. When he had been a small child – about six years old or so – he would stare at his own tattoo all the time he met a new girl, in the hopes the vines would have changed.

Because, if someday he met her, the lower vines would begin to look like words – his soul mate's deepest fears and desires. If he touched her, the upper vines would also change, and begin to describe her feelings for him. Soul mates had unique bonds, it was said such a couple could easily attain perfect synchronization when they went on a mission or fought together. If you were powerful enough, you could even hear your soul mate's thoughts once you consummated the bond.

But as the years passed, and he didn't meet his soul mate. Of every girl he met, all ignored him, and none seemed to even make his tattoo tingle. Not that he though it should tingle. He had heard adults say it could hurt when your soul mate died, but never when you first met her.

By the time Naruto was eleven, he didn't check his tattoo as often anymore. Some times, he went out of his way not to look at it for days. He always regretted it and peeked – because he was terrified one day he might meet her and miss it. But this day never came, and the period of time he remained outright avoiding looking at his arm went from days to weeks, to months.

Until, one day, he missed the day he should have looked at it and seen.

It was Sakura who caught his mistake.

Naruto was still half asleep when he arrived on his team meeting – he didn't know why he still bothered coming so early when Kakashi sensei was always late. But fact was, he was tired, and he wasn't paying attention, so he cried out and jumped when Sakura suddenly shrieked, grabbed his arm and pulled his sleeve up just after he had stretched.

"Naruto, you met...!" she began, but was abruptly cut off when his forearm was revealed. He gaped at the cursive letters elegantly curving over his skin – his soul mate's handwriting, definitely, because they didn't look like the default letters some small kids had. "...You touched your soul mate! When did that happen?" she demanded, her eyes wide.

His own mouth had dropped open as he stared down at his arm. The last time he had noticed his tattoo, it was still the nondescript, vine-like squiggles of those who were still unmatched.

"I... I don't know." he stared at the script with wide eyes. Then, he felt pride and happiness swell in his chest when he saw the first line of words his tattoo was now displaying. 'He's the most amazing ninja I have ever met.' That was what she thought about him, that line would only appear after you touched your mate. "She thinks I'm amazing." he said, laughing in delight. Sasuke had walked up to them and was staring down at his arm.

"She's obviously stupid. You didn't even notice your tattoo had changed." Sakura snapped. After a few seconds, she looked horrified. "Do you even shower, Naruto?"

"Of course I do! I just have better things to do than stare at my own body! I'm not in love with myself, like the bastard." he pointed out heatedly, feeling his cheeks burn at having to admit he hadn't noticed his tattoo was different at all, even though he did avoid looking at his arm most of the time. In fact, the last time he remembered staring down at his tattoo, it had been shortly before they had arrived from wave country – because he had forgotten to check it while he was there, to see if he had met his soul mate. It seemed he had met her now, though! It was so exciting!

"You're the worst ninja ever, Naruto. If your tattoo was an enemy ninja, you would be dead. Your soul mate is probably as stupid as you if she can't see that." Sakura's comment was rather biting. He was kept from whining about it by Sasuke's somber voice.

"Her life doesn't sound very cheerful." he pointed out grimly. Naruto's eyes ran over the second line, the most important thoughts inside his soul mate's mind at the moment.

'They didn't expect me to survive that mission.' it stated, blunt and cold. Naruto felt ice run through his veins. She had been sent on a suicide mission? But... he didn't even know who she was yet! She couldn't die.

"When did you meet her, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"I didn't notice." he mumbled, still worried about her. His most important person, ever. His soul mate.

Sakura huffed and hid his arm with his sleeve again. "You didn't notice. Do you at least know if it was after the chuunin exams, or during it?" she wondered.

"Hm. His soul mate is probably some poor sod from some backwater village. She's as dumb and clueless as him, if she didn't notice it either." Sasuke snorted.

Naruto was too dismayed at the mere idea she didn't live in Konoha to feel offended at Sasuke's insult.

Kakashi decided to arrive early – or rather, not too late – and Naruto didn't have time to think about his mate anymore.

That night, however, he felt depressed as he looked at his tattoo. He was delighted and proud that his soul mate believed him a awesome ninja, but what depressed him was that she had been close enough for him to touch, and yet he didn't know who she was.

Did she notice her tattoo changing? Didn't she tell it to him because she was ashamed of him?

He read the writing again. "She's proud of me. That's can't be it." he whispered to himself out loud, trying to shoo away his self doubt and fear.

A frown turned down his lips when he read the second line once again, which was still unchanged from that afternoon. It sounded like she was a ninja, and she had been set up to die. Naruto hated that... he couldn't lose his soul mate before even meeting her.

But... Maybe he would never do it. It was easy to find your soul mate when the tattoos first changed but... was it even possible to know who they were if he missed the opportunity? It probably wasn't.

"Sasuke's right, I'm so dumb. I'll probably die alone, now." he murmured as he squeezed his eyes closed.

He wouldn't give up, though. If he had to talk with all the girls he met during the chuunin exams, he would find her! He knew she hadn't died during the exam – otherwise he would have a Blank tattoo like Sasuke's.

"Yes. I'm going to start searching for her tomorrow!" he decided, announcing out loud to the darkening skies. After a few seconds in the silence, he returned home and went to bed.

Gaara's life had changed completely since the chuunin exams in Konoha. Most of the changes in it he could attribute to Naruto... He had made him see just how wrong he had been. Gaara had spurned love, but all along, his uncle had been right. Love was something very precious. It could also lend you endless strength.

Which was why he was staring down at his forearm now. It was blank, still completely covered by his sand, because he couldn't gather the nerve to allow the sand to melt away. By his will, his sand had always hidden his tattoo from people's view. He hadn't looked at his tattoo since the night he had killed Yashamaru, and now he knew he would regret it if his tattoo was no longer inactive. Love was important... He needed to know who his soul mate was, so he could offer him his love.

He knew his soul mate was a he. Gaara was seldom interested in other people's bodies, but in the rare moments his eyes had lingered, it had never been over a woman. If he had guessed as much from so little information, he was sure his bond wouldn't be mistaken about his gender preferences, and the bonds very rarely, if ever, went against them.

But, no matter how long he stared at his arm, he couldn't summon enough courage to let the sand go. He closed his eyes and took several deep breathes. As his body began to relax, and his anxiety started to recede, he let the sand slowly fall away, almost completely out of its own volition. Then, he took a deep breath and stared at his tattoo.

The sight of it shocked him.

He had met his soul mate... Not only that, he had also touched him, which was a huge surprise. No one ever touched him. The words written in his arm stole completely his attention away from that fact, however. He almost forgot how to breath as pain filled his chest when he saw the simple sentence, 'I really pity him'.

...His soul mate pitied him. Gaara closed his eyes and felt a bitter smile turn his lips. He really should be grateful. Whoever his soul mate was, he could have felt fear, terror, or even hate for him. But all he felt was pity.

He stared up at the moon, taking a moment to ponder on exactly why that was. Then, he tried to remember who had touched him. That was hard to remember. In the seven years since he had decided never to look at his tattoo again, he had fought several people. Contact between bodies might have happened – though he had never believed anyone was even capable of touching him and not dying. His tattoo wasn't Blank, however. He hadn't killed his soul mate.

Who did he know, whom he had touched, that would be capable of pitying him? Baki, maybe? A frown turned down his lips. That was unlikely, but the man hid his tattoo. Maybe...

If it was Baki, would he be able to turn to him with this information? Gaara felt a cold chill over his heart. Maybe he wasn't ready to accept his soul mate yet. More than that, he wasn't sure he could endure being wrong about his conjecture. He would wait and watch, and try to figure out who was it without asking around. Whoever the man was, he was probably aware of his bond with him. He would start paying better attention to the way ninjas of Suna acted around him.

Naruto had hunt down all the girls from Konoha that he had met on the chuunin exams – even the scary examiner lady. Most of them had laughed in his face when he asked them about their soul mates, others had ignored him, but all of them gave him a certainty.

His soul mate wasn't a Konoha ninja.

He sat down on a boulder in the training field and despaired as he waited for his team mates.

"Naruto? Why are you moping?" he didn't look up when he heard Sakura's curious tone of voice.

"I'm not moping." he mumbled, but he didn't sound convincing to his own ears. He sounded pitiful at best.

"You're rubbing your arm. Are you still worried about your soul mate?" she guessed, and he felt a pang of pain on his chest as he turned around and glimpsed her exposed tattoo. She had a soul mate, but she hadn't met him yet.

"I missed her. I'll likely never find her again. That was really stupid of me." he told her weakly, kicking a stone by his foot.

"What are you talking about? You're always so optimistic, Naruto! You should know you can find her again!" she tried to cheer him up. Naruto looked up after a few moments, and whatever it was she read on his face, her expression fell. "Oh, Naruto..." she sighed loudly and knelt by his side.

He didn't say anything. After several minutes, Sakura began softly, "...You know. I'm really terrified that will happen to me someday. That's why I never cover my tattoo." she looked down, studying the patterns on her arm. "So I can't comfort you. I can imagine how much it would hurt, being in your position. All you can do now is hope that she knows who you are, and that she will return for you someday. I mean, she thinks you're awesome, right?"

Naruto glanced at the tattoo on his arms. The words had changed several times over the passing of the days, but still they gave him the impression that, whoever she was, she deeply admired him. He also had the impression she was very much alone and constantly in danger, which only disheartened him even more. He wanted to be there for her, to make her company. To protect her.

At the moment, his tattoo said, 'I really want to be like him, someday'. 'I need to show people how much I've changed', both sentences were particularly optimistic, which wasn't saying much. He really wished he knew who she was, so he could help her. She was as lonely as he was – if not more – and it wasn't fair they both felt so lonely when they had each other.

"Yeah." he agreed finally. Then, he forced himself to grin to his team mate, even if the optimism didn't reach his soul. "You're right, Sakura! There's no use moping! I'll find her someday." he announced boldly, confidently.

But, deep within his heart, his only certainty was that he wasn't going to see his soul mate ever again. If she was so lonely, she was probably too shy to talk with other people. As often as she was in danger, she was likely going to get herself killed before he could find out who she was.

He really hoped he was wrong.