A/N I do not in any way own or claim to own Naruto or his story. Special thanks to Masashi Kishimoto for his wonderful story and great imagination.

Gaara dozed in and out of consciousness on the three day retreat to Suna. He was completely depleted of chakra. While Shukaku, the sand demon he had been cursed with at birth, had healed his worst injuries the Sand nin still felt amazingly weak. He was sure he had a couple of broken ribs, if this inability to breath freely was anything to go by, possibly a concussion, cuts and abrasions. Physical pain was such a new concept to his body. He had only ever been hurt once in his 13 years of existence, and that had been a month ago at the Chunin exams. He certainly couldn't say that after today. Being attacked through his sand wall had surprised him especially when he had felt the blood warm and slick on his shoulder. Gaara didn't like surprises. His cry of fury and bloodlust had filled the arena of spectators. He had felt contempt for all the idiots in the stands. They'd come from the 5 lands to look over the best of the new recruits, placing bets and posturing for position among the dignitaries. How he hated politicians. He'd felt their fear as they watched the Chunin trials. He knew they had despised their own weaknesses even as they admired the fighters. He had shoved all that to the back of his mind as he focused on the Uchiha. His fury had covered the pain until after the fight. He still wanted to wrap his sand around the neck of that Uchiha kid. Gaara would never forget his eyes looking at him insolently. The boy wore his pain like a badge of honor. Avenger of his household huh, that kid was trouble. If there was one thing Gaara knew, it was trouble.

His emotions had completely overwhelmed him. The pain and anger had robbed his mind of the ability to control the beast that resided in his body. It had felt so good to let the anger and rage leak out of his body even as the demon seeped out too. He'd longed for the moment when Shukaku escaped even as he feared it. He feared the loss of control over his mind and body, but reveled in the feeling of fear and death the demon evoked in his victims. Death validated his existence, and he was more alive than he'd ever been. It had all come crashing down when the demon had gone completely out of control. Gaara had been knocked unconscious, which was probably when he got his concussion. As Gaara passed into blackness, he'd heard the sand demon roar to life. It had taken a while for his fog filled mind to process why that was a bad idea. In the back of his mind pictures of Temari and Kankuro drifted to the surface. Part of him wanted to be sure they would be safe; the other part screamed that 'if they were too weak to survive they deserved to die'.

Other pictures of people in his life had filtered into his mind. His Mother, who gave him life, Yashamaru, who tried to take his life from him, the Fourth Kazekage, no way he was calling that bastard Father, all the people who had molded his life for better or worse. He also remembered the blond kid yelling about saving his friends, his precious people. His bright cerulean blue eyes had been so determined, so full of life and power. Even now Gaara reflected on those eyes. When was the last time Gaara had felt truly alive. Yes he'd felt power and bloodlust, but to be truly alive was only a dream Gaara had had long ago before he had been betrayed by the people nearest to him.

No, not everyone had betrayed him. Even now his brother was carrying him toward safety with an arm wrapped around his waist and cords of chakra holding him close. Temari kept glancing at him to make sure her little brother was not as badly hurt as she feared. The blond kid had scared her. She had dismissed him as just another Genin, but the determination on his face as he crawled toward her brother had caused her to fear for Gaara's safety. She and Kankuro headed to the rendezvous point for the sand ninjas. They were not sure what they would find when they reached the site. The plan had fallen apart almost as soon as the signal was given. Gaara had been distracted by the fight with the Uchiha, and part of the men had not been in position yet. Damn Kabuto and Orochimaru! Father should have known better than to trust the snake. She knew nothing good would come of a treaty with Sound. If they were able to come out of this day without war it would be only due to the grace of the gods.

Kankuro held his brother as carefully as possible. He knew he was in pain from the grunts he let out from time to time. Trust Gaara to take his pain without a comment. Trying to get the kid to talk had always been like pulling threads. The older boy was worried for Gaara's mind. Brushes with Shukaku always took a tole on Gaara's sanity. Not that Gaara was insane, but hell, he'd even have nightmares from this day's fight, let alone Gaara. His thoughts shifted to the warriors left behind. Some of his best friends were in that group. After today's debacle he was sure that some of the men would be left behind. He only waited to find out which one of his friends he would mourn this time. His comrades were closer than his family, except Temari, of course. Gaara was an emotional retard, thanks to dear old Dad, Kankuro mused. The Fourth Kazekage had never been a father to any of the siblings, but at least he'd never sent an assassin after him or Temari.

As they neared the rendezvous site, their senses switched to overdrive checking to see if the area was secure. The site was already host to the wounded and dying. Medics ran from man to man offering what aid they could. Kankoro waved Kato over to join them. He was a medic and one of Kankuro's friends. At least Gaara had met him and hopefully wouldn't try to kill him when he looked at his wound. Kato quickly assessed the situation and told Kankuro to help him remove Gaara's shirt. The sand around their feet shifted as the older brother removed Gaara's gourd off his back. "It's me Bro" he said looking into Gaara's face. "I know it hurts, but you have to let Kato look at it. It'll get infected if we don't heal it." The younger boy's face relaxed as Kankuro explained. The sand settled to the ground. Kankuro supported his brother against his side as the medic proceeded to clean the wound on his shoulder caused by the chidori used in battle by the Uchiha.

Temari leaned next to him and held his hand. Gaara realized that she had not done that for him since he was a little child. When he was six, his uncle had been assigned to kill him by his father. At each rejection by his father, and each failed assassination, Gaara had cut himself off from the ones who could hurt him most. That had included his siblings, although the worst they had ever done to him was smack him when he was too obnoxious to bear. At this point Gaara was too depleted and sore to lash out at her. He used his small reserve of chakra to keep Shukaku under control. His sand sensed that their intentions toward him were to help not harm and so they were left to minister to his needs without objection.

Gaara lay on the cot somewhere between consciousness and sleep. Temari looked at Kato over her brother's prone body looking for answers.

"He'll be fine. Shakaku won't lethim die, but he'll need to be seen by a healer when we reach the village. His most troubling problem is his chakra depletion. He'll need bed rest, but how you're going to keep that kid in bed is beyond me." Kato sighed. "What happened, anyway?" he asked in concern. "I've never known Gaara of the Sand to be hurt by anything. He's our secret weapon."

"Konohagakure had its own secret weapons" replied Kankuro.

"No shit?" asked Kato.

"The last of the Uchiha clan was his first opponent. That kid used some moves we hadn't

expected. The Copy Nin must have taught him the Chidori. It went right through Gaara's

armor." explained Kankuro.

"That would explain the shape and size of the wound in Gaara's chest. If his sand hadn't taken most of the blow, it would have taken more than my triage to help him." agreed the Sand medic.

"His second opponent was another " "like Gaara," said Kankuro in a soft voice. "The kid rushed in to save the Uchiha brat and some girl," he lowered his voice again. "Things got out of control and all hell broke loose." The Sand nin seemed to become more aware of his surroundings. It was taboo to talk about Gaara's special abilities. All he needed was an ANBU with a chip on his shoulder to get in his face right now. On the cot Gaara stirred fitfully and murmured "Naruto". Temari brushed the red hair off his forehead.

The sound level in the camp rose as the next wave of ninjas returned from battle. As the Kage's son Kankuro was on the invasion council, reports began to come in of the defeat of Sound and Sand. Orochimaru's snakes had attacked both leaf and Sand nin making no distinction between friend and foe. The team who summoned the creatures had been the first to die. When the Sound nins couldn't find any women or children to molest, they had immediately moved on to looting leaving the sand nins to fight the onslaught of leaf ninja. When Commander Yen had asked for a report on the safely of the Kazekage it was reveled that the robed figure that all had thought to be the man was actually Orochimaru. No one knew where the Kazekage was at the present time but 4 ANBU were missing also. The more nins who reported the more obvious it was that the treaty between Sand and Sound was a trick by the Sannin to try to murder the Hokage. In the face of the missing Kazekage and the high number of injuries, a detail of ninja was sent with the wounded back to Sunagakure. They were being transported in wagons disguised as farm carts. They were sending as many of the wounded as possible so that those uninjured fighters could create a barrier between them and any attacker from the Leaf village. Their land's security was in question also.

With the Kazekage missing and all 3 of his children out of the village, it was a prime opportunity for a coupe. It was imperative that they be sent back as soon as possible. Instead of placing Gaara in the wagons with the injured, Temari and Kankuro opted to take him ahead with them. They couldn't trust the ones left behind to care for their brother. While many in the military admired and accepted Kankuro and would have cared for Gaara, the commanders were the ones the siblings worried about. They would have seen it as an excellent opportunity to get rid of a perplexing problem. Gaara might be their secret weapon, but he was not one to be controlled by anyone. A weapon that couldn't be controlled was a liability in the leader's eyes. The Sand siblings set out that afternoon. At first the Commanders had protested them going ahead of the wagons.

"It's in our best interest to get to Suna now, not in three days time!" argued Temari.

"I agree" chimed in Kankuro. "The wagons will be slow and heavy, a perfect target for any enemies." "I'd like to take 2 men with us and go swiftly before our position becomes known. I'd like to request Medic Kato and ANBU Gecko." It was not the best tactic, but with the Kazekage missing it was of the utmost importance to get to the Kazekage tower as soon as humanly possible.

On the first leg of the journey Kankuro carried Gaara on his back with ropes of chakra binding them together. Kato and the Gecko acted as escorts on the journey. Temai strapped the gourd on to her back, not knowing how Gaara would feel about a stranger carrying his sand. After an hour of carrying the sand, Temari called a halt to rest and readjust the straps. She hadn't realized how heavy the infernal gourd was. That her little brother managed to carry it day in day out on his slight frame was a revelation to her. She noticed that Gaara's eyes were half open and more alert than they had been. She smiledin his direction.

"I've got to give you credit Little Brother. Anyone who can carry this gourd is no slouch."

"No" Gaara agreed. He looked from Kankuro to Temari, "I'm sorry" he said quietly. His siblings were stunned at his words. "Don't worry about it "said Kankuro. Gaara talked so seldom that any words were a surprise, let alone words of apology. Temari couldn't remember the last time Gaara had spoken to her that he wasn't relaying information, correcting her or stating a fact. The words made a huge impression on her. She hoped it wasn't from the concussion. She yearned to be part of her brother's life, to be the friend to him that she was to Kankuro. Not knowing how to reply to Gaara, she smiled and patted his arm instead. Slinging the gourd onto her back again, the five nins continued thejourney to Suna.

Gaara was surprised at the feel of his sister's hand on his arm. He knew his siblings had a healthy fear of him. In the past he had liked it that way. From the time he was 9 he had used his power to intimidate them. It was after one of the assassination attempts from their father. His fear and anger had finally turned to hate. He hated everyone universally. Better to be on the offence to keep harm away than to be caught unaware again. He had never been one to talk much. With Temari and the chattier Kankuro as older siblings, he'd never had to talk. However, that year he had come to the realization that his words were tools that others used against him. A child's "I'll kill you" had suddenly become a death threat. Anytime he told an adult where he was going was now a clue for an assassin. He had learned the hard way. Sometimes he felt so much older than his brother and sister. He couldn't understand Kankuro's laughter. What was there to laugh about? Gaara longed for the camaraderie that his siblings shared but as long as his life was in danger he had to keep up his guard. Keep strong. But what had that Naruto kid said? Could he really become stronger in treasuring someone, in protecting them? If there was anyone he wanted to treasure it was his sister and brother, the only two people in his life who showed loyalty to him if not love. He would have to consider the other Jinchuuriki's words.

The Suna team continued on through the night. They took an hour rest at the edge of the desert. By that time Temari's back ached from carrying the "Stupid " gourd. He studied his brother, as Kato checked him over. Kankuro hardly seemed fazed by Gaara's weight. His Puppet weighed more than Gaara, and he had carried the wooden body into more battles than he cared to think about. It was an honor to be a Puppet Master in the Sunagakure military corps. Few fighters had the dexterity and chakra levels to maintain the puppets in battle. The Puppet Corps were a fighting force unique to the Land of Wind. They were invaluable in battle due to their ability to surprise the enemy. One of the few times Kankuro had seen the fourth Kazekage look on him in approval was when he had been admitted into the Puppet Corps. These thoughts brought him back to the puzzle of where his father was. Had Orochimaru taken him prisoner? He preferred that thought to the idea that his father had voluntarily stayed behind while his troops put their lives in danger. Better to be missing than a coward. He motioned to Gecko that he was ready to resume the journey. Temari grunted as she swung the gourd onto her back. Gaara opened his eyes at the sound of her grunt and seemed to notice for the first time that she was carrying his sand for him. He was still too depleted to carry the gourd himself, but he reached out his hand and as he twisted his wrist a stream of sand poured out of the gourd onto the ground. Temari gave him an unsure look, but he seemed satisfied. One thing Temari knew was to never question Gaara where his sand was concerned. With the lighter load, Temari was easily able to keep up with the men. The excess sand flowed behind Gaaraa like a maid following a lover.

The team headed out across the desert. The air was cold without the sun to warm the sand. They planned to be most of the way to Suna before the sun resumed its stifling heat. Traveling by night was actually easier in the desert. The stars were always more reliable than land marks in the ever changing sand. They kept the North Star on their right and angled toward Ursa Major.

The next day Sunagakure came into sight. Since daylight the four nin had kept an eye out for attackers. The desert was a perfect place to ambush travelers. The only people around were wandering nomad tribes and depending on the season those were few and far between. Temari felt new life come into her legs at the sight of the cities towers. Kankuro was immensely relieved too. Gaara was becoming more uncomfortable by the hour. He was trying to resist the chakra bands in his barely conscious state and his sand was on the defensive, making it very hard for his brother to carry him. They were met at the gated by guards, medics and council members. Kato accompanied Gaara to the hospital. Temari and Kankuro left with the council members to find out about their father. They relied on Kato to keep Gaara safe while they were gone.