Gaara arrived at the leaf village upon the request of the hokage. He knew nothing of why other than it involved Naruto. He knew that Naruto that found Sasuke Uchiha and that he went to get him back. That was what the hyper blond had said in his last letter and that was weeks ago. The sand nin had hurried to the leaf fearing that Naruto had been hurt… or worse. He pushed the latter from his mind as much as he could but the anxiety of it sent pangs of fear and pain to his heart.

As he entered the gates, he saw a girl named Helen Ookami, who happened to be another jinchuriki who housed the 5-tailed wolf. Through Naruto's letters he learned of the girl who he ran into on a mission several months ago and had taken her in. Helen had begun writing the sand nin and had met him several times and they had become friends. She was usually calm and occasionally bubbly, but now he saw her face full or worry and the anxiety he had been fighting came back full force.

As he approached, she tried to calm herself and plastered a fake smile on her face. He had seen that kind of "smile" on Naruto when he didn't want people to know he was hurting. She closed the gap between them and gave Gaara a quick hug before pulling away quickly as she remembered his aversion to physical contact.

"Hey Gaara, it's good to see you again." Helen said locking her hands behind her back.

"What's wrong?" he asked in his monotone voice that barely masked his nerves.

"Walk with me and I'll tell you." She replied, clearing her throat as the last words quivered. Gaara simply nodded and they walked through the streets. After a few moments, Gaara couldn't stand it and asked Helen again what was wrong.

"Well you know that Naruto found Sasuke right?" she began, glancing at Gaara as he nodded. "Well, I went with him where he was currently with the akatski, and after a bit of fighting and colorful language Sasuke said a few things to Naruto and he froze up." Her voice broke towards the end of her statement. "Sasuke stabbed him with that damn blade of his and I wound up releasing 2 tails and surrounded Naruto with fire to keep the bastard away and used my wind to reflect the attacks until they ran out of chakra and left to another hideout after I killed 2 of them." She finished the last bit with a smirk. Gaara looked at her from the corner of his eye and saw the flash of pride in that smirk. He also saw a semi fresh scar adorning her face just to the side of her eye down to the middle of her neck.

"You can stop staring at the scar, it's fine Gaara." She said softly, her eyes matching her voice as she looked at him, causing Gaara's heart to skip a beat or two.

"Sorry, please continue."

"Right, then after they left, I carried Naruto back home, using my wind to push faster, like how you use your sand." She patted the large gourd on Gaara's back and he smiled just enough to show he didn't mind her touching the gourd or him. "but on the way back…" she muttered, her eyes dulling as tears began to well in them. "He kept muttering and talking to himself, occasionally digging his nails into my shoulders. He kept saying 'Sasuke why?' 'Why can't I save you?' 'What kind of lousy hokage can I be?' 'I'm a crappy person.' 'I deserve death.'". Helen's eyes ran over with silent tears and Gaara stopped in his tracks when the last quote was whispered barely loud enough to hear. She stopped a few steps later, her shoulders shaking with her silent sobs. After only a moment of hesitation, Gaara walked up behind the girl and placed his hands on her shoulders. At the touch, Helen spun around and buried her face in the crook of Gaara's neck and flung her arms up and around his neck.

"I've never seen him like that and I'm scared." She cried. "I'm sorry I'm acting like this but he's my only friend aside from you and…and I d-d-don't want t-to lose him over that-that bastard!"

"shh… where's Naruto?"

"Home. Come on, I have to check on him."

They came to the rundown apartment complex that Helen and Naruto lived in. Gaara could faintly detect Naruto's Chakra which worried him.

"It's faint due to my chakra traps. It keeps people away like he asked as well as keeps me from worrying too much." Helen said sensing Gaara's worry. "He doesn't want to talk to anyone other than Tsunade, me and recently began asking about you which is why I asked Tsunade to send the letter to you." As they entered the building, they could hear yelling and they ran up the stairs to see none other than Sakura yelling at the door to Naruto's apartment.

"What do you mean you don't want to come out? You need to get out of this filthy place and out in the sun!" Sakura screeched, looking dead at the door.

Helen's temper flared a bit at the "filthy" part but soon remembered something and walked right in between the screaming girl and the closed door. Gaara looked from Helen to Sakura and back before realizing that the bubble gum for brains was caught in a detailed genjustu trap. He smirked at the brunette and stepped up next to her.

"Dumb girl." Helen muttered. "release." She closed her eyes and lifted her hand with her pointer and middle fingers up, dispelling the genjustu.

Sakura's eyes refocused and then narrowed at the wolf vessel.

"What the hell just happened? I was just talking to Naruto!" she screamed

"Shut up blow pop, you were yelling and arguing with my genjustu. Now why are you hear? And keep your voice down." Helen stated in a cold voice with matching eyes.

"Duh, I'm here to see Naruto, not you."

"Humph, well he doesn't want to see you so you can just leave. I have a friend to see him."

"I am his friend!"

"A true friend doesn't hurt the ones they supposedly care about." said the stoic red-head. Sakura looked his way, her eyes wide as she stepped back.

"What are you talking about?" the pink girl asked quietly.

"Every time you bring up that bastard sasuke, every time you cry about him, every time you send Naruto off to find him, you hurt him physically and emotionally. You ask him to do the impossible just to make you happy, to prove he's your friend. He tried so hard to bring that sorry excuse for a human back just to make you happy. He nearly got killed or captured just for you and your paper-thin friendship which seems to be one sided from my view and yet you keep asking him and begging him to make you a team again, so you can have your precious brooding crush back. What kind of friend does that?" Gaara's voice got deeper as he spoke and Sakura was taking step after step backwards as if he were going to pounce.

"Leave our kitsune alone bubble gum and go after your crush yourself because Naruto won't be going anymore for selfish people like you." Growled Helen, her eyes flashing from their normal sky blue to grey and back. her beast wanting nothing more that to gouge the word 'bitch' on that massive forehead of hers with its nails.

Easy my friend, she told it. Her own mind will punish her.

Sakura looked down at her feet, turned on her heel and walked toward the stairs. Gaara and Helen watched as she disappeared, both wanting to throw kunai at her back.

"Come Gaara."

Helen turned and unlocked the door to the little apartment. As she closed the door back, she replaced the jenjutsu trap on it. Once that was done she turned and took a deep breath through her nose, about to tell Gaara to make himself at home, but a disturbingly familiar scent hit her nose and tears sprung to her eyes.

"not again." She whimpered in panic as she lept over the couch and across the room to the door that led to the bedroom with Gaara on her heels.