Lest you fade here all alone

Chapter 13: Two Jinchuuriki

Rei appeared in the hallway of Naruto's apartment. Sensing the original's arrival, the shadow clone, left on the lookout outside, dispelled itself. There was no need of one when he himself was here.

"Gaara, you're okay now," Rei murmured to the little redhead in his arms. "I won't let anyone hurt you anymore."

The boy shifted to take a careful glance at the blond's face. Then, his attention got stolen by the completely new and unfamiliar surroundings. Rei put him down so that he could examine everything easier.

"You can stay with us as long as you want."

Gaara blinked at those words before looking up at the man. "Us?"

Rei smiled. "That's right. I want you to meet someone." He turned to the side and said, "Naruto, you can come out now."

His curiosity piqued, the young Jinchuuriki followed his line of sight and froze when another kid peeked from around the corner.

Rei motioned towards the little blond who kept himself half-hidden behind the doorframe to another room. "Gaara, meet Naruto, my nephew." He put a hand on Gaara's head. "Naruto, this is Gaara. He's going to stay with us from now on."

Two boys just stared at each other without uttering a word. Both confused and cautious, yet with hope shining through their guarded expressions.

"Kits," Rei called, getting an identically wide-eyed look from both kids. "I don't know if you can sense it at this age, but you're both the same. You both have the Bijuu sealed inside you."

Gaara's brow furrowed as if he couldn't quite comprehend what was said.

Naruto's jaw dropped, blue eyes suddenly sparkling. "Really?!" He finally stepped out of his safe spot and closer to other Jinchuuriki, asking curiously, "Which one do you have?"

Gaara wrung his hands nervously. "The Ichibi..." His voice went low with something akin to dread.

A big, toothy grin swept across Naruto's face. "And I have the Kyuubi!" The boy bounced closer, a radiant ball of excitement and eagerness, bubbly optimism ready to overflow and spill everywhere. "You want to be friends, 'ttebayo?!" Unfortunately, his explosive enthusiasm was met with a flinch and his smile quickly withered in the sharp silence that followed.

"Gaara had a bad day, Naruto," Rei said. He watched as the blond boy turned that statement in his mind, as the realization slowly dawned on him. Rei did tell him that no matter which village the Jinchuuriki lived in, they were treated equally horrible.

"Playground bad?"

Rei hummed in assent, but then added, "Worse."

And with this knowledge, Naruto's demeanor mellowed down from his hyper-energetic to something softer, more amiable. He was still obviously excited and anxious to befriend the other boy, but his overzealous attitude got reined in and suppressed. He changed his approach to the one he would use on a skittish stray animal. "Don't worry, Gaara, I won't let anyone hurt you anymore! From now on, you're under Naruto Uzumaki's protection!" Naruto declared, unwavering in his conviction. He puffed his chest and thumped a fist against it. "They will have to go through me first, 'ttebayo!"

Rei couldn't fight an amusement tugging the corner of his lips up. Naruto's genuine desire to protect his fellow Jinchuuriki was truly a marvelous thing to witness. It would do only good for both boys. Naruto needed someone to take care of, to share all of his bottomless affection. Gaara was perfect for the role of that recipient so he could start healing and learning to trust other humans again.

Gaara gawked at Naruto like he was an alien from another planet. "Why?"

"Because it hurts, doesn't it?" Naruto asked and smiled. The curve full of so much sadness and understanding, it cut Gaara's breathing a little short. "Being alone. Feeling alone even among other people. Them looking at us like we're different, not needed by anyone. And we might be a bit different! We both have Bijuu inside us..." He trailed off, unconsciously putting a hand on his stomach. After a moment, he added in a hurry, "But there are nine of us! And I bet the Bijuu are just as lonely as we are! So all of us just have to stick together, cause we have only each other!"