One More Light

Chapter 6

Gaara had never minded the silence, in fact, it was often what he sought out. But as he and Naruto journeyed across the land of fire into the land of wind, Gaara began to hate the silence that Naruto radiated, and he did not know how to start the conversation. Gaara was aware of his strengths and speaking just wasn't one of them. He sighed heavily 'I'm not the one that usually does this...' "So, Naruto," Gaara asked hesitantly as Naruto slowly lifted his head. He had been staring at the ground since the journey had begun and he could feel Gaara's unease. "What's up Gaara?" He responded, firmly wearing that mask again, forcing his voice to sound alive. "I've been thinking, you haven't ever actually gotten to explore Suna have you? There are so many places I want to show you and just wanted to see if there's anywhere you wanted to go?"

Naruto let a moment of surprise show briefly on his face. Of all the things he thought Gaara would want to talk about (the mission, the Akatsuki, the Nine-tails, the impending war etc) he never thought sightseeing with the Kazekage would be it. "Um... I haven't really thought about it." Naruto replied. In his head a million thoughts were making it impossible for him to respond with anything more complex. The thoughts in his head were smothering him and all he could think about was the kunai in his pocket and the inviting spot of skin just beneath his jacket. As he began drowning in his thought, one spark silenced the buzzing. "I have heard the stars in Suna are more beautiful than those in Konoha. I think I would like to see them." Naruto shook his head, surprised by his own statement. The old Naruto would have never said something so passive. But then again the old Naruto was just an illusion and he had once loved the stars before he could no longer see their light.

Gaara felt himself almost beaming with joy, surprised by Naruto's lucid statement. A plan began to form in his mind, open rooms that looked out to the night sky above Suna, the silence of the night and the companionship it was clear Naruto was missing. "Well then my friend, I think I will make that a priority and show you all the stars have to offer." Gaara didn't feel as uncomfortable as they fell into silence this time. He had heard Naruto, the real Naruto and he just wanted to see the light. Gaara's delight lessened when Naruto asked to take a short rest by the stream and excused himself further into the forest. As Naruto was forming his excuse he began nervously fiddling with his jacket sleeve. Gaara new this wasn't just some rest and relief but an opportunity to silence his mind. Gaara sighed but let Naruto go. 'One step at a time...' Gaara thought to himself as he watched his friend walk away. 'but to be safe...' Gaara willed his sand eye to form and follow Naruto to ensure the damage was controlled.

Naruto walked through the forest with a purpose, searching for somewhere hidden. He finally found an exposed tree that was large enough he could walk inside and rested his back against the internal trunk. "this will do nicely. Unseen, unheard, alone...' Naruto reached into his kunai pouch and retrieved his favourite tool. He gently placed it on the ground next to him as he unfastened his jacket and place it on his other side. As he picked up his kunai once more he felt the sensation of being watched. It was quickly dismissed as he noted the squirrel who was storing acorns in the tree where he had sought refuge. If he had been more lucid or had thought to look up he would have seen Gaara's eye watching, noting the many cuts and scars over both his arms. Naruto shock his head and dismissed his paranoia. He drew his blade across three of the healing cuts, reopening them and watched as the blood poured down his arms, forming rivers that flowed into the earth below. He hadn't thought to bring anything with him but the stuff he normally carried, having opted to leave his pack with Gaara for authenticity. This meant he had nothing to staunch the bleeding with or to clean his now read hand with. He needed to think but the euphoria had already began taking over and he felt himself floating, a genuine grin on his face. He did not expect what happened next.

'Hey Naruto, looks like you could use some help to keep your secret hey?' the Kyuubi asked, adding his signature chuckle to cover his concern. Naruto tried to think of the pitfall in accepting his help, but the white waves had already made him feel like he was flying so he silently asked the Kyuubi to continue. 'The Kazekage is smart. If you come back covered in blood and bleeding, he will notice straight away and begin asking questions you don't want to answer. Let me close the wounds at least. Stop the bleeding. I will leave the pain but let me close the wound.' The Kyuubi could not think of a way to disguise the concern in his words but Naruto was so manic right now, he agreed without hesitation and the Kyuubi felt a sense of relief. One of the wounds Naruto had opened has nicked a vein and was bleeding profusely. He would have passed out before he made it back to Gaara without assistance. In fact, he might very well pass out anyway with the complete lack of self-care he has been practicing. The Kyuubi could not think of the last time Naruto had eaten a full meal. 'Wash your arms in the stream and return to the Kazekage before he becomes suspicious.' He ordered as Naruto swayed on his feet. He willed his red cloak to surround Naruto after the blood had been washed away and used his chakra to stabilise the swaying ninja as he walked back to Gaara. The Kyuubi had known that Gaara had been watching but this was not the Kazekage's burden to bare alone. Naruto made it to the edge of the clearing in which Gaara waited before he passed out, hitting the ground with the red cloak still around him.

Gaara dismissed his jutsu as he rushed to his friend. He knew his wounds weren't too deep but something else must have caused the exhaustion. He nodded his thanks towards the nine-tails cloak as the chakra dissipated and lifted his friend who surprisingly weighed well below what he had mere months ago. Gaara could feel the indentation between each of his ribs and every vertebra of his spine stuck out. Apparently, things were much worse than Gaara had initially thought but he was glad to see that Kyuubi was making progress as well.

Naruto could not remember much when he finally woke up (which was a solid 12 hours later). He could still feel remnants of those white waves and didn't feel like he was drowning at the present, but he had a bad feeling about the missing memories. "I'm glad you're finally awake" Gaara said over the whirling thoughts in Naruto's mind. Shock. That's what registered first. Naruto realised he must have had a pretty bad episode and passed out. Gaara must know something is wrong. Naruto's white wave came crashing down as noise filled his head. So much panic over his secret being discovered that he began shaking. Gaara rushed to his side and wrapped his arms around the shaking ninja. Naruto wasn't sure why, but he began to cry. Maybe it was about his secret being discovered, maybe it was because he finally felt something other than despair but some part of him thought it was because this was the first human contact he had received (excluding fighting) since the death of his master. Whatever the case, a floodgate had been opened within Naruto and it showed no sign of stopping.