Collecting the Jinchuuriki.

Day 8 (Part 2)

No POV

Naruto and Gaara found their way to Temari and Kankuro, who were already back at the compound, and made their way over. Quickly entering the building, they made their presence known and waited to be greeted by the elder siblings.

Before the siblings saw it, Naruto took his hand from Gaara's head and moved back a bit to allow the slight sense of privacy. And finally, the sand siblings ushered Gaara into the main room and they all took a seat as well as Naruto.

Temari looked nervous and Kankuro looked prepared for anything. And Gaara, after a few minutes, said, "Temari, Kankuro, Naruto is very powerful. And last night, he did something that has changed my views on a few things." He paused to take in the looks on their faces, they were both fearful and glancing at Naruto as well, so he continued. "He modified my seal to allow me to control when i talk to my tailed beast. So that, now, i can sleep. And for the first time since i was born, i slept last night."

Kankuro looked shocked and Temari also did, but she also had a developing smile. Gaara decided to continue once more, "And because I was able to sleep for the first time, peacefully, i am now able to see how much the two of you care for me." Once again, he paused, not knowing how to say the next parr of his statement, until he finally found the words and said, "I'm sorry for all that i've put you through."

They both gasped as Gaara finished, all but completely forgetting Naruto's presence. And after a few minutes, Temari said, "Gaara, does this mean you won't kill me if i hug you?"

Gaara nodded slowly, still not used to the ides of being hugged. But Temari took this chance and pounced on top of Gaara, giving him a huge hug and not letting go. And Kankuro sat back, smiling.

Gaara knew this was the ideal reaction, so he turned his head to Naruto and gave a slight nod with a slight smile. Naruto did the same, then turned his attention back to the siblings. He then cleared his throat, allowing Temari to pull back from her hold on her brother. Both Kankuro and Temari gave him a slight glare, then remembered that he's the one who helped their brother, so they stopped glaring and prepared to say their thanks. Only to be interrupted by Naruto saying, "No need to thank me. Seeing a fellow jinchuriki in so much pain, i had to do something. Which is why i decided a few years ago that on my birthday, this year, i would leave Konoha and find the other jinchuriki and save them from whatever hell they are living. My birthday is in 7 days as of midnight. I already spoke with Gaara about all of this before i fixed his seal, and he told me that he would definitely want to go with me. As we discussed it more today, he said he'd want to bring the two of you along as well. If you want, i wouldn't mind it. I see that you truly care about your brother, and because of that, i doubt you would betray him as most people would."

Temari and Kankuro looked hesitant for a moment, took one look at Gaara, then nodded. Kankuro then said, "If you both will have us, we would be more than willing to join you in your journey. And if your as powerful as Gaara says, then i have no doubt we will be protected and able to keep training even after becoming missing-nin."

Temari nodded at that and said, "Besides, someone needs to take care of this little red head. Even if he has threatened to kill us an uncountable number of times, we're still his older siblings. That counts for something at least."

Gaara let himself give a smile as he hugged Temari and said, "Thank you for never abandoning me.".
Kankuro looked shocked by the reaction Gaara had, but softened his gaze in contentment. Happy that they were able to be this happy with each other for once.

Naruto then stood and said, "Well, i'll see you all later. I must go test Sakura to see if she'd be willing to go along with us. Then i must test Sasuke. I hope they both pass. I don't want to hurt either of the people i consider family." Naruto then left the building, on his way to Ino's house to get Sakura.