Ero-Sennin - 3

Two green eyes blinked open.

The light was painful at first, but after adjusting, they were able to take in the surrounding sights.

'Where am I and...why am I so comfortable?'

Gaara turned his head slightly to look at the cushion he had been resting on. A bedroll. 'I'm not on the ground?'

He then turned to his right and nearly had a heart attack upon finding another person so close to him just sleeping.

'I thought everyone was afraid of me!'

Gaara gazed at the snoring boy. He felt strange seeing someone so relaxed. The boy curled up beside him on the cart seemed so peaceful…it was an expression he could hardly recall.

Gaara observed the dark haired boy beside him curiously. He couldn't be much older than himself and he appeared careworn.

He sat up groggily. His head felt like a scrambled egg, and he rubbed his temples gingerly while he tried to remember what happened. Yashamaru, Temari, Kankuro...and his escape from Suna.

What a nightmare it had been. The voice that had been inside his head was at the moment silent, although during the night he could hear it whispering to him.

It told him to get up and do terrible things. Yet he was in no physical or emotional state to obey and so the voice died down. But he didn't know how long it could last.

Haku had felt the shift in weight on the cart, and opened his eyes a margin to observe the movement. 'Oh...he's awake...' He felt his eyelids droop again.

'He's awake!'

Haku's eyes snapped open in surprise: the ailing boy was awake and seemed to be just fine, as Jiraiya had predicted.

The boy looked inquisitively at Haku, as if he had no idea how to act.

He really didn't.

Haku couldn't help but smile as he so often did, "Good morning! How are you feeling?"

Gaara's brain was experiencing an overload. 'What did that boy just say? Was he just nice to me? Does he actually care?'

Haku was still smiling even when he gained no immediate response. The boy seemed frazzled and unaware of what had occurred between the time he had pleaded for help and the present.

"I'm Haku." He spoke again, trying to encourage the boy to talk.

The response was concise.

"Gaara."

Haku nodded, "Nice to meet you, Gaara."

Gaara felt compelled to say the same; it was nice to meet Haku, a person who wasn't out for his blood, but no words came to him.

Somehow Haku seemed to understand, "Are you thirsty?"

He didn't wait for an answer, and he stood to refill the bowl with water from a nearby well. Gaara stared at the sight and thought to himself, 'Wow, I must have died and went to that really nice place.'

While Gaara sat on the cart contemplating the situation he was startled by a loud shout from his right.

"Hey! Haku! Is he awake yet?"

'Oh no! I must be in that other place!'

As Haku walked back bearing a full bowl of water he regarded Naruto as he returned to the cart. Gaara was sitting up wasn't he? Did Naruto really have to ask?

Oh well.

"Yes Naruto. This is Gaara."

With a flying glomp, Naruto spastically soared through the air and onto the cart to greet Gaara. He landed a bit too forcefully and knocked Gaara from his seat at the edge. He tumbled to the ground in bewilderment.

What a first impression that was.

"Woops! Sorry Gaara," Naruto pulled him up and dusted off his shirt, "You know Haku and I were really worried when you blew in here and-"

"What is the matter with you children?" Hiroshi was awake, and not pleased with how Naruto had been throttling the red haired boy.

The blonde boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I didn't mean to send him flying like that, honest!"

"Here you go." Haku handed the bowl of water to Gaara and he gratefully accepted it.

"...thank you."

Naruto huffed.

"Take it easy, Naruto, he'll be fine." Hiroshi chuckled, patting the boy's head.

Naruto considered his actions for a moment and decided to emulate Haku's behavior, in the hope he could make another friend.

"I'll make us some breakfast," Naruto volunteered, impressing Haku and Hiroshi, "Maybe you can tell us how you got here, Gaara?"

Gaara finished gulping down the water he had been given. He nodded to them, not very sure how to explain it.

While Naruto was busy fishing through his bag for ramen, Hiroshi was relieved to see Jiraiya appear. He looked very pleased and he was flipping through a new notepad.

"Well, well," The sage got a good look at Gaara, "It seems like the sand kid is alright."

Gaara looked towards Jiraiya strangely. He was having a hard time getting used to all the odd people he met. Haku watched Jiraiya with admiring eyes, while Naruto only sniffed disdainfully at his presence.

"Kid, what's your name?" Jiraiya was never too blunt.

Gaara gave the man a fierce look, inclined to bite back, 'Why should you care?' Or 'Leave me alone! For the first time I've actually met some nice people.'

But what he said was, "Gaara."

He had a default response. Jiraiya put his research pad away and went over to the red haired boy beside the cart. He had overheard a rumor a few days earlier that the Kazekage's youngest child had been reported missing.

Even more curious was that small squads of chunin and jounin had been quietly dispatched to search for the boy throughout the five countries had not recovered him yet. It was unusual that the Kazekage wouldn't start an uproar amongst all of the hidden villages when his son had vanished.

The smell of foul play hung in the air.

There had to be a reason for the boy's disappearance.

Jiraiya still wasn't very interested in such a chaotic political situation, but the fact that the boy named Gaara had blown into Kuro in a whirlwind of sand, causing him grief in the process, was enough to make him suspect the kid was the one in question.

Gaara's intense eyes reflected a painful experience.

And his use of sand made Jiraiya conclude that the boy was certainly the Kazekage's son. He knew for a fact that the Fourth Kazekage could manipulate gold dust, and he had a hunch that his children may also carry such an ability. He had also heard through the grapevine that the jinchuriki of Suna was unpredictable and dangerous despite his young age.

"Let me have a look at your arm, Gaara." The Toad Sage tried to be casual about it.

Gaara looked at Haku and then to Hiroshi; they didn't seem to object. He lifted his arm and let Jiraiya inspect it, not caring for the reason why he wanted to do so.

'I thought so…this must be the imperfect seal of the Shukaku.'

In his vast knowledge of seals, he quickly recognized Gaara's 'ailment'. Not only did he have the jinchuriki from Hidden Leaf on his hands, but he had also discovered the one missing from Suna as well.

'Boy do I need a drink...'

"Alright." He allowed Gaara to lower his arm and Naruto and Haku took a seat beside the boy. Naruto passed around cups of instant ramen. Haku, remembering how Naruto had devoured his noodles the last time, felt his appetite disappear again.

Gaara only picked at the ramen disinterestedly.

Hiroshi turned to the sage, "Well, is anything wrong sir?"

'No, unless I admit the fact that we have two demon-jailers right in front of us. Heh! I doubt the Kazekage wants Gaara back for friendly reasons, now...how do I break it to the merchant?'

"Nothing is, er…wrong per se. However, I'm under the strong impression that I should bring these two back to Konoha with me for safety purposes." Jiraiya indicated Naruto and Gaara who were slurping noodles.

Gaara paused, his eyes widened and he turned to Naruto, "...this is...good."

Naruto was thrilled, "I'm glad ya like it Gaara!"

Gaara couldn't believe how friendly the blonde boy was, although he did find his volume a bit high.

Haku gingerly nibbled at the noodles, forcing the image of a binging Naruto out of his mind. Hiroshi watched them interact.

"Why only Naruto and Gaara?" He had to ask.

"I believe they would be of special interest to the Hokage. Naruto especially, since he ran away from home." Jiraiya didn't want to get into too much detail.

"I understand. It would be better that way. I'm in no position for supporting children on my own, and they deserve a much better life than what I'd offer," Hiroshi agreed, "But, if you must take Gaara and Naruto then I would like you to take Haku as well."

Jiraiya mentally groaned, 'Aw crap...I mean two is already bad enough...'

The fat man noticed the disapproving look on the Toad Sage's face, "It's the only thing I'd ask of you! The boy needs training as a ninja and Konoha is where he can get it, right?"

'Damn, how do I weasel out of this one?'

"Er, well, I'm not in the habit of bringing just any kid to Hidden Leaf to become a shinobi. His chances of becoming one are slim," Jiraiya tried to be convincing, "Sorry, I'm only taking these two."

Hiroshi sighed, "I see."

'I'm sorry Haku, maybe I can take you there myself one day...' The hefty man lamented inwardly.

Haku had been listening and was completely devastated by the news. He turned to Naruto and Gaara, painful silence gripping him. 'How can I become a ninja now?'

Furious, Naruto threw his ramen cup at Jiraiya.

"Oh yeah? Well, we're not going anywhere until you let Haku come with us!" Naruto grabbed the boy protectively by the shoulders and then turned to his red haired companion, "Right, Gaara?"

'Haku is nice so why shouldn't he be allowed to go to Konoha?'

"Haku comes with us." Gaara agreed and made Naruto's face lit up.

'What brats...'

Jiraiya frowned at the Kyuubi container, "...oh, fine. But I don't want trouble out of any of you, got it?"

Haku was once again jovial, "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama!"

The Toad Hermit smirked to himself, finally a bit of respect!

Although Hiroshi was happy it had somehow worked out for the three youngsters, he had also felt somewhat disappointed. He wouldn't have anyone once they went with Jiraiya to the Hidden Leaf Village.

Jiraiya whipped out his notepad again and turned towards Hiroshi, "It's settled. I'll be back at noon to pick them up. That should be enough time for good-byes right? Anyway, I have a bit of research to do until then."

The merchant nodded, "Very well."

The sage was gone a moment later, eager to continue his "research"

At that point, the three boys had finished their breakfast, although Naruto's had been cut abruptly short.

Naruto and Haku were chattering excitedly, while the more reserved Gaara listened, liking the way they described becoming shinobi. The merchant sighed to himself.

How hard could a farewell be?