Moonlight illuminated a dark figure, the only color being a vibrant splash of crimson red hair. moving silently down the alleyway, the teenager idly let his eyes wander up and down the alley. He didn’t know why he was wandering again, but he was truly bored of sitting in his room and being unable to sleep.

One pale hand emerged from the overly large jacket, moving up to the boy’s lips and removing a cigarette. The teenager let the smoke release from his lungs, his teal eyes glancing up towards the sky. The full moon shone brightly down at him, as if mocking his inability to sleep.

Letting out a drawn out sigh, the boy exited the alley only to quickly step back in, his eyes panning to watch the six men that stood on the sidewalk across from his position. Five were surrounding one blond man who was being held against the brick wall by the tallest of them. Gaara watched in interest, their voices slowly making its way to his ears.

“What’s wrong Kimimaro? Too much of a wimp to hit me?” The blond questioned in amusement, spitting the blood filling his mouth onto the older man’s face. The azure-eyed boy watched in amusement as the other man recoiled in shock, his hand tightening around the younger boy’s throat.

“You bastard!” A redheaded woman pulling off her hood, surprising the watching teen. He had truly thought she was a male.

“Quiet, Tayuya.” The one holding the blond ordered, wiping away the blood and saliva with a grimace, turning a green-eyed glare to the blond while he also removed his hood. His hair was shaggy and drastically bleached into a white color.

Pulling back a fist, Kimimaro launched it towards the blond’s gut and the watching teen blinked in surprise at the blond catching it easily. a wide grin split over his face, blood trickling from his lip as he chuckled darkly.

“Now, now. No need to get so violent. You already punched my cheek.” The blond teased, smiling happily before pulling his leg up swiftly and launching a kick into Kimimaro’s gut. The white-haired man stumbled back, holding his stomach in pain while the blond dropped from the two inches he had been at. Azure eyes turned ice cold, glancing at the leader of the ‘Sound Five’. These were the rising group that was under Orochimaru? Pathetic.

“Get lost and maybe I won’t kill you.” The blond ordered, reaching under his shirt and pulling a pistol out from the waistband of his jeans. The five froze, staring at the gun in shock and fear before the only girl bolted.

“Fuck you, Naruto!” She yelled, disappearing down an alley with the rest of her group on her heels, Kimimaro trailing the pack. The watching teen stared at the alley they disappeared down before noticing the blond - Naruto - was moving.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Naruto stared at the gun that Jiraiya had ordered he always carried. Naruto knew why, he just didn’t like threatening people with it. Even if those people were working under the scumbag Orochimaru.

Grumbling, he clicked the safety before putting it back in his waist band. Naruto really didn’t feel like being shot under the belt by accident. Wiping a hand across his mouth, Naruto froze at the sound of scuffing feet. Rising his eyes as his bangs hid them, Naruto noticed a redheaded male exiting the alley across from him.

Pale skin, teal eyes, and clad in all black, the teen was a striking sight. The most significant feature of the boy was the blood red kanji for ‘love’ tattooed on the left side of his forehead.

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto raised his head and stared at the boy as he casually crossed the street. Naruto watched him warily, noting the cigarette hanging from the boy’s lips and absently noting that he could easily shove it back into the boys mouth to distract him for long enough to grab his pistol again.

“Who are you?” The redhead questioned, making Naruto narrow his eyes.

“I should be asking you the same question.”

“Sabaku Gaara.”

Naruto’s azure eyes widened slightly before narrowing. Sabaku, huh? From Sabaku Industries? I knew the CEO’s children had moved into Konoha awhile ago, so is this one?

“Uzumaki Naruto.”

Now it was Gaara’s turn to widen his eyes before narrowing them. The boy whose parents died taking down Kurama, the biggest mass murderer the country has ever seen?

Naruto tilted his head, glancing over Gaara speculatively. He was an inch shorter than Naruto who was five foot eight, so they were both relatively short for males. Naruto was just glad he had a growth spurt after being stuck at four seven for all of middle school.

“Ya know, smoking’s a bad habit.”

“So is getting ganged up on in the middle of the night.”

“Touche.” Naruto smirked approvingly, nodding his head to the left so that the two would start walking. Gaara followed him without pause, his cold teal eyes reflecting a hint of curiosity.

“Who were they anyway?”

“You hear about Orochimaru?”

Gaara scowled. “That bastard who runs the drug circulation in Konoha and the surrounding areas? He hit Suna a few years back.”

“Yeah, him, slimy shithead. They were one of his personal groups. Bunch of wimps, though I’m surprised Kimimaro hadn’t pulled one of his knives yet.”

“Is it normal to be caught by them? I haven’t seen anything like that since we got here a month ago.”

“It’s normal when you’re the godson of Jiraiya.”

Gaara’s eyes widened by a centimeter. Jiraiya, the man who has been rivals with Orochimaru since they were children? The man who is rumored to have a gigantic spy network he runs for Konoha and the rest of the country?

“Ah, the look of shock. Always amusing.”

Gaara instantly schooled his features, glancing at his companion and actually taking the time to observe him. Shaggy blond hair hung over amused blue eyes, his tan skin making the whisker-like scars on both his cheeks stand out. A dark orange t-shirt hung over his frame, a reasonably comfortable black jacket thrown over it. His pants were black, slightly tighter than was normal. Stretchy skinny jeans, if Gaara was correct. The look was finished off with a pair of black and orange Vans, almost making Gaara snort in amusement. The blond obviously liked orange and black. The redhead would bet a hundred dollars his favorite holiday was Halloween.

“So,” Naruto began, drawing Gaara’s attention, “what’s the son of Sabaku Industry’s CEO doing out on the streets of Konoha? Could get dangerous out here, ya know.”

Gaara frowned at the teasing tone the blond was using. “I’m not weak.”

Amused cerulean eyes glanced over Gaara again, taking in the fluid way he walked and knowing it was a sign of an experienced fighter. The cold mask the boy had was intriguing as well, and Naruto found his amusement and curiosity grow.

“No...I suppose not.”

Naruto watched as Gaara pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the front pocket of his overly large hoodie. The blond looked away as Gaara flicked his finished one away and lit the second, taking a few puffs.

“Nasty habit.”

“Wanna try?”

Naruto shot his eyes to Gaara’s noting the lack of eyebrows he had missed before simply because it appeared as if he would be lifting one. A faint smirk twitched at the corner of the pale boy’s lips. Frowning at the mocking aura Gaara gave off, Naruto raised his hand swiftly and pulled the stick of tobacco away from the shorter boy.

Blinking slowly in surprise - the redhead didn’t think Naruto would actually do it - Gaara watched as Naruto took a relatively small puff compared to his own. That small amount got the blond coughing and hurriedly handing the lit cigarette back.

Gaara snorted as Naruto glared at him, tears forming on the corners of the boy’s eyes before he composed himself. Working to pull back his dignity, Naruto sniffed and turned his head away. “Not bad.”

The snort the comment drew caused Naruto to grin, glancing over at his new companion. He didn’t know why he was being so accepting of the redhead, but maybe it was because he’d been treating him normally. He wasn’t staring at him in awe, pity, or fear. That’s what happened to Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina’s son. Awe that he was the offspring of two people who took down Kurama. Pity that the boy had lost his parents when he’d only been a few days old. Fear that Naruto could perhaps become just as adept at taking people down as his parents did.

It was rare to find people who didn’t look at him like that, and he was happy that he had met thirteen - now fourteen - people who didn’t.

“Ya know, I’d rather have a cup of sake than try that again.”

“You drink?”

“With my kind of relatives...yeah, of course.” Naruto rolled his eyes.

Gaara hummed, his eyes panning back up to the moon. It seemed less mocking now.

“Oh, yeah, what were you doing out here?”

“Can’t sleep.”

“Ah. I sleep in the afternoon.” Naruto shrugged, before catching Gaara’s faint frown.

“I have insomnia.”

“I’ve had acute insomnia before. From the bags around your eyes, I’m guessing yours is chronic?”

A nod drew a faint smirk to Naruto’s lips. “So you decide to wander around Konoha instead...you remind me of myself.”

“Oh really?”

Naruto could just feel the mocking tone in the redhead’s voice.

"I know every alley, every road, and every business in Konoha. It's been my playground since I was born." A mischievous grin lit up his features and Gaara found himself rolling it eyes. Though he didn't give it away, simply performing such an action surprised him. The last time he had freely expressed himself...it had been when he was six, ten years ago.

"I know everywhere in Suna." Gaara admitted, making Naruto smirk.

"I've been there a few times...I'm surprised I never met you."

"I'm not."

"Aah, so rude. Oh, hey, are you going to Konoha High in August?"

"Yes."

"You're so blunt."

"I know."

"You're like Sasuke-teme." Naruto groaned in annoyance, tilting his head back with his eyes closed.

"Who?"

"Uchiha."

The sudden snort caused Naruto to open one eye, glancing down aat his companion who had a faint glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

"I assure you, I am nothing like Sasuke-teme."

"Maybe." Naruto let a smaller, sincere small go over his lips before turning forward and schooling his features into a serious expression.

"Come on, I'll bring you back to your house. Oro-teme has more of his people out tonight and you don't look like you have a gun on you."

"Not allowed."

Naruto rose an eyebrow, looking over the redhead questionably before shrugging. "Alright then. Get a knife."

"Not allowed."

"You kill someone or something?"

"Almost."

"Oh...who?"

"My father."

"...I'm not gonna get that story, am I?"

"No."

"Okay, so, where you live?" Naruto questioned, tilting his head and looking at Gaara curiously. Gaara had to hold back from looking at him in surprise. Okay? He just says okay and moves on? Everyone usually flees after that. Then again, he was just holding a gun up to those five.

"Northridge."

Naruto let out a low whistle. "The mansions, eh?"

"Its not a mansion."

Naruto looked at him, deadpan. "The houses are either two or three stories with each having a pool and from what I saw, over eighteen rooms."

"If you say so." Gaara huffed out a sigh, making Naruto snort and roll his eyes.