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Special Thanks to: VentMonster, Dragon Man 180 (I hope I answer your questions in this chapter), Narutofreak22 (I'm not telling :P), Stonebridge, ArrowOfHikaru, Mistress DragonFlame, SmacksKiller, DrakeDragon, MaryChanel

Translations

Sugoi: Cool

Hajimemashoo: Let's begin.

What Dreams May Come

Naruto opens his eyes to the star speckled darkness he has become accustomed to.  Kyuubi and Shukaku are right there as well.  He looks around Shukaku hoping to spot Gaara's dream.  It isn't there.

"Hey Kyuubi-sama, how come I'm always dreaming before Gaara?" Naruto asks.

Kyuubi thinks for a minute.  "Perhaps it is because you live in different time zones," she reasons.

"What?  I don't get it," Naruto says.

"What I mean is, night time arrives sooner in your village then it does in his."

"Oh," he remarks. 

Gaara's dream appears shortly and Naruto soon finds himself in a dusty city.  The street is lined with various shop fronts.  Images of ghostly people are wandering from stall to stall.  Naruto spots the only solid figure in the area and makes his way toward him.  Kyuubi follows at a distance.

Gaara turns at the sound of footsteps.  He spots Naruto, but no sooner do their eyes meet then he looks past Naruto to Kyuubi.  Gaara freezes, a look of fear on his face.

"Hi, Gaara!" Naruto shouts.  "Gaara?"  Naruto waves a hand in front of Gaara's face.

"Ah," is all Gaara manages to get out.  Naruto glances back at Kyuubi.  Kyuubi heaves a sigh.

"Does my appearance bother you, Gaara-kun?" asks Kyuubi, softly.

"Y-yes," replies Gaara, timidly.

"Why does it bother you?"

"I…I dunno…you're scary," Gaara moves to hide behind the nearest market stall.

"What is it about me that scares you?"

"Um…'cause you're really big," Gaara mumbles.

"And why is my size frightening?"

"Um… I dunno,"

A large swirl of smoke surrounds the giant fox.  When it clears, a regular size fox replaces the giant.  "Is this better, Gaara-kun?"

"Oh!" Gaara moves out from behind the stall.  "You're just a regular fox?" he whispers.

"I am still the same person.  I can still do all the things I could before.  This isn't really me, it is just an illusion," Kyuubi tells him. 

"Oh," Gaara says.

"If you try, you can still see the real me under the illusion.  Although I don't want to frighten you Gaara-kun, neither do I want to pretend to be something I'm not.  At least give me a chance before you run away."

Gaara thinks about this for a minute.  "I…will try," he says. 

"That is all I ask," Kyuubi puffs back to her natural form.

"Can you, uh, show me how to do that?"

Kyuubi smiles gently, "The illusion?  Certainly.  I will show both of you…little one?"

While Kyuubi and Gaara were talking, Naruto had wandered down the hazy street.  He was poking indeterminate objects laid out on a market stall table. 

"Little one, come here.  I am going to show you some of my fox techniques," Kyuubi calls to Naruto.

Naruto hurries back to Kyuubi and Gaara.  "Sugoi!  For real?" he squeals.

Kyuubi chuckles, "Indeed."  She looks over at Gaara, "If you don't mind Gaara-kun, I would like to change the setting."

Gaara blinks up at Kyuubi, not really understanding what she means.  He nods once. 

The dusty city blurs away.  In its place, a grassy meadow valley spouts underfoot.  On one side is a forest, on the other a sparkling clear lake.  Snow caped mountains surround the entire valley.

Gaara stares in awe.  Naruto waits eagerly, grinning, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Kyuubi smiles, "Hajimemashoo," she says to them.

-----

Over the next week and a half, Kyuubi teaches Naruto and Gaara various illusory tricks.  They pick it up quickly.  Kyuubi tells them to practice in the waking world.  It isn't really useful in a dream.  After all, anything you want can be real in a dream.  At the same time Gaara gradually becomes accustomed to the presence of a giant demon fox at his side.

After that time, Kyuubi calls them together for a different topic.

"Gaara-kun, I think there is someone you should talk to," Kyuubi says to Gaara.

"Who is it?" he asks.

"Shukaku," she tells him plainly.  "I promise he will not hurt you."

Naruto is puzzled.  He looks over to see a look of fear pass over Gaara's face.  "Ne, Gaara, why would you be scared of Shukaku?  That guy never does anything.  He's never said more than three words at a time."

Gaara shivers.  He sits down and hugs his knees to his chest.  Naruto scratches his head.

"Never mind, little one.  Gaara-kun, I will make sure Shukaku does not do anything untoward.  But he is a part of you, for now.  You should know him."

"Un-too what?" Naruto asks.

"Bad stuff." Kyuubi says absently.

Gaara peeks up at her.  "Promise?"

"I promise," says Kyuubi solemnly.

Gaara shivers again, and then he stands slowly.  He nods.  He stays close to Naruto and Kyuubi.

Kyuubi indicates the doorway standing by the shore of the lake.  The frayed cloth across the opening flutters.  Shukaku emerges from the darkness beyond.  He stands there at the edge of the lake, gazing toward the trio on the grass.

Kyuubi turns to Gaara; "You don't have to talk to him today if you are too afraid."

Gaara glances up at her then back to Shukaku.  He takes a deep breath.  Slowly, he steps toward the massive form of the demon tanuki.  Halfway there, he stops.

"Y-you are Shukaku?" he stammers.

"Last time I checked," the demon replies.

"What did you attack me before?"

"Because I want out.  I want my freedom back." Shukaku growls.

Gaara visibly shrinks but he does not back away.  "Will you do it again?" he asks.

Shukaku shrugs, "No point.  I can't get out that way," he wanders over to the meadow and flops onto the ground.

Kyuubi chuckles.  "You see, Gaara-kun?  He's harmless."

Shukaku frowns in her direction, "No need to insult me," he grouches.  Naruto giggles.  Gaara looks from Naruto to Kyuubi to Shukaku with wide eyes.  Then, almost imperceptibly, the corners of Gaara's mouth twitch upward. 

After that, things went pretty smoothly. 

-----

Weeks turn into months.  Naruto would go to the between place, if Gaara dreamt that night Naruto and the demons would join him.  They would play or Kyuubi would show them tricks in illusions or fire techniques.  Shukaku did very little in the first month, aside from the occasional snide comment.  But after nearly constant prodding from Naruto, Shukaku agreed to teach them some earth based techniques. 

It should be mentioned that the techniques the demons know is very different from the techniques humans usually use.  Human techniques, or jutsus, combine body and spirit energies within the body, then released through hand seals.  Demons, on the other hand, cast their energies out of the body first, combining it with naturally occurring energies in the setting.  This means that even for the exact same effect, such as a simple illusion, the approach was totally different.  Each method has its advantage and disadvantage.  The use of hand seals makes any effect you can think of possible, as long as you have enough energy and know the seals…and can use your hands, obviously.  But, once the hand seals have been carried out, the jutsu can't be changed.  Plus, if the seals are not done properly, all the energy put into the jutsu is wasted.  On the other hand, demons, by using energy from the world around them, use up a lot less of their own energy at once and, without seals, there is flexibility in the out come.  A jutsu can be altered mid-stream.  The drawback is if an element is not in the environment, a certain effect is impossible.  Like starting a fire underwater.  Of course, there are always ways to get around such limitations.

For nearly a year, life went on this way.  For nearly a year, the four could honestly say they enjoyed each other's company.  Nearly a year went by, until one day everything changed.

-----

Okay, next chapter won't be out for at least a week.  Sorry!

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