Picturesque

Written By Nyappynhu

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I don't own the characters, ideas, concepts, ect.

Summary: Being Kazekage means tending to his peoples' needs. Gaara is pulled into a new chapter in his life when a boy from the north with loving affections for him. Gaara's willing to work hard to be liked; that includes learning new life lessons.

Warnings: Contains shounen-ai (boy/boy love), violence, and language.

Author's Notes: If you are not tolerant or are a fan of shounen-ai, please do not read this fanfic just to bash, flame, or condemn the concept of my story.

Other than that, I hope you'll enjoy this fanfic. (: Please leave reviews if you like it. I also ask for suggestions on the content. Please tell me how it's coming along. Thank you. Enjoy. (x

CHAPTER ONE

The Boy from the North

The cheers and roars of excitement overwhelmed the new Kazekage. Godaime Kazekage Gaara merely gazed over the sea of faces belonging to the Sunagakure inhabitants. Their faces were full with smiles of joy and contentment. It felt strange to Gaara, the happiness, the gladness that they were offering just for him. It had been over a year that he had been back from the Chuunin Exams that took place in the Land of Fire. Things have changed now. The people of Suna were actually welcoming him as their new leader. Gaara had made a promise with himself; he had made the promise that he will protect his land and live for love instead of hate and blood.

This time, Gaara thought to himself. I'll make a difference for this village.

- - -

"Kazekage-sama!"

"Listen boy!" the Jounin guard warned. "Gaara-sama will see no one at this time."

"You don't understand. I have to see him," Kenta protested. He glared at the two male guards who were blocking his way into the Kazekage's headquarters with his anger brown eyes. His dark hair was damp with perspiration and his skin had turned pink from frustration.

"It's for the Kazekage's safety that we keep intruders out," the other Jounin said.

"I'm from Suna just like you! How can you call me an intruder?"

The first guard growled lowly. "I've had enough of you. Go home now before we have to resort to force, boy."

Kenta gritted his teeth and breathed heavily. Frustration took over him and he spat at the guards' feet and gave them the dirtiest look he could muster up. "Fine, bastards."

"That's it, kid," the first guard said as Kenta began to retreat.

"You should consider yourself lucky!" the other guard called as Kenta turned his back to them.

He adjusted the straps to his woven bamboo basket and walked slowly away from the two men. He waited for the opportune time, the perfect moment for him to make his move. He wasn't ready to give up on the Kazekage just yet. A few more steps… Then, he turned back to face his obstacles, bolting back towards the large door. Hfe pushed his feet to their limit and gripped the straps tight as he prayed to the Gods that he could make it through this door. He heard angry shouting but he ignored it and reached both hands out towards the huge iron door.

Once his palms touched the cool metal, he felt the blows.

- - -

The young Kazekage heard the door to his office open as he signed and filed the mountain of endless scrolls and letters. There were quite a lot of missions this week.

"Gaara," Kankuro said

The Kazekage looked up from his paper work. He saw his older brother standing on at the door to his office with one hand still perched on the doorknob.

"What is it?"

"There's someone outside who's desperate to see you."

Gaara almost shook his head in disbelief. Did that really need to be announced? He just wanted to finish up all of this work before he had to head down to the academy for another orientation for the newcomers to the ninja academy. "Who was it?"

"They said it was a young boy from Northern Suna," Kankuro replied, disappointment hanging in his tone. "Another Jounin informed me about it. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm wasting your time, but they told me he showed signs of aggression and tried to force an entry just to see you."

Gaara said nothing. He wasn't worried about this person's intent in the very least. He knew that it was his job to help the people of Suna no matter what part of the village they were from. He glanced over at the clock on the wall. Perhaps there was enough time for one small case. This person is must very desperate, he thought. He's only a boy. But... I really can't let down my guard.

"Kankuro," Gaara said. He placed his pen down and stood up. "Take me to him. I want to get this over with."

"B-but Gaara are you sure?" Kankuro said in a shocked tone. He opened the door fully and stepped into the office.

Gaara nodded.

"But he might be a threat to you." Kankuro gave him a worried expression but Gaara ignored it.

"It'll be fine," he assured. "It's my job is to see to the villagers' needs."

Kankuro hesitated and stared at the carpet as if not wanting to look at Gaara in the eyes. After too long of a pause, Gaara grew impatient. He came around from his desk, picked up his gourd from the corner of the room, and strapped it onto his back. He made his ways towards the door, eager to resolve this affair.

"So where is our guest, Kankuro?"

He heard his older brother sigh and stepped out of the doorway to let him through. Gaara watched him gestured down the hall and towards the stairs.

"He's at the front gate."

Gaara simply nodded and followed Kankuro down the stairs and towards the main entrance. The walk was quiet expect for their footsteps clanking on the iron floorboards. Gaara wanted to quicken the errand so he sped up his pace to make it to the destination faster, though the vast size of the building did not help. Kankuro actually fell a few steps behind him before they reached the tall iron gate.

"Kazekage-sama," the two Jounins, a male and a female, at the gate greeted him in unison.

He nodded to them and said, "Open the gate."

They too, showed the same hesitation as Kankuro did before obeying his orders. The Jounins pulled the two doors of the gate opened with some effort. The bright light from the sun stung Gaara's eyes for a moment as he stepped out into the heat of the village's desert climate.

"K-kazekage-sama!" The two Jounins at the front stuttered in surprise.

"What issues do we—" Gaara began but stopped when he saw a boy lying before him. He was curled into a defensive position with his knees pulled up to his chest as he laid on his side. He covered his thick mass of long, dark hair with his hands. His light blue uwagi was battered with dirt and his blank pants were no different.

Gaara only stood in awe as the boy slowly looked up at him with a bruised and starched up face. He saw his eyes widened as he struggled to get into a kneeling position.

"K-ka-kazekage-sama..." he breathed out.

Gaara heard the Jounins protest as he calmly came to the boy's side and knelt down before him on one knee. He placed his hands on the boy's shoulders and forced him to look up at him.

"What happened?" Gaara asked. He then turned back to the Jounins, but not one of them answered his question. Rather, the two at the front of the gate gazed down at the ground with slightly guilty eyes. Gaara then turned back to the injured boy.

The boy's lips parted but Gaara did not hear a single word escape from them.

"Who are you?" Gaara asked again. There was another pause and he decided to try one more question. "What is your name?"

No luck. The only thing he could hear was the boy's uneven breathing and slight whimpering. The Kazekage kept his expression calm and blank as he ran thoughts through his mind to find out what to do about this boy. He looked so helpless and afraid that Gaara was feeling pity for him. Maybe there was something he could do—there had to be something. He was the Kazekage after all. Gaara breathed in deeply and let out a long, silent sigh. He turned his head slightly back to Kankuro and the Jounins.

"One of you, go call the medical team and send a few of them up to my office," Gaara said.

"But Gaara—" Kankuro started but his younger brother began to speak again.

"I'm taking this boy to my office for questioning," he said, getting back onto his feet and helping the boy up as well. He could hear Kankuro and the Jounins protested and advised against his decisions.

"That isn't safe for you, Kazekage-sama!"

"You can't do that, Gaara-sama!"

"Please rethink your decision!"

Gaara simply gave them a solid, serious look and turned his attention back to boy.

"Come with me," Gaara said to him. He finally released his hold on the young boy and turn to walk back inside the building, expecting the boy to follow him.

"W-w-wait…" murmured the boy.

Gaara turned back to him with eyes widened a little as he realized that he could actually speak. Gaara asked him, "What is it?"

The boy made an effort to raise his arm and point in the direction away from the building. Gaara followed his finger and found that he was pointing at the ground at a flimsy looking basket.

"Kankuro could you—" Gaara began but he stopped when he saw that the boy had staggered over to the basket himself to pick it up.

There was silence among every person there. Gaara, baffled and startled with this strange event, turned his back to the boy and continued to walk back into the building. He listened for the boy's footsteps behind him. Once he did, the Kazekage stopped at the opened iron doors of the building where all the Jounins along with Kankuro stood. His sudden stop caused the boy to walk into his back. Gaara made no acknowledgement of this. The boy quickly took a few steps away from the Kazekage, eyes on the ground, embarrassed.

"Kaoru, Akira, make sure this doesn't ever happen again," Gaara commanded. He saw the worried looks on the Jounins' faces but he kept silent, making sure they understood that he was serious. After a short period of time, they nodded in agreement.

- - -

Gaara watched the medical ninja dipped the soft cotton ball into the cup of green liquid ointment, then, raising it up towards the young boy's scratched face, she dapped the ointment over his wounds. He winced and pulled away sharply from the ointment's contact with his skin. Gaara shifted uncomfortably in his arm chair while he observed the medical team tending to the stranger before him. The female ninja was busying herself with the boy's facial wounds, while the other two male and female ninja were occupied with the injuries on his arms and legs. Gaara felt a strange hint of guilt inside him, making his stomach churn, making him yearn to know what he had to do to make it go away.

The kazekage looked into the eyes of the boy before him. They were gloomy, downcast, and sad as they were fixed at the floor of the his office. Gaara wondered why the medical team's treatment wasn't making this stranger feel any better. He suddenly felt the urge to get up, dismiss the medics, and take up the treatment himself.

Gaara cleared his throat. "That would be enough," he said, standing up from his arm chair.

"Kazekage-sama?" The female medic answered, looking up from the boy's wounds.

"You are all dismissed," Gaara instructed. "Leave the medications there, I will take it from here."

The medical team all exchanged worried, questioning looks silently. After a short pause, the medical team straightened up, bowed politely before Gaara, and left the room, closing the door behind them.

Only Gaara and the boy were left in the large office room now. Gaara still watched the boy carefully, as he turned his head away from the door, facing the kazekage again. Gaara waited for him to speak, or even ask a question, but he was again given only silence.

"What is your name?" Gaara finally asked.

The boy hesitated, but slowly opened his mouth to speak. "K-k-Kenta," he stuttered.

Gaara nodded, feeling pleased that he was finally getting somewhere with this boy. "Who are you?"

"I'm…ah—" Kenta began to spoke but he winced in pain, bending over in his seat, clenching onto his arm.

The Kazekage, without thinking twice, quickly dashed around his desk to catch him before he fell off his seat. As he knelt there on one knee, Gaara could feel Kenta's raspy groans as he pushed him back into his seat.

"Did they really hurt you this much?" Gaara asked in disbelief, more to himself then Kenta.

Gaara watched Kenta with pity. The boy was whimpering in pain and holding onto himself to sustain that pain. Gaara looked at the medical instruments and herbal medicines that the medical ninjas had laid out on the table next to Kenta. He stood up and picked up the tong with the cotton ball that the medical ninja was working with before. He wondered if this was the one thing he had to do to make the horrible feeling vanish. Gaara looked at Kenta who was watching him with widened eyes. He pulled a chair from the font of the desk and sat down closely in front of Kenta.

"I'm going to treat you now," Gaara said, taking Kenta's shoulder in his hand and pulling him towards him to ease his task. Gaara smeared the ointment generously over Kenta's facial scratches and the moment he did, the boy suddenly pulled back violently.

"What?" Gaara inquired, puzzled.

"It stings," Kenta answered, blinking away what looked like tears.

Gaara didn't feel better, he felt worst about what he had done. He disposed of the cotton ball and fished another one with the tong. He then dipped the new cotton into the ointment, taking only a little this time. Gaara swirled the excess liquid onto the back of his hand, feeling nothing but coolness, before attempting to apply onto Kenta again.

"Here," Gaara said, coaxing him to come forth.

"But it makes it worst," Kenta complained.

"I'll be more cautious this time."

With that, Gaara seemed to have succeeded. Kenta slowly leaned foreword and sat still for Gaara to work. He lightly tapped the cotton onto Kenta's skin. He did wince again, but he did not withdraw like before. Gaara continued his work steadily until he finished one cheek and started work on the other.

"You never answered my questions," Gaara said while he started applying creams onto his bruises. "Who are you? Why did you come here?"

"Oh," Kenta said. "I'm from the northern region of Suna. I'm an artist—well… an artist in training to be honest."

"And why have you come to southern Suna?"

"I… I wanted to paint you. I want you to be the subject of my new art piece."

Gaara stopped abruptly and looked up at him. He did not believe what he was hearing. It seemed like a lot of trouble to go through just to ask someone to pose for a painting. "That's all you wanted?" Gaara asked, making sure there wasn't anything more.

"Yes," Kenta nodded sincerely. "I've been meaning to paint you for so long. I've seen you in other paintings but I wanted to see you in real life, observe my subject for myself."

"I'm very busy," Gaara said, simply.

"I know that you are, Kazekage-sama," Kenta said. "But you don't have to sit still for me. You can be doing your daily work and I can still paint you. I don't have trouble with that. Would you please grant me this pleasure, Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara had just finished tying the last bandage onto Kenta's arm when he had heard this. Did he really want this boy painting him, he questioned himself. He did not see the harm in having him sitting and painting from a distance while he carried on with his duty routines. Although, the idea did make him feel a little uncomfortable, it was just more attention that he didn't need or want. But Gaara thought it over, his eyes lingering on how this boy has suffered just to ask him of for this opportunity.

He looked up at the clock and realized that it was nearing his time to go down to the academy. He sighed and looked back at Kenta.

"Alright," Gaara said. "I will be your subject for your painting. You'll have to come down to the academy with me, though. I still have things to do."

Kenta's face immediately lit up with a smile. Gaara watched him bowed his head several times before him, saying, "Thank you, Kazekage-sama" repeatedly. Gaara continued to sit there before him until he had finished his show of gratitude. Once he finished, he smiled one more time at Gaara. Then he slowly moved closer to Gaara. Soon, the young Kazekage felt the other boy's cold, moist lips brush over his dry lips. Gaara's eyes widened at this as the boy quickly pulled back. He watched Kenta sit there shyly, his cheek coloring, as if waiting for some short of reaction from Gaara.

What was that…? Gaara thought. He didn't know what this touch was. Was it this boy's bizarre show of thanks, or was it a deadly, secret jutsu. He had been through many situations and even battles where people have made physical contact with him. But never was he touched like this before. It was…different. Gaara shook off his surprise and got up from his seat. Duty came first.

"We've better get going," Gaara said, pacing over to his desk to pick up his gourd.

"O—Okay," Kenta said, blushing brightly. He also got up and swung the bamboo basket's straps over his shoulders. "I'm ready."

"What is in there?" Gaara asked, already opening the door, waiting for Kenta.

"My art equipment," he answered, stepping out of the Kazekage's office.

Gaara led him out of the headquarters and towards the academy building. Their walk there was awkwardly silent; Gaara did not speak anymore, having nothing to say. Kenta was no different, Gaara saw him sneak glances at him numerous times, maybe from his yearning to speak, but no words ever escaped his lips. His lips…Gaara began to wonder about that strange new touch again. But he again had to leave those thoughts behind as he stepped through the back door of the academy's auditorium where Kankuro was waiting.

"Where were you, Gaara?" his brother questioned worryingly. He glanced from Gaara to Kenta and asked disgustedly, "Why is he here?"

"I'll tell you later," Gaara said. "Get them ready. And find a seat for Kenta to sit behind the curtains." He gestured at the boy behind him.

"Hm…alright," Kankuro said in a confused tone but went off to perform his duties.

Gaara turned around to face Kenta. "I'm giving a speech for the students here today. I'd like for you to sit behind the curtains where you can see me but not be a distraction for them, alright?"

"As long as I can see you, Kazekage-sama," Kenta nodded.

"Your seat will be over there," Gaara instructed, pointing towards the side of the stage. "You should go there now. I have to go get ready."

"Yes, sir, Kazekage-sama. Thank you," Kenta said, dashing up the few stairs steps towards his seat.

Gaara made his way through the backstage towards Kankuro and the other Jounins and Chuunins.

"Finally," Kankuro sighed loudly when he saw Gaara. He held out a stack of papers towards him and said, "Here's the revised and final version of the speech. Good luck out there, Gaara." Kankuro winked at him.

He merely nodded at his brother as the others wished him luck as well. When Gaara made his way towards the front of the stage, around the background curtains, the Jounins and Chuunins had made their ways out from backstage and into their seats around the young students. He stood, waiting on the opposite side of the stage as Kenta. He could see that Kenta had already set up all his necessary equipment for painting.

"Today we have a real treat for all of you," Gaara heard Daichi, one of the Chuunins at the academy, announce over the microphone. "Kazekage-sama was able to take some time to pay you all a visit today. Please welcome Gaara, our Kazekage-sama!"

At the sound of the applause, Gaara stepped out from behind the curtains and onto the stage, where a sea of young faces greeted him with smiles and cheers. He made his way towards Daichi who was standing at the podium.

"They're all yours, Kazekage-sama," he whispered to him, smiling and stepped off the stage.

Gaara took Daichi's place at the podium and waited a few seconds before he began. He took a moment to glance over at Kenta who he found had already started on his work, his canvas platform on his lap and brush in hand. With that, Gaara concluded that it was about time he did as well.

A "uwagi" is a kimono-like top or jacket. Kenta wears this with a black obi belt.