Baki is psychologically and financially tortured
Four months.
It had been four months since the assassination attempt. Since Naruto loosened the Kyuubi's seal. Since he and Gaara began to understand their place in the world.
But... it was also four months since Naruto started working in the greenhouses. Since he befriended Temari and Kankuro, and since Gaara started to gain control of his sand.
What could it be called besides bittersweet?
"Dumbass," Gaara said. "Listen to Baki. Don't just improvise."
Naruto groaned exaggeratedly, throwing his head back.
"It's hard! How am I supposed to summon chakra that's not mine?"
"Baki just told you!"
"Not like Baki's got demon chakra he's gotta deal with..."
"He helped me," Gaara said. "I can control the sand better, now. Because I listened to his words. You won't get better if you keep doing the same thing over and over."
Naruto scoffed.
"I can do what I want! And it's not like I'm gonna die if I don't get it under control. I can just not use it. Big deal!"
Baki cleared his throat. The boys looked at him.
"Actually, if you don't get the Kyuubi's chakra under control, there's a good chance the Kazekage will transfer you somewhere else to get the job done... likely under someone a lot more cruel. And I'll probably get fired in the process. So..." Baki gave him an expressionless thumbs up. "Do your best."
Naruto gulped.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah! Woo-hoo! You got this!" Baki shouted. His tone was comedically monotone. "Naruto, kill the sand things! Gaara, make the sand things kill Naruto! But not literally! Yeah!"
Naruto was visibly tired. He was breathing heavily, his face was damp with sweat, and he was covered in dirt. His hands were bloody from the weaponized sand's rough texture, though the cuts themselves had healed.
Gaara was still. His eyes were narrowed. He was focused intently on the sand and its movement, willing it to do his bidding. Unfortunately, it was becoming incredibly obvious that the sand just didn't want to murder Naruto.
"Naruto" Baki called. "Get unreasonably mad and destroy!"
"I don't want to destroy Gaara!" Naruto yelled.
"Gaara's trying to destroy you! Destroy him back!"
"He's not doing a great job of it!"
Baki frowned.
"Then get mad at me for making you fight! And take it out on Gaara!"
"But I'm not mad at you! You're just doing your job!"
Gaara sighed, the corner of his mouth twitching just slightly.
"Naruto, oh my god. You're so sweet it's upsetting."
Gaara lifted his hand. A stream of sand flew at Naruto, circling him before binding his arms to his sides. He shouted and fell on his butt, struggling.
After a moment, he went limp, stubbornly collapsing onto the stone ground.
"You could get out of that with demon chakra," Gaara pointed out.
"Damn it, Gaara, I know that!"
Once again, he started squirming.
"It doesn't look like it to me," Gaara said. "Looks like I'm gonna go eat those good carbs while you struggle."
Naruto's eyes darkened. He stilled.
"You saying you'll get ramen without me?"
Gaara nodded.
"Baki said he'd buy it, too."
He had said no such thing.
"Bottomless ramen..." Naruto said, his voice almost a growl, "and you'd leave me here?"
"My wallet is not bottomless," Baki muttered.
Gaara's hands tensed as he tried to keep Naruto bound.
"I mean... it's ramen," Gaara said. He remained nonchalant, but Naruto was gaining strength by the second.
"I can't let that happen! I won't let you leave without me!"
Naruto wrenched free from the sand chain's grasp. It dissipated and flew into Gaara's gourd without the slightest hesitation.
Naruto ran forward with more speed than Gaara could have been prepared for. His face was contorted in raw anger.
Without warning, sand flew up around Gaara, acting as a sort of wall. Naruto rammed his shoulder into it, yelping as it let out a sharp crunch.
Gaara stumbled backwards, terrified.
Naruto, realizing the wall had no entrance points, began to claw at it—and it actually worked. The sand tried to repair itself, but to no avail. Naruto peered through the hole he'd made, and Gaara could see the red hue to his eyes.
All that over ramen? he thought, just as the shield disintegrated with a satisfying whoosh.
Less satisfying was the fact that Naruto, more pissed than Gaara had ever seen, was steadily approaching, with narrowed eyes and a menacing atmosphere. Blood dripped from his hands.
Gaara was frozen. The world went silent.
Naruto stepped directly in front of him, an odd glimmer in his eyes. Gaara didn't dare breathe. Was he going to die?
And then, Naruto grinned brightly. He poked Gaara gently on the forehead. The marks on his face returned to normal, and the near-palpable anger was eased.
"Guess I'll be getting that ramen, then, huh?"
Gaara blinked. The reality dawned upon him. His friend was fine, and not about to murder him.
He couldn't help but smile.
"I guess so."
Baki stared at the pair of them, stunned.
There was a ramen place in the middle of town. It was Suna's most popular restaurant, and famous among the Shinobi villages for its perfect noodles-to-broth ratio, well-cooked meat and eggs, and seasoning quality to rival a king.
A tear fell from Baki's visible eye as Naruto downed his third bowl.
"Naruto, my wallet isn't bottomless..." he said once again, his monetary pain evident.
Naruto hummed, thinking.
"Hey, Gaara, which is better... beef or spicy beef? 'Cause I like the normal beef, but I haven't had the spicy stuff... I've tried Kankuro's curry and just about died, so I don't know if that's a regular thing or if he's just crazy..."
Gaara shoved some noodles in his mouth and nodded.
"Kankuro," he said after swallowing, "has a high spice tolerance. I saw him eat a spoonful of chili powder once on a dare... He didn't even cry."
"So... spicy?"
"Go for it."
Baki walked outside, grabbed a flask from his pocket, and chugged it.
"Hey, Baki?" Naruto asked later, as the three of them were walking home. "What's up with girls?"
Baki blinked.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Naruto and Gaara shared a glance, and then he spoke.
"I mean, Gaara's brother, Kankuro, is always talking about girls in his class. Like, he thinks they're super pretty or whatever and he wants to ask them out on a date. But when I asked why he thought that, he just said, 'they're girls,' and I don't know what that means." Naruto paused, finally taking a breath. "And a bunch of other guys do stuff like that too. Why?"
It looked to Naruto like Baki was having a midlife crisis.
"Uh... I don't know how to... answer that," he eventually said.
Gaara spoke up.
"Kankuro told me that boys and girls were supposed to, like, kiss and stuff."
"On the mouth," Naruto explained, "which is super gross."
"Yeah. So, why are we supposed to do that?"
Baki was sweating.
"Things like... uh, kissing, are only for older people like teenagers and adults. There's this chemical in your brain that gets activated when you're older that makes you wanna, you know, kiss."
Naruto held back a grin. He really was curious, but Baki had never appeared so uncomfortable, and it was super funny watching him. Another glance at Gaara proved he was thinking the same thing.
"I saw two dudes doing that once," Gaara said, looking at Baki with adorably wide, ignorant eyes. He was about to implode, it was so obvious. "How does that work?"
"The... the brain chemicals can activate towards both guys and girls," he said tensely.
Naruto was about to crack, but first...
He had a destiny. A purpose, weaved by the fates and draped upon his shoulders. His task was important. Maybe more important than he could ever know. A task that would permanently alter the course of his life and Baki's, as well as everyone surrounding them.
For a moment, he thought it was too risky. Why go so far?
But then he realized that it was fucking hilarious and therefore, necessary.
"Hey, Baki?" he said. "When people kiss, is that how girls get pregnant?"
...
A moment passed.
Then, another.
Baki was silently comprehending Naruto's words. His face was all but raw pain.
Naruto willed himself not to laugh, not even smile. He had to look wide-eyed and curious, and so he did. Gaara did, too. The boys looked up at their instructor with sweet, childlike expressions, awaiting his response.
"Uh..." Baki said once he could think again. "Kissing and pregnancy are... mostly unrelated."
Hold on, did he think Naruto didn't know what sex was? He was a seven-year-old boy without parental censorship, how could he not?
"Mostly?" Gaara asked. Baki sobbed quietly. Naruto nearly choked from trying to stifle his laughter. "So... are they a little related? How?"
Baki let out a long-suffering sigh.
"Kissing... between a girl and a guy can, I guess... lead to pregnancy?"
His lower eyelid twitched.
"How?" Gaara asked.
A pause.
"Ask your mom."
Temari was an odd girl.
She looked a lot like Gaara. Same nose, same eyes, same jaw... but they were different, too.
Temari was a lot tanner, because even though she was more studious than both of her siblings, she was a lot more social, too, and was often with her friends outside. Her hair was a sandy blonde, and her eyes were dark and grey. She was taller than Naruto and her brothers, and she wasn't nearly as awkward as them, either.
The first time Naruto met her, she'd taken him to the village horticulturist to get him a job. They'd said a lot of words, and Naruto didn't understand most of them, but it sounded like he got the job... much to the horticulturist's displeasure.
Naruto thought she was really cool. She was older than him, taller than him, and was assertive and confident and just... awesome.
Not as awesome as Gaara, though.
...Well, maybe as awesome as Gaara. But she wasn't as nice as him, and she wasn't as good of a friend as he was. She was super cool, sure, but Naruto didn't like her any better than he liked Gaara. How could he?
Gaara was his best friend. And it was the unspoken best friend rule that if you liked someone more than you liked your best friend, they weren't your best friend.
And Gaara was, without a doubt, Naruto's best friend. Naruto liked him, and he liked spending time with him, and he was positive Gaara felt the same way.
Well, they were best friends. Of course he felt the same way.
For some idiot reason, Baki was leaning against a greenhouse wall, asleep. The sun was setting, so he was covered mostly by shadow, but it was still incredibly hot, and the cloth on his face wouldn't stop much.
Naruto and Gaara stood over him, staring. They'd approached him slowly, getting awkwardly close to his face.
They glanced at each other. Naruto smirked, and Gaara nodded seriously.
In unison, the pair screamed as loud as possible.
Baki's eyes flew open. He jumped up, hit Naruto in the face, grabbed a kunai from his belt, and stabbed a shield made from Gaara's sand before he realized what was going on.
Gaara backed away, stunned.
Naruto held a hand to his wounded cheek. The pain was jarring, and the intensity of it sent Naruto's surroundings out of his mind. As though all reality besides one sensation was blurring.
Baki swearing is what brought him back.
He was shaking his head guiltily, crouched down to meet the kids at eye level.
"Oh, shit, I didn't know that was you. Fuck. Shit. I'm so sorry, Naruto, Gaara. Ah, motherfuck." His eyebrows furrowed as his expression turned worried. "Are you guys okay?"
Naruto brought his hand down from his cheek and shoved it in his pocket. His shoulders were tense, though he couldn't recall tensing them. When he heard Baki's tone, Naruto looked to Gaara, just to see if it was all bullshit. But Gaara was as apprehensive as he was.
"I'm... I'm alright," Naruto said, still suspicious. Was Baki not... mad? He'd reacted so violently...
"Gaara?" Baki asked softly. Gaara finally met his eyes. "Are you okay?"
Gaara nodded hesitantly, looking about as confused as Naruto felt.
They'd gotten hurt a lot worse during training. Neither of them were even bleeding. And why would Baki ask if Gaara was okay when it was clear he hadn't been hurt?
And when any harm done was so obviously the consequences of their actions.
Baki smiled, sighing with relief.
"Good. I'm glad. I didn't mean to hit you."
Seriously. Was he being honest?
Of course. It was Baki. He had to have been. Had to. Because Baki never lied.
"I mean," Naruto said, "we did scream in your face."
"While you were asleep," agreed Gaara.
"...Yeah." Baki nodded. "Uh... you boys do realize I am a highly trained jonin-rank shinobi with years of mission and combat experience? I... I'm honestly not sure what you expected to happen."
Naruto shrugged.
"I thought you would just, like, jump. Get super scared, y'know?"
His explanation was half-hearted at best, and he prepared himself for a lecture.
"Again," he laughed, and Naruto's residual fear was eased. "I am a highly trained shinobi. And no ninja would get scared without attacking, even while asleep."
What I'm hearing is, he's a deeply traumatized shinobi, Naruto thought.
"In retrospect," Gaara said, "it was probably a bad idea."
Naruto nodded.
"Definitely my bad. Sorry."
"Uh-huh. Sorry, Baki."
Baki grimaced. What was with the sad look on his face?
"It's not your fault," he told them. "Yeah, you scared me, but I still hit you. You didn't ask for it."
Naruto and Gaara shared a look. Because, how could it not have been their fault? They scared him. He attacked. That's how it worked.
Gaara was the one to voice their confusion.
"We scared you," he said. "So you tried to hit us. Isn't that... I don't know, justice?"
Baki shook his head. He was so... solemn.
"You're only kids," he said. "You didn't know any better. And you've never done any real harm. You don't deserve to get hurt. You're just... kids."
Another shared look between Naruto and Gaara confirmed that Baki was being serious. He genuinely didn't mean to hurt them, and what's more, didn't think they'd deserved to be hurt.
He didn't think they'd deserved to be hurt.
Naruto raised his eyebrows and tilted his head towards Baki.
Gaara thought about it, then nodded once.
Together, the boys attacked him; Naruto hung around his neck and Gaara was restraining him from the side, pinning his arm.
They were attacking him. That's what was happening.
There was no hugging involved.
Because Baki was not their caretaker. He was there to help them control their chakra better, nothing else.
There was no way Naruto had, in a relatively short amount of time, adopted Baki as his dad. Gaara hadn't, either. Of course not. That would be ridiculous.
...But he was smiling.
Baki was smiling.
He released his pinned arm and hugged the boys back, though hesitant. Naruto was almost hurt, but after a moment, he understood the hesitance wasn't from fear of them, but fear of hurting them any further.
What an odd person.
How could you hurt someone just by loving them?
"Would it be worth it?" the Kazekage asked. He was speaking to Baki, who was about to leave the room after giving his weekly report.
Baki froze in his tracks, alarmed by his tone of voice.
"...Would what be worth it?" he questioned, turning slowly to face the man. His smile made Baki's heart turn to ice.
"Would it be worth it," the Kazekage said again, "to kill my son?"
Baki inhaled sharply.
"To kill Gaara? Why... why are you asking me?"
And what a disconcerting question it was! To ask a boy's instructor whether or not it was appropriate to kill him? What sort of person would even think to ask that sort of thing?
Well, the boy's father, apparently.
"No discussion is necessary. Please, answer my question. What would the consequences of Gaara's assassination be?"
Baki swallowed. The cold nature of Rasa's words scared him, more than he'd like to admit.
"...If you were to successfully kill Gaara," Baki began tentatively, "any progress I've had with Naruto would be set back significantly... I believe he suspects I had a hand in the last attempt, although it's been enough time that he's dropped it. He might go so far as to leave Suna altogether."
A lie. Naruto didn't think Baki had a hand in the assassination, that much was clear. And he hadn't. The Kazekage would never inform him of something like that. The only hint Baki had gotten last time was a day-off notice, and that hadn't even been fulfilled.
Perhaps the Kazekage didn't trust him. And unfortunately, he was right not to.
Baki continued his response after only a moment's thought.
"If Gaara were to survive the assassination attempt," he said, "the pair of them would be closer than ever. Inseparable. People would die, whether it's the assassin himself, or an innocent... or even you."
Fear. If the Kazekage feared for his life, he'd keep the boys alive.
"Hell would break loose, either way. And..." Baki breathed deeply. "The deal concerning Naruto would be made useless."
Rasa nodded thoughtfully. Baki was shocked. He couldn't seriously have been considering it? Killing Gaara now... there would be nothing more illogical! Killing Naruto along with him might have a better affect, and that wasn't an option. The Kazekage was meant to be smart, how could he entertain such nonsense?
"Baki," Rasa said softly, and any thoughts he had in his mind quickly turned to mush. "You care for those boys, do you not?"
Baki swallowed.
Oh, shit.
"...No, sir. I don't."
Show no emotion, that is the way of the Shinobi. Show no emotion, show no emotion, show no emotion. A Shinobi cannot care for the enemy, even if the so-called "enemy" is a pair of neglected children. A Shinobi does not let emotion exceed logic. That's just how it works.
The fact that he cared for Naruto and Gaara made him a traitor. How awful.
"Are you sure?" Rasa asked, a small smile playing on his lips. "You don't feel a thing for those kids?"
Baki would die for them. He would soon be killed for that fact, surely.
"I feel nothing for them, sir."
"The tremor in your voice gives it away."
"...Sir?"
Rasa chuckled.
"You care for the pair of them like sons. It's clear from your reports. You speak so highly of them, and any critique is met with a compliment. You're kind to them. Unnecessarily so."
Baki was sure his heart quit beating.
"...I believe positive reinforcement is effective for them," he said after a moment. He couldn't hide his fear.
He was a fucking failure.
"You believe they're human," Rasa said cooly, though his words were sharp.
Baki frowned. Did Rasa... not?
"And you're wrong."
Holy shit, he didn't.
He continued. "You serve this village, you understand. Sunagakure. And those children... they are not a part of that."
Baki, for some reason, nodded. Rasa sighed.
"You don't. You don't understand. How could you? They may be assets, but they are not human and never have been, no matter how... clever their disguise. Those children you obviously care for don't exist. They're characters, made up by the beasts controlling them. You have to listen to me. They are dangerous. Letting emotion overrule judgement is a terrible way to die."
As he listened, Baki's gaze hardened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The casual hatred and dehumanization... it was unreal. If everybody thought like that, no wonder those kids dealt with such self-loathing.
What sort of person would make two kids hate themselves like that? Especially one's own father? How could Baki let that happen?
"I... agree with you, Lord Kazekage. Emotion should never overrule judgement. But you're wrong in one crucial regard."
Rasa raised an eyebrow, eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Those boys are as human as I am. Now, please, do not tell me how to train my students."
Rasa's son wasn't human.
Of course, his thought was justified. Backed by numerous pieces of evidence.
For one thing, the boy had killed countless people within Suna, his own mother included, and had shown zero remorse for his actions. He obviously didn't care for anybody at all. Not strangers, not family members, not even animals. Sure, that's how shinobi are meant to be, but Gaara wasn't a shinobi.
He was a child.
And children should hug their moms, punch their dads, play with friends, make fart jokes and laugh and cry and all those things adults are too busy to think about.
But Gaara didn't do any of those things. He didn't even talk to his dad, he'd killed his mother... he didn't laugh, much less make jokes, and Rasa had never once seen the boy cry. Plus, he didn't sleep, he hardly ate... he'd threaten to murder people with no expression.
That boy wasn't human.
Rasa knew it. He felt it in his bones. There wasn't a doubt in his mind.
His son was a monster, and a threat to the village.
It didn't matter if the very thought of his son's death make Rasa's heart ache; he wasn't meant to have a heart.
No, there wasn't a doubt in his mind.
Even if sometimes, he could see emotion cloud the boy's eyes. He could see his hands shaking and his shoulders tensing when he was ridiculed. He saw the pleading expression on his face when a girl was hurt by his sand. He saw humanity in the boy.
False humanity.
Rasa was making things up, making himself believe these blatant lies. Such bullshit. Altering his own memories, just for some semblance of... what, comfort?
It didn't matter, because it wasn't real.
It couldn't be real.
Because if it was... if Gaara wasn't just a vessel for a monster, but his own person as well...
If Gaara had emotions, if he could feel sadness, hatred, loneliness, love, pain...
Rasa wouldn't be able to live with himself. With his actions.
So Gaara was a monster.