Reckoning

***********************

Gaara’s office, downtown Konoha City

“Hello Naruto.” Gaara said, opening his office door to welcome the blonde inside. “Please, come in.” The redhead, shut the door behind him, and poured them both a half a glass of wine. 

“Trying to get me drunk already?” The blonde said with a soft half growl. 

“Not at all.” The redhead answered, with a pleased and amused glint to his green eyes. Naruto raised his brow but decided to take a sip of it anyway, knowing it would taste good. Gaara always had good food and drinks. ‘Wish he kept more ramen. Bet it would be some really awesome ramen.’ The blonde thought. At once the blonde found himself thinking again of Gaara confusing actions. The lying about being sick along with the silent secret treatments to keep him from getting further sick. The lies mixed with honest truths and those come hither looks that Gaara seemed to throw his way. 

“Lost in thought?” Gaara asked, relaxing into his leather seat. 

“Not lost, no.” Naruto admitted. “I haven’t been lost in my thoughts for a while. Everything is… mostly clear now.”

“Mostly?” Gaara questioned, and the blonde huffed. ‘Of course you would focus on that.’ He thought. “Is it the case?”

“It’s part of it I suppose.” Naruto answered, settling back into the seat across from the alpha. 

“Tell me about it.” 

“Not much to tell.” Naruto countered, with a half smile. 

“Would you prefer for me to say please when I ask about your crime scenes?” Gaara murmured, sinking further into his chair. The blondes mouth went dry at the mental image of Gaara saying please while kneeling in front of him. The rush at how viciously he wanted to possess the alpha in front of him. ‘He called the investigation my crime scenes.’ Naruto frowned. 

“The killer is a man who imagines he’s an animal. No rules to hold him, and they aren’t my crime scenes.” 

“Of course they are.” Gaara replied and the blonde raised his brow. “If the killer is a man who hunts prey, you are the man who hunts the most dangerous game— the predators.” 

“I answer to the law. The killer doesn’t.” Naruto counters. 

“No beast is more savage than man is when they possess a power equal to their rage.” Gaara stated simply. 

“But the crime isn't about rage. Rage is ... emotional. It’s a response to being provoked.”

“Then what is it?” 

“Instinct. It’s just the way he thinks.” The blonde replied and Gaara looked thoughtfully at his glass. 

“The way animals and people think depends on limitations. If limitations are learned too soon, then our power is never reached.”

“He snapped our victims bones apart with ease, tore them bit by bit.” The blonde said dryly. “I think he found his power.” 

“He claimed it.” Gaara said in agreement. The redhead tilted his head to the side, watching the blonde with intensely green eyes. “Can you imagine tearing someone apart?” Gaara asked, and the blondes breath caught under the Alphas gaze. “Or would you prefer to use a gun?” The redhead murmured. 

“Guns... lack intimacy.” Naruto breathes out, as he remembered the dream he had of ropes ripping into Gaara’s throat. Of making him yield underneath him. 

“You set an event into motion with a gun, but don’t complete it.” Gaara said. “You fantasized about killing me once, and doing so with your hands. Wouldn’t that be more satisfying than pulling a trigger?” Gaara asked. 

“Yes.” The blonde murmured, vaguely wondering how their conversation had turned from the crime scene to themselves. 

“When you sent Konon to kill me, did you imagine you were doing it yourself, Living vicariously through her?” Gaara said, before leaning forward, “as though it were your hands which tightened the noose around my neck?” The alpha murmured, sending delicious chills down the blonde spine to curl and rest in hips. “Or were you simply hiding?”

“I wasn’t hiding the first time I tried to kill you.” The blonde frowned.

“You were hiding, behind the gun.” Gaara said simply, before standing to take their now empty wine glasses to put away. ‘Didn’t realize I drank it so quickly.’ the blonde thought.  ‘Probably because I was focused on us, on our conversation. On whatever this is.’ The blonde checked his watch, and realized their appointment was pretty much over. Naruto stood and Gaara came to walk him to his door, pressing a hand on his back, before saying, “You must allow yourself to become intimate with your instincts. It is in the nature of Alpha’s to crave violence with their hands. Understanding that will help you further understand yourself and what you want.”

As Naruto left to head home he was reminded of how irritating Sakura was, as he recalled how in a relationship she and Gaara were. ‘Fuck, and we sat there…. murder flirting?’ The blonde grimaced. ‘If they were married I think I’d be considered a homewrecker.’ The blonde huffed, ‘although I doubt Gaara cares much for her to begin with.’ He thought smugly. ‘He prefers me.’ 

Kurama barked at him as he pulled up, and he once again frowned. ‘At least. I think he prefers me. It’s Hard to tell if he’s flirting or trying to kill me.’

********************

Gaara’s home, Westside Konoha City

After Naruto left to go home, Gaara stood for a moment enjoying the scent of the blonde hung in his office, (Gaara always turned off his scent filtration system for his sessions with the blonde alpha in order to fully indulge himself afterwards.) before unhappily flipping the air filtration system back on. The redhead grabbed his coat and pulled it on before grabbing his keys to go home. The drive was calm and quiet. His home was dark and empty since Sakura was busy with patients. The redhead felt only relief about that. Her delicate flower scent while pretty was unappealing compared to Naruto’s, and it was tedious to uphold the lie of affection for her.

Gaara started his hour-before-bed routine, (albeit a little earlier than usual) checking for email or calls from his patients or perhaps from the ... association, and to his delight he found one. 

Sender: The Association

Recipient: Shukaku

Subject: Work Notice

Job Information

Current Alias: Kenmoro

Agent Status: Rouge

Primary Gender: Male

Secondary Gender: Alpha

Current Job: Konoha’s Museum Of Natural History

Eliminate Him. 

The alpha, with still time before he felt ready to sleep, considered how to handle the rouge agent while sketching pictures of Naruto from memory. The redhead spent his time working on his sketch as he his mind tried to decide if he wanted to handle Kenmoro quietly or use it to his advantage. It was perhaps unfortunate it was Kenmoro. He was young and a former student beneath Gaara. The mission would be over too quickly if Hannibal chose to handle it seriously. ‘Perhaps Naruto will have a chance at murder after all.’ Gaara decided as he set aside his sketchbook and settled in to sleep. 

It was at this moment that his phone rang. 

“Yes?” Gaara said curtly, not overly concerned with being polite at the moment. Sleep was already pulling at his eyes and who ever called likely already had awful manners anyway. 

“Sorry to disturb you Doctor Gaara, but I’ve got a case that I could use your insight on. Are you available to come in tomorrow morning?” Kakashi said bluntly and Gaara felt his mouth twitch in dissatisfaction. The redhead was of course, available in the morning however it was rude of Kakashi to imply that he would not be. In retaliation, The alpha stayed silently for a moment, toying with a notebook stashed in bedside table to pretend he was checking his calendar. It was with immense pleasure that he made Kakashi wait. 

“It seems that I am. Will 9 o’clock suffice?” The redhead stated, finally responding.

“Yeah, that’ll work. I’ll see you then.” Kakashi said bluntly before hanging up the phone. That night, Gaara dreamt of killing Kakashi and offering the weaker Alpha’s heart to Naruto on a platter. 

********************

FBI Headquarters, Northside Konoha City 

“So the closest bite we could find to match, a least as far as size goes, is a cave bear.” Kiba explained. “Even the Dire wolf, which is the largest species of dogs, is small by comparison.” 

“But, Dire wolfs are vegetarian and extinct so they did not do this.” Lee added, but Kakashi seemed to ignore the alpha. 

“That’s not all, the force behind the bite doesn’t match up with the damage we’re seeing even IF it wasn’t extinct. It has to be something ... mechanical.” Kiba explained, the beta casting a glance in Gaaas direction as he spoke. 

“Animals are far more like humans than some realize. Just as some humans are more like animals.” Gaara stated, stepping forward as thought prompted. “One thin barrier between the two.” 

“Well the barrier is too thin for some of us.” Kakashi growled out. The alpha shook his head before looking at Gaara. “Tell me Doctor, how would someone like this present?”

“A person suffering from an extreme species dysphoria such as this one will often have other conditions.” The redhead responded. “Mood disorders, clinical depression, schizophrenia—“ 

“Typically?” Kakashi interrupted and Gaara blinked. 

“In some cases, they may not appear to other conditions. This would be the case if the patient built a bridge between what he appears to be and what he believes himself to be.” 

“Have you ever seen anything like this before?” Kakashi asked him finally and the redhead hesitated for a moment, before walking out of the room into the desert hallway— out of earshot of the others. 

“This threatens to be a breach in Doctor and patient confidentiality so I must tread carefully.” Gaara says, and Kakashi nods. “Years ago, I did treat a patient once who fits the profile. At the time he was a teenage boy who was suffering from what I would describe as an identity disorder. At one point during his therapy he reported a moment of clarity, saying that he understood in that moment he was an animal born in the skin of a man.” 

“He thought he was some sort of beast? So what, delusional?” 

“Not necessarily.” Gaara corrected. “He understood perfectly that no transformation would be possible, though that would not stop him for attempting so anyway. He kept to a solitary life, hiding so that he could behave as animal.” 

“He’d be a grown man by now.” Kakashi said slowly and Gaara nodded, watching the metaphorical gears turn in the alphas head. 

*********************

Konoha’s Museum of Natural History

Having met with Kakashi and pointing him in the right direction Gaara decided it was only fair to pay agent Monere a visit. Curiosity is a funny thing. After all, the FBI will now be looking at him as a suspect. Gaara looked forward to how Naruto reacted. The blonde would look so appealing covered in someone else’s blood. 

The museum was locked, it windows dark, and its security systems turned on. If you could even call it’s a security system. The redhead had it disabled and looped within moments. The rouge agent stood right where Gaara thought he would be. Next to a dinosaur exhibit running his hands along the enormous teeth. 

“Museums closed.” The alpha called over his shoulder, before tending as he caught Gaara’s scent. He turned slowly, his employee badge dangling from his shirt. 

“Hello Kemono.” 

“Dr.Gaara.” Kemono responded, not moving an inch. 

“You will always be ruled by your fascination with teeth.” 

“That’s what you said to me when I first walked into your office.”

“It was?” Gaara asked, and the alpha nodded. 

“Yeah. I was nearly crying. Dreading telling you what was wrong with me and hearing that made it easier.” Kemono responded. Gaara nodded. “Why have you come?”

“The association has released an elimination notice for you.” Gaara responded easily and Kemono’s froze. 

“You’re here to kill me?”

“No.”

“Why?” The alpha asked, turning to face Gaara. The redhead blinked slowly. 

“I wanted to give you warning.”

“A fair fight?”

“You assume they sent the notice to me.” The redhead stated calmly. The Rouge alpha paused, considering the redheads words. 

“They… sent the notice to a different agent? Then how?”

“I am a count. I keep in contact with many agents, and hear many things.” The redhead answered vaguely. “He will come for you soon.” 

“I— thank you for your kindness.” Kenmoro murmured. Gaara nodded, before turning and leaving. 

“I wonder what I should have for dinner tonight.” Gaara said quietly to himself as he climbed into his car.