Woo. Well, here's chapter four. And I'd like to say thank you to the 4 people that reviewed the last chapter. J

I have like 30 odd people that have faved and alterted this, but only 10 people have reviewed =[. I do really like my reviews and would really appreciate them. A LOT. HeHe. I'm a review whore, what do you expect? Lol.

Okay. So, let's find out what happens in this chapter. Shall we?

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"No, Gaara," Naruto said, kissing the boy's forehead. "You're my most cherished possession." He chuckled. "Now, I really have to go, before I get put on garbage duty for a week for being so late back."

"Okay," Gaara mumbled.

Naruto turned and with a flash of his grin, sped out of town. He didn't notice the Kazekage standing on the highest point in Suna to watch him running until he was out of sight.

But neither of them noticed the dark figure on the roof of the house above them when they were exchanging their sweet words.

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"Naruto!" The blonde Hokage screeched as Naruto tried to make a run for it from her office after delivering his report. It'd been a successful mission, so he was hoping his lateness would be forgotten. After all, he was only half a day late.

"Uh. Yes?" Naruto grinned as he turned back to the large desk with a very angry looking woman sitting on the other side. Like that cheeky grin of his would actually work with her, but it was worth a try… wasn't it?

"Why are you so late, Brat?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I ran into some trouble. Gaara sent you a message, didn't he?" Naruto took his jacket off to prove his point. "Look." He said, pointing at the bandages around his arm. The cuts had already healed, but he left the white material for added affect.

"You mean this message?" Tsunada held up a piece of paper.

"Yeah."

She cleared her throat. "Hokage-sama. Naruto has stopped by to see me for a while. He'll be late back." She waved the paper around. "Signed. Sabaku no Gaara."

"EHH?!" Naruto's hands flew to his head. "He said he'd write to tell you I was injured!"

Tsunada smirked and handed the message to Naruto, who re-read it. "Hokage-sama. Naruto ran into some trouble on his way back to Konoha. He's stopped at Suna for medical service. He will be arriving a few hours late." It took him a few moments to realize what'd happened. "You lied to me!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the smirking woman. "You can't do that! You're the Hokage!"

Tsunada's eyebrow twitched. "I had to catch you out somehow, Brat."

Naruto chuckled nervously.

"That's the third time in half a year you've made a detour to see that boy. I understand you're friends, but you can't keep doing that."

"Yeah, yeah, Grandma." Naruto pouted.

Tsunada growled under her breath. "I should put you on garbage duty again."

"EH? You can't do that! My talents would be wasted."

"What talents? The only thing you're good for is trouble."

"You old bag!"

"Bratty, little kid! Get out of my office!"

He didn't have to be told twice. He ran from that office was his tail between his legs. There was no way he'd be picking up rubbish.

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"Cheer up, Naruto," Sakura said as her and the blond boy sat at Ichiraku's ramen bar. Naruto slumped over his empty bowl of ramen and sighed. It'd only been a day and he was already missing his red-head. He felt guilty for getting angry at him, especially as they didn't see each other very often.

"I am cheerful," Naruto mumbled, running a finger around the top of the bowl. He'd usually be on his third or fourth bowl by now, but he had only managed to eat one. He didn't have much of an appetite.

Sakura wasn't stupid, she could tell something was wrong. You can't be on a team with Naruto for four years and not be able to tell when the blond was upset. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

Naruto sighed again and began playing with his chopsticks. "It gets harder to leave every time I see him," he mumbled.

"I see." Sakura was the only person who knew about Naruto's relationship. She was the only person he trusted not to spread it around, and he couldn't help but tell someone the first night they'd kissed. It didn't help that he couldn't wipe a goofy grin from his face as he walked in a dazed line through the town the same night.

She never really understood how the bubbly boy could fall in love with someone so stoic and emotionless, she didn't think it would last long, but here they were over half a year later and the two were still stronger than ever.

"It's hard to be so in love with someone and not be able to see them very often." He stared out ahead. "Every time I come back from Suna it feels like I've left something behind."

"You have, Naruto," Sakura said, still eating her ramen. "You've left Gaara behind."

Naruto shook his head. "I don't think it's that."

"Then what is it?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment before answering. "My heart, Sakura. I've left my heart behind. But…" He reached into his back pocket and pulled a photo out. He held it in front of himself and traced a line over it with his thumb. "…I don't own it anymore. He's stolen it from me and it's almost impossible to live without it."

Sakura leaned closer to her friend, trying to see what the picture was. Naruto noticed and handed it to her.

"Oh… my." She gasped. "I've never seen him look so… I mean, he's…"

"Beautiful?" Naruto chuckled sadly. "I know."

Sakura nodded and carried on staring at the peaceful look on Gaara's face as he slept. His porcelain looking skin glowed slightly in what looked like moonlight as a red, silky blanket curled around the rest of his body and a smooth hand rested next to his head on a pillow.

"It must be hard for you, though," Sakura said. "I mean, being in a relationship with someone who's emotionless and all."

"What?" Naruto put the picture back inside his pocket.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Naruto. But this is still Gaara we're talking about. I'm sure he tries, but he'll never be able to return your feelings because he can't feel."

Naruto growled. If Sakura wasn't a girl, he'd be more than willing to beat the shit into her. No one spoke about Gaara like that. What did she know? "It's not true," he said, trying not to shout.

"What?"

"You don't know anything about him!"

"I'm not trying to be mean, Naruto. I'm just saying-"

"Well, don't. I know him better than anyone else. I'm the only one he trusts enough to let see him behind the mask. I'm the one he loves. I'm the one that's had to hold him some nights when he wakes up screaming because his nightmares seem so real."

"Naruto. I'm sorry," Sakura mumbled.

"Yeah, well. You've got to remember, he may be stoic on the outside, but on the inside he's still just like you and me. He's still a teenager like all of us, and he's gone through more heartache than you could ever imagine… He's still scared to trust."

Sakura sighed. "I'll have to take your word for that."

The blond stood.

"Where're you going?"

Naruto turned back to his pink-haired friend. "I'm going to get an early night. I'm tired."

Sakura smiled. "See you tomorrow, Naruto."

He nodded, before leaving the bar.

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"Gaara," Temari said, knocking on the wooden door to Gaara's room. The red-head had locked himself in his room as soon as he came back from the office. "Why don't you come down for something to eat? It's not healthy to go through the day with no nutrition. We don't need the Kazekage getting ill."

There was a long pause. "I'm not hungry." Gaara's passive voice said through the door.

Temari shook her head. "Come on. Come down for your big sister, please?"

Gaara lay on his large bed. He looked so small and fragile in the middle of the blood red sheets. He traced the patterns in the ceiling with his eyes. Turning on his side, he breathed in the scent from his pillow. He hadn't changed the sheets yet, he wanted to keep the blonds scent for as long as possible. Especially as he didn't know when the next time he'd be able to see him, touch him or smell him. He twisted the crystal around his neck between his fingers. He hated the fact he was acting like a love sick school girl, and he knew moping about wasn't going to bring his boyfriend back any quicker, so he tucked the necklace back inside of the black shirt he was wearing and stood from the bed. "Alright," he said, opening the door.

Temari beamed at him. "Great. I was hoping you'd come down, because we have a guest round for dinner tonight."

"A guest?" Gaara asked as the two walked down the corridor together.

"Yeah. Me and Kankurou invited Matsuri round. We don't see her very often since she graduated from the academy, and we thought it'd be nice to all catch up. I mean, even though you don't have a lot of time to train her anymore, she's still your student."

Great. That's all he needed. He knew from Naruto that his brother and sister were trying to set him up with her. They'd probably already spoken to her about it. He sighed. At least there was one good thing about having Shukaku inhabiting him for so many years and being unable to understand emotions since he was little. He could now pretend that he didn't understand when a girl flirted with him. He knew exactly what was going on, he wasn't stupid, but if he acted like he didn't understand, then most of the time they'd give up.

The two siblings entered the kitchen, where the dinning room table sat at the side of the room. Matsuri and Kankurou were already seated. Gaara went to sit next to his brother, but of course, Temari quickly grabbed the chair so he had to sit next to his student. He wanted to glare at Temari, but then it would be obvious that he knew what was going on, and the plan was to act oblivious.

He seated himself on the chair next to Matsuri and crossed his arms. He noticed the directed look Temari gave his student. It was so tempting to turn around and tell them that he wasn't that stupid, but that would ruin his plan.

The cook placed their food on the table and they all began to eat silently. That was, until Matsuri cleared her throat to speak.

"You're looking different today, Gaara-sensei." She eyed him up and down.

"I look no different from any other day," he said as he brought his chopsticks to his mouth. He probably looked different to her because she'd never seen him in his casual clothes before. He wasn't wearing his Kage robe or his fighting outfit. He wore a normal black shirt with long sleeves and dark red jeans.

Matsuri directed a look at Temari, who gave a look telling her to 'keep going'. Gaara didn't know whether to laugh at the situation or beat the crap into his siblings. Did they really think he was that clueless?… Obviously.

Gaara continued eating. The quicker he finished, the quicker he could leave.

"Hey, Kankurou," Temari said. "Did you forget to do that thing?"

Kankurou lowered his chopsticks from his mouth. "Huh? What thing?"

"You know? That thing."

Gaara stared at them blankly. Honestly, they really did think he was a moron.

"Oh. That thing. No, I forgot."

Temari stood and pulled Kankurou with her. "We'll go sort it out. We'll be back soon you two." They exited the room.

Matsuri cleared her throat again when the two siblings left the room. Temari had told her about the plan to get them together. She was thrilled. She'd had a crush on Gaara for years and was hoping he'd return the feelings when he realized. "When I say different." She leaned closer to him and put a hand on his knee. "I mean you're looking very handsome."

Gaara almost chocked on his food but held his breath to keep himself from spluttering everywhere. He looked down at her hand, making out as if he didn't understand why she'd done it. "Is there a problem with my knee?"

Matsuri retracted her hand quickly with a small blush adorning her cheeks. "No. I just." She coughed nervously. "I was just saying you look nice."

"I see." He placed his chopsticks on his empty bowl and stood. "Thank you. But I should be going, I still have some paperwork to get through."

"Oh, Okay."

"Goodbye, Matsuri."

"Yeah, see you, Gaara-sensei."

Gaara leaned against the closed door when he entered his room. He placed a hand through his red locks. He knew this was just the beginning. There was still another long and painful year to suffer before it would end. He put a hand to his chest and felt the necklace through his shirt. He smiled. Naruto had better come back to see him soon. He didn't think he could go on much longer without him if his siblings and Matsuri kept this up.

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Moonlight shone through the windows and landed on the large, circle table in the middle of the room. It'd gone midnight and everyone in Suna would more than likely be lost to their dreams. Everyone, that is, except the elders of Suna.

"There has to be a mistake," one said over the table just loud enough so everyone in the room could hear.

"There was no mistake. I saw it with my very eyes."

"The two are friends. Maybe it was just a friendly hug? You know how the younger ones are these days." One of the elders said as he rested his elbows against the surface of the table.

"Do friends kiss each other with passion?"

There were mumbles around the table, before one spoke up. "What do you propose we do? We can not let them keep seeing each other, and we can not let anyone find out about this. It would be a disgrace to us all."

"Could we not just take his title?"

The elder who had seen the two in the alley shook his head and wound his fingers together. "It would be too suspicious."

"Then what should we do?"

"There's only one thing we can do."

"What?"

The elders around the table fell silent.

"We must make sure they are kept apart and nothing like this ever happens again."

"How?"

The elder who had seen them smirked over his entwined fingers. "We start a war with Konoha."

Gasps filled the air around them.

"That's impossible," one said.

"Gaara and the Hokage would never agree to a war. Especially with that demon child there. You know how close he is to lady Tsunada, he'd talk her out of it."

"That's why we start it under Gaara's nose and give the Hokage no other choice but to declare war."

"What about the demon kid?"

"We make sure he's out of the way as well."

"How do we do that?"

There was a small pause. "We make sure he's where we can keep an eye on him. We make sure he's here."

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DunDunDun!!

What will happen next! Stay tuned to find out!

For a bit of encouragement: I'LL UPDATE THE NEXT CHAPTER WHEN I GET 10 REVIEWS.

So, if you want to find out what happens next, get reviewing ;).

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