I finished two hours of paperwork with only two fresh paper cuts. That's a new record. Surprisingly, I was able to focus my mind on work, not blonde, blue and purple. That was until a knock at the door interrupted me.

"Enter." I called without looking up from my desk. This paperwork will be the death of me.

"Kazekage-sama." Zuko, one of my trusted guards, walked in towards my desk.

"Zuko, how are you?" I placed down my paper to give him my full attention. He gave me a small smile.

Zuko was very loyal since the beginning. He has been with me since I began my process into becoming Kazekage. I find myself relaxing around him, like I do with my siblings. It's a comforting feeling.

"I'm well, Gaara-sama. Yourself?" He shuffled his weight onto his right foot.

"Drowning." I murmured and I felt my lips twitch into a small smile. Zuko smiled back.

"They always leave it out of the job description." He replied with the smile still resting on his lips.

"Indeed." I turned my attention to the papers in his hand. "Room assignments?"

"Yes." He placed the paper down on my desk. "We were able to manage four rooms. However one is located on the opposite wing of the third floor. It was all they could manage quickly."

"Of course. Thank you, Zuko." I dismissed him and he gave me a small nod before exiting the room.

I stared down at the paper. Who shall go in which room?

Maybe Sarutobi-san should go in the isolated room. That keeps the three chunin together, but a pull in my stomach disrupted the thought. A strong part of me wanted Ino-san to be placed in the further room. I wasn't sure, why? Maybe, the thought of having her close to Nara didn't sit well with me. That must be it. Well, I am Kazekage and what I say goes…

"What up, bro?" Kankuro opened the door and strolled in with his hands in his pockets.

"Kankuro, knock."

I looked up at him and he shrugged his shoulders.

"You needed me?"

He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes. Escort the leaf team to their assigned rooms, tonight."

I know I couldn't do it. I pushed the paper forward. He looked over but he didn't seem to be moving anytime soon.

"Why?" He raised an eyebrow. "Did it not go well with Sakura?"

"It wasn't Sakura-san." Blonde hair and blue eyes flashed through my mind.

"Really?" Kankuro's eyebrows perked up and he pushed himself off the wall.

He headed towards my desk and picked up the paper.

"Shikamaru's team?" He looked up and I nodded. "Yamanaka Ino? Who is that?"

"A teammate to Nara."

"No shit." Kankuro pulled his mouth into a frown. "Will she be able to fit with the plan?"

"No, she won't work." I replied too quickly.

"Why?" Kankuro's hand with the paper fell to this side and he stood staring at me. "Did you not follow the advice I gave you?"

"She's attracted to me." I blurted. I wanted to get off this topic quickly. A reminder of the blonde won't help me finish this work.

Kankuro's mouth pulled into a smirk.

"That's bonus points, bro."

I shook my head, a frown tugging on my lips.

"I'm… attracted to her."

Kankuro's eyebrows shot up so high, his face resembled mine. He then narrowed his eyes and a long grin appeared.

"My little bro's got a crush."

"Kankuro." I warned him but he brushed it off.

"To think someone has finally caught your attention!"

His astonishment could not be hidden. Was I that difficult? Surely, no.

"Bro, just fuck her then." His smirk widening.

"Kankuro." I warned again.

My gourd raddled and Kankuro jumped back with his hands pushed ahead of him. It made me smirk inside. One raddle from the gourd and people immediately jump to guard themselves. How a single movement can make someone jump… it's interesting.

"Okay, calm down. I get it. You actually like her." I frowned. He can't be right. I'm attracted to her, yes. But, actually interested in her? He's wrong…

"Take it and have Temari help you. She's going to want to see him."

I turned my attention down to my paperwork.

"Yeah, yeah. I just can't wait to see the girl that actually caught your eye." He snickered before making his way to the door. He stopped and looked over at me. "Try and give her a chance."

He walked out before I could react. My eyes were left blinking, wide open. Give her a chance? Hearing that from Kankuro was strange. I guess he means to give her a chance in bed… he wasn't one for relationships.

An hour later, I found myself walking through the empty halls of the first floor. Why was I here? Perhaps because my brother's words still haunted my mind.

"Give her a chance." It echoed through me. I found myself furrowing my brow as I tried to understand the meaning of those words.

"Gaara?" I looked ahead at the sound of Temari's voice. "What are you doing walking around?"

My eyes searched the eyes behind her. Brown, brown, charcoal, brown, blue… Her blue eyes locked with mine and I felt an unfamiliar feeling rush through me. A feeling I have felt many times when I met her eyes. What was it? I can label that as reason seventeen.

"I came to make sure our guests were comfortable." I lied and she seemed to buy it.

"We were just on our way to their rooms. Don't worry about this, Kankuro and I have this."

She smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. A familiar warmth spread through me that made me want to smile. Having my family around… made this job worth it. They were always here and seeing them gave me reassurance.

"I know, but after today's events I want to be sure."

I turned to begin walking for the stairs. I knew they would follow. They always do.

I tried to keep my pace ahead. Knowing Ino-san was behind me with her group made me… nervous. It was odd. I count that as reason eighteen.

As we reached the third floor, I stopped. I slowly turned around trying to keep my attention on my siblings. I didn't want to risk the chance of looking towards the leaf shinobi.

As Temari began instructing the men, I closed my eyes. Blonde, purple, blue, fair, soft. It flew through my mind and I couldn't escape it. I had to… to take that chance.

"I'll take the guys and Kankuro you can ta-"

"I'll take her." I interrupted but I kept my eyes closed. I knew they were all watching me now. I spoke without thinking, but I couldn't help it.

"It's no problem at all Gaara, I can take her." Kankuro assured me. I kept my eyes closed but I could tell the statement behind his voice. He was trying me.

"No, she has had the most trouble, I want to make sure everything is okay from here on out." It was the truth.

I opened my eyes to my siblings and saw the questioning look from Temari. On the other hand, Kankuro seemed very pleased. I then dared a look at Ino-san and she gave me a sweet smile. She then crossed her way towards me. I felt myself freeze on the spot. How could her presence do this to me? Reason nineteen.

"Sounds okay with me." She chimed as she locked eyes with my siblings. She stood next to me. Rather closely. Her ability to not fear me was shocking. She stood with me like she did with her team. It was… very awakening.

"Alright then, Choji you can follow Kankuro. I'll take you two." Temari spoke to the remaining leaf team and they turned to head towards the left side of the hall.

I did the same and began to make my way towards her room. I walked quickly and I slowed down when I realized she was behind. I looked over when she caught up to my side, she was watching me as well. I looked away quickly. Those blue eyes were a distraction.

"Are all these rooms occupied?" She questioned me and I could feel her eyes on me.

"No." I kept my eyes ahead. Which way was her room again?

"Oh." She answered. She sounded disappointed. Why? Was it my presence?

I found her hallway and turned into it. Once I stood in front of her door, I turned to look at her.

"This is your room." I moved out of the way to allow her to open the door.

She walked in and I watched her. Her eyes scanned the room and it's décor. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, it bothered me.

I shook away the thought as I noticed her eyes shined at the sight of the kitchen.

"Very cute." She mumbled as she walked into the room.

I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. Her hips swayed with each step that allured the eye. Even her walk made her look graceful. The way her hair swayed with her hips, it was… mouthwatering. Her hair looked golden in the dim lighting of the apartment.

She opened the fridge and the door blocked my view of her. I had an urge to send my sand flying to close the door. Why?

"Damn." I heard her mumble.

"What's wrong?" I furrowed my brow. Was there no food in the fridge?

She closed the door and looked at me.

"I'm just hungry that's all." She shrugged her shoulders as if it wasn't a problem. How could it not be a problem? She was so thin, she needed to eat.

"You haven't eaten?" I frowned at the thought of her skipping meals. She couldn't afford to lose more weight. How could she hold off an enemy without proper nutrients? That's reason twenty. She doesn't look out for her health.

"No with the long tour and all, I was never able to eat. But that's okay! I can just eat tomorrow." She beamed a strong smile at me but I was unaffected. She needed to eat. I was going to ensure of it.

"Tomorrow I will be here to take you to the hospital."

I had to take her. It would be the best way to ensure she ate and was given a proper tour. That also meant I'd have more time to figure out what exactly I want from her.

"Oh you don't need to do that, I think I remember the way-"

"I want to accompany you on your tour to make sure today's events are not repeated." She stopped walking towards me and stood about a yard away. I stared at her as I searched her face for any indications of her fighting. Luckily, she smiled instead.

"Okay thanks! What time will you be here?"

"Early." I honestly didn't know. I had a long night of paperwork to do and I had to get this over with as soon as possible.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks, Gaara!" She beamed and I only nodded in response. That smile was hard to say good-bye to but I had to walk away.

I began walking down the hallway. I wasn't sure how I felt about taking her on the tour tomorrow. Content, annoyed, nervous? I stopped when I realized I never heard the door shut behind me. I turned to catch her blue eyes. They were distant. She was thinking deeply as she stared at me. What could she be thinking? This is the second time I caught her this way. I noticed a shiver sent through her body and I decided now was the time to call out to her.

"Yamanaka-san?"

There was no reply.

"Ino-san?"

She shook her head as she came back to reality. I decided to try again.

"Did you need something, Ino?" She looked at me, a blush forming on her cheeks quickly.

"Oh, no. I was just watching to see if I was right about which way to turn at the end of the hall. I got it now! Thanks, see you tomorrow!" She shot me a quick smile, and shut the door loudly.

She missed the smile that formed on my lips. Her blush was addicting. She was good at covering herself. But not good enough.

"She is attracted to you, that's for sure."

I looked to my left slowly as Kankuro appeared around the corner.

"Hey, I didn't miss that smile you gave there, Mr. Emotionless." He smirked at me and I decided to ignore his comment as I walked away from him.

"You may be able to ignore me, bro. But you can't ignore that dropping feeling in your stomach!"

I stopped dead in my tracks. That feeling, he knows it? I turned to look at him.

"What feeling?"

The smirk in his face grew as he walked towards me.

"Oh that feeling, where it feels the pit of your stomach drops when she looks at you. The feeling you get when other men can stand near her or even talk to her and you're not fond of it. That feeling that gives you every feeling of irritation, happiness, sadness, excitement and nervousness. That feeling that's accompanied with sexual feelings as well. Like how your dick twitches when you notice those feminine attributes of hers." He stopped in front of me and he grinned.

Everything he mentioned… he was right. I couldn't hide the emotion on my face. But I quickly reverted to my straight glare.

"What's that feeling called?"

Kankuro's grin turned into a sheepish grin as he leaned in towards my face. I found myself leaning back.

"I'll leave that for you to discover." He simply replied then he returned to his regular posture.

I gave him a glare and he laughed as he walked ahead.

That is reason twenty one. Everyone can see my weakness for her.

"You coming to dinner, right?" He stopped to look at me. His eyebrows raised. Damn it, dinner. I can't say no. Temari will drag me out of the office. An angry Temari is a scary Temari.

"Let's go."

We sat at the table waiting for Temari to lay out the food. Kankuro and I sat across from each other. We were not looking forward to this dinner. It was pleasant to be in my family's presence, but Temari was not the best cook. She wasn't a great cook at all. Her specialty was boiling water and adding it to the ramen noodle packets. If anything we didn't do this for the food. Temari states the reasons for the dinners are to "catch up" on each other.

Temari placed a bowl of soup in front of me. I looked down at it, the disinterest leaving my face. It actually looked good.

"Wow, Temari. This looks good. How'd you manage that?" Kankuro sneered at her and she narrowed her eyes.

"Shut up, I worked long on this one. I got a good recipe when I was in Konoha." She spoke as she took her seat.

"Let's hope it's as good as it looks." He mumbled before taking a spoonful of the soup.

I held my spoon as well and studied the contents before placing it in my mouth. It was good. It had a spiciness that came after swallowing the contents.

"Good job." I complimented her before taking another spoonful.

"Thanks, Gaara." She smiled at me then shot a look at Kankuro. "Why can't you be nice like him?"

"That's new." He mumbled before taking another spoon.

We ate in silence until our bowls were empty.

"So Temari, happy to have Shikamaru here?" He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Less noisy than Naruto. He didn't even remember me when he first came back to the village." She mumbled while she took the bowls from us. I sat back in my seat with my arms crossed.

"How are you two anyways? Nara and you?" Kankuro leaned back as well while he shouted towards Temari's direction.

"Fine." She answered back, the sound of water running.

"So what is going on between you two?" Kankuro smirked and Temari shrugged.

"Nothing."

"That's a lie." He responded quickly.

I closed my eyes as they continued bickering among each other. Dinner always turned out this way. They fought among each other a lot, but it was still nice to be here.

"Are you two going to be official or what?" Kankuro shouted.

"No. We are just friends." Temari retorted.

"Friends who fuck."

"Kankuro." I sighed and opened my eyes. "Leave it be."

"Why don't you make it official, Temari?" Kankuro asked Temari, completely ignoring my statement.

"We both don't need that. With us being from different villages and all-"

"It's because of that Yamanaka chick, huh?"

I looked at Temari and her expression couldn't mask it. It had something to do with her.

"No." She sternly answered and Kankuro shook his head.

"You're lying. Just talk about it already. You always ignore it or try and stray off the topic. If you just answer it, I will stop asking." He looked at her and I looked at Temari. She sighed. A sign showing she gave in. I was interested to hear this.

"I don't know. He treats me well when we are together in Konoha. He will even hold my hand sometimes. But when she comes around hugging him and messing with him. He tolerates her. She may jump on him with a hug and instead of telling her to get off, he just mutters troublesome but doesn't show any sign of asking her to get off." Temari's expression and tone went down. She looked solemn. It made me angry. Seeing how this Nara guy could make her look so weak.

"They're teammates, Temari. It's perfectly normal. I'm sure they're his close friends or something." Kankuro tried to comfort her but she immediately shot her head back up at him.

"I think he may have feelings for her. Simple. For her and me. I also feel she may have feelings towards him as well."

My eyes widened. I really felt angry. The thought of her liking this Nara guy, was discomforting to me. It burned through me and I wasn't sure why? What is this feeling?

"You're just letting your jealousy get to you, Temari." Kankuro sneered and she shot him a look. Is that what's it called? Jealousy? Is that what I am currently feeling?

"No. I just want him to make up his mind so I don't have to keep guessing. For a lazy shinobi, he likes to play games." She muttered. Temari was back.

"Sure." Kankuro replied, emphasizing the word.

"How have you been, Gaara?" Temari looked at me and I closed my eyes.

"The same." I answered and I heard a scoff across from me. "What?"

I looked at Kankuro and his face showed disbelief.

"He's got a crush." Kankuro grinned and Temari's eyebrows perked up.

"Really? Who has finally caught my little brother's eye?" She looked at me and I fought the urge to sigh in exhaustion.

"No one."

"Stop lying. Tell her or I will." Kankuro was tapping his fingers on the table. He was right. If I let him tell her, he will definitely out stretch the truth.

"Well, Gaara?" Temari was looking at me. She was waiting patiently.

"Yamanaka-san… interests me." I muttered and her face shot into an immediate frown. Kankuro smiled seeming pleased with himself.

"Why her?" Temari wouldn't even mask her anger. It made me feel odd. Having my older sister not fond of her just didn't sit well with me.

"She's not afraid of me." I looked at them, searching their faces for their reactions.

Temari immediately relaxed her face into a softened expression and Kankuro did as well. It seemed as if Temari was in battle with herself on how to feel. Similar to the battles I have. Kankuro on the other hand. He had a different expression. I couldn't put a name to it. He seemed very content, but not in his usual manner.

"I have to go. Paperwork." I stood up and Temari nodded at me.

"See ya, bro." Kankuro waved lazily at me and I nodded at him.

As I walked out of Temari's apartment, I found myself thinking more of Yamanaka-san. Could she have feelings for the Nara guy? I hope Temari was wrong. I had to observe myself. Maybe I'll see a sign of it tomorrow during the tour. The tour. This will be interesting.

Sorry for the wait guys, internet problems! Enjoy and keep up the great reviews! They have been so helpful and you guys are just amazing! Thank you. :)