Zakuro's heart went crazy and her breathing lost its rhythm. Gaara's touch seemed even colder against the blush on her cheeks. His blue eyes entranced her again with all the pain they held, slowly that pain vanished. It seemed to retreat back into the dark places in his soul. He certainly knew how to hide it well. Zakuro took in the sight of the red mark above his eyes again. Timidly she raised her hand to his forehead, Gaara slid his hands to her shoulders. She gently traced the kanji, it was a deep scar that never healed. It seemed strangely warmer than the rest of his skin. "How did that happen?" She asked.

Gaara shrugged. "I did that to myself years ago."

Zakuro withdrew her hand and rested it on her shoulder over his. "Why? And why "love"?"

He just shrugged again. "Maybe I'll tell you sometime, but not right now."

She decided not to press him about it, recalling his short temper. "What about the circles around your eyes?" She was curious about that too.

He smiled this time. "That's an easy one. I suffer from chronic insomnia."

Zakuro's eyes went wide for a moment. "That bad?" She didn't think insomnia could cause those heavy black circles.

"I've had sleeping problems since I was a child." He explained.

Zakuro nodded. "Alright."

Gaara smiled teasingly. "Any more questions?"

"No, I'm good for now."

They smiled at one another and walked out of the garden. Zakuro's heart sped up a little everytime their hands brushed.

"I'm sorry for going off like that actually." Gaara said after a while. "I didn't mean to trouble you with my past."

"I don't mind." And she really didn't, she was curious about him but she didn't want to pry. She really wanted him to tell her more about him when he was ready. They walked to the middle of the bridge over the pond, brushing the snow from the rail Zakuro rested her arms and looked at her reflection in the ice. She looked the same as she always had. Slim frame, small stature, (Gaara was nearly a head taller than her.) blond hair and large blue eyes. Inside however she felt different. She wasn't pretending to enjoy her provincial life anymore. She looked at Gaara's reflection, he was gazing at her. She felt like she didn't have to pretend around him, she trusted him.

"Well...," Gaara gently nudged her shoulder. "Enough about me. What about you Little Lotte?"

Zakuro looked at him shocked. His smile answered the question in her head. She blushed and buried her face in her hands. "Oh god you heard me last night."

"Of course." He repiled casually. "Insomnia." He added with a smile. Zakuro blushed a deeper red. "You sing beautifully."

Zakuro slowly brought her hands from her face. Turning to face him, she saw that he looked dead serious. "Thank you." She smiled.

Gaara smiled back. "You're welcome."

"You know I think I heard the Angel of Music last night." She eyed him playfully. "But I didn't see him."

"Maybe he's just shy." Gaara said softly.

Zakuro smiled "Maybe."

"Do you like music?" He asked

"I love music." She answered. "I always have. Before I could speak I could sing." They wandered off the bridge and onto that small path in the forest on the opposite side of the pond. Then Zakuro told him about her. About how her father had been the most important person in her life and about her past. Gaara asked questions here and there. Her favorite color. Red. Her favorite season. Winter. (She loved the snow.) Her favorite food. Apples. He was mostly quiet. She told him how much she liked Sakura and Naruto, went on about Shikamaru and his lazy attitude and her childhood with Sasuke.

When she finally finished Gaara said. "It sounds like you had a pretty good life. Why did you run away?"

"I didn't run away."

Gaara smiled smugly at her. "Right, you just happened to be walking this far in the woods in the dead of night."

Zakuro scowled. "If you must know I got into a fight with Sasuke and I wanted to prove something to him."

"What were you fighting about? Or is it none of my business?"

Zakuro thought for a moment, maybe she could get some answers. "Well you see Sasuke was telling the story of the Demon of the woods. Have you ever heard it?"

She noticed that he tensed. "No I haven't." His voice was calm though.

"To make a long story short. He told me I couldn't survive in the woods because the Demon would kill me and I wanted to prove him wrong." She looked right at Gaara.

"And what? You think I'm the Demon?" He said after catching her look.

"Are you?"

He chuckled. "No."

Zakuro stopped him and looked him in the eye. "I'm serious Gaara. Are you?"

"No." His eyes had turned as cold as stone again. "Now drop it." He walked ahead, his shoes crunching through the snow.

Zakuro gazed after him, regretting how she had flat out asked him that. She smacked herself in the forehead. (She was such an idiot sometimes.) She was cretain that he was the Demon now. He wouldn't have reacted that way if he wasn't. Would he? Still if so why was he lying to her? Deciding not to further pester him about it she followed him. The silence between them was uncomfortable now. Chewing on her lip again Zakuro glanced at him nervously. Gaara's face was emotionless. "I guess I did run away actually." She finally said softly. Really admitting it to herself. "It ecame so that I couldn't recognize myself in the mirror. I was just pretending for everyone." Then Zakuro stopped in her tracks for the path had opened so that they stood on a cliff over looking a huge valley. A large river carved out the valley creating the mountains that lay on either side of it, she could just barely see where the river met the ravine in front of the mansion. The snow made everything sparkle, like the world had been covered with diamonds. "It's beautiful." She whispered.

"Yes it is." However Gaara wasn't looking at the valley, he was looking at her. After catching his tone she turned and blushed at the look she saw in his eyes. "Why were you pretending?" He asked.

Zakuro thought for a moment. "I guess...I guess I didn't want to disappoint anyone. I thought if I quit my job and spoke out against the things that were bothering me I would disappoint the people I love. Especially my father."

"Don't you think your father would care more about what you wanted? Gaara said. "When was the last time you thought about what you want?

She hadn't realized just how long it had been since she put herself first. But now she felt like she could be herself again.

Gaara seemed to understand her silence. He offered her his hand. "Come with me."

"Okay." Zakuro took his hand. He laced his cold fingers through her gloved ones and started back toward the mansion.

Inside (after shedding all her heavy winter clothes) Gaara led her upstairs. His hand was still in hers, her heart thudded so loudly she swore it was audible and the butterflies in her stomach were back. Upon reaching her the door of his room Zakuro stopped. Gaara looked back at her confused.

She cocked an eyebrow. "I thought I wasn't allowed in there?" Her teasing smile made him smile and quip right back.

"I'm inviting you in. Now c'mon."

After closing the door behind them Zakuro looked around. It was the same as before. Papers and glass strewn across the floor, stains on the walls, cobwebs and to her mortification she jumped when a spider dropped down near her shoulder.

"Oh. Sorry." Gaara gently caught the spider in his hand. Walking to the balcony doors he opened them with his other hand. Zakuro could see him place the spider on the mansion wall. Turning back to her he shrugged sheepishly. "I kinda keep to myself in here and I'm not very tidy." He expalined.

"You don't say." Zakuro kicked aside a crumpled piece of paper. "I'm sorry again for coming in her without permission. It was wrong."

"It's alright. I over reacted."

She giggled. "You over react? It doesn't seem possible." She joked.

Gaara rolled his eyes, smiling. He walked to the table beside the organ and started rifling through all the papers piled there. "Where did I put that?" He muttered.

Zakuro wandered through the room. Eyeing the black rose in the middle of the room she noticed that more petals were missing now, they rested like black silk on the table. She was curious but didn't say anything. She let her fingers slide across the dusty desk in the corner. Then she saw that one of the drawers was open a little bit. She glaced at Gaara, he was still looking through those papers. She shouldn't, but she felt her hand close around the drawer handle. Pulling it open she found a picture of a woman. The glass was broken and the frame bent like someone had thrown it. Zakuro picked it up, wary of the broken glass and studied it. The woman had shoulder length light brown hair, eyes the color of lilacs and a kind smile. "Is this your mother?"

Gaara looked up and saw the picture in her hands. "Yes." He said softly.

"Gaara, she's beautiful."

"Thank you." He went back to the papers. Finally he found what he'd been looking for.

Zakuro set the picture back in the drawer and closed it. "What are you looking for anyway?" Her words fell away as music reached her ears. She turned to see Gaara sitting at the organ, his white fingers swiftly striking the keys. The sound was beautiful but it had a harsh edge to it. It easily portryed every emotion possible in a way that only long hours of work and sheer brilliance could display. Zakuro was in awe, this sound was incredible and it wasn't like what she'd heard the nights before. This music burned with fire, coming to an end with a loud low chord that echoed through the room. "What was that?" She whispered.

Gaara smiled up at her. "Don Juan." Zakuro's eyes went wide. "My take on it anyway." He continued. "A tribute to Erik really. I may understand him better than anyone." Zakuro wondered just what he meant. He sounded so sad when he'd said that he understood Erik. Gaara slid over on the bench seat and patted the empty space beside him. She sat down next to him, her heart practically jumping out of her chest."Do you play at all?" He asked.

Zakuro chewed on her lip. "A little. My father taught me a few songs years ago. I'm not very good."

Gaara gestured to the keys. "Give it a shot."

She glanced at him quickly. "Okay." She swallowed and hit a few keys before stopping on one. "Middle C, right?"

"Right." His cold breath caressed her ear as her breathed his answer. (As if he wasn't making her nervous enough).

Zakuro started to play "Fur Elise". At first it sounded pretty good, her tempo was slightly off but not noticeable but then she came to the section where she had always messed up. She hit a sour note and cringed. "That's not it." She mumbled. She tried the key next to that one. Wrong. "No. Wait is it a flat next?" She tried it. Wrong again. She sighed.

Gaara chuckled softly beside her. "Here." Zakuro froze as he sild closer to her. Wrapping his arms around her he rested his cold hands lightly on her. "Start again, I'll guide you through it."

She tried to ignore the feeling of his chest against her back, but could tell her face was bright red. His body gave off such cold that she felt goosebumps rise on her skin. "O...okay." She was having trouble remembering to breathe again. Nevertheless she started the song again. When she came to the part where she'd messed up Gaara gently guided her hands to the right notes, indicating with a slight pressure on her fingers. She glanced at him at the same time he looked at her, their eyes locked for a moment and they smiled before going back to the music.

When the song ended Zakuro turned her hands palm up and laced her fingers through his. He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "See, you just needed a little help."

"More like a lot of help." She squeezed his hands back.

Gaara's soft and whispy chuckle sounded and he withdrew his hands from hers. He took his arm from around her but remained close to her. Going back to the keys he started playing again. Zakuro's heart clenched this was what she'd been hearing the nights before. The same passionate and sorrowful melody that she had fallen in love with the second she'd heard it was even more beautiful now. That sense of longing once again brought tears to her eyes. Gaara's passion for the music was obvious in the way he struck the keys and the far-off expression on his face. The same look that Zakuro got when she sang. The song ened on a soft long note. "It's not quite finished yet." Gaara said sheepishly. He turned and was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "Zakuro?"

She quickly wiped her tears away. "Sorry." She mumbled. "Gaara that was beautiful."

He reached up and caught a stray tear from her cheek. "You inspired this one Zakuro."

She was shocked. "I inspired that?"

"Yes." He said simply. Smiling that lopsided smile he picked up another sheet of paper. "Everyone needs a little help once in a while." He handed the paper to her. "Would you help me now?"

Zakuro took the paper, looking at it she said. "You want me to sing?"

His eyes looked pleading. "Would you?" She smiled and nodded. "Thank you." He started to play and she sang. The words flowed from her lips like she had known them forever. Gaara's heart started to ache again, he was slowly beginning to like it. He had always loved music but now even his own work didn't seem to measure up to the beauty of the voice singing it. His face felt warm.

When the song finished Zakuro set the music aside. "You're a genius Gaara. Your works they're...they're incredible. No that doesn't even cover it." She couldn't keep the smile off her face. She'd never met anyone who loved music the way she did, besides her father. "You certainly don't need my help." She added modestly.

"But with the help of an angel maybe something good will come of it."

His voice was so soft she barely heard it. "What do you mean?" Gaara didn't answer, he was staring with a far-off look at the wall. Only this look wasn't like when he was playing, it was pained. She watched him blink afew times as if he were clearing his head. "Gaara, are you okay?" Zakuro gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Wait was he blushing? He was. Gaara turned to look at her, in those hypnotic slate blue eyes she saw sadness and pain, but also pleading and longing. She was about to ask what was wrong but he closed her mouth with a kiss. Flashes of her dream ran through her mind, she pushed them away. His cold lips were on hers for less than a second before he pulled away. He smiled sadly at her and then turned back to the organ.

However Zakuro wasn't having that. She gently grasped the front of his shirt and pulled him to her, placing her lips on his. At first she was afraid that he would be upset with her. But when his arms encircled her, closing the miniscule gap between them all her fears vanished. She slowly loosened her grip on his collar, one hand moving to the back of his neck where her fingers idly tangled in his hair. One of his hands held her face while the other traced circles on her collarbone. Zakuro's breath caught when she felt his tongue, slowly she opened her mouth and kissed him right back. They kissed until her teeth ached from cold. He even placed an icy kiss on her neck and another under her jaw.

Little did they know that one green and one blue eye watched them from the keyholes of the doors. Sakura and Naruto had indentical looks of shock on their faces, which instantly turned to excitement.

Naruto punched the air. "Yes. We're gonna be free." He hissed.

Sakura grasped his face and kissed him right on the lips. After a brief second she released him so that he nearly fell backward. After a moment of disbelief Naruto grinned like a fool. Realizing what she'd done Sakura slapped him in the chest. He made confused gestures and sounds. She put a finger to her lips to silence him and pressed her ear against the door.

Finally they separated and looked into each others eyes. Gaara's were softer than she'd ever seen them before. Zakuro shivered and had to ask. "Why are you so cold?"

"With a heart made of ice you think I would be." He stood and walked to the balcony doors.

"You're not all that bad." She said softly.

He sighed. "You don't know the half of it."

Zakuro stood. "Then tell me. Please Gaara."

He looked at her for a long time. "Not right now." He caught her look. "I will tell you but not now. I promise."

She nodded deciding to be patient. "Alright." She walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. Closing her eyes she listened to the sound of his heartbeat softly thudding in her ear. Gaara folded his arms around her and pressed his face to her hair. Opening her eyes she looked out to the balcony. "How is it dark out already?" She cried.

"The end of another day." He mumbled absentmindedly.

Zakuro pouted. "I don't want it to end." She walked out onto the balcony and shivered in the cold wind. She turned and looked back at him, his face looked pained and his fingers worked his temple.

He caught her worried look. "Just a headache. Don't worry about it." He pinced the bridge of his nose for a few seconds and looked better. "All things have to come to an end eventually." He took her hand. "C'mon I'll walk you to your room." They started for the door.

Outside the door Naruto and Sakura jumped and scrambled to the corner of the hall. Naruto tripped and fell just as the door opened, but Sakura grabbed him and dragged him around the corner. They watched as Gaara and Zakuro emerged from the room, hand in hand. Their master looked over his shoulder right at them. The servants jumped and disappeared around the corner.

Zakuro followed his look. "What is it?"

"Nothing." He replied. "C'mon." He led her down the hall.

After they were sure the their master was out of earshot. Naruto said. "He saw us."

"Well duh!" Sakura snapped.

Naruto sighed. "We're boned."

After reaching the door to Zakuro's room she said to Gaara. "Thank you, for everything."

"You're welcome... for everything." He smiled teasingly. "Goodnight Zakuro." He turned and walked down the hall.

"Goodnight." She mumbled. She chewed on her lip thinking for a moment. "Gaara wait." She called after him. He stopped and looked back at her. Zakuro looked at the floor and nervously twittled her fingers. "M... may I have a goodnight... kiss?"

Gaara looked at her for a moment before taking quick stpes back to her. Taking her face in his frozen hands he kissed her. It was short and sweet. He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "Sweet dreams Zakuro."

His cold touch as well as something she couldn't name made her shiver. "Thank you." She whispered. "Goodnight Gaara."

He released her and vanished down the hall. Zakuro went inside her room and curled up on the bed. Her heart pounded in her chest, her lips were chilled, and her body ached for that cold touch. She was in love with Gaara.

Back in his room Gaara leaned against the door, breathing deeply with his hand over his heart like he had the night she came into his life. His heart ached, his pale cheeks were flushed, and adrenaline raced through his body. He'd never felt this way before, it was strange and confusing but he liked it. "I've tasted all the happiness the world can offer." He whispered into the dark quoting Erik. Zakuro was perfect, she was beautiful, clever, and funny. He felt like she understood him, that she wouldn't judge him. She was evrything he could've ever dreamed of.

Suddenly his breathing became heavy, irregular and pain rushed through Gaara's head. His body tensed and twitched like he was having a seizure. One hand flew to his head, the other around his chest as if to keep himself from falling apart. Faces flashed through his mind, his uncle, his father, and many others. The last was Zakuro. As quickly as this had come it was gone, the force knocking him down on one knee. He braced his hands against the floor and panted, broken glass cutting into his palms and he was dripping sweat. He looked up at the black rose in its case only five petals were left on it. "Sometimes I envy you Erik." Shaking slightly he stood up and picked the glass from his hands. (He thought he would've gotten used to this by now but these attacks always left him shaken.) He walked to his desk and taking a key from his pocket unlocked the top right hand drawer. The only thing inside was a small black box. Gaara picked up the box and looked at it. He knew what he had to do.

Author's Note: Ok first off those who have read Phantom by Susan Kay I'm sorry. I wrote this before I read it and Don Juan and Gaara's remarks about Erik are not done justice. I'm really sorry. I wanted to work some more Phantom Of The Opera references in here. (Hence the title of the chapter) Again sorry. And yes I know "Fur Elise" will probably not sound like it should on an organ but I just learned how to play that song so I put it in here. Now besides that a pretty long part if my estimate is right. And a cliff hanger ending. :) The rest of this has been writing itself but I haven't started typing yet so the next chapter won't be posted for a while. Thank you for reading.