A couple months went by and Gaara was slowly putting more and more trust into the woman. There were still some things that he wasn't ready to talk about, so Yumi didn't even bother bringing them up. She knew that it would only cause him to become more reserved, at least for that session. Most of the medical staff said that she wasn't really doing anything, but that wasn't the case at all. Yumi was making progress at a rate faster than she what she had initially thought it would take.

The two of them were sitting down in the middle of the floor on either side of a checker board. Yumi was staring at it, concentrating hard on what her next move was going to be. Gaara was staring off into space, a look of complete boredom painted on his face.

Finally, the brunette made her move, causing the redhead to smirk.

"You really stink at this game," he muttered. Yumi sighed and nodded.

"I'm not much of a checkers person." Gaara picked up a red piece and made a triple jump.

"I think you should just give up. There's no way you can beat me now."

"Alright, I give up. You win." Gaara sighed and flicked one of the checker pieces off the board, sending it flying through the air at Yumi. The piece hit her in the arm before falling to the ground with a clink.

"That's not very nice, Gaara," she told him. The boy shrugged and started to pick the checker pieces up.

"Tomorrow's Sunday," he stated dryly. Yumi sighed and nodded. "I won't see you then."

"I'll be seeing you on Monday," she told him, trying to get him to cheer up.

"What do you do on Sundays?" The brunette looked down at the ground with sad eyes. Gaara stared at her with curiosity.

"It's kind of private, Gaara. I'll tell you some other time, but not today." The pre-teen could tell that it was something that was bothering her. He wanted to know, but he didn't want to intrude. She didn't make him talk about anything he didn't want to talk about, so he wasn't going to make her either. If he did, that gave her a reason to use that against him and make him talk about something he didn't want to.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's something upsetting, isn't it?" Yumi smiled weakly at him and nodded.

"It's okay Gaara," she assured him. "I was expecting you to ask that question sooner or later. Like I said before, I'll probably tell you one day, but you have to keep on being cooperative." Yumi looked down at her watch and sighed. "I have to be going." Gaara nodded.

"Before you go, can I ask you another question?" The brunette looked at him with curiosity.

"Of course you can Gaara." The boy slowly drew his knees to his chest.

"What do you think of me?" The redhead looked down at the ground with slight embarrassment.

"Well…," Yumi paused for a moment, trying to think of the right words to use. "That is such a hard question. I care about you so much and I really hate seeing you in here. You're extremely intelligent and that you have good intentions. I can't imagine you wanting to intentionally hurt someone. There are so many things that I like about you Gaara. Does that answer your question?" Gaara nodded slightly.

"Thank you Yumi," Gaara whispered. The brunette smiled and nodded.

"I'll see you Monday."

XxooooooooxX

Yumi and Touma were walking together through the park. The blue-haired boy needed fresh air, since he had locked himself up in his room all day long. The weather was perfect. It was nice and sunny, but not too hot. There was a gentle breeze, causing the weather to be pleasant and cool.

"What are you thinking about?" Yumi asked curiously. Touma gave her a weird look.

"How do you know I'm even thinking about anything?" The brunette smiled and giggled.

"You looked like you were lost in thought." The teen sighed and kicked an acorn that was lying on the sidewalk, sending it rolling further down the pavement.

"What do you think about me?" he asked, kicking another acorn. Yumi smiled.

"I think you're a wonderful person, very smart and bright. You're someone that someone should be proud of."

"Really?" The boy looked up at her questioningly and she nodded.

"I also think that someday you are going to win the Nobel Prize for Science." Touma grinned and laughed.

"Maybe someday," he chuckled.

"So what do you think about me now? Did your thoughts change at all?" The teen thought for a moment before nodding.

"You're alright I guess," he told her with a smirk. Yumi rolled her eyes at him.

"Thanks a lot, Touma," she said, a dab of sarcasm in her tone.

"I'm glad that my mom hired you though." The brunette smiled and nodded.

"Me too."

XxooooooooooooxX

It was Sunday morning and the sun was still hiding behind rain clouds. For some reason, it always seemed to be raining on Sundays. Yumi hated it. She wished that the sun would shine, hoping that it would make her feel better. Sunday was always a gloomy day for the brunette, which was one of the reasons she didn't go to see Gaara on that particular day of the week.

Yumi crawled out of bed and looked out her bedroom window. Rain was falling from the heavens at a steady pace and showering all the objects below with water. There used to be a time where Yumi loved the rainfall. She used to love the way it felt on her skin, the way it looked as it fell to the earth. She had especially loved the way it sounded when it rapped against her windowpane and on the roof. In the past, she would have sat by the window and watched it for hours on end. Not anymore though.

The female sluggishly clothed herself, putting on a pair of slacks, a light pink camisole, and a white button-down top. She did her best to run a brush through her curly locks, trying to get all the knots and tangles out. Lastly, she brushed her teeth and left.

She drove to church and sat silently through the sermon. After the service, she talked with a few of her acquaintances. Yumi didn't really call them her friends, since the only time she saw them was at church. Her work took up most of her time, and she just didn't bother to become close to any of them. All of her friends were still back in her hometown. They all stayed behind, not wanting to leave the place that they grew up in. Yumi had moved on, but she still kept in contact with them and planned to visit them again really soon.

After talking with other members of the church, she drove to the flower shop and then took a trip to the cemetery. The brown-haired woman looked down at the tombstone of a young boy with sad eyes and smiled weakly. Slowly, she bent over and placed the flowers in front of it. Very few people ever came to visit the grave, and Yumi was one of them. The boy's mother was ashamed of her son and had always believed that there was something wrong with him. If only that woman knew how wonderful her child really had been. He had had a brilliant mind and could've really made something of himself. Still, his life was ended early and unnaturally.

"I'm so sorry, Touma," she whispered. "I tried so hard and I still couldn't save you. I know you don't want me to blame myself, but I just can't help it."

Yumi inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. She was soaked to the bone from the rain that was pelting against her body. Her body was starting to tremble as the cold water consumed any warmth it had left. She took in another deep breath and sighed, smiling as she did so.

"I have another patient," she spoke to the tombstone. "He's a lot different from you, but then again he's just like you. I want to help him; save him, the way I wanted to save you. I'm going to do all that I can to make that happen. If you were still here, and if Gaara wasn't stuck where he is now, I'm sure that the two of you could've been friends."


Yay! Another chapter!! Hmm... what did you guys think about how she spends her Sundays? That leaves one question answered, but it looks like there's still a few more that need to be answered.

I'll post the next chapter on Tuesday, or late Monday night.

Thanks to the following reviewers:

Gaara-frenzy, ALIsmile, Sakamoto Michiko, Kitsune Slave, Yume Ninja, AP-Rhapsody, and NeferNeferi.

You guys rock out loud. You have no idea how much I appreciate the time you put into your reviews. Almost every single one of them were pretty lengthy, and I really appreciate it. Please keep it up. It helps me to keep writing and making the chapters as good as I can. Also, I like hearing your opinions on things, good or bad.

PLEASE REVIEW!! THANKS A MILLION!!