Welcome and salutations, my almost beautiful people. Here's yet another chapter of "Evolution of the Bond". Hope you will enjoy it.

Yours truly, ZelgadisGW.

Evolution of the Bond

(Gaara x Matsuri)

Chapter X: The tension between black and white

Matsuri woke up very late this day. After yesterday's training session, it was only expected given the sheer amount of chakra she had lost back then. What wasn't, thought, was the fact that her reserves hadn't been restored yet. No matter, it's not like she was going to need them today, anyway...

Before Temari managed to bombard her with questions, regarding the last training with Gaara, the brunette decided to take a shower. After a few moments, she stepped into the tube and turned the water on. And for a few more moments, she was just standing there, thinking of what she was about to do later in the day. She will go on the date... no, that shouldn't be called a date. Not since it will be with the Kazekage himself. Matsuri smiled at the very thought of it.

After she was done with all her morning routines, breakfast included, and after getting dressed in her casual clothes, she couldn't avoid getting interrogated from her temporary roommate. She told the blonde about her exam results, then about Gaara's request to see her rope dart demonstration. Just as she was getting to the Lightning Release Shadow Clone training, she was interrupted.

"Before you will get into that..." Temari started slowly "Did I heard that right? Gaara asked you for demonstation?"

"Yes" Matsuri answered shortly, confused.

"And he did that because he just felt like seeing it?"

"Yes"

"Are you sure..." the blonde began, eyeing the girl carefully "... that nothing especially worth mentioning happened between you two lately?"

"W- what?" the Kazekage's student stuttered "No!" she denied "All I can think of is that I-I asked h-him o-... invited for the festival today!"

"You sure of that?" Temari inquired seriously, leaning towards her temporary roommate.

"Yes..." was Matsuri's reply. Truth to be told, she couldn't think of anything. Maybe expect for Naruto Uzumaki's stupid joke back in the infirmary... But that was hardly important. For Gaara anyways. Probably.

Temari leaned her chin on her palm and started thinking. Matsuri didn't seem to be lying. Either that, or in just few days she learned how to lie on a Jounin level. That would mean there may be the variable the wind mistress didn't considered at all. What if her youngest brother was already developing some interest in Matsuri by himself? After all, he was sometimes very hard to read. He might as well wait for the young girl to make a move...

Nah, that's Gaara after all. Still, it was pleasant thing to think about. Temari smiled.

"What is it?" the younger girl asked carefully.

"Oh, nothing" the Jounin spoke back "Just thinking about my little date today".

"Shikamaru-san?" Matsuri asked rhetorically "I bet he will be very fond of your costume!"

"He wouldn't dare not being fond of it, I assure you" Temari answered cheerfully and Matsuri giggled. "Speaking of dates, when you are going to have yours?"

"I-It's not a date, Temari-san!" Matsuri retaliated quickly.

"Yeah, maybe to Gaara. Just answer the question."

"At seven."

"It seems I'll have to leave before you. You're going to help me with my look. I need to look like goddess before that crybaby. I can help you with yours before I leave. Got it?"

Gaara was leaning against streetlight, his arms crossed over his chest and his focused, green eyes observing the people who were passing through next to him. Many, if not all, people were wearing costumes, were dressed as something. Some costumes were very elegant, some eccentric and some even stupid. The Kazekage himself was wearing black swallow-tailed coat, with red dress-shirt underneath. His trousers were also pitch-black. The dark black-red cape with large collar was cast over all of it.

In short, the Kazekage was looking just like the count.

He was waiting for Matsuri for some time. It's not like she was late – Gaara was the one that decided to went out earlier, mainly because he didn't have anything to do, as sitting in one place and thinking of today's meeting with his student made him feel uneasy somehow. This feeling hasn't weakened at all, since he was still recognizable by all passers-by, who were often staring at him and whispering something. Well, seeing the Kazekage of Sunagakure like this was not the common sight. The redhead briefly wondered what Hokage was doing right now. It was rather certain that she wasn't hanging out with the former student of hers. Gaara, on the other hand, was about do to that, and even if it seemed an easy thing for everyone, it certainly wasn't for him.

Even if he could accept the fact that he might have feelings for her, he didn't really know what to do with them. Sure, he was about to spend some time together with her, but he didn't know what exactly to do, what to say and where to go. He doubted that the girl will take initiative, given her rather bashful attitude around him. He just hoped things would work out somehow.

"Er…. Gaara-sama?" the familiar voice called him, and the boy turned his head in that direction.

And he froze in place.

It was Matsuri, no doubt about that. But she wasn't like her usual self. She was wearing long, simple and white dress on shoulder straps and also white, long, forearm gloves. She wore artificial white-feathered wings on her back, attached around her shoulders and a golden halo, which base was held in place around the girls head.

In short: Matsuri was like an angel, both literally and figuratively.

Gaara always considered her a person with pure heart. She had noble goals, became kunoichi in order to protect, not to harm. She was innocent. But recently, the redhead started to see the girl in different way. He could tell she was pretty, beautiful even, depending on the situation. Her costume was emphasizing both her appeal and purity. She was like angel. And he definitely liked that.

"Uh… Gaara-sama? Are you okay?" she asked nervously. Gaara blinked few times, ready to correct her about using honorifics, but he recalled that they were in public, after all.

"Yes, I am" the Kazekage answered firmly, and approached her "You look… very good, Matsuri" he added.

"Uh, thank, you…" she replied, making wide smile "You like my costume? Temari-san said it fits me well…"

"It does" Gaara said and then, he found her eyes wander around his entire figure.

"Umm…. It's very elegant and I think it fits you well… but… What is this costume, Gaara-sama?" she asked, not hiding her curiosity.

"Well, it was supposed to be a vampire costume and it was including a mask. But I thought it looked awful, so I was not feeling like wearing that mask, even if Na-…. Kankuro was saying it was necessary." He explained thoughtfully, looking the chuunin into her eyes. She lowered her gaze immediately.

"Oh, I see" she replied slowly.

"So…" the redhead started after a short silence "Shall we go? We will see what is to do here, at this festival…" he said, and Matsuri looked at him. He wondered if she knew that despite his calm attitude, he actually didn't know what to do. At all.

"Y- yes…" Matsuri responded slowly, and then she headed off together with her beloved redhead. As she walked beside him, she was tempted to hold his hand. Only that she knew she wasn't allowed to.

Gaara soon found out that bringing up the topic to talk with Matsuri was much easier than he had anticipated. It shouldn't be too surprising, though, given how many people were on the festival, and how many different costumes they saw and could comment on. There were people dressed as famous figures of shinobi world, like Legendary Sannins or Madara Uchiha (Gaara could have sworn he saw someone wear Kazekage's robes), there were people dressed as characters from fiction, dressed as per certain theme (maids, martial artists, soldier etc.), or wearing utterly ridiculous costumes, like the chicken one. To Gaara and Matsuri's relief, they were able to merge into the crowd, so hardly anyone gave them any attention.

Matsuri was more than willing to tell the boy about how Temari helped her choose her costume. Apparently, both girls visited multiple shops until they found that one, and when they did, the decision was made very quickly. The redhead smiled at that, and then was immediately asked about his costume. At first he was reluctant to answer, but he couldn't say "no" to these eyes. Gaara was very picky about his costume, he wouldn't want anything too over the top or ridiculous. He wasn't feeling like telling the girl that Naruto was one who (forcibly) helped him choose, so he told her it was Kankurou.

It turned out that just walking around, seeing and commenting on all varieties of costumes was quite involving in itself. But Gaara was well aware that it won't last forever. Fortunately, he saw an announcement.

"There will be fireworks displays tonight" the young Kage affirmed, and then turned to the brunette "And the first one will begin in about 40 minutes…" he continued, then paused for a short while "Would you… like… to see it?" he uttered slowly, not sure of his words.

Fortunately to him, Matsuri beamed brightly "I…. I would love to…" she answered, blushing a little. Gaara nodded at that.

"We will have to kill some more time… Is there something in particular you want to do?"

"Um…" Matsuri hesitated, looking around "How about w- we eat something?"

"What would you want to eat?" the Kazekage inquired.

"Um… we could try something sweet…" she answered uncertainly "like in dango shop, maybe?"

Gaara blinked "I am not really into sweet things… I have never eaten dangos."

At that, Matsuri's eyes widened "Really? Not even once? Impossible!"

"But that is the truth."

"Yes, but…" the girl started much more firmly than Gaara could have anticipated "But how do you know you don't like dangos? You've never tried them!" she stated.

"I do not like to eat sweet things in general" was the redhead reply.

"But you could try them" the brunette continued "We will order some tea as well. If you really wouldn't like dangos, at least you will drink something…" she paused, waiting for the reaction from redhead. But there was none. "… P- Please, Gaara-sama?" she asked softly, connecting her gaze to his. The former jinchuuriki yet again was momentary lost in her dark eyes, and then he knew he couldn't refuse. Even thought he was pretty sure he wouldn't like these dangos.

"Alright. I have nothing to lose, after all" he decided. Matsuri blinked and looked away, blushing.

"Thank you, Gaara-sama"

"To the dango shop, then."

It didn't take them long to find a pretty big dango shop. As it turned out, it was one of the most famous ones in Konohagakure, and it was very crowded inside. Truth to be told, it was so crowded that almost every table was either occupied or taken. Luckily Matsuri, evidently being pretty used to places such as these quickly noticed there were seats left on one side of the table. The other two seats were apparently reserved. Both teenagers took their seat.

"I will go order some dangos and tea" Gaara spoke to the brunette "What kind of dango would you like to have?"

"Ummm…" the girl hesitated for a moment, shades of pink still present on her cheeks "I think I'll just have ordinary anko-dango."

"So, two anko-dango is it" the Kazekage replied, standing up "I'll be right back" and he was gone.

Matsuri signed and then touched her flaming cheeks. 'Calm down', she told herself inwardly. It's going pretty well, after all. Not only Gaara-sama agreed to have some dangos with her, even though he clearly was hesitant to do so, he also invited her to watch a fireworks show together. It was almost like a date! The brunette smiled brightly at the very thought of that, but immediately after she composed herself. It might seem like a date, but it wasn't formally a date, wasn't it? It's not like she was allowed to walk with him while holding hands, even thought she would love to do that. She signed again. For now she'll have to endure the tension and temptation, so that she wouldn't do anything stupid. Gaara's reaction could be very unpredictable.

Being in love with the most wonderful and handsome Kazekage in existence was very troublesome thing, indeed.

"Well, well, would you look at that… Matsuri!" the girl in question raised her head in the direction of the voice.

"Temari-san!" she stated, clearly surprised "And…. Shikamaru-san?" she asked, looking at the blonde's companion, who was holding a tray with dangos and tea on it.

Now, Matsuri could tell that that Temari's choice regarding her costume wasn't accidental. In fact, it was themed to fit Shikamaru's perfectly. Both the Kazekage's older sister and Nara clan shinobi wore ancient togas. The boy's hairs were untied and he wore bay wreath around his head. Temari's toga was leaving her arms, neck and her left leg practically bare and Matsuri could admit the jounin kunoichi probably looked very attractive to boys that way. Temari enhanced the effect of overall attractiveness by letting her hair down.

"Oi" was all the Konohagakure chuunin said and then, together with his date, sat in front of Matsuri

"Since you're here, does that mean Gaara is here too?" Temari asked cheerfully, winking towards the younger girl.

"Y- Yes…" Matsuri replied, feeling warmth over her cheeks. Not wanting the Kazekage's sister to prone further into the topic, she asked back: "So, we ended up in the same shop, on the same table. What coincidence!"

"Yeah, I do say it myself."

"What a drag…" Shikamaru mumbled.

"Gaara is going to join us soon. Try to look more lively, crybaby." Temari told to Nara.

"Whatever you say, troublesome woman…" he answered with a small smile.

"Speak of the devil" the blonde said little louder, looking over Matsuri's head "Nice to see you, little brother!"

The younger Sunagakure girl turned her head around immediately and saw the Kazekage approaching them, with tray in his hands.

"Temari? I was not expecting you here" he said, putting the tray on the table before Matsuri and sitting down next to her "And… Shikamaru Nara, I reckon?"

"Yes. Good evening, Kazekage-sama" was the formal reply from the boy.

"My, my, my, Gaara is about to eat dango. This is the end of the world as we know it!" the blonde kunoichi jested cheerfully.

"I am just giving it a try" was all the Kazekage said.

"S- so, Gaara-sama…" Matsuri started, lifting her dango stick "Try it!" she said and then consumed first dango orb. She munched her meal for some time, swallowed and then smiled brightly "They're good. Now, it's your time, Gaara-sama!"

Gaara sighed inwardly, but couldn't refuse her. Or maybe even didn't want to. The fact that he was also watched with great interest by his sister only helped him in making his decision into action. Following his student's example, he lifted the stick and then put it into his mouth, consuming the one of three dango orbs. After he had done, he pulled the stick out.

"How was it?" his student inquired, smiling widely. Gaara looked at her and after seeing her enjoying herself, he decided to be more careful in choose of his words.

"Well, I can understand why people like dangos. They are not bad, but they are definitely not my taste"

"Really? That's no fun!" Matsuri complained, but she still kept her smile.

"Yeah, you're not fun, Gaara" Temari confirmed, nodding and grinning "Anybody for listening to what Gaara actually likes to eat?"

"How troublesome" the Kazekage summed up, crossing his arms on his chest, as his student giggled.

"Stop stealing my bits…" Temari's companion complained silently.

And then, the eager conversation started. Granted, it was for the girls mostly, because neither Nara clan shinobi nor Gaara were saying much. In fact, the young Kage only spoke when he had to. And truth to be told, Shikamaru was not really interested in listening to the Sunagakure's Kazekage culinary taste. Yet, being on date with Temari, he knew he just have to endure it until both couples decide to separate their way. Yes, couples. Shikamaru deduced that much. The Kazekage may indeed be hard to read, but his student… or rather girlfriend, was pretty easy in comparison. The girl was clearly enjoying Gaara's company, and at the same time she looked nervous and uncomfortable a little. Also, when Temari made a joyful remark, clearly directed to the younger girl, about how Gaara's future wife would have hard times with preparing the meals for him (salt beef tongue sounded disgusting), the brunette got even more nervous. Gaara, on the other hand, was rather stoic and seemed busy with his tea. Or maybe he was hiding some nervousness just like that? And besides, why would the Kazekage, Gaara of all people, hang out with a chuunin girl on festival like this one, wearing unwonted costume? And on top of all that, Shikamaru could sense a strange tension between the redhead and Matsuri. Even the theory about them celebrating her eventual Jounin graduation (Nara wasn't sure whether she passed or not, since in the end it was up to her teacher) didn't make sense. There was no such strange tension between Shikamaru himself and the rest of his team, when he became chuunin, after all. Same could be said for Chouji and Ino. So, there is only one explanation: the Kazekage was dating that girl.

Up until now, Shikamaru was pretty sure the former jinchuuriki wasn't aware of him dating his sister. Granted, it was probably painfully obvious to everyone besides Gaara. The Kazekage was socially awkward. Or so the Nara had thought, but on the other hand... if the current Kazekage was indeed dating someone, then that would mean his social impairment was not the case anymore. Temari wasn't planning on telling Gaara about her relationship mainly due to the whole different villages thing, but also, or maybe mainly, because there wasn't good opportunity for that yet. But, isn't the current situation perfect for both? They were all on dates right now. There could not be better opportunity for speaking with the Kazekage about it. Shikamaru made his decision.

"Excuse me, Kazekage-sama" he announced clearly, getting the attention not only from Gaara, but from two girls as well "there is something I want to address. It is important"

"Shikamaru…" Temari started.

"It's alright, believe me..." he responded calmly, giving his girlfriend a confident look.

"What is it, Shikamaru Nara?" the young Kazekage asked seriously, eyeing the boy sitting before him.

"Before I get into that, I apologize in advance, but… Are you two on a date?" immediately after this words, Shikamaru let out loud "ouch!", as Temari thrust her elbow right below his arm. Matsuri almost jumped out from her place, letting out a short squeal, blushed madly and looked at the Kazekage. Gaara himself widened his eyes and slightly parted his lips in surprise, also barely noticeable shade of pink appeared on his cheeks.

The young Kage surely didn't expect anything like that. Being painfully aware that greatly embarrassed Matsuri is looking at him, and being able to practically feel her nervousness, he had to resolve that situation somehow. And he better come up with something fast. Were they dating? He had no idea if that could be considered date. He agreed to do this in order to figure out how if he liked Matsuri in that particularly special way. And if he truly did, what to do with it. He couldn't really confirm they were dating, after all. But taking the girl's feeling into consideration, he couldn't deny it either. He didn't want to hurt her feelings. Luckily, he came up with a way to resolve that situation. Even though he was sure the damage was already done, and the strange tension between him and Matsuri is only going to grow.

"Are you?" he asked. Offense was the best defense (even if in Gaara's case, it was quite ironic). The results were quite satisfying.

"Huh?" Shikamaru parted his lips in confusion, clearly not expecting a counterattack. He was about to answer, but Temari was quicker:

"Yes Gaara, we are. And I apologize for this moron" she said, slightly embarrassed.

"It is fine" the Kazekage replied calmly. At least he hoped he seemed that way.

"Y- yes!" Matsuri confirmed swiftly, her face as red as Gaara's hair "It's okay! N- Nothing happened at all!" she laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head.

"I apologized in advance, Kazekage-sama… I just wanted somehow to get to the topic of me dating your sister" Shikamaru explained himself "Temari might not told you about that, but there was no opportunity for all of us to talk about it like now, so…"

"I see no problem" was response from Gaara, making everyone, Matsuri included, surprised "I mean, in you two dating. If Temari made that decision, it is up to her."

"I haven't expected you to be so stoic and direct about it, Gaara" Temari admitted after a short silence "thank you, little brother."

"However…" the Kazekage started speaking again "… even though the relations between two villages might got better lately, especially those between Suna and Konoha… but the cross-marriage law hasn't been established as of yet and…."

"Marriage?!" the blonde kunoichi raised her voice "It's way too early for something like this!"

Gaara frowned "You do not want to get married?" he inquired seriously, making Matsuri, Shikamaru and Temari's jaws drop in comical fashion.

"Of course we do!" Temari yelled, then untypically for her, blushed madly and corrected herself "I mean no! I mean, not now… I…."

Matsuri was truly surprised, as even Temari could freak out like that sometimes

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama" Shikamaru said, raising from his seat and making small bow towards Gaara, then took the jounin kunoichi's palm into his own, the action calmed her a little "And I once again apologize for my question… now, let's go troublesome woman… we have to find ourselves good spot to watch fireworks…" he said, practically dragging his girlfriend to leave the place without finishing their tea "Have a good time, Kazekage-sama, Matsuri-san" he said before leaving the dango shop with speechless Temari. And after second or two, a loud thud and "ouch!" could be heard from outside of the shop.

"Umm…." Matsuri started very nervously, not looking at her teacher… "Gaara-sama, what…-"

"We almost forgot, Matsuri" the redhead cut her off, desperately wanting to take initiative and Matsuri's attention from what happened recently "We have to find some good spot to watch the fireworks display, don't you think?"

"Y-yes, sure!" was Matsuri's answer. She was really concerned with the way Gaara acted just now. Shikamaru-san put them into really difficult situation, considering the fact that she just couldn't let her beloved one know how she really feels about him, yet. And to her surprise, the young Kazekage resolved the situation very skillfully and… in neutral fashion. And that puzzled her deeply. She couldn't stop thinking about it, as she, together with her companion, left the dango shop and went on to search some good spots. Gaara could not confirm or deny whether this was a date or not, but to Matsuri the entire thing started to feel like a date. That thought alone made her truly joyful inside, she could feel butterflies in her stomach. Because when was the last time Gaara of the Desert was hanging out with a girl like that? When was the last time he has told any girl she looked good? When was the last time he has agreed to go to such ridiculous festival as this one? When he has invited any girl for a fireworks display? The answer is: never before. Despite all of this, Matsuri still felt uncertain. The Kazekage neither admitted nor denied it was a date and instead focused on Shikamaru and Temari. He was very direct with these two, but not with her. What does that mean? That thought bugged Matsuri to no end and so she lost the track of time as she walked with her teacher.

"I think all good places are too crowded for my liking" Gaara spoke, making his student came back to the reality.

"Y- You know…" the girl started while fidgeting a bit "I might just know a good place…"

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"Well… if we hurry we could still make it to Konoha's training grounds…" she suggested, and not receiving response, she continued "… y- you know, these are mostly empty and they cannot be crowded. And we could still see fireworks display there…"

"I doubt we could make it in time…" was the reply from the young Kazekage. But before the girl could get disappointment, he added "… but you just gave me an idea."

"Really? What kind of idea?"

"You will see" the Kazekage answered, looking his student in her eyes and making a small smile. Matsuri felt her heart was going to melt. She blushed, and looked away "We just need to move out a little away from the crowd" Gaara said, looking around.

"What for?" the girl asked with equal amount of curiosity and confusion.

"As I said, you will see. Come, Matsuri" he told her, and she nodded in return. They have moved away from the crowd and Gaara lead the brunette towards the entrance to the alley. Before the girl managed to ask any question, the redhead stopped, and so was she.

"Gaara-sama, where are you-" she started, but never finished her sentence. The Kazekage crouched and put his hands on the ground. Then, Matsuri felt that a layer of sand started to form below their feet. Swiftly, it formed a platform fitted for two people, and as the redhead stood up, the platform began to ascend "W- What?!" Matsuri raised her voice in surprise. She could balance just fine, but she was pretty sure that any non-kunoichi would cling to the redhead by now.

"I am providing us the best view possible" the former jinchuuriki answered plainly. The platform was rising and rising.

"B- But the people might-…"

"They will be busy watching the show. As we will…" he answered, looking her into her dark orbs again. The fact that the brunette was immediately enchanted by his gaze was the only thing that prevented her from questioning his decision any further. Her shyness has finally overcome her, and she looked away.

"I- I think it's going to start any moment now…" she stated silently.

"Yes. It is"

And they were both right, as not even minute later, the first firework was shot into the sky and exploded in bright colours. Soon, Matsuri found herself fascinated by the display. It's not like she has never saw fireworks in her life, but events like that were very rare in Sunagakure. Such displays worked really well only during the night – and at that time, desert becomes very cold. That was the reason why such events were that rare, as many Sunagakure citizens were not fond of coming out from their houses at night. It was just one of drawbacks of living in the desert, apparently.

After some time, Matsuri stopped paying attention to the display at all. It was nice, but she was much more interested in person standing next to her, on sand platform above the ground. Once, she wondered if she could be even more in love, and now she was certain she could. Temari might have been right, after all. It was a date. It was a date, even if Gaara himself decided to hide that fact. The girl looked at the boy and started admiring his profile much more than some unnecessary fireworks show. 'No, scratch that!' she thought, as her heart started to beat faster. Even Gaara-sama had to think of this as a date, too. He just doesn't really know how to handle it. That's it! He has even gone as far to create this setting – the two of them, isolated on a small platform and admiring fireworks. It's like he was asking for her to make a move, to hold his hand.

Matsuri's blush deepened and she has shaken her head. Not yet. But she just thought of a plan. She'll just have to endure this tension a little bit more. She'll also have to summon enough courage to ask him something.

The last rocked exploded in the sky, creating multiple symbols of Konoha. Soon after, people started clapping, and the Kazekage turned to Matsuri.

"Did you like it?" he asked gently.

"Yes. It was wonderful, Gaara-sama" the girl answered, not talking about the display at all. The platform descended to the ground, and the teenager walked down from it. Gaara then dissolved the platform, and with the wave of his hand, he send the sand to the ground, dividing it equally on the surface.

"I think it was nice, too" he said to her.

"Um… G- Gaara-sama" Matsuri stuttered uncertainly. She will ask it now. She just will and nothing, not even the insane nervousness will manage to stop her.

"When we are not in crowd, it is just Gaara." he reminded her patiently

"G- Gaara…" she corrected herself, clearly having difficulty in referring to him informally "When we were walking… y- you know, at the beginning… I saw an outdoor dance floor… P- people were dancing to music…"

"Yes, it was there." The redhead confirmed and parted his lips slightly in surprise. Was she going to ask what he thought she would?

"Y- Yes… So…" the girl continued, her heart beating like crazy and heat invading her face "W-… will you… D- dance with me?" at that Gaara eyes widened. Not only because of surprise, as he hasn't expect this to happen tonight. But, the redhead felt something he had almost forgotten. Fear.

"Do not get me wrong, Matsuri" he started "But I can't dance."

"Hardly anyone can" the girl said a lot more firmly than he had anticipated, managing to catch him off guard.

"But I have never danced in my whole life" the redhead countered "I am unable to do it"

"I will help you with that, G- Gaara…" Matsuri whispered and then took steps towards him, gathering her courage "P- please…" she pleaded, looking him deep into his eyes. And in that exact moment, the young Kazekage just knew he couldn't refuse her. He couldn't help it, he really liked her eyes, maybe even love them. He sighed, feeling that maintaining his composure started to get harder and harder.

"Okay… But only for one song…" he answered shortly. In response, the girl beamed brightly.

"Thank you so much!" she called, fighting the temptation to hug him closely.

"So… shall we go?" the Kage asked and the brunette nodded with great enthusiasm.

It didn't took them long to reach their destination. They have approached the parquet full of people.

"We are not going to go there in the middle of the song, are we?" Gaara asked the girl with well-hidden concern.

"We can wait, if you want" the brunette suggested slowly and the redhead nodded at that. He wasn't like going there just like that. And also he was hoping for the next song to be a little slower. After minute or two, the song finished and the people, on the dance floor and passers-by alike, started clapping. "C- Come on, Gaara-sama…" Matsuri spoke to the Kazekage in pleading voice. Gaara nodded nervously and followed her to the parquet. He stood before her, felling uneasy.

"So, what do we do?" he asked naively.

"P- please, take my hands…" the chuunin girl replied, and connecting her gaze to his. She will not look away, not this time.

"Yes…" Gaara took her small palms into his and was rewarded with very beautiful smile from the girl.

"Okay… I'll lead…" she said cheerfully, feeling butterflies in her stomach. She made it, after all. She got to hold his hands. The new song, to Gaara's relief seemingly little slower than the previous one, started playing.

"Here we go!" Matsuri called, making first steps, along with the rest of the people on the parquet.

Gaara felt uncomfortable and very clumsy at first, being unable to follow Matsuri's lead properly and wondered how come he agreed to all of this. The girl giggled at him.

"Just relax!" she said cheerfully, sending him a smile. Gaara tried to followh her advice, to no avail

"But I just…"

"Don't think about it!" she called to him "Just go with the flow!" she advised him and then their eyes met.

The rhythm got faster, but surprisingly, Gaara found himself being able to follow the girl's lead more easily. He really stopped thinking about the whole situation, and probably started to let his action consume him. He could bet that the girl's big, dark and beautiful eyes had something to do with that.

They say that when two top-level shinobis trade their blows, they are able to read the other's hearts for a brief instant. Looking at Matsuri right now, Gaara thought that this was not the only way. Still connecting her gaze to his, the girl smiled the most wonderful of smiles and in that instant the redhead felt he could read her. He could literally tell her deep feelings and her pure joy. Gaara knew he loved that smile of hers, and he definitely wanted to see that smile more often.

The song got little slower, and Matsuri was bursting with joy. Not so long ago she wondered if her affection towards the Kazekage could rise even more. When his lips, most likely sporadically, curved into a small smile she knew it could. It seemed like her love and gratitude towards her beloved redhead reached its limits. She felt she was no longer able to hide what was blossoming inside of her. She was not able to control her smile, her joy and the butterflies in her belly. And she definitely wasn't able to deal with the tension anymore. This damned tension finally had to be expressed in some way…

The song kept slowing down, and it seemed that there were just a few notes remaining. Matsuri slowly stopped her movements and Gaara followed her example. As the song was getting quieter by every second, the two teenagers were standing in front of each other, their hands still joined together, looking in each other eyes. Matsuri, her heart beating like crazy, stepped up to Gaara and closed her eyes, leaning slowly towards him. She knew deep inside she really shouldn't be doing this, but she stopped caring. She just couldn't take that pressure anymore. Before Gaara could react, he felt her soft lips closing on his. Gaara's eyes widened with surprise, his heart beating like crazy, losing himself in the moment. For that brief moment, all he could feel was the girl's soft lips and her soft, trembling palms in his, along with heat invading his usually pale cheeks.

Matsuri's eyes shot open, realizing what she has just done. She broke up the kiss and stepped away immediately, feeling waves of heat on her face. She just kissed the Kazekage. What was she thinking?! She looked at him. His eyes were widened, and his lips parted in surprise. He was just standing there silently, in the middle of the dance floor. Matsuri started trembling, as she realized Gaara wasn't the only one who was silent. The music was not playing anymore, and the people were looking… no, staring at them in silence. The girl stepped backwards, realizing that these people were well aware of the fact that the Kazekage joined the parquet with a girl. And they saw him receiving kiss from that girl. From his one and only student, they saw on the Jounin exam, no less.

"G- Gaara-sama… I…." she started, terrified to the core, taking another step back. What have she done?! She might just ruined everything…

"Matsuri…" Gaara started, looking at her in confusion…

"I…" the girl took other step backwards, then turned around "I'm sorry!" she yelled and then ran out of the parquet as fast as she could, leaving the redhead in the middle of the crowd.

Gaara stood in silence, feeling his heart still beating quickly. He raised his fingers and touched his mouth.

He could still feel her lips on his own.

"Troll element: cliffhanger no jutsu" ZelgadisGW yelled, wreacking pure destructions among his faithful readers and then he started laughing maniacally. No, seriously thought, I know you might be upset that I decided to end the chapter at this point, but I had my reasons. Also, I can guarantee you that there will be no need to wait few months for the next chapter.

I think Shikamaru and Temari's situation needs an explanation here. Back in the days when I came up with the idea of this fic, I had no idea how things regarding cross-villages marriage were looking in Naruto universe. So I assumed shinobis were not allowed to. Of course, it proven to be not entirely true. After Pain arc, Karui (from Kumogakure)was briefly daydreaming about finding some good husband in Konoha. Also, the last chapter of the manga says a lot in that regard.

Finally, when I was writing the second half of this fic, I was listening to two songs. "Naruto and Hinata" from Naruto: The Last movie and "Forbidden Frienship" from "How to train your dragon" soundtrack. The latter song, and the scene associated with it kinda inspired me to create the last scene in this chapter. You know, movement, emotion, no words spoken, and certain action by the end of it (Toothless finally let Hiccup to pat his head. Matsuri kissed her boy). I'm weird, I know.

Until next time! (ZelgadisGW flies off with the speed of light, in order to prepare for his exam session... Who is he kidding, he'll just be goofing off, obviously...)