It had been four days. Aiko dedicated herself to finishing the piece for Gaara. She spent the first day contemplating on what medium to use. Then she decided. She wanted to paint something light and happy for Gaara. She decided to use watercolor. She used a warm desert sky orange for the back ground color. Then she had painted Gaara's mother holding him. Her eyes looked down at him warmly. His eyes were closed.

It was early morning. Aiko was nervous and excited about giving Gaara the completed piece. It had turned out very nicely. Aiko had enjoyed working on it. She felt good. She dressed in a long white loose shirt. It had long open sleeves. Under that she wore a pair of black tights and black sandals. She grabbed the container that she had stored the painting in and headed to Gaara's office. She was sure he would be there.

Yasuo was outside her door. "Good morning." He said, surprised that she was up this early.

"Good morning." She smiled at him. "You don't need to follow. I'm just going to see the Kazekage to make a delivery." Yasuo got the hint. She didn't want him to come. He nodded and was unable to completely hide his look of disappointment from her. "Don't worry." She added. "I shouldn't take long." With that, she headed upstairs.

Gaara was in fact in his office. He had already begun looking over some paperwork and had already had a meeting with the council that had frustrated him. They were constantly poking their noses in his personal life.

There was a knock at the door. "Enter." Gaara said plainly. He watched Aiko carefully walk in. She looked nice. her hair was pulled back loosely in a white ribbon. She was carrying something. Gaara stood up, realizing it must have been the painting. It was done much quicker than he was expecting.

Aiko walked into the office, shutting the door behind her and approached the desk. Gaara walked to the front of the desk. Aiko bowed. "Good morning Lord Kazekage." She said politely.

"Good morning Aiko." He said gently. Aiko was surprised by the softness in his tone. Usually he sounded much more serious. This change caught her off guard. "Are you alright?" He asked.

She shook away her confusion. "Yes. I'm sorry." She said quickly. "I finished the painting you requested." She said and then handed him the container. "I hope it is what you were looking for, or close to it."

Gaara opened up the container and unrolled the painting. He was astonished. When he had asked Aiko to do this for him, he had no idea what he really wanted or expected. The result had been much more wonderful than he had ever thought possible. He felt warm. His mother looked just like she should. She looked healthy and happy. She was very alive. She was loving. She was the way he always wanted to be able to picture her.

"My Lord?" Aiko asked. "Are you okay?" Gaara had been staring at the painting with a strange and intense look on his face. It was like he was in shock. "Was it not what you wanted?"

Gaara suddenly looked at her. "It is perfect." He said quickly. His voice was dark and calm, but it still managed to catch Aiko off guard. She jumped a bit surprised. He then turned to his desk and walked around to the other side. "How much do you charge for work like this?" He asked, intending to pay her.

Aiko stepped forward and spoke quickly and firmly. "No, don't do that! Please."

Gaara looked up at her. He looked confused. "Why don't you want payment?" He asked. His voice was so smooth as usual.

"I-it is a gift. A thank you and a small token of my appreciation. You have been very generous in allowing Yasuo and I to be here." Aiko explained. On top of that, she did not want Gaara to hate her or think of her as a nuisance.

He could sense her insecurity. She had tried to hide it, but she was no good at lying. He had finally decided to be more forward. "Do I intimidate or frighten you?" He asked. He was looking down at his desk. He was afraid if he looked directly at her, she might be to afraid to answer him honestly.

"What? I'm sorry, but why would you think that?" Aiko asked confused. He thought she was afraid of him?

"It seems like you avoid me and when you are in my presence, you are nervous and rush to escape." Gaara explained without hesitation. His voice remained steady and calm.

"I-I thought that you did not like me. I thought that I got on your nerves or something... so I did that, to try and get on your good side." Aiko explained looking down. Had she misread everything this whole time?

For a moment, it was quiet. Then, Gaara stood up. "Please forgive me Aiko, for making you feel that way." He lowered his head slightly. He was bowing to her. It was so strange.

Still, she smiled and lowered her head as well. "Thank you, Lord Kazekage. And please forgive me, for making you feel the way I did."

"Please, you may just call me Gaara." He said while looking up. He smiled gently. Aiko blushed in response. That might be difficult to try to do. She was so used to calling him Lord Kazekage, or Lord Gaara at least.

He smiled gently at her. Then there was a knock at the door. His expression became more serious and he looked at the door. "Enter."

Yasuo walked in and bowed. "I was just looking for Aiko."

Aiko frowned a bit irritated now. She had told him where she was going. She glared his way. "She was just making a delivery to me." Gaara said calmly and sat down at his desk.

"Yasuo is aware." Aiko said rather darkly. It made Gaara look up. Yasuo was surprised too. Aiko looked at him harshly. Then she got a sudden sharp pain in her head. It brought her to her knees. She put her hands on either side of her head and tried to keep herself from screaming. Her teeth were clenched tightly. Her head felt like it was being stabbed on the inside.

Yasuo was at her side. He had grabbed her arm to hold her steady. She began to see things. He was a child. He was training intensely with several others, boys and girls. Some were killed during the training, and no one cared.

Gaara came to Aiko's other side. "Aiko, are you alright?" He asked. She heard him. He touched her back. She saw more. Gaara was a young teen. He was bloodthirsty and cruel. He killed mercilessly. It was terrifying.

"Stay back!" Aiko suddenly said to both Yasuo and Gaara. A field of blue energy erupted around her and pushed both of them back and away from her. For some reason, she was too sensitive to them right now. The pain in her head was fading, but she could feel too much. She could feel confusion, hurt, worry, frustration, and several other emotions that were not contained to herself or the room. "I need to be alone." She said and then quickly jumped up and left the room.

Yasuo and Gaara stood up and looked at each other. "Does that happen a lot?" Gaara asked. He had not been informed of such episodes.

Yasuo shook his head. "No, it is the first time I have seen something like that happen. It is not a good sign."

Gaara was more confused now. "What do you mean?" Of course it didn't seem like whatever had happened was good, but Yasuo made it seem extremely hopeless.

"It could be one of the first signs of the Third Eye taking Aiko's sanity." Yasuo explained quietly.