Tears: Yay! Another quick update! Don't you guys just love our speed now a days? I know Reedoh does. ;P

Don't worry, a little obsession is healthy....

STALKER obsession though.... -glances at Sasuke- Now that, that is unhealthy.

Sasuke: Hn, shut up. I'm not a stalker... or emo!

Melody: -sighs irritated- So you've mentioned.

Muffin: Maybe he needs sugar!

Tears: Er... here's the chapter, enjoy!!!

Chapter Nineteen

Third Person's POV

Gaara waited until he heard her heartbeat slow and padded silently back over to the couch. Her lips were still turned up into a soft smile. He slowly grabbed her head and pushed her up. She mumbled something incoherent, still sleeping. He slipped onto the couch and pulled her up against him. He didn't want to be alone in his room, contemplating his work schedule while he rested. Instead, tonight, he'd watch this girl.

He was sure that she wasn't a spy now. She was too… nice. Innocent wasn't the exact word, because there was this dark aura that sometimes wrapped itself around her. But hell, he couldn't complain. He had his demons, she could have hers. He watched as Melody cuddled up against his side, clutching his wrist almost painfully.

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He listened to her hypnotic heartbeat, sometimes speeding up but eventually slowing back down. He thought about all of what was now happening. Melody was moving into Suna, although he was sure her reason was not the complete truth. He couldn't say he hated the idea of having her around. Besides Naruto and his siblings, no one had ever really cared deeply about him. It appeared she did though.

He sighed and kept on thinking, falling into his resting state. Tomorrow he'd have to fight her. Then the day after that she'd have to be bored, which he had a feeling she'd complain about. Then the day after that she'd be officially a Suna citizen and ninja. After that, well… he wasn't sure.

Gaara waited all night until finally it was six AM and Temari woke up. She walked past them and into the kitchen. Gaara opened his eyes and watched her. She paused suddenly, retraced her steps and stared at them. She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and then blinked again.

"Oh my-"

"Shut up, you'll wake her." he whispered, eyes narrowing. Temari smiled widely, raised her brows and then danced back into the kitchen, humming softly as she ruined more good food. He sighed and waited to be able to move again.

"Cactus number one fifty three… Cactus number one fifty four... Cactus number one fifty fi-"

"Shut up already, un!" snapped a very annoyed, blonde haired Akatsuki member. The dark haired teenager pouted, before folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh, don't be so mean, Dei-chan! Just because you have morning PMS like Emosuke does doesn't give you the right to.." Deidara grew an anime vein, his fingers itching to his pouch of clay. The dark haired teen had been getting on his nerves for the past day, but enough was enough.

"Deidara, don't. You'll draw unneeded attention to ourselves." Sasori said, giving him a warning look.

Muffin blinked, before glancing both ways. Muffin tilted her head, confused. "Draw attention to ourselves? To who? The rolling tumbleweed?"

Deidara frowned. "What's a 'tumbleweed', un?"

Muffin tapped her chin thoughtfully, arching her brows. "They are.. Er.." She scratched the back of her head, puzzled. "..Er, what are we talking about again?"

Deidara sweat dropped,"..."

After a few moments, she snapped her fingers, an anime light bulb appearing over her head. "Oh yeah! It's like, those little plants that look like barrels of hay. You know, the ones that roll past deserted, abandoned places in movies and…" Muffin was interrupted by Sasori, who was still in his scorpion puppet armor, growing his own anime vein.

"Enough, before I whip the both of you!" Muffin blinked at the red head's outburst, before smiling evilly to Deidara. Deidara rolled his eyes, having an idea on what was going through the teen's mind.

"He whips you, Dei-chan? Very kinky…"Muffin mouthed, before snickering at the artist's scowling expression. 'It's not like that, un..' Deidara thought, his scowl deepening.

"But to answer your question, we're actually a mile away from a small village. We need to stop because we need some supplies, and by the time we're finished, it'll already be night fall." Sasori answered, sounding bored.

Muffin blinked. "We're at Suna already?"

Deidara scoffed, before folding his arms across his chest. "No, un. Didn't you even hear one thing he said, yeah? We're stopping at a local village, and we'll arrive in Suna by tomorrow afternoon, un."

"Oh.. I knew that! Heh, heh.." Muffin said, laughing nervously. About fifteen minutes later, the trio arrived in front of a small town, which consisted of a few buildings.

"This is it, un? It's so small..."Deidara said, dead toned. Muffin snickered.

"Size matters to you, Dei-chan?"

Deidara scowled. "Not funny, un." The trio approached the town, which seemed deserted and abandoned. Muffin frowned, wondering where everybody was.. Suddenly, a bundle of tumbleweed rolled past, making Muffin's eyes widen.

"It's a sign!"

Sasori rolled his eyes. "That wasn't tumbleweed. It wasn't large enough. It must've been merely a clutter of dust."

Muffin fell anime style, earning her a few strange stares from the Akatsuki pair. Suddenly, a loud alarm played from a nearby source, startling Muffin. After thirty seconds, the town seemed to have thrived with life. The window shutters had unclasped from their locks, doors slammed open, and people filed through in big crowds. This made Muffin give the Akatsuki members a puzzled expression. "Okay, that was a bit creepy.."

"It's wind country, what did you expect, un?" Deidara mumbled under his breath, earning a small glare from the red head.

"In wind country, people are in a frenzy to get to work because they don't want to be late." Sasori explained, confusing the teen more.

Muffin tilted her head, confused. "But.. That doesn't make sense! Of course they want to get to work on time but.. Why did every body do it at the same time?" Muffin asked loudly, trying to over ride the sound of people shuffling through the streets.

"And why right now, un?" Deidara muttered, not liking all the noise.

"Because it's the end of their lunch break, of course." Sasori said, ignoring the quizzical expressions coming from the blonde and the brunette.

"Never mind..." Muffin said, shaking her head. Now that she thought about it, she'd rather not know.. But besides that, Muffin was extremely bored. If Melody were here, she wouldn't be, right? Muffin sighed, before kicking her feet into the dirt.. Well, it was really sand, but that was besides the point. She wondered what Melody was doing. What if Gaara thought Melody was a spy? What if he didn't believe her? What if the council put her to death? What if sh-

"Come on brat, we need to keep on moving if we're going to stay on schedule." Sasori said, making

Muffin pout in result. "I'm not a brat.. I'm just hyper, duh!"

Diedara's frown was replaced with a dead panned expression. "We know, un. Hyperactive, yeah. It's like she has ADHD, un." Deidara mumbled under his breath.

Muffin frowned, still wondering about her light brown haired friend. Muffin also wondered about the real world.. Well, the Naruto universe was kinda real, too, so Muffin couldn't say that. So, instead, Muffin thought about the real… er, her world. Did people notice that they were missing? 'What if Mel's parents are worried that she's gone? Wait, what about mom and dad? Did they notice that I am missing?' Muffin thought to herself, before frowning. 'It's not like they'd care..'

Muffin wondered how many days it has been since they've been here. Maybe three weeks? Four? Did Mel keep count? The dark haired teenager turned around to ask, before inwardly face palming her forehead. 'Wow, that was stupid of you, Muffin…. Of course you can't ask her these questions, Muffin, she's not here!' Muffin blinked. 'Wait, I have voices in my head? Maybe I need some more sugar..' Muffin sighed, before running her fingers through her hair.

Flashback

"Hey, it's the end of your shift, A-"

"It's Muffin!" The dark haired teenager snapped, before smiling happily again. The senior employee of the department raised a brow, before frowning.

"That's not what it says on your name tag.." Muffin, still smiling, pretended like she didn't hear that. "But seriously, though. The boss wanted you to get off early because there's going to be some type of class field trip thing going on, and since you're still in training for the cash register position, he doesn't want you going slow on the customers…. Something about being bad for business or something."

Muffin raised a brow. "Er, field trip? Hasn't school ended already?" The senior employee shrugged, making Muffin pose dramatically. "You mean there's people.. That still stay in that place.. Two hours more then you're supposed to?! Such poor, poor people!"

The employee sighed, before shaking his head. He wasn't completely used to her strange behavior, and was getting a bit annoyed. "OK, 'Muffin'. But you really need to get off shift now, though."

Muffin blinked. "Er, am I being paid for the hour that I'm not working?"

He shook his head. "No."

Muffin scowled, before folding her arms across her chest. Her eyes turned serious, instead of the normal happy-go-lucky expression. This made the senior employee feel uncomfortable. "I need the pay for the hours that I'm working, and the boss knows that." The senior employee held up his hands in defense, frowning. She was just a teenager, what did she need the money for? And her glare, albeit small, wasn't helping.. "

Hey, don't tell me that. Tell the boss. I'm only doing my job."

Muffin sighed, before walking in the direction of the office. She needed to talk to him about that.. As she walked past the exhibits, she noticed the large crowds surrounding the usually empty area. Muffin noticed the yellow school buses parked outside, making her fasten her pace. Muffin suddenly felt somebody's hand on her shoulder. "Honey, can we-" She turned around to face a teenaged girl around her age, who had light brown hair and blue eyes.

Muffin blinked, "Who's Honey?" The dark haired teenager's frustration melted away with the question as she continued," Like, honey, the bee honey? That goes good on toast." Muffin nodded happily, making the girl quirk a smile.

"Nah, Honey is my partner. Sorry for the trouble. Maybe she'll be in the gift shop…." The teenager mumbled, biting her lip. Muffin grinned. "Oh! I'm going there too! Can I join you?" She asked. The boss's office was down the hall, past the gift shop. So, in a sense, she kind of was going in that direction.

The light brown haired teenager shrugged. "Sure. I'm Melody. You can call me Mel." She said, offering her a hand. Muffin took it and shook hands.

"I'm Muffin!" She introduced cheerfully, her frowning disposition long gone.

Melody gave her a look and started to ask, "Mu-"

"Yes, Muffin." She snapped and then smiled again. 'That always happens!' Muffin thought sourly. "So Mel, are you here on a school field trip too?" Muffin asked, glancing at the large crowds of students. Melody nodded, before stuffing her hands in her black cargos.

"Yeah, my teacher thought this would be fun educational trip. I don't know. I knew most the things on the worksheet already. Besides, this museum doesn't have any art… Or anime." She muttered distastefully.

Muffin's eyes went wide again. "You like anime too!?" She asked, getting excited. Muffin always thought she was strange for liking Japanese cartoons. And having an unhealthy obsession with sugar.. But that was besides the point. Melody nodded eagerly, her own excitement growing. "What's your favorite show?" Muffin asked, her side bang falling into her face. She tucked it back out of her face.

"I love Naruto!" Melody said, putting emphasis on love.

Muffin grinned wider. "I love it too!" Muffin said, practically bouncing up and down from a sugar rush.

Melody grinned too, slightly shaking her head. "I think you just became my new best friend!" Melody said, putting a hand over her heart dramatically. Muffin laughed as they approached the gift shop, which was full of colorful plushies, shirts, and souvenirs .

"Do you see Honey?" Muffin asked.

Melody shook her head, looking around. "Nope." She said, popping the 'p' in nope. Melody started wandering around the gift shop. That's when she saw the cutest thing ever: A rainbow colored dinosaur plushy. Melody rushed over to it. "OMG! I love it!" She squealed, hugging it to her chest. "Muffin! Come look!" Mel called. Muffin rushed over.

Taking one look at the rainbow dino, Melody saw the adoration in her eyes. "It's so cute!" Muffin said, suddenly having some type of random urge to buy it. Muffin tried to snatch it, but Mel pulled it back.

"It's mine!" Melody said.

Muffin pouted. "I want it! …Do you have money to buy it?" She asked.

Melody stopped there. After a few moments, Melody stammered, "Uh…Well, you see…" Muffin grinned triumphantly and grabbed the dino's back legs and tried to pull it from her. Melody kept a firm grip on it's forelegs. "It's still mine! I'll just go all klepto, that's all." Mel said, pulling the rainbow dino back towards herself.

Muffin pulled it back towards herself. "Mel, Fiona don't want to go with you! Besides, at least I have money to buy her!" She argued. 'Well, no, I don't.. Not yet. But I could hide it in the back with the other plushies until I can!'

Melody stopped and gave her a look. "Fiona?" She asked incredulously.

Muffin nodded vigorously, her brown eyes glowing. "That's her name." She stated.

Melody tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Fiona the rainbow brontosaurus. It fits." She agreed. Muffin grinned and her muscles relaxed. Melody took this moment to pull once again. That's when the strange thing happened. There seemed to be a soft snap in the air, and the smell of fruit wafted around the two teens. Melody looked around to see if anyone else was sniffing the sweet smell but they looked fuzzy. And going out of focus, too. Actually, everything was doing that. Then, the two teenagers felt like they was falling. After a few minutes of this strange sensation, Muffin finally felt herself fall onto cold, wet grounding.

"Ouch!" Melody yelped. Melody shook her head, and rubbed her eyes and wondered if she'd fallen on the ground of the Gift Shop. But then, the ground would be that ceramic stuff, not moist earth. She realized they were surrounded by.. Forest? Melody jumped to my feet. "Oh no! Where the hell are we?" She yelled, beginning to get a little frightened. Melody looked around, turning in quick circles. She stopped when she saw a familiar sight. "Muffin, is that you?" Melody asked.

Muffin looked up, rubbing her head with an annoyed expression. Muffin blinked. She realized she was surrounded by a bunch of trees, her bottom laying on the moist grass, the small gift shop no longer in sight. "…?"

End of Flashback

Muffin blinked. "What the.."

Deidara grinned, before patting the dark haired teenager's head uncharacteristically. "Did you just experience your first flashback, un?" Muffin blinked in surprise, wondering how he knew about those. "Don't worry, it's a completely normal experience, un. Actually, I'm still waiting for mine to come, un.." Deidara mumbled under his breath, scowling. Muffin wondered what she was smoking, and if she heard that right.

"Flashbacks are annoying." Sasori stated, scowling himself.

Deidara chuckled. "What is it, Sasori no Danna, un? Did you have a bad one recently, yeah?"

"No." Sasori answered quickly; too quickly. Deidara smirked in triumph, while Muffin just looked more puzzled then before. "Did you purchase your supplies? Let's get moving." Sasori said, pretending like he was getting impatient.

"What did you have a flashback about, Sasori no Danna? Did you have it while fighting those cloud nins last week, un? Oh come on, I wanna know, yeah!" Deidara whined, pouting.

"Get a room." Muffin mumbled, getting slightly crabby from her lack of sugar.

Deidara tapped his chin thoughtfully. "So, you did have your flashback during a fight, un? Yeah, I heard it gets annoying.. That it happens every five seconds, or something, un."

Muffin sighed, deciding she'll stop thinking too hard and dismiss the topic before she got a headache. "We're here." Sasori said, not answering Diedara's questions. The trio stood in front of a small, run down inn, which had its dark paint paling and floor boards cracked. "Remember, we're leaving in the morning. It'll take us till late afternoon to get there, so that's why we're leaving early. So that means don't be late.. Because you know how I get when I'm impatient." Muffin, who took the last sentence differently then Sasori implied, was about to open her mouth to say something.. But was interrupted by a very annoyed Deidara, his arms folded across his chest.

"Don't say a word if you know what's good for you, un."

Melody's POV

I woke to the smell of burning toast. With a start, I bolted up from the hard couch from which I was resting on. I jumped to my feet, hands in the air. "I DIDN'T DO IT, I SWEAR!" I shouted, looking around frantically. "I didn't mean to burn the toast! It just happens sometimes!" I said frantically. Temari's head poked out of the kitchen doorway.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Someone got up from behind me. Wait! The couch hadn't been lumpy and hard before I went back to sleep; it'd been soft. But that meant… I turned. Gaara stood there, eyes locked on me.

"She burned it. Not you. But what do you mean, it just happens?" he asked, tone slightly curious. I paled.

"Uh… I mean… I mean… that I sometimes just happen to burn the toast?" I tried, laughing nervously. His eyes narrowed. I sighed. "I mentioned it before, Gaara. When I have strong emotions, things happen…." I told him quietly. He rose a non-existent brow but let it pass. He walked into the kitchen and I followed. Distantly, I wondered where Konkuro was. The pervert must still be asleep.

The kitchen was smoky. It smelled like ruined food. Muffin would have been in tears, trying to save at least the sugar. What would have made the girl really break down was that her namesake, Temari's muffins, were charred lumps. Even Melody felt bad for the poor lumps of bread. They'd been treated in such cruelty, along with every other food article. She sighed.

"Temari, stop cooking. I'll cook today." I said, already opening the fridge to grab more eggs and milk. I threw away the muffins and the other charred food. I quickly went to work, mixing the broken eggs yolks and milk together to create a more fluffy scrambled eggs. I let that sit for a minute and quickly took a jar of jelly from the cabinet and put in more toast, setting it for a lower temperature than the previous one Temari had used. I went back to the eggs and started cooking them.

Looking over my shoulder at Gaara, I asked a simple question. "Gaara do you happen to have any bacon?" He shook his head mutely. I sighed.

"Fine, we'll do without. Later, after out battle, can we happen to stop by a grocery store? Looking into your fridge I can tell you don't have much. We're going to need some steak, potatoes, carrots…" I started listing off what I wanted. Finally, I noted that my eggs were done, sprinkled pepper and salt on them and then turned off the flame on the stove. I grabbed a spatula and scooped eggs onto four plates, then grabbed the warm four pieces toast and put those on the plates. I set those on the table, then grabbed the jelly jar and put it on the center of the table.

Third Person's POV

"…She's a god." came another male voice. Melody squeaked in surprise and turned - surprised - towards the sleep messy Konkuro. He was staring at the food, practically drooling. Temari huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Melody blushed lightly and Gaara's gaze narrowed.

"Aw, Konku-san. I'm not a god, but thanks for the compliment." she smiled lightly, still blushing. Gaara felt something spark inside him and he glared lightly at his older brother. Konkuro didn't notice. He just grinned and nodded.

"Your welcome, Melody. I knew Gaara was right when he demanded you stay with us instead of living on the streets!" he laughed. Mel smiled at Gaara softly, eyes kind.

"Yeah, I'm glad he did that too." she breathed. Gaara felt his face grow a little hot, so he turned around and walked out of the room.

"I'm not hungry." he lied roughly. Melody sighed and watched him go off sadly.

"Ok…" she whispered in reply. Temari watched this exchange and suddenly smiled. She could put two and two together, although her brother and Mel couldn't. She could tell that Gaara was feeling something, although she knew he had no idea what it was. That was why he was so frustrated. Mel was trying to send him subtle signals of her feelings, but thought he didn't care. Still, Temari could tell Melody Char would never give up. Not unless something bad really happened or he outright told her he didn't want her. The older sister felt her heart swell. Maybe this girl was exactly what her baby brother needed.

"Gaara's just stressed. But don't think he doesn't like your company. He stayed with you all night it seems. Don't worry, Mel." she said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. Mel smiled at Temari and nodded.

"I know. I just wish… wish I could…" she sighed, shaking her head. Her short light brown hair flew. "Never mind." she whispered. She sat down and ate her eggs and toast silently, listening to Konkuro and Temari start to bicker. It was fifteen minutes later when she finished her breakfast that Gaara came in again. He looked directly at her.

"It's time." he said simply. Melody tilted her head, confused.

"Eh? Time for what? More sugar?" she asked, grinning. She couldn't help but quote her best friend. She missed Muffin too much not to. Besides, she had a feeling that sugar would be needed today. Call it her sixth sense. Everyone turned to give her a blank wtf stare. She shrugged. "What? Don't look at me like that. It's just a question, dammit." she muttered.

Gaara sighed. "No, it's not time for sugar, it's time for your ninja status fight." he told the pouting teenager. Melody blinked.

"Oh! Let me go grab Frankie and I'll be right outside." she grinned and raced to the couch. She skidded to a stop and reached under the couch. There! Cool wood signified her katana sheath. She tucked in under her sash, by her backside. She tightened her sash so to keep the katana tightened across her back. After nodding and jumping a few times to make sure of just that, she took off towards the door.

"See ya Temari! Konkuro!" she shouted and ran out the door. Instead of open air, she ran into someone. "Ouch, dammit! Why the hell do I keep doing that?!?!" she shouted, rubbing her bruised head. First with Sasuke, then with the Akatsuki members and now with…. Hm, who with? She looked up to see an annoyed Gaara. And now with Gaara, she finished that thought. She grinned. "Eh, gomen?" she offered. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"Come." he said and started walking. Melody rubbed the back of her head and followed.

"Eh, I don't know you that well…. And I mean, ya know, I don't think we're ready for that part of a relationship. Even though you snuck in with me to snuggle. Not that that's bad, I mean, snuggling is cool and all… Er, Gaara, are you okay? Your face is all red." Melody pointed out, poking his very red cheeks. Gaara shook his head.

"I'm fine. Let's go." he snapped. Mel winced and nodded. They started walking in silence. A lot of people bowed in respect for their Kazekage and sent questioning looks her way. Melody just smiled and waved happily. She noted a sugar stand and made a mental note to beg Gaara for some on the way back. Suddenly, they reached an area near the south side of the village with a small metal gate.

Training Area

Mel read. She nodded. She got herself ready, slowly tensing her muscle as to not alert Gaara. One thing that Itachi and Kisame had taught her was that surprise was your greatest element. If you were planning on winning then you had to have some tricks up your sleeve. Melody was ninety percent sure that he didn't expect her to just attack. She was sure he thought she'd wait until he'd gotten his bearings and said start. Fat chance.

Mel waited until they were a couple of yards away from the gate. Then, when she thought that they were far enough, she unsheathed Frank and took a smack at Gaara's left arm. Sand came up immediately to block the blow. Gaara's head snapped her way, eyes wide with surprise. Mel just smirked and jumped back, drawing Frankie from Gaara's sand.

"I didn't say go…" he muttered, turning towards her. Mel frowned.

"Do the badguy's wait until you say go when on a mission?" she countered and then kicked sand towards Gaara's face. Bad choice though, since he kinda controlled sand. He merely just made it fly backwards towards Mel's face. Melody closed her eyes to keep sand from getting in them. Sand knocked her back five feet. She landed on her ass, on a bush. "Ouch! Those things are scratchy!" Mel muttered but kept her attention on Gaara.

He stood there, arms crossed. Sand came up and started towards her. Melody thrust the wind at his sand, blowing it backwards. She twisted towards an scraggly cypress tree and sucked the water out of a nearby cactus. The water flew around her until she splashed it at Gaara, his sand still four feet behind him. Gaara immediately grew darker in color. He shed the mud, glaring.

"How did you know about that?" he snapped. Melody just smirked. Then roots shot out of the earth and grabbed hold of Gaara's ankles, holding him in place. Melody ran forth, drawing Frankie and tried a slash at Gaara's throat. Sand flew into her and knocked her backwards. It wrapped around her and squeezed lightly. She gasped. How had he done that?!

"Your quick."

"Should be, I'm Kazekage. Got to learn to protect your village in all situations. So my speed should be quicker than yours." he said. Melody laughed and then sucked the water out of another cactus, making it wither. She splashed the sand that held her, making more mud. She dropped with the sudden weight. She got out of the mess, making an icky face.

"Yuck." she rolled her eyes and flung her arms to get rid of the excess mud. Gaara's eyes were narrowed. He made a hand sign and murmured something too low for her to hear. Sand suddenly charged from all around, forming walls all around her, blocking her view of more cacti or anything to help her. She cursed lowly. Sand slowly started closing in on her. Melody tried thinking of the possibilities. None would work. She sighed in defeat.

"I yield." she called out. The sand kept coming. Now a spark of fear flew through. "Gaara! I yield, dammit! Stop the sand." He wasn't listening. A low groan came from behind the sand walls. She was now crouching, the top layer almost a foot above her, the walls closing in. "GAARA-KUN!" she screamed, fear of death piercing through her. A hysteria gripped her heart and tears flew down her face.

"Sasuke, are you sure we should be up this close?" Juugo asked, hiding his tall figure within a bush.

The whited haired, teenaged swordsman pouted. "Yeah, I agree with Juugo! We shouldn't be up this close, but somewhere comfortable instead.. And as much as I like breaks and sitting around, the twigs in this bush are way too itchy!"

The red haired medic ninja rolled her eyes. "All bushes are itchy, fish brains! That's just how they are, you idiot!"

"Hey, at least I'm not completely useless." Suigetsu bit back, causing her to grow an anime vein.

The raven haired Uchiha sighed, before sending them an annoyed glare. "Hn, both of you, be quiet, I'm trying to think!" Sasuke took a deep, dramatic breath, before nodding slowly at the tall, orange haired ninja. "Yes, hn, I'm sure. Our target should be somewhere around here, hn.." Suddenly, the emo avenger heard yelling coming from a small distance..

"Gaara! I yield, dammit! Stop the sand!" It wasn't because the yelling caught the emo avenger's attention, but the familiar voice. "Gaara-kun!" Sasuke's eyes widened, before turning to his small team. "Come on, the target is north from here."

Suigetsu blinked, "You mean,like, where the shrill screams are coming from, right?" Sasuke sighed, thinking he was surrounded by idiots, before taking off in the direction of the screams.

Mel's POV

My gripping strong emotions made the tears lift off my face and fly around my head. My heart sped up, my head hurt. I gasped. Thoughts raced in my head. I can't die. I have to save Gaara, thank Chiyo, help Naru-nii, be there for Muffin…! Oh my God, I CAN'T DIE NOW! NO! GAARA! Whimpers and sobs were escaping my mouth, tears flying from my eyes and whirling around the tiny space I had left.

Then suddenly, all the sand fell around me. I was curled into a ball, crying hysterically. What sanity I had left in my head realized we weren't going to die anymore, but the hysteria was still gripping my soul. I had nearly died… I could have died… Oh my God.

A voice echoed in my hollow ears. "Mel… I can't help you if you don't release me… Melody… Melody…" the voice was soft, calm, although with a hint of urgency. It reminded me of… Muffin. Well, not the tone, because it was deeper than Muffin's. But the reassurance in the tone sounded like Muffin. It sounded like whoever it was cared. My rational mind took action and slowly, through the hysteria, somehow released hold of the roots of the cypress.

Someone ran over, grabbing me and holding me in their arms. My eyes were squeezed shut, still trying not to see. 'What if I opened my eyes and saw that I was dead?' The hysteria told me. Someone was calling my name. I think I was chanting something. I strained to hear myself. "No, no, no, no. I don't want to die…. No, no, no, no."

Through my strain I could hear the other voice too. "Melody, your safe. Your not going to die. Trust me, okay? Melody, please open your eyes!" the voice was soothing. It coaxed me to open my eyes finally, which slipped slowly open. I was wary. I looked around for the crushing sand. There was none. The hysteria slipped away almost as silently as it'd come. I jumped to my feet, out of Gaara's secure arms.

I turned away, hiding the blush that had sprung to my cheeks. Gaara rose too. "I-I-I…" he stammered. I looked back at him, smiling.

"Hey, it-it's ok. Y-you didn't mean it, I know you didn't. Forget about apologizing. I'm fine, your fine. No need for an apology. Come on, we should clean up." I said, then paused. "Before we do though…" I trailed off, focusing on the soaked water from the cacti that was in the ground. I draw my hands up and the water followed the motion, 'falling' out of the ground. I moved my hands towards the cacti. The water flew and then rejoined it's earlier partner. The cacti looked better now, more lively. I nodded my head curtly. "There. That's better."

Gaara was just standing there, staring at me. I turned towards him, waiting patiently. Finally he snapped out of his daze to really look at me. "Who are you?" he managed. I smiled.

"You know who I am, silly." I said, rolling my eyes. Gaara was gone and then suddenly he was right in front of me. My eyes widened in surprise. He was… cue gulp, really close. My hands shook. He noticed this.

"Do you shake in fear of me?" he whispered. I shook my head, a small anger.

"Never in fear."

"Then why?"

"You…" I sighed. "I… can't explain it without either hurting you or myself until I'm sure. But it's not in fear, Gaara. I've never been afraid of you." I said.

"You were afraid with the sand-"

"No, I wasn't afraid of your sand. I have hysteria issues. I go into hysteria for three things. Needles, pure darkness and death. Right then? I was afraid of dying. Not you." I smiled at him. He frowned. I could already tell he didn't believe me. Either that or he didn't want to believe me. I sighed.

"You should be afraid of me." he snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. I shook my head.

"No, Gaara, I can't. I want to be with you. I want to help y-"

"No! Listen, you may not know this but I'm not a good person. Most of my life has been hell. I don't want you to know hell like I have. You're a good person, really. But if you stay around me, you'll experience hell from many of the villagers who still hate me." he told me tartly. He didn't want me around? I blinked and then shook my head lightly. He didn't understand me or my own hell. But then, nobody did… Not even Muffin.

I stood up on my tiptoes, brushed back his hair and kissed his love kanji. "Maybe that can explain to you more without me hurting either you or myself." I whispered and then was gone, trying to hold back tears.

Third Person POV

"Um, Sasuke, not that I mind or anything, but.. Isn't watching people without their notice called 'stalking'?" Suigetsu asked, picking his shark, shark like teeth, looking bored. Sasuke, not fully registering what the swordsman said, was more focused on the scene in front of him. 'Hn, what does the redhead think he's doing?! And with my Melody, hn! Wait.. My?' Sasuke pursed his lips, annoyed at the feeling inside his chest, before averting his eyes from the red haired Kazekage and brunette to the swordsman.

"Hn, it's not stalking! I'm just.. Overlooking.. Not stalking.. Because she's one of our targets, hn!"

Juugo tapped his chin thoughtfully, before frowning. "Sasuke, I think we should leave now, before somebody in the village notices our unfamiliar chakras.."

Karin nodded in agreement, before fixing her glasses. "Juugo's right, Sasuke-kun. The target won't go anywhere for a while. We should wait a while before we confront her, and just observe from afar." Sasuke sighed, before he shook his head. He'd confront her another time.. The dark haired Uchiha straightened his shoulders, before nodding curtly.

"Hn, fine.." The raven haired turned around, giving the light brown haired teenager one last glance, before retreating in the opposite direction. Sasuke knew he had to give it some time.. Then he could proceed with his plans.

"You're mumbling under your breath, and I can hear you, you know." Suigetsu said, before folding his arms behind his head. He grinned sharkishly, giving the emo a triumph expression. Sasuke sighed, knowing that it was going to be a long day.

Gaara's POV

I couldn't move from my spot for a long time. She'd… she'd…. Why? Why had she done that to me? She'd said it would help explain. And then she'd… kissed my kanji. I realized my heart had sped up and I took some deep breaths to calm it.

My hand reached up to touch the spot where her lips had touched me. Why would she do that? It wasn't much of an explanation at all. I was still frustrated, confused. What the hell was she trying to tell me? Why not just tell me straightforward? I sighed and started walking. We'd only gone a few feet into the training area before she'd attacked. Which had surprised me, I thought she'd wait until I said start. Guess not.

In the village, everyone bowed respectfully to me. I asked a few of the storekeepers if they'd seen the girl I'd been walking with previously come by. I got lucky with one of them… but he was to angry about the sugar she'd stolen to really give me a general direction. I rolled my eyes at Mel's stupidity and paid for the single half pound bag of sugar.

Finally, I just gave up trying to find her. I headed home. Maybe Melody had gone there in the first place. When I reached home, Konkuro stood on the porch. He saw me and gave me a look.

"Konkuro, is something wrong?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Gaara, what do you think of Mel?" he asked, suddenly bringing up a topic I wasn't really ready to discuss. I needed to think more… try to understand. I shook my head.

"She's ok. She's gonna be a great ninja for Suna. She fights like a special chunin, maybe even jounin." I answered carefully, trying to get past him and into the house. Konkuro blocked me again, now somewhat glaring at me.

"Gaara, your killing me. I mean, how do you feel about Melody? Cause, I think she's trying to figure that out on her own and failing. Your pushing her away, although you probably don't notice." Konkuro had his arms crossed over his chest. Never a good sign. It was a subtle sign that he was pissed. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"I don't know what your talking about. I don't even know why your talking about this to me." I told him. Now Shukaku took this time to snort and say,

Damn, petty insect, I thought you were smarter than this. The female you fought earlier and we almost killed - which I still say you should have done - has certain feelings towards you. She's trying to figure out if maybe you feel the same way. Unconsciously though, your pushing her away.

I blinked at the voice. My demon rarely ever talked to me. Even more rarely in a civilized manner. And then it dawned on me. "Wait- Melody… has… has a-"

"Crush, yeah. Not just some fan girl crush either. Those stupid other fan girls just like you cause your Kazekage. Mel seems to like you for a different reason." Konkuro rolled his eyes. I just stared at him. How could I have not seen this? I hadn't even realized it because she didn't act like a fan girl. She seemed to care, I'd noticed this but I guess I'd just rejected love and persuaded myself it as respect. I was so stupid!

"Where is she?" I asked. Konkuro frowned and gave me a quizzical look.

"Why should I tell you? Last time I saw her, she was pretty down. She looked practically close to tears. What the hell did you say to her anyways?!" he asked, the last sentence angry. I flinched as Shukaku relayed my words back at me.

'No! Listen, you may not know this but I'm not a good person. Most of my life has been hell. I don't want you to know hell like I have. You're a good person, really. But if you stay around me, you'll experience hell from many of the villagers who still hate me.' Your such fun when you get into dramatic events. he laughed. I closed my eyes, squeezing them shut. I wish he'd just shut up again. I didn't like him talking to me.

"Gaara?" Konkuro's voice was concerned. He put a hand on my shoulder and I threw it off. I didn't want his pity. I hated pity. But I hated fear more… I sighed and opened my eyes again.

"Gomen." I said shortly. He nodded and put his hand on my shoulder again. This time I didn't flinch away.

"Sort it out, Gaara-nii. She likes you for you, which is more for a lot of people. And I like her too, to be honest." he laughed and then was gone. I nodded, then sighed. He still hadn't told me where Melody was…

Mel's POV

It was late when I finally returned. My eyes were sore from crying. I'd been hard playing the piano again, when the piano made me think of my mother so much. Before she'd left me and my drunk of a father. I sighed and tried to push the thoughts of my broken family away. I was here now, I didn't need to worry anymore.

But the piano had helped. Music always did. And as my friends had told me before, I was a beautiful musician. I opened the door to Gaara's house and walked inside. I quietly slipped out of my shoes and padded into the kitchen for a snack. I grabbed a cookie out of a jar and then headed towards my couch. I stopped short when I realized the light had blinked on and Gaara was sitting there with a hard look on his face.

His eyes met mine and I chewed my cookie slowly. I swallowed. "Nani?" I asked, taking another bite of my cookie. His eyes tightened as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Is that all you have to say?" he snapped angrily. I continued chewing slowly, hesitantly. "I've been worried about you all day!" he said as he stood up. I blinked and swallowed my cookie hard.

"You were… worried about me?" I whispered. A lump formed in my throat. Had he really been worried for me? I thought… I'd come to a conclusion… Gaara sighed. He walked over to me. Butterflies flew in my stomach. He stood in front of me, arms now at his sides. His fingers were twitching. What was bothering him?

"Worried sick. I was all around the village looking for you." he whispered back. I blinked again and then felt the tears creep in my eyes. Gaara looked hurt. "Don't… cry. Please, don't. I didn't mean to hurt you." he said, hand reaching up but falling to his side again. I smiled brokenly.

"You didn't hurt me, Gaara. It's not you. It's just… that was really nice of you. I didn't think you'd do that, is all. It's really sweet of you." I told him. I stepped forward and hugged him. His arms, really slowly, wrapped back around me. I dug my face into his shoulder, crying silently.

When I'd tried to run away back in my world, my father had never done anything. He hadn't called anybody asking for me, hadn't gone looking for me, hadn't even called the cops. He just let me run. But eventually I'd had to come back five days later, almost starved. My father had just gave me a look and said, "Only five days? I thought you could do better than that Melody."

But Gaara had been very worried apparently. As I'd walked back, a store person had told me the Kazekage needed me. And now what he'd told me. I felt… truly loved. Even if it wasn't real love, I knew he cared. And Muffin cared about me too. I had all I could ever ask for now. I was glad for the plushy suddenly. It had saved me.

Gaara was rubbing circles into my back, whispering soothing words. It just made me cry even more. My mother had used to do that… before she'd left. I dug my fingers into Gaara's back, wishing I could stay like this forever. But Gaara's hands were creeping away. This was probably very uncomfortable for him. I pulled away, wiping away the tears on my face with my arm.

Gaara let his hands loosely lie on my shoulders, trying to look into my eyes. "Do… you feel better now?" he asked carefully. I nodded, smiling up at him.

"Yeah. You made my day Gaara. Arigato." I told him. He smiled lightly too. Then he frowned. "What is it?" I asked, biting my lip.

"Why did you… kiss my kanji earlier? You said it might help explain… but I still don't get it." he murmured. I blinked, eyes widening. I'd forgotten I'd done that. Oh shit… he wanted me to tell him. I shivered and took a deep breath. I had to tell him… he'd already done so much for me. Wasn't it time I returned the kindness? I thought so.

"Gaara… I know about your past. About your Uncle… Shukaku… and the fight with Naruto and the Leaf. About your struggle to save Matsuri and how you almost lost control… how you saved Lee's life." I started. Gaara tensed, eyes widened in surprise. He gave me a look and started to open his mouth, but I put my finger to his lips to silence him. "And I want you to know… I've always been on your side. I was always rooting for you. My heart was always with you, worried or happy for you." I whispered. I released my fingers from his lips.

"Why?" he asked. I sighed, this was real hard.

"Because, Gaara-kun, I love you. I always have." I whispered. His eyes widened to their utmost fullest. I swear, my heart was hammering in my chest. I was nervous to his reaction. Suddenly, Gaara grabbed me and crashed his lips to mine. It was a little awkward at first, because this was both of our 'first kiss'. But then we both just kinda melted…

He pulled away, hand cupping my cheek. My hands had tangled into his hair. I blinked and stared into Gaara's smoldering eyes. He was staring back at me. It was kinda cliché but I didn't give a damn. I smiled suddenly and knocked my forehead against his. "I'll take that as a thank you then?" I whispered.

He smiled. "You can take that as an I love you too… I just hadn't realized it until now." He kissed my lips softly again. And then the moment was ruined the click of a camera and a flash of light. I froze and Gaara tensed. He turned his head, breaking the kiss, and glared darkly. I looked over in the direction, blushing madly.

Konkuro stood there, chuckling and holding a camera. I suddenly put a hand on Gaara's chest, eyes narrowed. "Allow me, please." I snarled lowly. Konkuro froze never having seen me, the seemingly sweet girl who was able to cook, like this. I crouched and smiled. Then I ran towards Konkuro and pinned him to the ground. I took out a sharpie from my pants pocket. It was ballerina pink.

Konkuro's eyes widened. "NOOO-" he started to scream, but sand curled around his mouth. It silenced him immediately. I grinned over my shoulder at Gaara.

"Arigato, Gaa-kun!" I called. He smiled and nodded acknowledgment. It was then I went to work, drawing the Magical Unicorns of Fate on his face and pink little ballerinas and stars and smilies on his skin. When I was finished, Konkuro was tearing. The sand crawled away from his mouth. More sand came and wrapped around my waist, tugging me backwards.

I pouted. "I can walk." I sighed. I received a chuckle. Konkuro sat up and looked at his arms.

"Oh Kami… TO THE SHOWER!" he shouted and ran like there was no tomorrow. I giggled and turned to Gaara. He smiled at me and I smiled back.

"Well, that was fun." I chuckled.

Review please!!!

-Tears and Bittersweet