DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the of the Naruto characters or franchise only the girls involved in the series of events that follow.

A/N: Hey again! Okay, as for Marisela's set, I think this might be either four or five parts depending on how long I want to make each of the next sections so her's might be the longest set to take place if for your information. To be honest, I had to get a lot of help from Marisela about Gaara's character because, I'll be frank, it's so hard to get into his head, well at least for me. So if you guys have any tips for him (or any characters you think I'm not getting right) please tell me by either review or PM. Regardless, I hope you enjoy this chapter because it's turning out to be more fun to write (and less frustrating) so I can only dream it's just as fun, if not more, for you to read. I've never really gone over this, but thanks to all of you have kept sticking with this bizarre story since the first chapter and even to those who like to skip around to their favorite characters. Seriously, I wouldn't have had this much fun writing it without knowing there were amazing people on the other side reading it. As always, until later and thank you!

Marisela- Something Worth Talking About (Part II)

At the Kazekage's Office, Temari drops us off where she usually does, outside his door. She says something about having to patrol some part of the village and asked Matsuri to come along. With Temari watching, she put on puppy eyes and pleaded to stay but didn't get to have the privilege like I do. So with Temari's back turned, she passed along another strong glare that returned with a smirk and a wave goodbye.

Alone, I take a deep breath to prepare myself like always. Before I walk in, I tell myself that it's nothing and that I'm just going to talk to another human being. Sometimes I tell myself that I don't really want to see him but as soon as I walk into that room my heart flutters and I feel lightheaded. There were moments where I might have said the stupidest things, but how could I remember when I can barely stand when Gaara looks at me with his beautiful eyes? My stomach just drops whenever he says something and it's an impossible thing to even look at him when he says my name.

I don't even notice my hand really squeezing the doorknob.

Opening the door, the first thing I see is Kankuro's frown, which is more visible than normal considering he doesn't have any face paint or his hat on today. He looks like a completely different person. It's really hard to tell myself that it's still him even though I've seen him like this in the manga and anime.

"Finally you're here. We're both busy you know." He sighs (it might just be a family thing). "Don't take this long next time or else."

Keeping any comments from coming out and attacking Kankuro, I walk over to Gaara who sits behind his desk like always with his arms on the counter and his chin on his hands. "Take a seat."

There goes my heart. And my head. And my stomach. And my knees. Why does something get added to the list every time I see him?

Sitting, I try not to focus too much on Gaara's face that' still in that serious gaze of his. So beautiful. All that was repeating in my mind outside the door just immediately goes out like garbage. Like always.

"Is there something that you would report?"

Just that I love you.

"N-no."

"How is Matsuri?"

Being a bitch.

"O-okay."

I look down at my hands on my lap with the headband in my view. I don't know what else to look at. My eyes have been wandering all over the room and all over Gaara's face. I can't handle it when he stares at me, it makes me nervous and embarrassed.

My cheeks flush, feeling someone watching me closely and knowing exactly who it could be.

"I see you got your headband today."

There it goes again, my heart doing more than just one backflip. At this rate it could win a gold medal at the Olympics.

"Y-yeah. Temari gave it to me like a few minutes ago."

He's interrupted by a knock at the door which Kankuro answers. "Lord Kazekage, you have an incoming call from the Hokage of the Leaf Village."

He stands without a word and leaves the room. Kankuro turns around to give me a look that says something like "Are you going to follow or not?" So I get up too and follow Kankuro who follows Gaara who follows the guy that told him he was getting a call from Tsunade. Deep inside my sore gut I get a feeling that it has something to do with Thalia but at the same time I don't want it to be. I don't want bad news right now, not after dealing with a lack of sleep, being exhausted beyond belief (especially after today's mission), and worst of all having Matsuri stick at my side like a thorn that won't come out.

We walk into a room about two doors down with small windows but really good lighting. On the right side of the wall there's a desk with a small TV. Gaara immediately walks up to it and sits down on the chair facing it. The person on the screen is none other than Thalia looking really nervous to be talking to Gaara. Hella silence comes and goes between them until she asks for me.

"Marisela. Your friend wants to speak with you."

He gets out of his seat to trade places with me. With one last look at Gaara, a really good one, I sit down to look at my friend. Still in disbelief, I practically scream, "Thalia?"

She smiles in the same way she always does which relaxes me a lot. I smile back and sense my body going back to the way I can hardly remember, when we were all together.

"Hey! Long time no see."

I sigh through my nose but it sounds a lot like a scoff. Accidentally, I catch a quick glance at Gaara, reddening my face more that it should have. She probably sees this by the way she looks at me. But hey it's not my fault I'm in the same room as Gaara.

"You can say that again. How's it going?"

"Okay I guess. What about you? You look like you've been through Hell."

Going through all of the memories I've had about the last two weeks, I feel myself get dizzy, and not in the way I get when I look at Gaara for too long.

"Well…"

Her face stabs the screen, like an eager gossip girl, eyes as big as an anime girl's. "C'mon! Tell me everything since the day you got there!"

Even with the guys in the room, I give her a smile to tell her that I give in. "Okay, okay." I tell her about my first day here, how I met Gaara personally for the first time while saving all other things about Matsuri for a later time. I tell her about the small missions Matsuri and I were assigned plus me living with her and the awesome people that I've been able to meet here. I don't really mention the one person that's been on my mind as much as all the other stuff because by the look in her eyes, she already knows exactly who I'm talking about. (Hint, hint, it's Gaara.) Seeing her headband gleam on her forehead, I point out my own. We both squeal at seeing our sort of matching headbands. When I'm done, I make her spill the beans on her two weeks in the Leaf.

She says that it didn't start out as great as mine -if only she knew the part about Matsuri making my life a living hell. She tells me about the trouble she went through in trying to get her headband back from a bird. It kind of makes me happy that I didn't have to go through that. Then she tells me about her training to pass her graduation exam and later enrolling in the Academy. I have to admit I'm jealous of her for learning jutsu and how to control her chakra. I never got to do that. As if sensing my uncomfortability, she laughs it off saying it was really stressful and continues to be for various reasons that she'll tell me later (or so she says).

"Hey I know you're talking to your friend but we got stuff to do."

Kankuro happens to sneak behind me and makes me jump the way Thalia made me do when she closed in on the screen not too long ago.

"Okay, we're almost done."

He doesn't back away but instead stands right behind me looking at the screen. On the other side, I see Thalia's eyes go wide in a different way. She only looks at Kankuro in a way that reminds me of when anime characters have that first look at someone they like. A long, slow smile spreads across my face as I clear my throat. Thalia blinks fast and shifts in her seat, sneaking glances at Kankuro.

"So you make any friends?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess you could say I'm friends with Naruto and Sakura, and maybe Sai? I don't really see him a lot. But Ino and Tenten I've been seeing more and I guess we're friends."

She's not getting what I'm trying to make her say. Wait, was there someone who she used to talk about a lot? No, no, she hasn't even finished the Chunin Exams. Still, I'm going for it.

"What about everyone else like Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Neji, and Lee?"

She blushes a little. Yes I hit her soft spot. Now who could it be? She would only like Hinata as a friend and I don't think she'll end up liking Lee as more than a friend either. So that leaves Shino, Kiba, and Neji.

"Y-yeah I know them too. Hinata's really cool." She leans closer to the screen. "And I've been trying to get her to hook up with-" she clicks her tongue "-you-know-who." She bounces her eyebrows on her forehead like whenever she means something suggestive. Oh boy.

"Really? Like that one guy that wears that one jacket with the name we all know?"

She nods as if she were about to be nominated for World's Greatest Matchmaker. "I at least want to do that because even I know that's how things should end."

"Sure but if they end up marrying other people I blame you."

She goes pale. "Oh my god you're right, I shouldn't do that, it could mess everything up. I could mess everything up!"

"Calm down, it won't happen I was kidding."

"No, you're right. We shouldn't do stuff like that." She spaces out for a little bit before speaking, this time, no smile at all. "Have… Have you heard anything about them? You know, Michelle and Kiran? I'm really worried about them." Her voice sounds like it's going to break any moment, like the thought of them is enough to make her cry.

Dammit Thalia, don't cry. Not in front of all these people. "Don't worry. They have each other. They'll be fine. They're probably still out there trying to make a fire." I try and smile to encourage her, but I find that my own smile is weak and not at all something that would lift someone's spirits up but drag them down.

From the other side of the screen, there's some murmuring. "Yeah, I'm okay," Thalia says in reply. She then turns to face me, looking not at all like the person I was talking to first. "I gotta go now, Marisela." A sad smile crosses her face. "It was nice seeing you again. I guess I'll see you later. Bye!"

"Bye." I wave at her until the screen blinks black.

I just hope that for the next time she calls me, I'd have something more exciting to say.

Around me, I hear everyone walking further and further away from me. I swivel in my seat, watching as the ninja that led us here stands by the door with his head bowed to Gaara who with one last look at me motions for me to follow him. I jump out of my seat and walk behind him, with Kankuro not far behind, and go back to his office. I go to my usual spot and Gaara and Kankuro go to theirs. Right off the bat, Kankuro starts talking.

"Hey, how the hell do you know all those people from the Leaf, eh?"

Shit. "They're, uh, famous in my village. They're kind of like celebrities, but not that big."

His glare tells me he's not completely buying it, but whatever. It's not like anyone here is gonna find out we're from another world, right? Might as well make it last while I'm here and enjoy my time.

"Kankuro," Gaara says once, he's sitting at his chair. "Did you receive the reports from the Academy about those entering the Chunin Exams?"

Kankuro goes pale. "Didn't Temari say she was going to get those?"

Gaara shakes his head. "No. She told me you were going to retrieve them."

"Tch. Fine I'll do that now."

Kankuro turns to exit the office but at the last second stares me down with only one thing to say with his scowl: Watch your back.

Contemplating what that could mean, I don't realize the circumstances of my situation until Gaara calls out my name.

"Marisela, have a seat."

Chills run down my spine and beads of sweat slowly start forming along the sides of my face. Alone with Gaara. I'm alone with Gaara. Doing as he says, I try and keep my calm knowing that all my efforts aren't going to pull through.

"The results from your examinations remain the same as the last. There are no signs of anything worth worrying about. As for the summoning seal, no one in the village has been able to trace its origins, properties, or utility. As I asked you the time before," His eyes grow serious, like whenever he asks me this same question, "is there anything you are hiding from us?"

So much comes to mind and so many possibilities, but I can never tell them the truth, at least not yet. I open my mouth to say the repeated words I save for days like these but get interrupted by the loud growl of my stomach. In an instant, my cheeks bloom red and I struggle with the words forming at the tip of my tongue.

Then, Gaara stands and goes to the door tilts his head to me. "Follow me since you are hungry, and don't worry about expenses."

Gaara, you're giving me more reasons to love you.

Taking his words of wisdom, I follow him out of the Kage building, through the village of Suna, and into a small restaurant where the people literally drop everything they're doing to stare at Gaara. After a few heartbeats, a waiter finally makes his way over and nervously leads us to an outdoor patio with no one else in sight (besides some other buildings and sand). Our table has an umbrella to keep us cool from the sun that's perfectly placed over the high walls of the village. The only sounds we can hear are the soft murmurs of the villagers we can't see and the wind carrying small pieces of sand. Gaara looks so handsome sitting across from me. Nothing can ruin this moment- Who the hell are you people?! From inside the restaurant, girls swarm the large window that shows Gaara on the other side, chatting with each other with large smiles that make me almost puke. No motherfucking way! I had him first you thirsty bitches!

Glaring at the growing crowd from behind the glass window, their smiles slowly start to shrink the longer they stare at my scowl. I don't have to imagine a giant, roaring flame at my back because by the way the girls scurry back to their seats tell me otherwise. As soon as they're all gone, I sneak a peek at Gaara, hoping he didn't see the whole ordeal. And nope. He's innocently looking through the menu as if he didn't have hell open it's gates two feet from him.

Glancing between him and my own menu, I swallow the lump forming in my throat because of the awkward silence.

The waiter who was standing there awkwardly the whole time- why is he so far away now? -takes out a notepad and something to write with. "C-Can I get you s-some drinks, Lord Kazekage?"

Gaara orders a glass of water while I get apple juice. The waiter sprints off and leaves me and Gaara in an unbearable silence. Well at least for me, he's going through the menu again.

You got this Marisela. Just some normal conversation. "This restaurant is very pretty."

Slightly putting down his menu, he scans the building. "Is it?"

"Well I think so. Do you come here often?"

"No, but occasionally."

Suddenly, the same waiter comes out with our drinks and pulls out the dup notepad and pencil. "Excuse me for the wait Lord Kazekage." He bows. Wait? That was literally like not even a minute! "May I take your orders?"

I panic. I haven't even looked at the menu yet! Oh, they have ramen, I'll just order that. See how it compares to Ichiraku, not that I've had it, but I can only dream. Gaara goes first, ordering a plate of broiled gizzards and a side of rice while I get my ramen. The waiter takes our menus, bows, and leaves again. Without my menu, I feel kind of naked, but I can't let this silence linger around forever.

"The people seem to like you."

His eyes seem to widen a bit, but in no time, he places his chin delicately on his hand which gently props it up. He gazes up at the buildings that surround us. Suddenly, the voices of the villagers are clear and independent. "It has always been my goal that they do. There are times when I think that it's still impossible. Do you think so?"

Scenes of him protecting the village soon come to mind along with those of his childhood and his awakening to never give up on being a person who can protect those he cares about. "No way. You've done a lot for them and they can see that. People talked about you when you were a kid, and I ended up hearing about it. They were scared of you." Agh! Why did I say that?

His face darkens, his eyes closing. "I imagined them to be."

Quick Marisela, turn it around. Don't make it depressing for him. "I don't think I would have been scared. I would have wanted to help you, but that's in the past now."

His eyes open and slowly make their way to me, inspecting. "You're right, I left that part of me a long time ago and this is now. My only hope is to grow stronger to better protect the village."

Even with a million chills running up and down my spine, I manage to say, "I'm pretty sure you will."

Setting his hand on his glass of water, he continues to stare at me, this time his eyes peering deeper into me. "Your friend in the Leaf spoke of your other friends. You're not worried about them as well?"

Leaning back in my chair, I begin to feel something I'm not used to: fear. "I am and I hope we can find them soon before anything bad happens."

"It's good to believe in your friends."

He's right I guess. I take a sip of my apple juice, surprised that it's a lot sweeter than the one from home. "There's more to our being here and I wonder if we'll all still be friends when it's over."

Letting go of his glass, Gaara's eyes bury further into me than before. Blushing, I can't look away no matter how much I tell myself that I should. This is really intense. Finally, after a staring contest that felt like forever, he speaks. "I may not know enough about your friends but I know enough about you to say that your friendship will pull through."

"Yeah," I start, rubbing the back of my neck, bashfully looking away, " we have been through some tough times. I hope they don't decide to leave after we find each other."

"You do not want to?"

My heart seems to beat louder. Carefully, I look up at him. "Not at the moment. I have never been here before and would like to get to know everyone better."

Without a second to pause, he goes to say, "If you don't mind me asking, what village are you from?"

I freeze, but not before taking into view our waiter coming out with our food. What is it with these people's service?! He sets our food down and I immediately start stuffing my face, that is until the heat of the ramen burns me inside out. Being as calm as I can, I swallow the fiery noodle and take large gulps of my cool apple juice. That was hot! Still, I can't risk leaking information, at least not right now. After the waiter leaves, we eat in absolute quiet.

By the time I finish my bowl, Gaara is about two thirds through his. He looks so calm. The wind is also slightly swaying his hair. Take this in Marisela, while it lasts. I stare at him for a good minute or two before a sharp shock strikes me. My head instinctively turns to the window where some brave souls oggle Gaara as if he was their next meal. Not on my watch! The air around me grows cold as my eyes burn with bloody murder. I do all I can to throw the sharpest dagger at those commoners. One by one, they scurry away, what looks like to be shrieking with horror. Laughing internally, I don't notice our waiter coming out with what I think is our check. That is until I direct my eyes on him and he runs like a little girl back into the restaurant. Pft.

Gaara finishes the last bit of his food, giving the waiter enough time to piece together the last bit of his dignity and give us our check. I grin at him while Gaara counts out what we owe and he quivers, tip toeing away from me. Not my fault you're weak. Once he has the bill with Gaara's money, Gaara stands and leads me back to his office.

In our usual spots, Gaara sorts through some papers the receptionist handed to him on the way in and sets them aside, thinking.

"I'm afraid our appointment tomorrow will be canceled but continue with your regular schedule with that in mind."

"Okay."

"You can leave."

Weird. I wonder what he has planned tomorrow. Standing up, he calls my attention with his soft words.

"Marisela, about what you said to me, thank you."

All I can manage is a light smile before walking out. You're welcome Gaara.