Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, otherwise, GaaSaku would be endgame. Damn, I love this pairing.

Fascination

Genre: Romance, Angst, Action

Date last revised: January 30, 2019

Special thanks to Saskiel and Nanami for the wonderful reviews! I appreciate it.

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The Kazekage office was quiet save for the occasional sigh and the scratching of pen on paper. If anyone were to look in, they would see Gaara poring over mission reports and official scrolls late into the night, with only the lamp and the moon giving the room just enough light to allow him to read.

It has been a few months since he begun his preparation to become Kazekage, and the paperwork was the first thing that he had been introduced to. Truth be told, spending hours reading mission reports was boring and most of the time, utterly pointless, but Gaara did not mind the work. One of the advantages of hardly sleeping was that he had a lot of time on his hands, and he found that at least when he was doing office work, his mind was not drifting traitorously to killing.

If his father could see him now, Gaara was sure that he would be rolling in his grave. Being a Kazekage was not exactly a dream he had envisioned for his youngest son. It definitely wasn't something Gaara thought of as well, but yet, here he was - reading official documents and making notes on how to improve a trade deal to one of the smaller villages in the East.

The trade deal between Sunagakure and Toro no Satohad been an old and outdated one, dating back since the founding of Sunagakure itself. Gaara squinted as he read a copy of the deal - it seemed as if the First Kazekage had scammed the village, and now the current council wanted to re-establish the terms of their trade. His predecessors had neglected the trade deal negotiations until it was too late and now it fell on him to fix the problem.

Idly, he wondered if he was truly up to the task of being Kazekage. Killing people was easy (and his favourite method of getting what he wanted) but diplomacy was another thing altogether. It did not come naturally to him, and it was one of the harder things to grasp when he started preparing to be Kazekage.

There was also, of course, the elephant in the room. People still feared and hated him. Most people doubted his capabilities, and he couldn't blame them. After all, two years ago, he was hellbent on killing everyone to reaffirm his existence in the world. He had craved the warm blood of his enemies as he mercilessly killed them, the smell of death that clung to his sand afterwards, the screams and cries of those who were too weak to be alive-

He shook his head, throat parched. He licked his lips and he swore he could taste blood. If not for the sand swirling against his feet, agitated, he looked sane. Normal, even. He laughed, sand swirling faster.

"So easy to just kill the entire council," he murmured as he stared at the trade deal. If he left now, he could still reach Toro no Sato before dawn, kill the council elders and be back by breakfast. He laughed even harder, hand clutching his head.

"I should just kill them, hm?" he said, his voice not entirely his own. "Even just one council member, so they know not to mess with me-"

"Gaara?" His head snapped up, seeing Temari looking at him worriedly. The sand fell down unceremoniously at his feet and he straightened up. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he replied, schooling his features. It would not do to have his sister worry about him. It was bad enough that the Suna council elders were unsure of his stability to be Kazekage. He didn't want Temari to doubt him, too. He had great plans for Suna, after all. "Why are you still here?"

Temari looked uncomfortable, and she couldn't look him in the eye.

"It's late, and your first ceremony is tomorrow," she said, wringing her hands. "Have you hunted?" He hummed.

"Not yet," he said, turning back on the trade deal. Temari sighed.

"I know you've been trying to change, Gaara," she said, exasperated. "But Shukaku is not something that you can just ignore. He's a part of you-" his hand twitched.

"Is that your way of calling me a monster, sister?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. Temari shook her head quickly.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant at all," she said, bowing low. "I only mean that you need to hunt soon. The ceremony…You need to be able to control yourself." He stared at his sister, her back still bowing before him.

"Do I look sane, sister?" he asked. Temari chanced a glance at him.

"When you call me sister, it makes my skin crawl," she said, keeping his stare. He smiled. What a foolish girl.

"I'll remember that for next time, Temari," he said, chuckling. "And you're right, I haven't hunted in a week. Prepare a missing-nin for me. I might as well do some interrogation before my meal."

"By your leave, Shukaku-sama."

-0-

Many times, Gaara had questioned his own sanity. There were moments where he was completely himself, but there were also some instances where he can notice the influence of Shukaku.

It worried him when he found a gap in his memory of last night, because that could only mean one thing.

"Was I myself?" he asked Temari as soon as he found her. She was in the middle of ordering a group of genin to the front gates to welcome visitors. She couldn't look at him.

"You must have dozed off while working," she replied. "It's fine, no one else was in the building." He searched his sister's face.

"Did he do anything to you?" he asked. "Did he hurt you?" Temari turned to him and gave him a brittle smile.

"You-He didn't," she replied after a moment's silence. "It just took me a while to realise who I was talking to last night." Gaara closed his eyes, his sister's words a punch in the gut. Shukaku was getting better at integrating himself. How long before he fully takes over Gaara's thoughts?

"Don't worry about it, Gaara," Temari said kindly. Gaara didn't really need her pity. It irked him. As soon as the thought entered his head, he winced. Was that his thought or was it influenced by Shukaku? It was getting harder to tell these days.

"Have the Hokage in my office when they arrive," he replied instead, ignoring his sister's words. Temari nodded before heading towards the front gates. He didn't fail to notice how eager she was to leave his side.

Sand swirled by his ankles, agitated.

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Author's Notes: Alright, that's the second chapter done! Flexing my writing muscles after they haven't been used in a long time was super tiring, if I'm being honest. This chapter was supposed to be a lot more light-hearted, but I like how this chapter turned out. It has a darker tone which I prefer. Again, I'm looking for a beta, so please message me if you'd like to beta this story!

There's also a poll on my profile about the rate of update in this story. I can either update weekly with shorter chapters or irregularly but with longer content, so please let me know!

Oh, and before I forget, if you guys have a better idea for the summary, let me know as well! I've had problems with summaries since forever, haha.

Reviews would be loved and super appreciated!