Ok. Just to let you guys know, my Naruto crushes now are Gaara first and foremost :) Sai don't know that much about him yet, and Sasori he looks like Gaara. :P hehe. Right now I'm reading Naruto mangas online while typing this. I think naruto is the best anime ever.

I have been recently inspired by the theme in the Princess Diaries movie, the 1st one, where isn't it, Mia had to choose whether to rule Genovia or to stay behind for her friends. Awww. The guy there was cute. Anyhoo, it was a nice ending. Will it be the same for my story? Hehe.

Shout-outs time!! Yay. :P

ShadowWolf24: thanks for putting me to your fave story alert! Lela Rye: thanks for liking how Reiyka looks like :) waterdemon9: thanks for adding me to your fave author, author alert and fave story lists. And thanks for all the reviews!! and of course, to XiaBubbleQueen: thanks for the review!!

And now, here's a long chapter for you guys,. Hope you like it!!

Seeing the morning arrive, Gaara stood up wearily from his desk chair. He yawned when he stretched. The day after tomorrow… She'll leave already, he thought. I wonder where she is…

He ascended the stairs to his room, wanting to take a bath. He greeted the caretaker who was sweeping the 4th floor. As he reached the floor where his room was situated, he saw Reiyka at the top of the stairs.

"Good morning," she greeted. The morning sun surrounded her, making her look almost fairylike. She certainly seemed restless, but happier. But of course, what Gaara didn't know was that she was up all night, unable to close her eyes.

"G-Good morning," he replied, taken aback by how she looked. Gaara fiddled his fingers, unable to say anything else. Reiyka stopped herself from laughing and walked down to him. She smiled.

"Uh, what do you have to do today, Gaara?" she asked, noticing him to be wearing his Kazekage robes. Then she continued to climb down the stairs, not waiting for him. Gaara followed her, contemplating what she said.

"Well, I'm not really busy… But I do have a conference later at 4pm. I'll be back at around 6 in the evening."

"Oh, ok then."

"Huh?" Gaara wondered why she asked. They had just reached the ground floor, he realized as he caught his breath that they had walked rather briskly.

"Let's eat breakfast together." Reiyka said, looking at him, her eyes glinting differently.

Gaara slowly smiled. "Of course."

A quiet hush was in the streets, and the air was crisp. Lately, the people have been greatly surprised for they had never really seen the Kazekage walk around town, for he had preferred to be out of anyone's sight. But of course, they were glad for it, especially because he always accompanied a lady that they had never seen before, and from the (pretty) looks of her, she was charming. News had been reported to them that she was royalty from a faraway village.

The two of them drank hot tea and pancakes. Gaara ate his food without being told to do so anymore, and the both of them were glad for that. Afterwards, they walked some more, without knowing where they were going. They entered through narrow passageways that lead to houses with families getting ready to eat breakfast. Politely declining their invitations to come inside and join them, Reiyka laughed as children grinned at them and waved shyly.

"It's been a long time since I heard you laugh." Gaara remarked, no longer blushing, feeling confident in himself now.

"Yeah, I know…"

"How was the training?"

"It was good, actually. I definitely learned a lot."

They strolled through a dirt path that was bordered with desert plants that rose up to their waists, emitting a floral scent. A cool breeze blew between them. The dust on the ground gently swirled underneath their feet.

"You be careful out there, ok?" Gaara had said these words kindheartedly. He really didn't want her to leave. But it seemed to Gaara that nothing could be done…

Reiyka nodded and looked straight ahead, avoiding looking in his bright blue eyes. "I can't believe how fast time flies!" she cried out miserably, then sighed.

"Me either," he sighed wistfully. They were reaching the town square, a big open area with a large statue in the middle. The square was surrounded with several stalls and stores that was open to visitors, as well as the residents of Suna.

"Hey…" said Reiyka, seeing the statues as they drew closer. It was a group of 5 men, and on the ground was a bronze plate that said: 'THE GREAT KAZEKAGES OF SUNA' and listed also were their names and up to when their terms were. "You're there!" she said loudly. True, a tall replica of Gaara stood in the middle. One of the statues had his left hand on his right shoulder.

"Yes," said Gaara. Now he was embarrassed. He remembered something about a statue being erected in honor of the Kazekages, but it was really the first time he saw it. "That's my father." he said, referring to the one holding his shoulder.

"Oh…" she whispered, remembering all the things that Baki told her. She looked hard at the statue, and silently prayed.

"Reiyka?" The both of them had gotten silent, but Gaara decided that they shouldn't dwell on it anymore. She looked at him, then blushed.

"Sorry," she said, and smiled brightly. The both of them stepped away from the monument.

They started to walk, not realizing that it was almost noon. Going inside a mall, Reiyka saw a photo studio. "Oh, I know! Let's take a picture!!"

"Uh, I-I'm not sure – "

"Come on!" she said, and with force, pushed him inside, greeting the storekeeper energetically, who laughed.

Gaara felt uncomfortable in the small space inside the studio but Reiyka's warm attitude reassured him. But when he saw the camera start to loom close before them, he blushed.

"Come on, Gaara!" said Reiyka, nudging him encouragingly. She was grinning. Of course he didn't want to let her down, but he really didn't like getting pictures taken of him.

"Uhh… I…"

CLICK!

Reiyka laughed, seeing Gaara's frozen expression, being caught by surprise. "Smile," she advised.

Another click. And another. Gaara lost count. After about ten minutes, they stepped out of the studio and went to the owner of the establishment who took their pictures. He even asked for a picture with Gaara, for after all it wasn't everyday that the Kazekage would come to your store, which Reiyka gladly took.

"Hey, I'll just go to the restroom," said Reiyka, gleefully. "You wait for the pictures, I'll be back right away." She ran off to the direction of the girls' comfort room. Gaara nodded and turned to the storekeeper.

"Master Kazekage, it is an honor to have… taken your picture." he said to him nervously.

"Thank you," Gaara replied. "Yes, it's been a while since I roamed the village."

"Indeed," the man said, smiling. "Would you like two copies of each so the both of you will have a copy of each picture?"

"Sure." The pictures slid out of the printer. Only the fastest and finest developing could be used for the Kazekage. He handed them to him after putting them in an envelope. "Here you go, Master. She seems like a swell lady."

The Kazekage laughed, and reached in his robe to pay him. "Tell me about it." But when he handed him the money, the man refused.

"It's not everyday that I get to serve the Kazekage." he said, smiling sheepishly. He bowed down. Thanking him again, Gaara took leave and went off to a bench beside the store, where he sat down.

As he waited for Reiyka to return, he watched the mall-goers. He instantly regretted wearing the robes, for everyone noticed him and greeted him or waved at him as they passed by. So he decided to look at the pictures. Taking them out carefully from the envelope, he laughed loudly after seeing the first one, much to the surprise of the shoppers and people who passed by him and who watched him from afar. Gaara was surprised himself, but felt good. There was a shot of her sticking her tongue out, another of her flashing a peace sign, another of her crossing her eyes, and one with her just laughing out loud. Now, his expressions at first, were tentative, crossed between not knowing if he should grin or not, but pretty soon, his face became much more comfortable and his smiles got more relaxed.

Look how much I've grown, Gaara thought as he flipped through the photographs. I can't believe this!... He smiled when he held one picture in particular, and for some inexplicable reason felt something weird in his eyes, blurring his vision a bit - something that he thought he had felt a long long time ago. Are these… tears forming in my eyes? Am I… about to cry? The only time I cried was… so long ago - when I was still a child! Gaara closed his eyes, smiling, feeling happiness instead of sadness in his heart.

Yes, I have a heart. I have emotions. And the reason why I feel this way because I feel…

"Complete." he whispered, closing his eyes tighter, so as not to let the tears fall and let them discover that the Kazekage was crying in a public place. "I'm actually happy – with who I am, and with what I've become." He became quiet, clutching the pictures tenderly.

He finally opened his eyes, sniffing softly. Suddenly, it felt like everything in the world that he was seeing was different. He looked at the picture he was holding. It showed Reiyka with her arm around him and both of their faces showed excitement and happiness, thankful to be with each other. He remembered that moment, and it made Gaara smile more.

"Gaara?" He turned around, recognizing it to be Temari's voice. She wore her black kimono with the red obi belt. She was wit Kankurou, who wore a dark shirt and loose brown pants that reached near his shins. Kankurou didn't have his face paint on, and in this way he looked less sinister and more normal, especially with his messy hair showing.

"Hello, what brings you guys here?" Gaara asked, hiding the pictures under his robes. But he didn't feel uncomfortable to be discovered in the mall, in fact he looked forward to showing them that he was feeling happy at present.

"I should ask you the same thing, little brother." replied Kankurou, sitting down beside him. "Temari made me go shopping with her." He sounded tired and miserable, it was hard to conceal it in his voice. Gaara chuckled, his eyes smiling.

"Don't believe him, Gaara, he volunteered." smirked Temari sarcastically. She pushed Kankurou so that she could also sit down. She put the paper bags on the floor. (It was a marvelous sight to see the Sand Siblings hang out together in the mall. At first they were regarded by the ninjas to be the fiercest shinobi. Actually, they still are. nice.) "I wanted to buy a gift for Reiyka."

"Oh yeah," said Kankurou, sitting up. "She's leaving tomorrow, right? I can't believe it…" he said, looking serious all of a sudden.

Gaara sighed, looking down, his smile still strong. Temari nudged Kankurou discreetly, her eyes like daggers.

"You should tell Reiyka how you feel, Gaara." she said, leaning over to him.

"Tell me what?"

They spun around to see Reiyka panting, she ran all the way back. She hoped that Gaara didn't get irritated for waiting – she hadn't expected the comfort room to be full of girls waiting in line to use it. And, she also got lost. "Sorry! I got lost." she laughed apologetically. Gaara stood up, blushing, and offered her his seat. Temari and Kankurou were surprised at first, for Reiyka had heard them, but then they smiled gleefully at Gaara, looking at him with a 'are-the-two-of-you-on-a-DATE' look on their expectant faces.

"Oh, thank you Gaara. Tell me what, again?" The siblings gulped. This is the moment! thought Temari. Gaara looked at her for help.

"Hey. Are you two on a date?" said Kankurou teasingly, but seriously. Temari slapped her forehead, while Gaara sweated nervously. Great, Temari thought.

Reiyka raised her eyebrow at Kankurou, stunned and confused, then her eyes widened. They all waited for her answer!...

"… Kankurou…! You look DIFFERENT!" Reiyka laughed loudly, causing some of the shoppers to look at them. Temari joined along with her laughter. Kankurou frowned for not getting the answer they had wanted, but then laughed as well. Gaara breathed a sigh of relief. "Seriously, you look better! Now girls will come flocking to you now that you look like that!"

"Are you kidding me? Girls have been flocking to me even before!"

Temari coughed and they all laughed some more.

"Hey, I know!" Reiyka said suddenly. "Let's all take a picture together!"

"Uh-oh," said Gaara to himself. Reiyka pulled all of them to the photo studio.