I'm so sorry for the late chapter- please forgive me!

A special thanks to my readers and reviewers! I love you!

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters and such.

Drifting off in Thoughts of you

Chapter Nine- Smile

The week had passed by slowly and uneventfully. Temari and Kankuro had left Ai alone once again. Ai sat up in bed and looked around. The bruise around her eye had healed considerably over the past week. Ai stood up and looked out the window. Her eyes ran to the people on the street. She smiled as she noticed a little girl walking around giving flowers to the elderly people. Ai looked up at the clock on the wall as her jaw dropped slightly.

'I slept in… It's almost noon…' Ai thought as she rubbed her eyes and walked out of the room.

"It's almost noon…" she muttered as a smile tugged at her lips. 'I haven't seen Gaara since…'

Ai grabbed her clothes and got ready quickly.

Ai stood over the stove, cooking lunch. Her mind wandered off in thoughts of a certain red-haired man.

'Does Gaara-Kun even eat …? What am I thinking…? Of course he eats…' Ai shook her head and smiled as she packed the food.

Ai's head turned in numerous directions as she walked to Gaara's office. She looked behind her and walked up to his office.

"You again…?"

Ai turned her head to see Kenji smiling at her.

"Yeah…I need to see Ga-…I mean….Kazekage-Sama," Ai said with a small smile. Kenji nodded towards the large doors in front of her. He walked towards Ai and said quietly.

"I think something's bothering him, though… Just so you know."

Ai nodded and thanked him as she walked to the doors. She raised her hand and knocked on the door shakily. She stood back for a few moments in silence. Ai raised her eyebrow and turned the door knob. She poked her head in and looked around the room to see Gaara in his desk, looking over numerous reports.

Gaara raised his head and stood up.

"I thought you might be hungry…So I brought some food," Ai said with a shy smile tugging at her lips. Gaara kept his face straight.

"You should have stayed at home," he said bluntly.

Ai's smile faded slightly.

"I know, but I just thought…I mean…" Ai trailed off as she lowered her head.

"I'm sorry…" she added quietly.

Gaara turned his eyes away from Ai for a moment.

"It's…alright…" he said, not looking at her. Ai looked back up at him and smiled as she walked towards his desk. She set the food down and looked down while blushing faintly. They stood in an awkward silence.

"I like your office…It's really…big," Ai said with a nervous smile.

"Hn," Gaara muttered as he continued looking over the reports. Ai began humming quietly as she looked out the window. Gaara looked at her through the corner of his eyes. She smiled at the villagers walking on the streets. She raised her hand and touched the window gently as she noticed a little girl walking with her parents. Her eyes held a pained look.

Gaara stood up silently and walked over to Ai as his hand rose slowly. He froze and looked at his hand for a moment. His hand dropped down to his side as Ai turned around. She blushed as she noticed how close she was to Gaara. A faint hint of red rose to Gaara's cheeks.

Ai looked up at him shyly and shifted uncomfortably. Gaara found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Ai. Their faces grew hotter as they unconsciously moved closer to each other.

"Kazekage-Sama, I have the other rep-…" Kenji trailed off as he noticed Ai and Gaara.

Ai began blushing furiously.

"Perhaps I should come back later…" he said uncertainly.

"No, I was just about to go," Ai said quickly as she walked out the door. Gaara looked at her walk away.

Ai stopped and turned to look at Gaara once again. She smiled shyly and continued to walk away.

"Kazekage-Sama?"

Gaara snapped out of his thoughts and nodded towards the desk. Kenji nodded and put the papers down and ran out of Gaara's office. He closed the doors behind him quickly.

Kenji shook his head and smiled.

'I should start knocking…'

Gaara eyed the food on his desk. He reached forward and began eating in silence.
Ai shook her head as she walked home.

'What… was I about to do…?'

"Ai-Chan?"

Ai jumped and snapped out of her thoughts as she turned around. Her eyes widened and she smiled widely.

"Emi-Chan!"

Emi ran over and hugged Ai tightly. Her golden curly hair bounced as she stepped back. Her smile faltered as she noticed the healing bruise on Ai's face.

"What happened there?" Emi asked as she pointed to Ai's face.

"Oh…I um… I had to…I mean, there was a-…" Ai trailed off as Emi looked at her with concern.

"Did someone…hit you? I mean, of course someone hit you- but who was it?"

Ai shook her head and smiled.

"Don't worry about it…It's good to see you!"

Emi smiled again and nodded.

"It's great to see you too! Are you busy?"

"No, I was just taking a walk," Ai said, still smiling.

"Emi-!"

Emi and Ai turned to see a tall brown-haired man waving at them.

"Is that…Akira-San?" Ai asked curiously.

Emi blushed and nodded. Ai grinned at her red face.

"Love love, kissy kissy," Ai said, giggling. Emi's face grew hotter as she grinned.

"I have to go, we're getting some stuff ready the wedding…We should meet up again sometime."

Ai nodded.

"Yeah, we should."

Emi smiled and hugged Ai once again before waving and running towards Akira. Ai watched them walk out of sight before she turned around and walked towards Temari's house.

Ai took off her sweater and folded it. She placed it on the bed in the room she was staying in and sighed. She plopped down to the ground and looked up at the ceiling. A smile tugged at her lips. She looked down as she blushed furiously. A giggle escaped her mouth as she walked out of the bedroom and grabbed a small snack.
Natsumi sat on the floor, looking through the photo album once again. She flipped a page slowly. A small picture slipped into her lap. She picked up the picture and raised her eyebrow. Natsumi noticed Ai in the picture, with another boy. His blood red hair covered his eyes slightly. His emerald eyes twinkled in the picture as Ai stood up behind him with her arms around his neck.

'Who…is that…?'

Natsumi shut the photo album as she heard her father's shouts. She stood up quickly and opened the door slightly. Her eyes widened.

"What the Hell is wrong with you?"

Natsumi could see Nori pushing her mother against the wall. He hit her numerous times. Tears streamed down Arisu's eyes, but she remained quiet. Natsumi opened her door and stepped outside.

"What are you doing?"

Nori glared at Natsumi.

"Go to your room!"

"No-!" Natsumi shouted as she pushed Nori. Nori raised his hand angrily. Natsumi stood frozen as Arisu stood in front of her.

"Okaa-San…"

Arisu's cheek began stinging.

"I won't let you to hurt her," Arisu said quietly. Natsumi stood with her mouth slightly open. Her bottom lip began quivering. Nori grabbed her mother's arm and pushed her into their bedroom. He locked the door quickly. After a few moments of silence, Natsumi could hear her mother crying.

Natsumi pounded on the door.

"Don't hurt her-!" Natsumi shouted.

"Natsumi, get out of the house! Get out, right now!" Her mother's muffled words could be heard.

"Okaa-San-!"

"Get out, now!"

Natsumi reluctantly ran out of the house.

Natsumi skidded to a halt and breathed heavily. She pounded on the door in front of her.

"Nee-Chan, open the door!"

Ai opened the door to see Natsumi looked at her with fear. Natsumi grabbed Ai's arm.

"We have to go- we have to go right now!"

"Imouto-Chan, what's wrong? Why are you-?"

"O-tou-San's hurting Okaa-San, we have to go- now!"

Ai's eyes widened as she locked the door behind her.

"Let's go," Ai said quickly as they took off.

Ai pushed the door open and ran upstairs.

"Okaa-San-!"

Ai and Natsumi looked at the ground and found a small puddle of blood. Ai picked her mother's bedroom door and ran inside. Arisu sat on the ground with her head lowered, and her breathing heavy.

"Okaa-San-…" Natsumi's voice trailed off.

Blood prickled down Arisu's head. Some of the skin on her arms had peeled off. Ai turned to a small box in front of the closet. She opened the box quickly and took out bandages. Chakra flowed to Ai's fingers.

Ai stayed quiet as she began healing the wound on her mother's head. Arisu continued breathing heavily and kept her eyes closed. After ten minutes, Ai's hand moved down to her mother's arms. In a few minutes, the skin and redness on her arms had disappeared. Ai grabbed the bandage and wrapped it around her mother's head.

"Just in case… She's got a fever too…" she muttered. Arisu's breathing slowed down to normal as she looked up at Ai. She raised her hand slowly and touched Ai's cheek lightly.

"Get some rest, Okaa-San," Ai said quietly, with a small smile. Arisu coughed as Ai and Natsumi helped her up. They walked to Ai's old room and helped her lie in the bed. Ai and Natsumi walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.

"I didn't think O-tou-San would hurt Okaa-San…" Natsumi said quietly. "I couldn't do anything," her eyes began stinging.

"It's okay, she'll be fine," Ai began. "I'll stay for a bit though…" she added, walking to the kitchen.

"I don't think O-tou-San will be here for a while…"

Natsumi walked upstairs with a bowl of hot soup. She gently kicked the door open and noticed Ai sitting with Arisu. Ai checked Arisu's pulse. Arisu opened her eyes and looked around the room, slightly dizzy.

"Okaa-San, how are you feeling now?" Ai asked quietly as Natsumi set the bowl down on a nearby table. Arisu took off the blanket.

"Hot," she muttered. Ai took the blanket and covered her again.

"I know it's hot, but you've got a fever," Ai said quietly as her mother sat up. Arisu nodded and looked down at her hands.

"You never stopped… Never stopped studying…"

"Okaa-San, we come from a clan of healers… Of course I would never stop studying," Ai said, smiling. Natsumi grinned at her mother.

"Come here, both of you…" Arisu said quietly.

Ai and Natsumi looked at each other curiously as they sat on the bed. Arisu pulled them closer and embraced them. She began weeping.

"Okaa-San…" Ai said quietly.

"My beautiful children," she said, still weeping as she smiled. Ai and Natsumi smiled as they hugged her back.

"Our Okaa-San," they said in unison.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review, please!