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Shakespear would've come up with a great disclaimer... sadly, I can't...

Chapter Eight: A Painful Decision

Kenoyo woke up at about eight am, the sounds of pots and pans clashing together in the kitchen jerking her from her sleep. She groggily turned onto her back and sighed deeply with a smile.

'That was the best dream ever,' she thought to herself. 'I only wish that it'll come true and soon!' The girl sat up and stretched, but when she brought her arms down she frowned and looked down at herself, then her mouth snapped open. She was wearing Gaara's shirt. So it hadn't been a dream after all, it had really happened.

Grinning, she swung her long legs from the bed and looked around the room dreamily, wondering how Gaara must've felt when he left her room last night. She had obviously fallen asleep in his arms, so was he angry? Or was he pacing in his room, waiting anxiously for her to wake up?

But then a burst of laughter left Kenoyo's lips as she shook her head. She definitely had her answer. Getting up, she walked over to the corner of her room and picked up Gaara's gourd from the floor, then started to laugh again. He had probably been so distracted that he had forgotten it. Shaking her head with mirth, she carefully set it down, took off her pajamas, and then slipped into new clothes for the day.

When she was ready, Kenoyo neatly folded Gaara's shirt and slipped his gourd over her back, groaning with the sudden added weight. 'How in the world does he carry this around all day?' she asked herself as she walked out of her room and took the direction of his.

She didn't even knock when she arrived at his door; she simply pushed it open with her hand and slipped inside. Kenoyo found the boy she loved simply sitting down on his bed with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. She then tiptoed until she was right beside him, before gently putting his shirt down on his bed and pulling his gourd off from her back. He still hadn't moved a muscle, which meant he was focusing really hard on his thoughts. Half of her didn't want to bother him, but the other half begged for his attention.

Kenoyo gently passed the strap that held his gourd to his body around him and placed it in position on his back, making his eyes snap open in response to the physical contact. He turned and stared at his gourd when Kenoyo finished putting it on his back, then looked at her simply as she whispered teasingly, "Someone must've been out of focus last night."

He rolled his eyes, then pulled her arm so that she'd sit down beside him. Kenoyo found no problem in this and she even leaned over and dropped her head on his chest, making him wrap his arms around her. Her heartbeat picked up, but she didn't try to stop it; it was natural.

"You're beautiful this morning," Gaara murmured in her ear, making her look up at him in surprise. It was so unusual for the cold sand ninja to give out compliments, but when she looked up at him her mouth fell open. He was smiling at her. The first smile she had ever seen him give. A small uplift of the corners of his mouth, but it was a smile nonetheless. But it didn't last long as his face turned back emotionless, yet his eyes held a great amount of emotion that he couldn't quite hide from her.

"Thank you," Kenoyo whispered back, her eyes shining happily. She couldn't believe that he had just smiled for her. But she wouldn't say anything to him about it because she was worried that he would stop. She then broke the embrace and asked him, "Are you coming for breakfast?"

He shook his head and said that he had already eaten, then closed his eyes once more. Kenoyo shrugged and turned around to go in the kitchen. Once she reached her destination, the front door was just closing.

"Temari had to go into town," Kankuro's voice rang from behind her. She jumped and turned rather quickly, but then smiled at her lover's older brother. He also smiled at her and kept on talking, "Well, somebody's feeling better this morning! It's been so long I didn't see that lovely smile on your face!"

Kenoyo awkwardly looked away, the smile fading off gradually. Kankuro had made it obvious that he found her pretty and he had doubled his efforts to get her attention ever since her fight with Gaara. But every single time she pushed him away politely, yet he never got the hint. The black-haired girl was getting really sick of it and she turned around as his eyes lowered to check her up and down.

"Listen, Kankuro…" she started slowly, unsure of how to tell him how she really felt. Sighing, the girl went to sit down on a chair and said, "I love Gaara. I'm sorry, but there's no easier way to say it. I really wish that you could stop to flirt with me, I consider you as a friend and that's it!"

Her words were harsh, but effective. Grumbling to himself, the puppeteer turned around and left her behind in the kitchen. Kenoyo sighed, suddenly lonely. As much as she had promised herself never to go back into town, she couldn't stand the solitude. Especially since her mind had been wrapped up around a delicate subject these last few day.

The girl stood up and left the house, walking towards the town. She pretty much lost herself in the streets before Temari suddenly spotted her and ran up to her friend, but her happy expression turned sour as she noticed Kenoyo's saddened eyes. "What's going on?" the blonde girl asked, suddenly worried Gaara had done something to the poor girl. But Kenoyo's story was much different than what Temari had expected it to be.

"I have to go back home, Temari. My friends and Tadashi-Sensei must all think I'm dead. Plus I can't stay at your place forever you know… I feel like such a burden to you guys!" Kenoyo gushed out in one breath, her expression darkening even more.

But Temari was quick to understand and to say, "You should leave and go say a proper goodbye to your friends and family, but then come back! I love having you over at my place, it's so much more lively now that another girl lives in the house. I wish that you could forget all about your friends and just stay, yet that's impossible, I know. Come back after, even if Gaara and you didn't work out. I'd miss you too much if you were to leave forever…"

Kenoyo broke into a smile as she stopped walking, which made Temari stop also. "Actually we had a talk last night. We pretty much fixed up everything. But I'm so scared that Gaara will be angry with me, that he'll think I'm betraying him—"she stopped as her wandering eyes stopped on Gaara walking towards her, his arms crossed on his chest.

It didn't take Temari half a minute to have bolted away from the two, but Kenoyo didn't find herself slightly apprehending being alone with Gaara. Actually, she was glad to be able to talk to him one-on-one. He stopped in front of her, not saying a word, but she couldn't wait nor play around with words; she simply told him what she wanted to do while looking at him right in the eyes.

Gaara didn't move a muscle and his eyes didn't falter, but he only opened his mouth to say, "Are they that important to you?"

Kenoyo nodded, her mind made up. "I'm going to leave tomorrow morning!" she announced, and when he frowned slightly she raised a hand and gently stroked his cheek as her voice tipped and she said, "The faster I leave, the faster I come back. I promise you I will only leave for a few days, maximum two weeks…"

She saw that he wasn't quite believing her, but it was something she had to do if she wanted to be at peace with herself. The girl slipped her arms around his neck and pulled herself close to him, then soon felt his arms wrap themselves around her waist. "I love you," she whispered to him softly, closing her eyes to take in the moment.

--- The morning after ---

"I'll come back soon, I promise," Kenoyo whispered again as Gaara looked down sadly at her. She had packed up a bag with enough water to last her a month, but she was ready to thread through the desert. She had almost given up on going when she had awoken this morning and found him standing beside her bed, looking down at her lovingly. He didn't want her to leave, and she didn't want to, but she would come back.

He hadn't said a word, yet he didn't have to. His eyes said everything for him. They gave each other a last, long hug before she turned around and started to walk. After a few minutes, she turned around to see the disappearing Sand Village, but she could still make out the lone figure watching her as she left. Kenoyo's heart squeezed painfully as their separation felt more like a physical rip than temporary leave, but she knew she had to be strong. She would come back, that she was sure of.

A/N: Wow, just got out of writer's block after a long six days of suffering in the dark corner of that horrible curse. This chapter is shaky, I know, but next one will be better. Promise!

By the way, I got a lot of questions from people asking me if the story was done. No, it isn't for at least 3-4 more chapters. I'll tell you all when this story will be done.

Review please!

Take care!