FLUFFINESS IS ON THE WAY…since you guys want it so much, this Chapter will contain some fluffiness.

Kirri Kitty: Yes, Kagome's boyfriend is one of the rookie 9. I can't believe you didn't get the hints, LOL! You'll see him a lot in this chapter; he'll have a major role. I might make him meet Kagome at some points (You're all going to kill me for my choice)

Kilulu: Ino, Gaara will appear in this chapter, I'm not sure about Kagome. But I think I'll make her appear in some point.

Snickerz71: I will add more Fluffiness. I love this word 'Fluffiness' makes me want to eat cotton candy, LOL!

I want to thank Kilulu and Kirri kitty for their Unbelievable help and support through-out this period of time. You guys ROCK!!

Update: thx to Skittykatz for the correction.

On to Chapter 16

Please Remember, Chapter 16

Gaara's office

He was behind his desk, just finished his paperwork. He took a deep breath and let it out, leaning back in his chair, taking a look at the newly bought flowers which were put on the right side of his desk. He smiled at the thought of, the beautiful flower girl, Ino.

Gaara rested his chin on his hand and stared at the flower, remembering Ino's words:

'Purple flowers represent dignity, pride and success. They also represent accomplishment and admiration. That fits your preferment as Kazekage'

He liked her compliment, making him like the name Kazekage. He liked how she knew everything about flowers without taking a second thought, 'of course she would. She works there', He mentally scolded himself.

Luckily for him, none of his siblings were around to bother him about clothes & dates or chicks and face paints. He was alone, staring at the flowers. He sighed, getting up.

"I have to see her again…" he said, walking off. When he reached the door he stopped, looking behind him, near his desk the gourd was next to the wall. He smirked

"I guess I won't need you right now, friend" he said to the gourd. Ironically, he felt as if the gourd was pleading to Gaara for a quick trip. He laughed at his own thoughts, walking out the door.

Yamanaka flower shop, a few minutes later

It was almost 5pm; Ino was having a very good day. Ever since Gaara showed up, customers were lining up to buy, they profited very well. She considered this day as a very good day for business and for her, remembering Gaara. She sighed, realizing that she'd fallen head over heels for him.

'Well, daydreaming isn't going to work for me. I have to close up' she said, locking the back door, Being careful to avoid the very troublesome incident that happened because of a stupid broom.

After finishing everything, she picked up her stuff (Kunai knives holder and other stuff) from beneath the counter and walked towards the door. She closed the curtains of the shop and took a look at the flowers, she saw that purple flower which was, Apparently, Gaara's favorite. She smiled, 'that would look nice in my room, won't it?' she picked up one flower, went out the door and locked it. Outside, it was quiet, 'too quiet' she thought.

"Hey"

"SHIT!" Ino jumped in fear. She turned around to see Gaara, with a look of amusement on his face.

"I don't believe a Kunoichi is to be afraid, you know" he said, hands behind his back, she didn't reply.

"Sorry if I scared you, I didn't mean that" he said after seeing Ino with a horror look on her face and a clenched fist on her chest. She chuckled nervously.

"Well, you scared the living soul out of me. I've been losing it, lately." she smiled, putting a stray strand of her hair behind her ear nervously. He smirked

"It's alright; we all go through these kinds of situations." He smiled, nodding. Both remained silent for a while.

'I wonder why he's here.' Ino began to feel uncomfortable in this silence so she decided to break it.

"Gaara, how can I help you? I just closed the shop but I can unlock it if--"

"I wanted to see you" he cut her sentence. Ino was surprised. 'See me? ME?'

"Oh?" was all she managed to say. The words couldn't find their way out. Here she was, standing alone with Gaara outside the shop with a few people passing by, knowing that he came to visit her, only her. Gaara looked at the object she held in her arms.

"For whom, If I may ask." He said politely. Ino didn't get it a first but then saw where he was looking, she smiled.

"Oh, those, um, those are for…me. My room is, um, a bit dull and I decided to, um, add a little life to it" she said, she felt uneasy when around him. Yet wanting to be around him. (Mixed emotions, GAARA!!)

"You say 'um' a lot in one sentence" he said, grinning. She smiled when she saw him grinning and blushed.

"Well, I get nervous whenever I encounter someone…" she started, chuckling. "…someone I feel nervous around" she said, realizing that she said almost the same sentence twice. He laughed; He could clearly see her blushing face.

"There's no need to be nervous, Ino" he said, chuckling. He she looked at him, smiling. 'He said my name. For the first time in my life…I feel that my name is beautiful', she thought, '…did I just think about that?' she giggled at her thoughts. He looked at her strangely.

'This girl is something else, someone different.' he thought, '…I'd love to get to know her even better.' He gulped, wanting to turn his thoughts into words.

"Do you…" he started, being a little nervous. Ino listened carefully. He didn't look her straight in the eye, he was too nervous to do so, 'now I'm the one who's nervous, great Job' he thought, "…Would you like to…" he was going to say it, but the moment was cut by the voice of Rock Lee, making Gaara groan in frustration.

"Ino, you're not going to believe this…" he said, running towards her. He slowed down when he saw Gaara. He nodded.

"Gaara." He said, with a goofy smile on his face. Gaara smiled at his goofiness. Ino crossed her arms,

"What is it that you need to tell me and I won't believe it?" she said in a sarcastic tone. Lee was jumping in excitement.

"Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji, Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba, shino and I were called to Tsunade's office!!" Lee exclaimed, Ino grinned at his excitement, "My Youthful instinct is telling me that it's something good. We're supposed to be there at 5:30" He said, giving Ino a thumb up. Gaara was listening to the conversation, seeing that it was a bit 'interesting' he thought

"Wait, Chouji? I thought he went away with his father." Ino asked, Lee nodded, "It's true, but he was sent for by Tsunade-sama and he came back a couple of minutes ago" Lee explained, and Ino was cheerful. For some reason, Chouji always made her laugh for no reason, they were very close, he was like the brother she never had.

"That's awesome…" she said, "…So, why are you here? It's already 5:30" she said, Lee gasped.

"WHAT? OH MY GOD, I'M LATE!" he said, running with light speed. Both Ino and Gaara were left, laughing.

"Is it really 5:30?" Gaara asked, Ino was crying of laughter. "Nah, it's still…" she looked at the watch, "…5:02" she said, laughing. "Oh my god, did you see the look on his face? I'm starting to feel sorry for him" she said, Gaara nodded. Both laughing as hard as they can.

Their laughter turned into chuckles, it was the first time Gaara laughed that much in one day. After this fit of laughter, she looked at him in the eye, smiling, blush was still on her face from the laughter and from Gaara's presence.

"It's like you wanted him to leave" he said, almost in a whisper, smiling slyly at her, making her blush.

"So, what…what did you want to say before he interrupted?" she said, pointing at Lee's fleeing direction, smiling sincerely, he lowered his head.

Gaara's got that feeling again, the feeling he felt when he held her in the hospital, the same feeling he had when they were close this morning. He wondered what that feeling was. Her soft voice brought him back to reality.

"Gaara…are you ok?" she asked, leaning her head lower to face him. He looked up at her and smiled. "It's nothing…" he said. Ino nodded slowly. "I-I just was wondering if you…"

He didn't know if it was the right thing to ask her…he hesitated in the last second. Ino waited for the words to come out of his mouth, 'is he doing what I think he's doing? Deep breaths, Ino. Deep breaths'

"…want me to walk you home, it's getting darker by the minute" he said, smiling. She was surprised by his kind gesture, though disappointed. She was praying for something else to be said.

She waved her hand in front of her, right and left, "No, it's ok. My house is a few blocks away…" she said, he didn't reply. Instead, he gave her one of his killer I-want-to-do-it-so-don't-try-to-persuade-me-not-to looks. She remembered the look he gave her this morning, the look which made Ino feel her guts do somersaults.

"…You've taken care of me enough…" she smiled, remembering her mother's words:

Flashback

Ino has woken up from her slumber at the Hospital. Her head hurting like hell. Asuka was by Ino's side.

"Are you ok, Sweetheart? Do you want me to get you anything?" she said, Ino shook her head. "No, mom. I'm fine…" she looks around.

"What happened?" Ino said, rubbing her head where it hurts. Asuka chuckled. "We don't know, but we sure thank god for sending that kid over, otherwise, god knows what could've had happened" she said, holding her daughter's hand.

Ino's eyes narrowed, her eyebrows knotting. "What kid?" she said, Asuka laughed. "Tsunade-sama told us that his name was…um, what was his name?" she said, putting a finger on her chin. "It was related to something about Suna or Sabaku…" she said, Ino smirked.

"Gaara…" she said, barely audible, Asuka smiled. "Yup, that's him. He's a very polite gentleman. Thank god he was there." Asuka said, going on and on about what happened and how her father reacted to the situation. Ino looked out the window, wondering what made Gaara do so.

End of Flashback

Gaara smiled as he watched Ino drown in her own thoughts, unconsciously rocking her leg back and forth then suddenly, she looked at him and smiled.

"So? Made up your mind yet?" he said, she looked up to the sky in desperation, chuckling. He chuckled as well, "It's not like I'm asking for the impossible here…" he couldn't take it anymore and laughed as Ino lowered her head and shook it, giggling.

"Fine." She smiled, her cheeks turning visibly pink. She started walking and he followed silently, hands behind his back. She looked at the flowers, touching its petals. Gaara watched, smiling.

"What's gotten you into flowers? I mean, besides the fact that your parents own a shop." He asked, she looked at him, and then looked up to the sky.

"Well, I was first attracted by their beauty and their scent. What I mean is, No matter who you were or how cold-hearted you were, a simple flower would sooth you…" she said, took a deep breath then continued.

"…just when I turned 7 years old, I learnt that flowers had meanings, that each flower carried a certain symbol which sometimes would be the opposite of their appearance." She said, putting the same stray strand of hair behind her ear. Gaara listened carefully, both passing by some shops, restaurants and blacksmith's places.

Ino looked at Gaara with a weird look, and a hidden smile. "What's gotten you into that flower? The one you bought this morning." She asked. Gaara smiled.

"It attracted me…" he exclaimed, and then laughed. "…and I didn't even know its meaning" Ino laughed, leaning her head back then looked at the road in front of her. "But you had a good choice. You could be a natural florist…" she said, giggling. She looking at him, "though I don't picture you as one" she laughed harder. Gaara blushed and laughed along.

"You could be my floral-sensei" he said, taking a glimpse at her now pink face. She laughed, "I'm not sure I'd be a good sensei" she said, shaking her head. Gaara walked just a bit closer and said in a whisper.

"I know you'd make a great sensei" she looked at him, madly blushing. She playfully slapped his arm.

"Stop it, you're making me blush." She said. She was indeed, blushing; you can say Hinata has a competition now. He laughed.

"That's good..." he said, touching his arm where she hit him. "…you look cute when you blush"

Ino's face was red, her cheeks glowing almost as the color of the flowers in her arms. 'If I stay near him for the next five minutes, god knows what could happen…' she thought, feeling uneasy. '…is it me or is it hot in here?' she thought, using her hand as a fan to cool herself, being careful not to make Gaara sense her hand movement. But no avail, he already noticed.

"Beautiful weather isn't it?" he said, leaning forward and turning his head in her direction. She stopped waving her hand and laughed.

"Y-Yes, indeed…" she replied, deciding to start a new conversation. "…how's the weather back at Sunagakure?" she asked, Gaara snickered.

"It's windy most of the year. but it gets better in a period of time between winter and spring." He said, waving his hands in the air to signify the scene. Ino nodded, giggling at Gaara's way to embody the situation. Suddenly, she stops, making Gaara stop.

"What is it?" he asked, Ino gave him the biggest smile in the world. She pointed at the building behind her.

"That's my stop" she said, chuckling. Gaara raised his eyebrows (then again, he doesn't have any. Lee stole them XP)

"Oh…" he managed to say. "…well, thanks for letting me walk you home." They both laughed.

"Thank you for walking me home" she said, slyly grinning but blushing at the same time. She looked at the ground. That's when she felt his hand on her chin, making her look up at him.

"Don't do that..." he started, "…don't look down, you should always keep your head up" he said, replying with a grin. She simply smiled and nodded, making that damned stray strand of her hair fall over her right eye. She lifted her hand to put it back behind her ear only to find that Gaara already reached out for it. He put the strand behind her ear, and then rested his hand on her neck. She shivered, his touch was electric. It's that same feeling she felt this morning. Whatever magic he's playing on her, she's surely fallen for it.

Gaara removed his hand and lowered it to his side, giving Ino the sincerest smile she's ever seen. 'I never noticed how…cute he is when he smiles' she thought, smiling back, her eyes glittering like a blazing 'natsumiboshi' in the middle of a clear sky. (I just got that word from one of Naruto episodes, teehee)

"Well, I think you should go inside. You don't want your parents to worry about you any longer." He said, ushering to the door with his arm. She nodded, turning around to open the door but stopped. Gaara wondered if she's forgotten something, her keys, maybe. She turned around, smiling.

"Thanks again, Gaara" she said, he nodded. "Don't mention it." he smiled back. He was surprised when Ino leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek, her right hand resting on his shoulder. She backed away and looked at him in the eye.

"See ya…" she said, turning around to open the door. Making sure Gaara wouldn't see her with that goofy smile on her face. She walked into her house and shut the door, leaving a very surprised, very blushing and ultimately confused Gaara.

A few seconds later, he grinned, shaking his head. 'Did I just get a kiss from a girl? It's not THE kiss but it's a kiss, they call it a kiss, don't they?' he thought as he put his hands in his pocket, walking away with a smile from ear to ear.

((FLUFFINESS, I love it!))

Hokage building

Neji, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba and Shino were standing in the main hall of the building, waiting for the two Chuunins to arrive.

"Where the hell are they?" Shikamaru said, looking at the clock in the middle of the room. They heard footsteps to see…

"Chouji? Is that you?" Naruto said, Surprised. In the past few days, Chouji was able to drop a few kilograms off his weight, and replacing his chubby body with a medium built one. (I liked Chouji when he was thin during his fight with the big sound guy, he looked smexy, LOL)

"Yes, Naruto. I'm back." Chouji smiled, though he lost some weight, he still had those puffed cheeks of his. Shikamaru smiled, he remembered what Chouji said a couple of days ago:

Flashback

"Where are you going, Chouji?" Ino said with a sad look in her eyes. "My dad has this shack on top of the mountain; we're spending a few months there. Meditating and practicing, you know the usual." He said smiling. "Oh, then good luck, Chouji. Don't forget to write" Ino said, Shikamaru nodded to Chouji. He smiled, "I won't, see ya" He said, waving goodbye and going out the door.

End of flashback

"Welcome back, Chouji. It's good to see you again" Shikamaru said, bumping his fist with Chouji's. Kiba smirked.

"One down, one to go" he said, speaking about the remaining member of the guys, Rock lee. Naruto squeezed his eyes closed, hands behind his head.

"Oi, Neji. Is he always late?" he asked, Neji glared at him. "….." was neji's reply. Naruto groaned. Sasuke stepped closer to Naruto, arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't think he was always late. Maybe your attitude rubbed on him" he smirked, Naruto's eyes turned white with anger, his fist in front of Sasuke's face. "SASUKE!!" he threatened, Sasuke turned away with a snicker, leaving the annoying Uzumaki with glares from both Neji and Shikamaru, the latter was cracking his knuckles. Naruto Gulped.

"Hey guys, I'm so sorry I'm late. Please forgive me" Lee said politely, his hand rubbing the back of his head. Neji nodded.

"Ah." he replied, turning to the others. "Should we go now?" he asked, the others nodded as a reply.

"Damn right, we're ready-ttebayo" Naruto yelled, throwing his fist in the air. Lee responded. "Naruto, I like your youthful excitement. LET'S GO!" he yelled, also throwing his fist in the air, both running towards Tsunade's office. Kiba sighed.

"They are very enthusiastic" he said, Akamaru barked in agreement. "More like retarded" Sasuke said. Neji snickered, liking Sasuke's remark. Shikamaru laughed at Neji's reaction.

"C'mon, guys. We don't want Tsunade-sama to wait any longer" Shino said, walking ahead of them. The rest followed in constancy.

Tsunade's office

Tsunade was sitting behind her desk, standing near the wall were Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma and Gai. A loud knock on the door was heard.

"Come in" Tsunade says, sitting as usual. Her hands were intertwined and she rested her chin on them. Both Lee and Naruto come in first.

"Tsunade-sama." Lee says, bowing. Naruto stands with his hands behind his head and his eyes squeezed shut.

"What is it now, Tsunade no baa-Chan?" he said, only to realize that everyone is here. He blinked a couple of times and pointed in their direction.

"What...what…w-what are they doing here?" he said, a few seconds later, the rest of the guys come in. Tsunade smiled.

"I'm very pleased that you all managed to show up." She said, looking at each and every one of them straight in the eye. They all look surprised, probably wondering what the reason for this meeting is.

"I'll get straight to the point…" she said, closing her eyes. "…in the past couple of years you showed a great improvement, whether it was on ranked missions, reconnaissance missions or even giving classes at the Academy…" she said, opening her eyes, "… so, I called the Jonins for a quick meeting and they all agreed with me on the following…" she said. The guys were confused, seeing that their Senseis were smiling.

'I wonder what's up!' Kiba thought. Lee was looking at Gai-sensei who was nodding and smiling at him. Tsunade got up.

"Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino…" she said with a stern look on her face. A few seconds passed with nothing said. Naruto gulped, a bead of sweat was slowly making its way from his forehead, sliding down his cheek and stopping near his chin. With that look on her face, he wondered if the news she's giving were good.

'Just spit it out already, what is it?' Chouji thought. Shino, who was always calm, was getting nervous. Neji remained in his usual self-composed state, but was burning up with anxiety on the inside. Lee was obviously shaking. Both Kiba and Shikamaru were trying to predict what was going to be said. Sasuke wasn't blinking. Little Akamaru hid deep in Kiba's jacket.

"…There's no reason to be nervous, you know" Tsunade said, chuckling. They all stopped their reactions and paused. Tsunade was being calm, 'this must be a good thing. At least I hope so.' Shikamaru thought.

"Congratulations, you all are promoted to Jonin level" she said, smiling. A couple of seconds passed and there was no reaction in the room. Naruto was the first to comment.

"...J-Jonin?" he said, Tsunade nodded. All of the older Jonins were smiling. Naruto yelled, jumping in the air.

"YES!! I'M ONE STEP CLOSER TO BECOMING THE NEW HOKAGE" he said, jumping up and down. In usual days, Tsunade would beat the crap out of him, but this time. She laughed from her heart for the first time, letting him enjoy this moment. Asuma took a step forward.

"We all felt that you've become mature and more responsible to be promoted. So, Congratulations." he said, Shikamaru sighed in relief. "Yahoo!!" Kiba said. Neji chuckled. Shino nodded silently. Lee had tears streaming down his cheeks with a pouting mouth. Sasuke snickered, but then grinned.

Chouji…well; let's say he was celebrating in his own way.

"Hey, Chouji. How are you holding up?" Shikamaru asked, Chouji turned around, away from the others

"I'm so happy…proud, to be exact" he said, the guys stopped what they were doing and concentrated on Chouji, who was visibly shaking. Asuma walked towards him, put his hand on his shoulder.

"You were always the most sensitive one in my group, Chouji. But I'm really proud of you." he said, knowing that in that moment, tears were streaming down Chouji's face. He nodded, wiping away his tears. He turned around with his usual happy face and puffed cheeks.

Asuma turned around, nodding to Tsunade, who smiled. "I thought you guys might want to celebrate this event. So, I booked a reservation at the 'Shimabukuro' restaurant. Don't worry; I had already paid for the services. You just go and Celebrate." She said. Kiba was the first to comment.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama. This is too much" he said, rubbing the back of his head. Akamaru barked and Shino nodded in agreement. Tsunade waved her hand in front of her.

"No, it's really fine. C'mon, what are you waiting for? Go tell your friends about the news" she said, laughing.

"I'm going to tell Mother. She'll be surprised…" Kiba said. He bowed. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama" he said, in a few seconds he was out the door. They all bowed to Tsunade and started to leave on by one. Kakashi walked towards his students.

"Naruto…Sasuke" he started, both looking at their sensei. "…I'm very proud of you" he smiled, they could tell from his closed eye and his expression from under the mask.

"I knew this was coming" Naruto boldly said, laughing out loud. Kakashi sighed, Sasuke, smirked.

"After all, I won." he said, Naruto's temple vein bulged (Anime style). "Sasuke, what did you just say?" he said, his fist was two centimeters away from Sasuke's face. Sasuke smirked.

"My name was said before yours. So, I win" he said, slowly walking out. Naruto's face turned red.

"Teme…." He said. In a few seconds, he broke out laughing. The Jonins were surprised.

"What's the deal with him?" Kurenai whispered to Asuma. He shook his head.

"He's just jealous" Naruto said, Kakashi smiled and ruffled with Naruto's hair, making him groan.

"Kakashi-sensei, you shouldn't mess with my hair now. I'm a Jonin-ttebayo…" he proudly said, fixing his hairstyle. "…which means I'm in the same place as you. You don't ruffle with Gai-sensei's hair, do you?" he asked, Kakashi smirked at Gai who was laughing.

Kakashi shook his head. "No matter how old you grow or what rank you get, you're still my annoyingly hyper student" he said, smiling. Naruto looked at him and smiled back.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. But I have to go and tell Hinata-Chan. She'll be so glad." he said and ran out. Kakashi laughed, soon the others joined as well. Tsunade chuckled.

"You should also go celebrate with them, after all, they are your students" she said, they all nodded and walked out the door. Tsunade turned around in her chair, took in a deep breath and exhaled it, smiling deeply and closing her eyes, she didn't notice the door being opened.

"Aren't you coming with us?" she heard someone say. She turned around to see Naruto. She shook her head. "I'm very tired, I might go to bed early tonight" she said, Naruto nodded.

"Well, that's because you're a Baa-Chan. You can't stay up later than sunset" he laughed evilly. Naruto shrieked before running outside after seeing something 'flying' at his direction. Tsunade laughed and went to retrieve the book she threw at him.

Hokage building, corridors

"YES, the power of youth shall live on" Lee said, walking alongside Gai and Neji. Both smiling at Lee's excitement. "It was a great thing. I still can't believe it, I mean, yes, I knew that this day would come but I never knew how I would react to it" Neji said, laughing. He noticed that Lee stopped in his track.

"What's the matter, Lee?" he said, he looked where Lee was looking. Coming from the opposite direction was Gaara who stopped few feet away, looking right back at them.

"So it's true what I heard. You guys were promoted?" he asked, Lee nodded. "Yes, just a few moments ago. I guess the news spread fast." He said. Gaara smirked. "Well, congratulations" he said and continued walking. When he passed by them, Lee decided to speak up.

"Gaara…" he started. Gaara stopped walking and turned around. Lee smiled, "we're going to celebrate this promotion by having this feast which Tsunade-sama suggested, do you want to come?" he politely asked. Gaara smirked.

"Thanks, but I won't be welcomed by the others." He said, turning around. 'Won't be welcomed? Says who?' Lee thought.

"They say 'the more the merrier', don't they? It won't hurt if you come with us. You could bring your siblings as well" Gai said. Gaara turned back to face them, both Neji and lee were shocked. "Gai-sensei!" Lee whispered. Gai looked at him and winked.

Gaara looked at the ground as if he was thinking. "We're going to a restaurant called 'Shimabukuro'. If you want, you can come by" Gai said, walking away. A few seconds later, Neji followed him, leaving Lee with Gaara. The latter chuckled.

"You must hate me for what I did to you. I don't buy that innocent attitude of yours." He said, Lee flinched then smiled.

"I don't hold grudges against Anyone, Gaara. What's in the past is in the past. It's been five years now…" He said, "…why don't you come with us? It'll be fun! You could see that no one cares about the past, if you joined us in this joyous moment, they'd know that you've changed. They might not forget what happened, but they sure can forgive you." he said, walking towards Gaara. He stopped and extending his hand.

"Please…" he said, Gaara looked at him, surprised, then looked at his hand, "…Let's consider this handshake as reconciliation." He said, grinning. 'Is he serious? Why would he want to reconcile with me after I almost killed off his future?' he said, looking at Lee's grinning face. A few seconds later, he chuckled. Gaara extended his hand and shook Lee's and smiled back.

"Thank you" Gaara said, nodding. Lee smiled. "It's no problem. So, are you coming with us? It'll be awesome." He says enthusiastically. Gaara smiled, wondering how this guy changed his attitude from being serious to hyper in a matter of seconds.

"I think so…" he didn't complete his sentence when Lee held his hand and ran as fast as he could.

"Then it's settled. You're hanging out with us tonight!" he said, Gaara was surprised, barely keeping up with Lee's speed.

"Stop!" Gaara yelled. Lee suddenly stopped next to a huge door, making Gaara collide with his back, then falling back on his butt. Lee chuckled.

"What?" Lee said, chuckling. Gaara got up, rubbing his butt. "First of all: Don't laugh at me. Second of all: I have to tell my siblings, they might want to go as well" he said. Suddenly, the door was opened to reveal Kankurou and Temari.

"Go where?" Kankurou said, seemingly interested. Both Lee and Gaara were caught off guard 'when the heck did they show up?' Lee thought. They both laughed as they explained the whole situation to the two.

"I can't believe Shikamaru didn't tell me, I mean, I'm a few meters away from her office." she said, rather whined. Kankurou snickered.

"That's why I told you to stay away from the shadow brat" he said, munching on a biscuit he held in his hand, before taking the next bite, Temari took it out of his hand.

"He's got a name, you know" she said, defending Shika, before giving the biscuit to Gaara who simply looked at it.

Kankurou snickered then asked lee. "When are you going and who's going?" he asked, snatching the biscuit away from Gaara who looked absolutely clueless.

Lee looked at the ceiling. "Well, all of the promoted guys plus the girls of each team. So yeah, everyone you know and probably don't know" Gaara looked at Lee. 'Everyone? Could she be going?' he said, thinking about Ino. Gaara realized that there's not a moment that goes by without thinking about her, her beautiful baby blue eyes, her soft blonde hair, her smile…

"Is Ino going?" he bluntly asked. All three of them looked at him, surprised, he was surprised himself. Kankurou smirked "Who?" he asked. Lee smiled. 'I wonder why he's asking about her' he nodded.

"Well, Chouji and Shikamaru will probably tell her so yeah, she'll be going too" he said. Kankurou laughed and Temari giggled.

"What do ya know? My little bro is in love, isn't he?" he laughed out loud. Gaara tried to hide it but his cheeks couldn't lie. "No, I'm not. Stop it" he said, Kankurou went inside, saying something about 'Gaara's crush' and 'getting dressed' in between his laughter. Temari chuckled, playfully pushing Gaara's shoulder, causing him to take half a step back.

"Forget what he said, Gaara. You know he's dying to be loved." She laughed. "I HEARD THAT!" Kankurou yelled from inside the room. She shook her head.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll go freshen up. If you want to come inside, you're welcome. If you want to go to that Shima-something restaurant, go ahead!" she said, going inside and slamming the door shut.

"SORRY!" she yelled, Lee chuckled. "Wow, I never knew your siblings are this nice" he said, walking away. Gaara followed, chuckling.

"They're not. You'll change your mind once you live with them" they both shared a laugh. Gaara, getting the feeling of having a friend for the first time, was overjoyed. They both started talking about different things on their way to the restaurant. Gaara looked at the sky, starts were shining brightly, the sky was very clear. He smiled.

'What a coincidence, fate brings us together for the third time today, Ino' he thought, smiling as her picture popped in his head.

Yamanaka residence

Ino was lying down on the couch, watching TV. There was nothing interesting on, making her pray for some kind of miracle to be sent down. At the same time, wondering what Gaara was doing.

'How the heck did you come across my mind, Gaara?' she thought, remembering how she kissed his cheeks earlier today, 'I can't believe I did that' she blushed at the thought of him. Ino closed her eyes, trying to clear her head, only to hear his voice inside her head:

"…you look cute when you blush"

She blushed even more when she remembered how nice he was, how soothing his voice was. She sighed heavily.

KNOCK, KNOCK!!!

Ino groaned, she wondered who would show up right now, interrupting her thoughts. Probably the miracle she prayed for. She got up to open the door, only to see that her mother beat her to the door.

"I'll get it, sweetheart." She said, opening the door. There stood a very smiling Shikamaru and a glittering Chouji.

"Shikamaru, Chouji. What are you guys doing here?" Ino said. Both of them said their hellos to Asuka (Ino's mom).

Chouji turned to Ino who ran towards him and hugged him. "Chouji, It's been…what, three days? But I missed you" she said, Chouji laughed. "I missed you too, Ino-Chan" he said, pulling away from the hug. Ino grinned. Asuka smiled. "Well, Chouji. You look great." She said. He nodded, thanking her.

"So, what are you guys doing here? You both look excited and YOU…" pointing at Shikamaru, "…You look like you faced the most un-troublesome thing in your life" she told Shikamaru who was grinning like crazy.

He checked Ino out, she was fully dressed. He then turned to her mother. "Asuka-san, the Jonins and we are going to have dinner. We're pretty late so we'll tell you everything later, we need to borrow Ino for a couple of hours" he said, holding Ino's arm lightly. Asuka laughed.

"As long as you bring her home by ten, I don't mind" she giggled, Ino's eyes widened. "Mother? What if they're trying to kidnap me?" she said. Asuka waved her hand in front of her face.

"Oh, Ino, Don't be silly. It's Shikamaru and Chouji that we're talking about" she said, Ino sighed.

"See ya later, Asuka-san" Chouji said as they all went out, Ino being dragged by Shikamaru, that is. Asuka shook her head. 'I'm glad Ino's up and about again. I trust you in taking care of her, Shikamaru, Chouji.' She thought as she went back on doing whatever she was doing.

Tadaaaaaaaaaaaa….Finally, I'm done with this chapter. I hope this chapter would be at least as half as good as you guys thought it would be. More InoGaara fluffiness on the way –jumps at the sound of the word 'fluffiness'-

Next chapter is going to ROCK! I told Kilulu that this chapter will have something about Lee. Well, this chapter was too long and I had to end it right now!!! Wait for the next Chapter.

Review…O-N-E-G-A-I!!!