He waited, hidden in the mist of the hot springs. Obsidian Luminosity wasn't one to worry, and yet he was worrying. This second meeting with Pallid Obscurity was an amusing game to him.

Perhaps in the game, he could uncover her true identity.

So far, Gaara had to admit there wasn't much to hate about the phantom girl, other than her damned aloofness, timidity, and vague information. Pallid was obviously talented at warding personal questions away.

The red head had donned a new mask just for the meetings with her. It was painted all black with wide open eye slits for his aqua marine eyes to peer out. He just hoped she would be here to see it.

The Kazekage had been waiting roughly an hour, but Pallid's prowling hours were closer to midnight or witching hour.

His eyes focused on a curvaceous figure's outline appearing in the mist. It was her.

Gaara was surprised and disturbed to find one of her blue orbs hidden beneath a bandage. "What happened?" he demanded immediately, taking an impulsive step forward.

Pallid Obscurity froze and stammered, "A-a d-d-disagreement."

And he was a flying monkey.

Without words, Pallid Obscurity was challenging him. The rules were simplistic:

Keep your life a secret. The one who opened up first lost. No judges, no referees, and all methods were at their disposal.

Both were extremely childish, insanely competitive, and hated losing.

"Hime-sama," he addressed her with a slight smirk, holding out his hand.

The showing parts of her skin –forehead, around eyes- turned pinkish. "Y-you don't have to address me as a p-princess, Obsidian."

"It is my pleasure. Please refer to me as Ouji-sama," Gaara said in a mocking manner.

Pallid's enchanting blue eyes lit with amusement. "Hai, Ouji-sama." She shyly placed her hand on his, almost pulling back.

Sending her a sardonic glance with his eyes, the Kazekage closed his hand on hers gently and pressed the gloved hand to his lips. Her face became bright red and smoke whistled from her ears in smoke stacks.

Gaara's smirk was concealed by the black mask. Seeing her blush was becoming a hobby of his. The red haired nin didn't know why, but it amused him. Few things did.

"Er…sh-sh-should we…eh…g-get st-started?" Hime-sama seemed to have trouble stranding a sentence together. Gaara smiled softly. Since when had teasing become so fun?

He bowed and she bowed in reply. Pallid Obscurity awkwardly placed her free hand on his shoulder and his face burned faintly as his hand touched her waist above her hip. Gaara began to teach her the steps for the waltz.

She stared down at her feet constantly to ensure she didn't mess up too many times. Hime-sama was a horrible waltzer. Gaara kept a straight face as she pounded his toes into numbness with her heavy-duty combat boots.

Inwardly, however, Obsidian Luminosity was describing the rainbow in a colorful assortment of adjective word choice.

"Good," he complimented as Pallid managed not to step on his poor toes as much. She flushed and stepped on them again by accident.

P-p-P-p-P-p-P-p-P

Hannah was speechless when the Kazekage gave her a caustic glance with his aqua marine eyes gleaming and kissed her hand.

[Insert something similar to: WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT?! AND WHY IS HE LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! IS HE ON MEDS!? ANY FANGIRLS WATCHING ARE GOING TO MURDER ME! AAAAHHHH!! Insert swear strand of choice

"Er…sh-sh-should we…eh…g-get st-started?" Hannah cursed herself and her tongue-tied mouth. Obsidian Luminosity was probably enjoying her torment.

He bowed and she bowed in reply. The American uneasily placed her free hand on his shoulder and her cheeks burned as his hand touched her waist above her hip. Gaara began to teach her the steps for the waltz.

She stared down at her feet constantly to ensure she didn't mess up too many times. To his credit, when she did accidentally stomp on his poor toesies, Ouji-sama gave no outward sign of his agony.

Then again, it was difficult to tell with the mask.

It was ornately carved and painted black. His aqua marine eyes contrasted with the mask dramatically. Hannah had difficulty preventing her green-grey eyes from traveling to the bright ones, lest she be lost in them forever.

"Am I doing okay?" Hannah asked quietly, tilting her head up.

He gave a slight nod. As time passed, waltzing was a bit fun. She tread on his feet once every few minutes. They moved on to Latin Swing. Hannah quickly mastered it. The Salsa, on the other hand, was a different matter.

The Salsa happened to involve no personal space, the female's waist getting touched occasionally, and much spinning/rotating. It was the Short-Stride.

"How long have we been practicing, Obsidian Luminosity?" Pallid Obscurity asked, separating from him. Where he had made contact with her tingled. Hannah wondered if that was normal.

"Almost two hours," he answered.

Hannah cursed inwardly. She took several steps back until she was almost enveloped by the mist. Tilting her head back, Pallid gave a short, choppy good-bye howl. Ouji-sama answered with his own long call as she rushed back to the Sand siblings' house.

The American crept along the buildings in the shadows, racing on the balls of her feet. She slipped behind the foliage, shedding her mask, contacts, sweatshirt, scarf, and bandages. Hannah unceremoniously stuffed them into the bag, zipping it up quickly as the front door opened.

Maite came out with her head bowed and a small, triumphant smile on her face. Kankuro was smiling lopsidedly too as he shut the door.

"Anna," Hime of Hidden Grass called softly. She sounded excited.

"Yeah?" The American emerged from the shrubbery with the backpack shouldered.

"I had the best time of my life. Arigatou for suggesting I visit him. I am in your debt." Hannah cleared her throat as Maite gave her a respectful bow.

"Yukata (I'm so glad)," Hannah coughed.

Her friend's face turned red, thinking of the outfit he was wearing. "I didn't do anything, Anna! I would never do that!"

Said Hannah arched a dubious eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

Hime- princess

Ouji- prince

Yukata- I'm so glad