Chapter eleven: Fresh anew.

Gaara sighed, glaring at every unfortunate person that cared to look at him, which meant that certain girls got scared out of their wits by this handsome stranger.

Not that he cared to look at them back. He had one thing to do, and one thing only. And it didn't include being stalked by a bunch of fangirl demons. Especially the crazy kind.

He sighed once more, hefted the young girl on his shoulder, and walked on.

But he couldn't deny the fact that he felt every young women's eyes, as he passed, on the unconscious girl on his shoulder, glaring harshly at her, as though she'd melt just by their unpleasant looks.

Why, he could understand.

Annoying she might be, but pretty, she definitely was.

Matsuri woke up to the sound of heavy coughing. She gasped, jumping up. She looked over to see who was making the terrible noise. It was Gaara.

He was pale- more pale than usual. He was bent down and he was hacking up a storm. She immediately dashed over to him, feeling his temperature with a gentle hand on his forehead.

"Slight fever," she muttered to herself, as well as him. "You've also got a cold."

"Hm. I wonder why that is," he grumbled under his breathe sarcastically. "I could've sworn that had something to do with you."

Matsuri opened her mouth to say something in retort, but shut it again. It was her fault, really. If she hadn't run away, this wouldn't have happened.

"Well, I'm sorry," she muttered softly.

"Sorry for what? Running away? No, you're not," was all Gaara said in response.

That made Matsuri angry. "Well, I wouldn't have run away if you hadn't kept your leash so tightly around me! she yelled. "I'm not a dog, you know!"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "And yet, you used an illustration of a dog to try to make me see your point of view."

Her eyes widened at his implication. "You horrible-" she stuttered. "You- You- Ugh! You screw everything up!"

"Hm," said Gaara thoughtfully, "I thought that was already being done for me."

She threw her hands up in exasperation. "There's no talking to you!" she cried, much like the teenager she was, although, to give her some credit, her hormones were running off in all kinds of directions.

"Now, if only there was no talking to you," Gaara retorted back, meaning it in the worst way.

She glowered, pushing him away roughly. "Maybe, I should just leave you here to catch pneumonia," Matsuri growled, "Then, at least, I'd be rid of you."

Gaara broke into a fit of furious coughs. "Likewise," he managed when the air filled his lungs once more.

Seeing him like this, Matsuri felt bad. She was used to him standing tall, bossing her around, not him, crouching here, coughing his lungs out.

Matsuri sighed, pushing all her anger away. She walked away from the weak man, heading into their hotel room's kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Gaara hacked out between coughs.

There was no answer. Instead, Matsuri came back a moment later with a hot cup of tea. She moved down beside him, leaning him against her slight frame, the back of his head resting softly on her chest, as she gently helped him drink.

She pulled the cup away a minute later. "How do you feel?" she asked him timidly.

"Fine, though, I've seen better days," he admitted.

Matsuri smiled. Even when he was sick, the boy still managed to amaze her with his jokes.

"Just rest," she told him, putting the empty cup down beside them. Gaara wanted to argue, but found himself closing his eyes.

Matsuri gasped, snapping into unconsciousness. She blushed, realizing that she must have fallen asleep with Gaara. She glanced down, almost as if to make sure it hadn't been a dream, but he wasn't there. Instead, she saw a pair of black jeaned legs. She realized that they'd switched places!

Her blush only became more defined by the realization. She felt Gaara shift behind her. "So, you're awake," she heard his deep voice say.

She willed the blush away, but she got the feeling that it wouldn't budge. "So, you're feeling better," she countered in a neutral voice, trying her hardest to keep the surprise and embarrassment from her voice.

She felt his chest move as he laughed. "Yeah. That tea you gave me was pretty heavy stuff. What was in it, anyway?"

She shrugged. "Nothing much. Just an old family recipe for colds and fevers."

Gaara nodded, abandoning his interrogation when he got the feeling that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Gaara?" Maturi said.

"Yeah?"

"Can we start over?"

He paused, not quite sure what to say. Even if there were only two answers. "Yes" would mean that he couldn't hold a grudge any longer, but "No" meant that he'd have to continue being cold towards her.

But was that what he really wanted?

"Why not?" he said aloud.

He got the feeling that the girl was grinning at his answer. Good choice. He felt her move slightly, turning her head to look at him. She offered him her left hand against her chest, to his right side.

"Matsuri," was said.

His right hand took it. "Nice to meet you, Matsuri. I'm Gaara."

"Pleasure meeting you, too."

She smiled. Finally. Their inconsistent war was at its end.