I hope everyone enjoyed Chapter 5; it was really hard for me to write it. This chapter is on a slightly lighter tone towards the middle. Also, does anyone know if Suna has a mall? If it doesn't, it's called FanFICTION for a reason. (Extra emphasis on Fiction.)

Special thanks to: nejitentenfangirl, FearTheFan, Ayumi Uchiha (anonymous reviewer), Miraki Azumi, Lilxsandxkitten, Luna Forest, and FlyingPotato666, who were all reviewers, or have supported my story. (Or both.) Gaara OOCness.

Ai and Mae had finally arrived Mae's house. The two walked down the halls, in silence. The purple haired girl opened a door at the end of a hallway, and led Ai in.

"Well, it's not that great, not that bad either… but, uh, I hope you're okay with it." Mae said unusually awkwardly. Ai said nothing in response, but tried to croak a 'thank you', but her throat was too dry. Mae quickly scurried out the room and into the one next door.

"If you need anything, I'm right in here." The purple haired girl called, her voice muffled through the wall, "g'night." Ai sat down on the bed and slowly examined the room. The walls were a light gray color, with beige carpeting for the floor. The bed was a spring mattress on a metal frame, with a little end table with a standard office lamp on it right next to it. In the corner was a small closet, where Mae had set down one of her bags. Ai had dropped the bags she was carrying next to the bed. She released a long sigh, and bent down over her clothing bag. She pulled out a white night dress that went just above her knees and crawled into the bed.

Blood flashed before her eyes. It was spilled from her mother's body. More blood splattered. It was from her father. She saw a tall shadowy man laughing, but it felt as if the sound was off. It blurred out from her parent's bedroom, to the training field. Everyone seemed to be talking, till a shuriken burst from no where and slashed directly through Machiko-sensei. That's when the sound seemingly burst on, and she heard the weapon slice through air and flesh, and the screams of the Jounin. A second shuriken exploded in, and started whirring towards Mae.

"MAE-CHAN!" Ai screamed, but could not hear herself, just the sound of the wind and weapon. It slashed through, killing Mae in a single strike. Finally, one last one flew in, aiming for Gaara. 'No, no, no, no, NO!!' She screeched unheard. It sliced through him like butter, red blood flying off. A maniacal cackle was heard from above. Tears streamed down her face, and she was enveloped in darkness.

Ai bolted upright in the bed, sweat drenching her hair and forehead. Mae was sitting at the edge of the bed, a worried look on her face. A tall woman walked in, with brown eyes and short purple hair, a tone lighter than Mae's. She looked almost exactly like Mae, only with more mature and sharp features.

"Ai, are you alright?" Mae asked worriedly.

"Nnn?" Ai groaned. "I guess I'm fine." Mae breathed a sigh of relief, but still seemed to be worried. "Did… we miss training?" Ai asked.

"No, not yet, but-" Mae was cut off by her mother.

"Ai-san, you obviously can't go to training today, you're unwell"

"I'm fine!" Ai said over-confidently, and she went to the bathroom to get dressed.

Ai and Mae arrived at the training ground. Machiko-sensei was already there, and Gaara was there a few feet away. Gaara took a sideways glance at Ai. Her hair was disheveled, she wore the same clothes from the day before, and her cheeks were tear-streaked.

'Wow, she looks like crap… I should do someth- NO! I don't care about her... just myself… am I right?"

"Alright! Mae-san, Gaara-san, today is your match! This is preparation for the Chuunin exams!" Machiko said sternly, her eyes shifting. "Gaara is tough, but odds are that the Genin from other villages are ten-times tougher!"

"Then I'll be twenty times tougher." Mae said cockily. Ai gulped. She couldn't defeat her best friend earlier. She wouldn't pass the test... She wouldn't fulfill her dream….

"Ready… BEGIN!!" Machiko shouted. Mae slid back ten feet, and Gaara held his place. Mae started gaining momentum, the bandages tied around her thighs starting to stream backwards. Gaara braced himself, the sand from his gourd starting to flow outwards. As she ran, Mae removed a spool from her pockets, containing nearly invisible threads. She bit off a length of it, and made a hand sign. She disappeared in a puff of smoke. She popped behind Gaara, and bared the string in front of her. She attempted to get around her neck, but before she knew it, something warm and itchy was around her hand.

"What the- SAND??" Mae screeched. The sand tightened its grip, and Mae used her free hand to slowly reach for her back. She grabbed the sword, and took a fast slice of the sand. Gaara felt the chakra absorbed by her sword, and spun around. Mae continued to slash at the sand the continued to reach at her. Gaara had it now though. He stepped forward and punched her in the stomach. She collapsed, exhausted from the effort that went into the fight. The sun was high into the sky, even though before it had just risen.

Machiko sighed. She saw this result coming. 'They were almost evenly matched.'

"Great job. Training… concludes." She said, flipping her brown hair. She started to walk off, and then just jumped onto the roof.

Ai stepped forward, still disheveled. She started towards Mae to help her up, but she saw Kankurou there first.

"Kankurou-san?" she asked. Kankurou turned his head and smiled.

"Oh, hi Ai-san!" he greeted.

"Kankurou-san, when'd you get here?" Ai was confused.

"Weeeellll… We didn't have training today, so I just thought I'd watch Mae-chan- I mean my little brother and see what he was doing." Kankurou said slightly blushing. He turned back around and extended his hand to the purple-haired Mae, and helped her up. Her face was as red as a beet.

"Thanks Kankurou-kun…" Mae muttered shyly. Ai grinned. Kankurou blushed. Gaara shifted his weight. Kankurou walked off, and Mae left in the other direction to go home. Gaara looked towards Ai and walked forward.

"Ai-chan… I noticed that you didn't look so good today and wondered if maybe you wanted to come with me out tonight."

"You mean…A date, Gaara-kun?" Ai asked blushing.

"No… I mean… Call it what you want Ai." Gaara turned his head to hide his own blushing face. "I'll come get you at six."

"It's a date!" Ai said playfully. Gaara groaned quietly.

When Ai got back to Mae's house, Mae was collapsed on the couch watching some made for T.V. soap opera.

"Hi Mae!" Ai said cheerfully.

"You seem happy." Mae said in a bored tone, crunching down a chip.

"Weelllll…. I guess I have a reason." She said dreamily.

"Then why?" The purple-haired girl asked, turning away from the crappy made-for-T.V. drama.

"Ano… Gaara asked me out earlier."

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"I told you that you two were made for each other!"

"He didn't actually use the context 'date.'"

"So?" Ai rolled her eyes.

"Quick, take a shower!"

"Why?"

"We're going shopping." Mae said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ok, ok." Ai murmured.

Mae dragged Ai around the Sunakagure Shopping Center, looking through windows. Mae would comment every once in a while, saying. "that might look good" or "It would look better on me". They came across an elegant long purple kimono with pink blossoms on it. "Oohhhh..." they said in unison. They glanced down to the tag that read "99,000 yen" (about 99 dollars). They screamed at the price.

"That's way too expensive!!" Mae shouted.

"Try not to draw too much attention to us." Ai whispered. They continued on their way.

"Ohh! This is my favorite store!" Mae exclaimed. She pulled Ai forcefully into the store. Ai looked around. She normally wasn't the kind of person to shop a lot. The shop had fancy dresses, shinobi attire, and street clothes. She relaxed and let Mae handle everything, and when it was all picked out, she payed 60,000 yen. (I guess about 60 dollars.)

Ai was dressed in a short black dress with a pink ribbon around the waist and pink lace at the bottom. She wore black and pink lace leggings. Her hair was in ponytail and she was wearing small black heels. (They sorta look like Tsunade's). It was 5:45 and she was just finishing getting dressed. She picked up the black purse that Mae had picked out for her. It was just big enough for three kunai and a few shuriken, as well as other basic femine stuff. 'You never know' she thought, dropping the weapons into the purse. She sat and waited at the doorstep for fifteen minutes. She looked up and saw the sand starting to swirl. Her face lit up as out of the sand a figure emerged. He wore a black flannel shirt with two buttons open to show a mesh shirt and black jeans. On his back was a gourd and his hair was bright red. "Gaara-kun!" Ai called out. He waved slightly, and his mouth actually curled slightly in a smile.

"Are you ready to go?" Gaara asked, his voice was gentler and a bit happier. She nodded and held onto his arm. The sand started to swirl again and the two departed.

They reappeared in front of a small local onigiri restaurant. They sat at two adjacent barstools. They both ordered vegetable bento and plum onigiri. When the waitress came back with the food, she gave them a glance and a smile. They ate in silence, occasionally looking at eachother. After they finished, Gaara payed the bill.

"Gaara-kun… Thank you." Ai smiled, her eyes beginning to water. "You really made me feel better." The tears of joy dripped down her cheeks.

"You look much nicer when you're not crying." Gaara said, wiping the tears from her face.

"Gaara-kun…."

"You shouldn't run from your pain. If you don't endure it… It might never go away." Ai remembered that night. He stopped her from running. Comforted her. Helped her. But she still ran. From her own home. She ran to Mae. The tears poured out. They were of mixed emotions.

That's it for Chapter Five. Thanks for bugging me to finish Ayumi. Your Madara Uchiha impression was funny. Yeah.