((Been a while... longish hours at work. But everyone's been telling me that it's okay so I won't beg your forgiveness this time. watches behind her back for assassins Okay here's all the wonderful reviews I've recieved since chapter 30 came up!))

Rin-Tsukihime13

LMAO.
Sorry for not reviewing last chapter, but I was in a rush and forgot
afterwards. Anyways, it's getting exciting...or nerve-racking, whatever you
feel like saying. -laugh-
I digress, but Naru-kun was only trying his best. -laugh-
I hope that Gaara will actually fall in love with her. Woot.
((yes, Naruto was trying his best... it's kinda sad that he had to turn to porn to do it, though... I guess that's my bad, eh? lol))

Gaara-frenzy

hehe narutos legs are broken. well that training didn't last long now whats
he gonna do. oh well he'll think of something. whats chi and genma doing? that
could be a good chapter. i hope you update soon!! XD

((only one leg... I think... maybe Gaara broke the second when I wasn't looking... anyway, perhaps Gaara will be screwed in the end, eh? I guess it depends on how many more racoons get hit on the way to my work. I'm so sad... I took a 6 hour trip and mourned the loss of like 10 or more valuable members of my racoon mafia!))

VampireGaaraCheesepuffs

Ah yes, the perks of torture .
Dur Naruto was a baka, Gaara should know better rolls eyes
I got a good suply of cheesepuffs, but I'm still in need of that vampire!
(other than me)
ViprmaeGaraaCesefeupfshs
If you can read that, you're a genius .

(( is celebrating the fact that she's now a genius Gaara does know better but hey, he respects Naruto... to an extent. Trust me when I say that he is totally regretting his decision to make Naruto his love-coach. btw, if you drink my blood, I can be your vampire... I can see it now... Vampire Kitsune Slave! Muah ha ha ha ha!))

sprite21

gasp NO! MY GAARA PLUSHIE!! take sit away and hides in closet with
computer XD Interesting chapter. Can't wait till the next one.

(don't worry... I have my own plushie... and Gaara's more than man enough to deal with the millions of fans that he has lol))

black secret

You've got the age wrong; if Gaara was six and Chikage was five, then eight
years after the incident she would be 13, you said it was two years after the
chuunin exams, which would make her 15, ne?

((lol no, no... sorry for the confusion. I meant 8 years all together. In the chunin exams, Gaara was 12 and Chi was 11 so two years would make Gaara 14 and Chi 13. I know they're really young but I've known girls who've been sexually active around that age and as for Gaara's age... well... not to be stereotypical but there was a boy at the age of, I think it was, 10 who was experimenting with the art of sex so I think his age is okay. That doesn't mean that Chi's a slut or anything-- it was just a misunderstanding on her part... but thanks for the message! I'll post it in the next chapter just in case I confused other people.))

xXTwily-KunoXx

i didnt feel like signing on but great chappie i read part of it yesterday
anyways like i said b4 update when u can dont pressure urself

((lol I wasn't feeling pressured. I was half joking. I know that some people like to have updates fairly quickly so they don't forget the previous chapter, that's all but thanks for the review! huggles))

Under A Killing Moon

wow. that WAS short. but still funny. and it's okay. you aren't pathetic.
TT.TT i'll cry with you. for the people who run out of ideas. :sob: okay, i'm
back! um... im not going to do that. i don't like when people put up stories
then abruptly discontinue them. it irks me, and veins literally pop out on my
forehead and neck. according to Ian, it's quite funny. i dont think it is. o.O
okay, thats all i have to say. i have tons of reading to do thanks to an
internet death caused by a storm. :sighs: sorry i didn't find a way to review.
:sob: really. i am.
((yay! good review with clensing sobs! And even Under A Killing Moon! lol just kidding!))

((just in case anyone felt sad that I didn't give them huggles HUGGLES ALL AROUND Okay, this chapter shall be based around Chikage and Genma's last day together... alone... with only Hito to watch them... . . lol))

Chapter 31: A Recipe For Disaster

Chikage had been practically attached to Genma's hip as soon as Gaara left. Two whole days with nothing but the black-haired new kid to talk to. Her brother would always talk about his good qualities so she'd already guessed that he was trying to set her up with him. However, she couldn't allow herself to betray Gaara's words.

'Don't fall in love..." That phrase haunted her waking hours, the serious look on his face haunted her dreams. Still, she did not understand why the red-head would say something like that. Time and time again, she'd expressed her love. Everyone in the village knew. Gaara had even taken her body and tossed her aside like a used tissue. And he had the GALL to tell her NOT to fall in love with SOMEONE ELSE? He was giving her signals that could eventually cause her psyche to crash and burn!

'Besides... it's not like Genma isn't a good guy. I'd be smart to fall for him,' she thought, looking at him through the corner of her eye. He was, of course, right there, chatting his head off. Perhaps he thought that she was listening to his opinion about what good curry tasted like. As soon as Genma had heard that she could cook, he'd been trying to get her to make him a bento of her handmade food. But every time, she dodged his demands. She didn't make food for those she didn't love. She made food for her brother so their mother wouldn't kill them with her cooking. She'd make food for Gaara but didn't know what he liked to eat. And she wasn't ready to have the boy she still loved insult her food... that would destroy her, she could just tell.

"You really have to make me some food one of these days. My dad knows this high-class restaurant-ring that's looking for new talent. Ramen-stand material just doesn't cut it these days. And you might have the talent to go places. Like Konoha, for example. They're in desperate need of a restaurant that doesn't specialize in ramen..." Genma bragged.

Chikage stopped dead in her tracks. She HAD been heading to the store to pick up ingredients for supper that night but as soon as Genma talked about her leaving Suna, all thoughts of supper rushed out of her mind. Leave Suna? Cook for more strangers than she could count? That was insane!

"Food is made with love... if you don't even know the people that you cook for, how can you make good food?" she questioned the black-haired boy. He'd realized she wasn't next to him as soon as she stopped and had been asking if she was okay the entire time she'd been contemplating what Genma was trying to say.

He replied, shrugging, "I can't cook, so I don't know what to tell you... but the other chef's make really good food and they don't know all of the people they serve. They only know what the names are and if they are going to review their creation. I'm sure if you work hard enough, you'll be able to cook for anyone."

Shaking her head, Chikage held her stomach with both hands. She felt physically ill. Her intestines felt like they were wrapped firmly around her stomach and were trying to squeeze everything she'd already eaten back up. "I can never do something that callous... food is meant to be enjoyed by the people you love... even if they don't love you back!"

And she took off down the street, not sure where to go. Genma knew where she lived, where she ate if she didn't cook at home, and went to her school. He was the stalker of her nightmares and the worst part was that she'd taken him everywhere she went in those last two days! She was like the stalker's advocate!

"Wait a minute..." she muttered, racing off in pursuit of a location that was both hidden and in the open. It was a place in the shadows that everyone knew about. A mysterious island in a sea of vast knowledge. The place where she first saw Gaara... and fell in love with him.

Flashback

Chikage was 5 years old and wanted to go to the park. But a simple whim could not make her parents indulge her want. And so, without any supervision, she headed out the door and to the park, sketchbook in hand. Since the time she'd first been given a crayon to play with, she'd been drawing. Trees, flowers, anything she'd see. But that was all. There was nothing that really caught her attention, she just drew because she liked to draw. There was no actual feelings beyond that, no other reason. Until she saw him.

Entering the park, a group of kids played soccer. They ran and laughed so joyously. One of them would fall to the ground and get up laughing. Chikage couldn't tell if he just wasn't hurt or if he was too busy having fun to notice that he was in pain. But through that cloud of happiness, she caught sight of a young redheaded boy, staring at the group with eyes of indifference. Or so the boy had tried to make it seem.

However, no matter the distance, she could see the turquoise orbs clouded over with loneliness and want. She watched them for several moments before her sketchbook "magically" opened and she began drawing at the speed of light. She wanted to catch those emotions in his eyes. She wanted to capture every detail exactly as she saw it in her mind's eye. But she only had crayons with her and in the end, she came up with a blob of red over a shape of peach with two bluish-green orbs inside it. It was the worst picture she'd even made... but it was the memory that counted.

End Flashback

Since Gaara had always sat on that one swing set, nobody ever went near it. The plants around it had grown wild and those particular swings were abandoned. And Chikage had declared that area her not-so-secret fort. A desert fox lived in that brush so she'd made friends with the animal since she'd spent a lot of time hiding from the other children. And the only thing that could make that spot more special was if Gaara was there to share it with her.

((I am totally happy! this is about 500 words more than I usually write! so I think this is the longest chapter to date! rate and review please!!))