Memo: This happens 4 days later! Enjoy my story!

Chapter 5: Kankuro's Return

"Hurry up!" Temari screeched as Gaara and I cleaned the house.

I sighed and mutter "Yes, mother.." under my breath. Gaara heard me and swatted me with his dusty cloth. The dust came into my nose, making me sneeze like a hyped squirrel. He laughed quietly and kept cleaning.

We finished cleaning, and I leaned against the doorway that led downstairs. Gaara grabbed my cleaning supplies and ran away as Temari scolded us like little children for playing more than we cleaned. "Kankuro's going to so happy to see you, but being covered in dust was not the best idea." She said, the stress in her voice clearly shown.

"Sorry, I'll go change." I suggested, wanting to escape from the new side of Temari I'd only seen on the tv show.

She opened her mouth, but there was a knock on the door. She sighed, and walked over to the doorway. I relaxed and slumped against the doorway. Sheesh.. She sure is scary. No wonder Shikamaru said all that stuff..

"Kankuro!! Welcome home!" Temari's cheerful voice came. Man.. She should so be an actress..

"Hey Temari! Miss me any?" Kankuro's voice came. It hadn't changed that much, since he was practically grown-up last time I had seen him. The years sure have flown by..

I heard heavy footsteps coming my way. I stood up straighter, not wanting to look like a hunchback when Kankuro saw me. (Not that I really care what cat man thinks of me. I never did.)

Kankuro came into view. He looked at me, then looked away. Then, his eyes drifted back to mine, larger than they were before. "Esther?" He asked, acting a ton like Gaara did when we first remet.

I nodded, and he ran over to me. He picked me up and gave me a huge hug. "Oh my gosh! When did you decide to show up? This is awesome!" He yelled. This made me laugh, but I couldn;t really breathe. Oh skittles and pancakes..

"I... no...air..." I gasped, making him put me down.

I took a deep breath and smiled at him. "Hi Kankuro. How was your mission?"

He gave me a wave of his hand. "That can't wait until later. I want to hear about you." He grabbed me by the hand and led me into the kitchen.

"How'd you get here? Not that I'm upset that you're here." He said, sitting me down in a chair.

"Well... I got another painting from my uncle and I got a note with it, so I was all set."

He nodded. "You know, it's really good to see you again, Esther." He gave me a happy smile, though I could tell that he was tired from his mission and traveling.

I forced a smile and nodded. Sheesh.. Please let cat man be over me. WAY over me. For the sake of Boggy Jones and Tammy Dodger PLEASE!!!

AN: Thanks to all who are reading! Hoshi-star wrote a story called Stalker or Stalkee. Please read and review! She's a newbie! XD