Extra long chapter for you all! :) Enjoy

Chapter 17, An Old Acquaintance.

Gaara lead the both of us to an apartment building, and up the stairs to the top floor. Third floor, to be exact. Three flights of stairs up to this hell hole of a place. Run down, dirty, sticky, and I think I just saw a mouse run across the floor. I stepped farther into the room and looked around, already not liking being here. I glanced back at Gaara, giving him a "Are you serious?" look. He shrugged, squeezed past me and walked over to a door on the left wall, entering.

I followed him, making sure I didn't step on any mouse doo-doo on my way. I glanced in the room, saw the big king sized bed, and sighed. This weeks is going to be a wonderful one! I turned around and walked over to the small kitchen area, glanced around it a little, then walked to the only other door in this small room. It's a small bathroom, with only a standing shower. No bathtub. Great. Perfect. I'm loving this place.

I shut the door roughly and put my hands on my hip. Men should never pick out living areas. Ever. Ever, never, ever. The least he could do is get me a damn tub. I put my hands on my hips, something I've been doing a lot of lately, and surveyed the mess as a whole. This is going to take a lot of work to make it livable. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if my home wasn't so clean I could see myself in my floor, and the fact that I started hating to be dirty since I woke up from my Dream.

I tossed my bag onto the run down couch and headed for the door. I grabbed a spare key, that was hanging on a key hook by the door, and walked out, my money heavy in my pocket.

A few hours later I returned, a whole bunch of items threatening to fall at any moment. And, to make things better, the door is locked! I struggled to get my key out, to open the door, but almost dropped everything, starting to tip backwards. But someone caught me, caught my items before they hit. I stumbled and stood straight, turning to thank him. But the yellow hair and blue eyes surprised me.

"Whoa there, you okay?" Naruto asked, his teeth bright under his tan skin.

Great.

I nodded, opening my door before I accepted my items back from him. I smiled my thank you and turned to enter the apartment.

"Do you need any help?" he asked, sticking his foot in the door before I could fully shut it.

I shook my head, giving him another smile. But he just opened the door more and peeked in. "Looks like you have a lot of cleaning to do. My sister is still working on ours. You think they would clean these places before they rent them out, huh?" He laughed at himself.

Someone cleared their throat behind us. I turned to see Gaara standing there. "Ai, is there a problem here?" His voice was more raspy than before. At least he is trying to hide who he is. Good.

I dropped everything in my hands and lunged at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and rubbing my nose against his with a big smile. I shook my head no. Thank goodness I am a good actress! Gaara set me back on the floor and put his hand on my lower back, but didn't break the hold I had on his neck. With my body plastered against his I looked over at Naruto, giving him a sheepish smile.

Naruto put his hands up. "No problem here, sir! I was just helping the lady. She was going to drop her things. I'm your neighbor, just across the hall. I'm here with my Grandpa and sister. We are staying longer than we thought and thought this would be cheaper than staying at a hotel, you know?" He smiled brightly and scratched the back of his head.

I put my face against Gaara's chest, feeling how Naruto is trying to study us. Me especially. I took a deep breath and hugged him closer, trying to give a hint to Naruto to leave. He is still Naruto, though, and doesn't get small hints all to well. Gaara stepped in the room and glanced around, glanced at the mess I made when I dropped everything on the floor. He looked down at me, still plastered against him, and lifted my chin.

"Go fill the buckets and we will start cleaning." He bent down and kissed my forehead. I nodded and picked up the four buckets I bought from my cleaning supplies and headed towards the kitchen sink. "I think it is time for you to go," he was saying to Naruto.

I filled two buckets by the time the door was shut. I set the two filled ones on the floor next to me and set the third one under the water to fill. I glanced over my shoulder at Gaara, who is standing there staring at me with an odd expression. One that I'm having a hard time reading. Though I'm not surprised. He has changed so much that I've been having a hard time reading him since I first came back. I turned my attention back on the filling bucket.

"Don't let that go to your head," I said, lifting the bucket out of the sink and setting it on the floor. "I still don't want you touching me."

When the last bucket was full I picked up two of them and brought them over towards the door, setting them down. Then I grabbed a brush from my pile of cleaning supplies and got to work scrubbing the floor. Not long after I glanced over my shoulder and saw Gaara down on his hands and knees with a different brush, scrubbing the other side of the room. Another brush worked along with him, controlled by sand. Lazy, I thought.

It wasn't long until my back ached and my arms screamed for rest. But I kept going, knowing this is good physical training on my body. By the time the sun was gone and it was dark enough to use lamps we were almost done washing the floor, moving around each other trying to clean the last bits of floor. I was about to move on to the bathroom to scrub it clean when there was a knock on the door. I stood, wiping sweat from my face and walked towards it, opening it up to, yet another, surprise.

"Hungry?" Sakura beamed at me. She held up a baking dish full of, what looks like, some kind of stuffed pasta. It smells so good my belly growls just smelling it. She laughed and entered, careful to take off her shoes when she saw Gaara still cleaning and went over to the kitchen to set it down. "I made extra thinking you would be to busy to make anything to eat. I'm glad I was right!" She turned around and smiled big at me. "I brought over forks, too. Just return it all when you are done. Have a good dinner!" She slipped her shoes back on, but turned with a sheepish smile. "Oh, sorry! I'm that blonde dolts sister. My name is Sayuri. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask, okay?" She smiled once more before she left, shutting the door behind herself.

I grabbed a fork and was about to take a big bite when a hand quickly grabbed my wrist. I started and lashed at Gaara, shoving him away from me. "I said don't touch me," I whispered, my heart still pounding.

He seemed to ignore me. "Always check the food before you eat it."

I rolled my eyes. "It's Sakura, for goodness sake!"

He just rose a brow at me. I shifted under his look, silently agreeing with him. Sakura could make an almost undetectable poison or sleeping medicine and slip it in anything. And I'm "under watch" by our friends. I have to be careful. "I will eat some first. If anything happens to me, you know not to eat it. Wait a half hour." He took a big bite of the food, then another, and another.

My stomach growled louder. I swear he only said that so I wouldn't eat it all on him.

– –

That night I slept on my nice clean floor wrapped up in a blanket. There was no way I was about to try sleeping on that nasty bug infested bed. Gaara, being all cool like, made himself a hammock and slept comfortably all night. Didn't think about asking me if I would like one. So when I woke in the morning, my whole body felt like rocks. My hips hurt, my knees hurt, my back hurt, my neck hurt. I felt like a really old lady complaining.

But there wasn't anything anyone could do, so I started stretching, trying to get all the knots out of my muscles.

There was another knock at the door, just as I was finishing stretching. Gaara answered it. This time, it was both Naruto and Sakura, both with large smiles and their hands behind their backs.

"Good morning!" they said simultaneously. Then Sakura peaked around Gaara at me. "Oh, dear!" She slipped past him and knelt next to me, her hands going to my back. "Are you alright?" she asked. I nodded, but couldn't help flinching when she touched a really soar part on my back. "Here, let me get these knots out for you."

And then I was in heaven for two seconds flat before Gaara was pulling me to my feet. "Ai is fine, but thank you for your concern. We had to sleep on the floor last night, that is all." I put my arms around his waist and smiled at Sakura, wishing he would let her massage my back. But I know she shouldn't. What is she uses her power and I have no way of stopping her this time? Yeah, I'd be screwed.

Sakura stood up, looking like a reprimanded child. "I'm sorry, I was only trying to help."

I reached out and touched her arm, giving her a gentle smile. She smiled back.

"I have food!" Naruto said loudly, walking in and bringing it over to the kitchen counter. "Sakura said you didn't have anything last night, so we also knew you wouldn't this morning."

I smiled and skipped over to him, taking a fork from his hand and taking a big bite of the french toast. I smiled, in heaven, and took another bite. But then I stopped up short. French toast? I had to try twice to swallow what was in my mouth. I taught them how to cook this. Before, I mean. Before I woke up. I pretended to taste it a little more, then gave him a questioning look. But the look in Naruto's eyes said he already knows who I am. I licked my lips, taking the last of the evidence from them.

"You really need to be careful," Sakura sighed. "I swear, some times I think you are more stupid than Naruto has ever been."

I glared at her. The door swung open and in hobbled Kakashi, shutting the door behind himself. "Well you aren't that convincing, either," I said. Kakashi stood up straight and looked at me with a raised brow. There was a patch over his Sharingan eye.

"What?"

I couldn't help but laugh. And, slowly, Sakura and Naruto started laughing. Kakashi just flipped his hair back over his shoulder, popping his hip to the side. I held my stomach trying to contain my laughter. He is such a... a... I don't even know what! I shook my head and took another bite of the food.

After we all had something to eat, Sakura helped me kill all of the bugs in the bed and clean it up. We went out together and bought some sheets and blankets and she helped me make it. We had seen Shikamaru out at the market, but he didn't come over. Gaara and Naruto went out to look for jobs that afternoon, leaving me, Sakura, and Kakashi to hang around for awhile. We sat in my apartment, where Gaara's ward was still strong, and talked things over. Neither, thankfully, asked how I managed to change my hair color and eye color. They didn't ask me about Gaara's change, either.

When it started getting late the two of them returned to their own apartment for a little alone time before Naruto returned to ruin everything. I wonder if he is out there right now with Hinata instead of looking for a job. I grabbed a light jacket from my bag and headed out to buy some groceries to make supper with. I walked down the street and surveyed the night life. People are out and about almost as much as during the day.

I remember back in Suna everyone hid once it got this late. They hated the cold. But no matter how hot it got during the middle of the day, they were always outside. Rarely would people stay inside during the day. It's different here. It's different now. With everyone in Konoha they have to readjust to the climate. It stays around the same temperature until the season changes. The winter had to be awful for them, being in the cold all the time. But maybe this is good, too. They can go outside at night without completely freezing to death. And they can look at the stars.

"Watch it!" someone yelled, shoving me.

I caught myself before I fell over, throwing a glare at the man. I continued on my way, not allowing myself to sink so deeply into my thoughts. They definitely aren't as friendly here, that's for sure. I took a deep breath and looked up at the stars. It's a beautiful night, tonight. Bright stars and a big moon.

The moon. The same moon I fell in love with Gaara under. The same moon I returned to this world under. The same exact moon Gaara and I would sit under all night together.

No, Kira, I told myself. That was ten years ago. There is no going back, you know this! I mentally shook myself and continued walking until I found a small store that had fair prices for food. I stocked up on a few things I thought we would need and headed back to the apartment. But, of course, I cannot have one uneventful walk. Ever.

"Hey, girly!" A guy grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. I pulled away and stepped back, glaring at him. "You bumped into me earlier, I think you owe me an apology." He is pretty tall, thick muscles and a stubbly beard. "You hear me? I think you should say you're sorry."

I shrugged and tried to backup a little, trying to get away from him. I don't want to do this right now.

But, with my amazing luck, he reached out and grabbed me again, making me drop my bag of food. "I said, I think you should say you are sorry!" he hissed in my face. I turned my head away from him, closing my eyes tightly. "Say you're sorry!"

"Mamoru!" came a girls voice. The man, Mamoru, jerked me as he let go, knocking me down. "Mamoru, what do you think you're doing?" A slim girl pushed past him and helped me to my feet with a smile. "Are you okay? I hope this big dult didn't hurt you."

I nodded and brushed myself off.

The girl tucked some dark orange hair behind her ear and bent down to pick up my bag. "He is a jerk, but I love him!" she laughed and smiled brightly.

I scoffed and accepted my bag from her. That was when I caught the real first look at her face. More tanned than when I last saw her. And her hair is much longer. About the length of Sakura's. It looks good on her. But what is she doing here? I don't remember her being appointed to anything to do with this mission. Plus, wouldn't someone have mentioned this to me?

Matsuri wrapped her arms around Mamoru's waist and winked at me. "He really isn't all that bad." Mamoru put his arm around her shoulders and they turned to leave, which is when I caught sight of another thing I hadn't noticed before. Oto's symbol. On Matsuri's belt.

She is with them! How can that be? Matsuri could never do that to Gaara! She was in love with him! How is this possible? How can she do that? What is wrong with her? I felt my skin turn cold as I watched them walk off. What demon could put something in her head to make her think it was okay to betray Gaara like that? Orochimaru, that is who. But isn't he dead? If not, he very well should be. This isn't right. Matsuri may have been a bitch to me, but never ever would I have thought she would leave Suna and betray Gaara so badly.

I rubbed my nose and turned, only to stop dead in my tracks. Gaara stood there, his hands fisted at his sides as he watched Matsuri's back. "So you've seen." His eyes returned to mine and I felt a chill feather its way down my back. "Come," he said. He motioned for me to follow him.

"What is she doing?" I asked when we entered the apartment. "Does she know that she is on the wrong side of this war?"

Gaara took one of the bags from me and started to put things away. "She knows."

I set the other bag down and thought. "And she isn't under orders to spy, is she?"

"No."

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "How can she do this? Last I knew she was still completely head over heels for you."

"I could say the same about you," he said softly. We continued on in silence. I took out some pork I had bought and started to cook it on the stove. The smell filled the room and my mouth started to water from it.

We ate in silence as well. We had nothing else to talk about. And what can I say to that comment he made? "Oh, Gaara, you don't know it, but I am still very much in love with you!" Yeah, that would turn out well. And when I die, he will lose me and my love again. That is much, much worse than thinking I do not love him anymore. I know what it is like to finally have something, only to lose it. I know how hard and painful that is. But what would it be like to get it again, only to lose it once more? That would hurt twice as bad. I can't imagine that kind of pain.

Gaara set his plate in the sink and went into the bedroom, only to come back out seconds later. He tossed a letter on the table, one that had already been opened. "This was handed to me earlier. It is from Kankuro. He wants to meet with you, though he does not say why. I will bring you there tomorrow and I will pick you up. With Matsuri around I do not want you walking around alone."

"Are you afraid she will try to hurt me if she finds out who I am?" I asked, picking up the letter and scanning it over.

"No," He returned to the bedroom. "I'm afraid you will hurt her and give us all away," he said before he shut the door.

I smirked to myself. He knows me still so well.

– –

The next day we met Kankuro at a tea shop around noon. He had the place all picked out. A small shop that doesn't get all that much business, on the side of town, and with a table in the back where we were in a corner so we could see in all directions. Gaara let me enter alone and promised to be back in two hours to get me. He told me he would wait outside.

When I entered I saw Kankuro immediately, Temari sitting next to him. I can't believe I am showing them my disguise. But Gaara said Kankuro already knew, because he knew Gaara was Gaara and he saw me with him. Temari, on the other hand, had yet to find out. And, of course, she doesn't know who I am. But when I went over to the table, Temari smiled at me and got up to leave. I wouldn't see her again that day.

"Have a seat, cutie," Kankuro winked.

I rolled my eyes and held up my left hand, showing a ring I picked up at some stall. "I'm engaged, so don't try anything funny, Mister," I said in a quiet voice.

Kankuro smirked. "Yeah, I saw that big fellow who you left outside. Scary one he is, eh?" I smiled a privet smile, knowing Gaara would glare his head off if he heard Kankuro saying those words. "I've talked with my brother and there are some things we need to talk about. Believe it or not, but he has a heart and just can't talk about some things. So, he gave me this job."

I nodded, knowing Gaara was never the talking type. This must be about Matsuri, what else could it be about? Gaara would never open up his heart to his brother to tell him about how he feels about me. So I don't have to worry about that. "I saw Matsuri last night," I whispered, trying to keep my voice down so others wouldn't hear me. "Why is she doing this?"

Kankuro nodded, sitting back and looking down at his tea. Then he scoffed, and gave me a sad smile. "I'm sure you are tired of hearing the words "After so-and-so died, this is what happened." But, that is how this is going to begin." I rolled my eyes and sat back to listen to his account on what happened with her after I left. "She, of course, wanted to comfort him after what happened with a little someone. But he wouldn't listen to her. Because of the troubles those two girls had with each other, their rivalry for his love, she reminded him of her to much. So he wanted her gone and would ignore her to the point if she stood in front of him, he would keep walking even if he hit her and knocked her down."

I swallowed hard. Poor Matsuri, that must have been hard. She had such a crush on him before I came along and I ruined it all for her. And then for him to do that to her after I left... God, she must have been so hurt!

"After this treatment went on for awhile she started getting mad. She stopped trying to get his attention, she stopped talking to me and my sister, and she went so far as to start rumors about some cheating going on while someone was living in some forest place." When I was living in Konoha. She tried saying I cheated on Gaara? No way. That- "It got really bad. To the point where he got a whiff of it on the wind and went to confront her personally." His words cut my thought off.

"What did he do?" I asked. I leaned forward to make sure I heard everything and missed nothing.

Kankuro shrugged and put his arm over the table, showing me long ugly scars. "He attacked her. What do you think he would do? I jumped in just in time to save her life. That was when she lost it. She cursed him as she left the village, throwing her forehead protector at him as hard as she could. If you look close enough you can see the scar from it on his chin. That girl has amazing aim."

I shook my head. This is all to much to believe. How can so much happen in as little as ten years? Okay, I get it, ten years is a long time. But this much has happened? It seems like it should be impossible. Matsuri and I had kind of made up in the end, we were some thing like friends. I saved her from the plague, and she helped me get away from Gaara after the battle. We understood each other at the very least.

I leaned back and glanced out the window across from us. People litter the streets, but then I saw someone running and shouting. I stood to see if I could get a better look. If I'm not mistaken that was Tenten. I walked over to the window and looked down the street where she was running. A bunch of people were standing in a group, some were pumping their hands in the air.

I glanced over at Kankuro. "This could be trouble."

We both ran from the building and ran down the street. Kankuro started asking what was going on, but I just pushed my way into the crowd. I nudged people this way and that so I could get through. My tiny body is good for something at least! I finally broke through and saw what was going on. Mamoru. Gaara. Fighting. Shit!

I went to jump into the fight to stop Gaara but someone grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back. "Don't! Let them get it out," she said. I stared at Matsuri unbelieving. She sighed. "They are men. Men fight. You can't stop them."

I shoved her off of me and watched the two of them fight. Gaara got a punch to the face that knocked him back, then he tripped and fell to the ground. That is it. I can't stand here. I ran in and pulled back my fist, powering it with all my might as I let it fly towards Mamoru. I hit him square in the jaw. But it did nothing. Nothing but stun him for a second. Then his pissed face was looking at me, his large hands reaching for my throat. But Gaara was up, and nailing Mamoru in the stomach time after time with his fist.

A hand grabbed my hair and pulled me backwards. Matsuri got in my face, still with a hand in my hair, twisting painfully. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" she shouted in my face. "No one touches my man!" Her hand pulled back and she was about to punch me, but I twisted, hurting my head more, and kicked her knee, sending her screaming to the ground. I reeled back and struck out with my foot again, but this time she ducked before I could hit her.

"I could say the same," I said in a low raspy voice.

"She speaks!" Matsuri laughed. "And here I thought you were mute!"

She lunged for me, but I blocked and attacked right back. I could hear the guys grunting with each hit they took, and I could smell the blood in the air. Matsuri and I are almost equal in hand to hand combat skills. She sure has gotten over her fear of blood, I see. We are both swift and agile. And we think our moves through. Maybe that is why the guys beat each other up so badly. They don't think about their attacks a head of time. They only think about what will do the most damage to the other and give no thought to how it will effect them, either.

Whistles brought us out of our fighting. We all stopped and looked toward where the sound was coming from. Law enforcement agents, no doubt. But not like the cops from back home. Matsuri ran over to Mamoru and they both ran away, his arm over her shoulders so she could support him. I rushed to Gaara, but he was the one who grabbed me and we ran. I caught a glance of an amazed Kankuro as we passed him. We ran to an alleyway and once we were hidden from the unwanted eyes, sand swirled and we were back in the apartment. I know the people chasing us are going to be baffled at that.

I spun on Gaara. "What the hell happened!" I yelled at him. "You said not to draw attention to myself, but look at you!" Gaara crossed his arms over his chest, but he winced slightly, putting his arms back down. I smirked. "You are so hurt right now you can't even do your cross armed pout. How funny is that!" He just watched me evenly, knowing very well I was right. I stared at him hard, then let out a sigh. How can I be mean to him right now? He had such a hard time when I left and now all I do is yell at him... I sighed again and wiped some dirt from my face. "Go get the first aid kit and I will bind your wounds." He turned and headed for the bathroom without a word.

I peeled off my shirt that was stuck to my back with sweat and tossed it on the floor. Then I grabbed an, already stained, towel and warmed it with water. By then Gaara was setting a chair near the sink and taking his shirt off. With how many scars he has on his chest it is a wonder anything can pierce that scar tissue. I knelt next to him and started to wash off the blood. One particular scar, though, reminded me of something from a while ago. The one that looks like a burst of paint.

I shook my self mentally and continued to clean off all of the blood. I gently wiped it from his face as well, being careful around his eye. A split on his brow created a hazard for getting blood in his eye. I used a clean area of the towel and cleaned it again, being very gentle. I took some antibacterial gel from the kit and put a little on his brow, sticking a small bandage over it. Then I moved onto his larger wounds. I ended up wrapping his chest all the way around his back because I didn't have big enough bandages.

"You are such a mess," I whispered to myself. "Why do you do these things?" I sighed as I picked up the kit.

Gaara replied with, "why did you jump in the fight?"

I glanced up at him, but then went back to cleaning up. "That is different."

"How so?"

I snapped the kit closed and stood to bring it back to the bathroom and put it away. "Because I was trying to help your sorry ass, why else? You shouldn't have been in the fight to begin with."

Gaara scoffed lightly. "You don't even know what the fight was about."

I looked back out the bathroom door at him. "So why don't you enlighten me on the matter. Hm? Why were you fighting, Mr. Sabaku? Tell me, so that when Kankuro asks why your ass is all beaten up, I can give him a clear answer."

Gaara crossed his arms and used his full height on me, trying to intimidate me.

I rolled my eyes and waved him off. "That doesn't work with me. I spent my whole life around people who are taller than me."

He just smirked.

What are your thoughts on this chapter? I'd love to hear them!