Author: Sorry 'bout the two-week hiatus! I failed to mention during the previous chapter that I'd be having the term assessment exams, so I would have no time to write and stuff. I am truly sorry!

By the way… REVIEWS PASSED THE 50 MARK! I'M SO HAPPY! Thank you for always supporting me!

And also, thank you for all the birthday wishes! It was nice, knowing that readers that don't even really know me actually said that they would really like to present me with a real-life Pichu. I feel so loved! Sniff.

Special thanks to:
MidnightCherryBlossoms, my beloved beta who's been kind in helping me get through extreme exhaustion during assessment week with her magic blankie!
Jessluvswriting
Shifuni
Child-1763
ichigo1508
Anonymous
LadyAmazon
ruan-san
Coda Lys

Only a small band of readers, but I really cherish each and every one of your support! You are the reason for why I strive to better my writing!

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Tobi and Madara would be two different people, 'cause Madara's a complete dick. Pardon my language.

This story will not have any relation to Naruto's dream of achieving Sasuke Uchiha's return or deafeating Orochimaru. This happens a little bit after the Rescue Gaara arc. In other words, kind of AU. Thought you should know.

When Kohaku had been drafted as Sai's replacement three months ago, she had only known of Sunagakure's famous Fifth Kazekage by his face in depictions and rumors that flew around faster than a top-class messenger hawk a few months before, swirling around the headquarters in hushed whispers and loud exclamations.

'Did ya hear? The Fourth Kazekage's kid has replaced him!'

'Really? You mean the jinchuuriki that lost control a few years back?'

'Wasn't that just a rumor?'

'I don't think so; that day Naruto came back looking pretty beat-up with the Godaime's apprentice and the Uchiha kid,'

'He must be pretty strong, eh? To think - he's the youngest kage in the history of shinobi!'

Now, Kohaku saw more than just a young prodigy who had suffered through many hardships that she could not even begin to comprehend. Or care about, for that matter. Gaara was… Gaara. The redheaded boy with the peace-loving tattoo of 'love' that he so proudly carried around on the left side of his forehead.

Rude, blatant and unpredictable. That certainly was not what Kohaku had expected from somebody that made hot-headed adult shinobi humbly bow their heads; the person that Kohaku had been certain to not know on a first-hand basis at all.

On contrary, though, Kohaku was closer to Gaara than anyone from a third-person's view could have ever guessed. No one expected for Kohaku to actually make subtle personality changes when it came to the redhead, especially Kohaku herself.

It surprised her, to have Kakashi point out that Kohaku was slowly transforming as days passed, as horribly cliche as it sounded. Given though, that this transformation was only limited to Gaara, but it certainly was better than having only Kakashi to coax information out of Kohaku when she was not being her most cooperative. Naruto was able to do so if he tried, but he was rather clumsy at the approach and usually ended up making Kohaku startled like a baby deer, the result being a Kohaku withdrawn into her spartan bedroom for hours on end.

Why, though? Kohaku was rather intent to know as she looked at Gaara askance as he got up to pay for their tea. Why did the Kazekage affect her so? She had looked through the entire section of psychological science in the library, and she hadn't gotten her answer.

Why was Gaara able to make her forget herself?

xxxxx

Gaara felt a small sense of peace as he walked down the street with Kohaku, the both of them blending in with the afternoon crowd without a problem. With tea and dumplings having refreshed his work-weary mind, Gaara was sure that he had completely meant the offer he had made to Kohaku. After all, if you're able to detect the subtle price change in the receipt that the new cashier had surreptitiously keyed into the bill, that meant your mind was functioning properly, was it not?

Kohaku had deigned to remain silent, as she always did when she found nothing to criticize anyone about or the lack of need to explain herself. She wasn't one to initiate conversations, Kohaku was.

It amazed Gaara how at ease he felt with the girl now, despite the fact there was a jumble of nerves thrown into the mix. Gaara decided to ignore the alien feeling of trepidation and familiarize himself with the amiability between the two of them. When did this happen?

Was it the less than orthodox midnight stroll that had changed things? No, it couldn't be. He would have noticed it by then. Somehow, things had probably begun to change before that, only that the transformation had occurred with tiny strokes to the picture, completely altering the relationship between the two shinobi as the end result.

They were no longer just employer and employee. They were… something else. Was 'friends' a good word to use? Gaara could hardly believe it, but was that how it was, the altered relationship between the two of them? He was back to the question that was often plaguing his mind as of late.

"Shishi- wait. Koha- wait. Sh-Ko- Ah heck! Shishimiya Kohaku!" a loud outburst from behind the two companions made the both of them stop in their tracks, turning their heads slightly to see the speaker.

Naruto stood a little distance away from the two of them. The crowd had thinned out, so there was not much obstructing their view of each other, save for the little child that had darted through to chase after a terrified cat. Naruto had his jacket wrung around his waist, still unused to the high temperatures that Suna often experienced.

"Naruto-kun," Kohaku turned around and took a few obligatory steps towards the blonde, "Do you require my assistance?"

The cerulean-eyed boy rubbed at his scarred cheek in sheepishness as he grinned at his teammate. "Sure do! Actually…"

Naruto's voice trailed off into an incoherent murmur as Gaara tuned out his friend's voice. All forms of speech and hearing were lost on Gaara, as his eyes betrayed him and found… something.

Kohaku was smiling.

It wasn't an apparent one, but after many weeks of observation (As the redhead liked to call his eye-stalking) Gaara's well-practised eyes could see it. As she listened to the jinchuuriki's tirade, a whisper of a smile appeared on her face, apparently sympathizing with whatever Naruto's plight was. There was the slight curve to the corners of Kohaku's mouth, the unmistakable trace of a smile, no matter that magnitude of it; how long had Gaara been wanting to see it again?

Pretty damn long, actually.

A dull ache started to throb in Gaara's chest; it took self-restraint to not reach his hand up to contemplate where it hurt. His head started to throb as well, and his eyes felt prickly. Troubled, Gaara wanted to get away. Fast.

As he took a faltering step backwards, Kohaku turned to look at him, cutting Naruto off. The usual practiced look of vacancy was back on Kohaku's face as he questioned him, "Are you going to take your leave now, Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara felt a chill run down his spine; the dull aching had morphed into a convoluted gnawing. "Ye-," his voice caught in his throat, surprising him. What was wrong with him? "Yes. I have some more paperwork that I need to finish before retiring to my quarters for the day," His voice quaked slightly, but was decidedly stronger than his first attempt.

"Thank you for your kind hospitality in indulging me," Kohaku said, voice as unaffected and quiet as ever, "Good day to you,"

"Bye, Gaara! I'll see you around!" Naruto added as Gaara nodded wordlessly, hasty to leave as quickly as he possibly could.

xxxxx

In the dark, air-conditioned office that Gaara usually found dreary to be in, it surprised the redhead that it was strangely comforting to him at the moment. He had drawn the curtains and switched off the lights as soon as he entered. The familiar surroundings that bored him everyday did not seem to bad to him right now, especially as he laid his head on the table, hand now free to poke and prod at his chest.

What happened?

The reaction he had been keeping to himself was a startling one. What did the throbbing mean? Was he experiencing premature atherosclerosis? Coronary disease? Hereditary heart failure? It couldn't be. He wasn't exactly obese and his lifestyle made sure of that. So… what was it?

A dull ache that Gaara found impossible to comprehend, or bear, for that matter. It was ludicrous. Gaara had gotten worse injuries before - heck, he'd even died at one point before being revived!

He could not bear to close his black-ringed eyes. After he had entered the safe haven of his office, he had attempted to close his eyes for a short rest, passing off the strange symptoms as exhaustion.

Then, he saw them.

Vivid images of owlish, blank eyes of hazel staring at him with a troubled gleam.

Then, the eyes were slowly accompanied by a smile; one that took much effort to be produced, a rarity.

The picture faded away, replaced with a turned back. It was familiar; wisps of titian hair resting against the mandarin collar of the shirt of her choice for the day, having escaped the hold of the loose bun on top of the head, and the knot of her forehead protector wound around her upper arm. The back seemed to be getting farther, and farther away...

Panicked, Gaara's eyes had flown open, the dull ache starting to intensify at an alarming rate. Not good.

Clearly, Gaara had to add another problem to the shelf that held his private woes.

xxxxx

Gaara felt terrible.

To be more blunt, he felt like crap.

He had hardly gotten a blink of sleep during the night before, and he wasn't too happy about it. After fifteen years of obligatory insomnia, the redhead had been happy to finally be able to enjoy the privilege of a human need that had not been an option for him before. Now, it was like the universe was working against him by means of enforcing insomnia on him.

Well, to be fair, it was probably Gaara's own fault for the inability to go to sleep. After all, he had been unable to tone down on the lucid images that appeared in his mind's eye as soon as he closed his eyes. The throbbing had finally ceased, though. It only left an incomprehensible ache that Gaara easily ignored.

Gaara sighed, massaging his temples as he stamped yet another file and tossed it onto the precariously towering pile of documents beside him. At the very least, the mutinous desk work was at least doing something as it diverted his attention from wandering into the undecipherable again.

Knock knock knock. A pause. Knock knock knock. Another pause. Knock knock knock.

"Let yourself in," Gaara wearily called out, never ceasing his mechanical reading and stamping.

The door creaked open and closed shut softly. Footsteps padded toward the desk, and a small noise of a throat clearing was indication for Gaara to greet his visitor. So he put down his stamp and looked up.

To look into the very same pair of eyes that had been the cause of a restless night.

"Ah. The knocking pattern, riddled with the stony silence. I should've known," Gaara hoped his voice passed off as his normal tones of quiet confidence.

Kohaku raised her eyebrows slightly. "Was I to announce my intent to come here before arriving?" her blank eyes bore into his own eyes.

Damn it.

"Rather charming this morning, aren't you?" Gaara averted his eyes, intent on focusing them on anywhere but her.

"Has a solecism occurred on my part?" her voice was even; subtly questioning, "It seems as if you would like for nothing more than to see me out of this office,"

She was rather perceptive this morning, too. Gaara hoped that his response would be blase enough. "Although I have no idea what your question was, I suppose you're rather mistaken in my wanting you out of my sight,"

"Kazekage-sama, it would seem like you have misheard me. I made an observation that you look like you would wish for nothing more than to see my absence from this office. I did not insinuate anything about me completely evanescing from your sight, which could only mean that you actually do not want to see hide nor tail of me," Her voice had become colder.

Flustered - but skillfully masking it - Gaara hastened to answer her. "Oh, no, it's nothing like tha-,"

"It would seem like I have reached the correct conclusion," Gaara forced himself to meet her eyes, now steely with the cold look she reserved for times when she got angry. "As I am obliged to respect certain wishes according to my own accord, I will regard this one. As to the reason for your unprecedented behavior and lack of professionalism this morning, it escapes me. Good day,"

Gaara's heart sank into the pits of his stomach.

Kohaku then turned around and left, closing the door the same way she did when she came in. At least she wasn't one to have diva fits.

Gaara groaned softly to himself, berating himself for actually trying to see a silver lining in the situation. What was wrong with him? Why did he have to go and slip up like that? He should've been more careful - Kohaku was more astute than most people; she could easily read into the situation without having to go into the drama.

"Stupid. Teenage. Hormones." Gaara growled to no one in particular.

xxxxx

Why had Gaara been acting like a petulant child, Kohaku saw no need to find out. Truly, she had been miffed and slightly offended when she had worked it out that Gaara was less than cordial about having to see her. In fact, he had been rather obvious, with his bad acting. Did the boy see no need to act professional as the Kazekage that stood to be the glorious example of all those of his village?

Apparently so.

"Kohaku? What are you doing here? I thought you went to see Gaara about something,"

Looking up from yet another volume elicited from the shelves of Kohaku's favorite reading corner, Kakashi stood holding a novel, accompanied with a surprised look garnered from his visible eyebrow.

"Kakashi-nii," Kohaku's facade was calm and unaffected. The jounin did not need to know that the girl was less than delighted with their employer. "I was indeed going to meet the Kazekage-sama, but he had some matters to take care of,"

Like his volatile temper, for instance.

Kakashi passed it off with a shrug, apparently believing the girl's cover story. He proceeded to sit across from Kohaku, peering into her book as he sat down. "Politics again?"

Kohaku nodded stiffly, Kakashi's mild interest in her reading material disturbingly reminded her of a certain redhead. Kakashi let out a low chuckle, scratching his head as he pulled back from the book lying open on the table. "You always did have some strange preferences for books," he let out a melancholy sigh at the memory of his first meeting with Kohaku.

She'd been only eight years old then. Kakashi often saw the auburn-haired girl with the empty expression lingering and loitering around the library, seemingly unable to decide what she wanted to read. He had shrugged it off at first - it was not his place to bother little children. At one point, though, he decided to direct the child to the children's section after he narrowly saved her from picking off a romance novel that were not for her eyes and browsing it.

xxxxx

"Uh, hey kid. Put that book down - you'll regret reading it. Why don't I bring you to the kid's section?"

Blank eyes had bored into him unabashedly. "What would be your purpose and intent on bringing me there?" Words that were rarely spoken by eight year old girls sounded strange in her voice.

Kakashi had blinked at that. "Uh, well-,"

"As kind as your offer sounds, it would be gratuitous for you as you would gain nothing out of escorting me to that section, for I have no interest in the selection of books they carry there,"

Kakashi had to raise an eyebrow at that. Really, what child wouldn't like stories about unicorns and wizards? "You don't? So, then what do you like?"

"That is none of your concern. Please excuse me," The little girl then walked away, leaving the Copy-Nin speechless.

Damn, he was really curious now.

A few weeks later, after much observation, Kakashi came to take notice of the fact that she lingered by the non-fiction section a lot. Her eyes would still hold the same, vacant expression, as they flickered towards the towering bookshelves but her jaw would be set in a decidedly troubled line.

So, one day, he decided to make another step. "You want something out of that shelf, kid?" Kakashi asked, pocketing his novel.

Instead of berating him like she did when he had offered to escort her to the children's section a few weeks earlier, the girl merely pretended to be deaf to his words. So, of course he knew he had hit the jackpot. "If you want, I could help you get the one you want," he had offered, "But I don't see why you can't use the steps to take it. They're just there for you to use, you know. Free of charge,"

The titian-headed girl merely responded with a sideways glare, and knowing he wouldn't be getting any answer from her at the moment, Kakashi decided to wave and leave.

When he turned to look, however, he could see the girl standing on top of the steps he had pointed out earlier, reaching for a book with no avail. Clearly, she was way too short. Her eyes were trained on the topmost row, which stood a good two feet above her. She was struggling; her eyes furrowed with concentration as her hand waved wildly in a futile attempt to take the book of her choice.

The silver-haired jounin had seen many silly things in his life, courtesy of his friend, Uchiha Obito (May his soul rest in peace), but this display had yet to be the most ludicrous of all. He chuckled; perhaps a bit too loudly, because the girl stopped immediately and fixed her eyes in a stony glare. "What, may I ask, is it that you find most scintillating?"

Kakashi shrugged sheepishly. "Don't ask me - I have no idea what you mean by scinti-something," he gestured towards the shelf, "Would you like my help in getting the book for you?"

The girl stared at him for the longest time, probably trying to decide whether or not to agree to his assistance. Her eyes often kept darting back towards the shelf, and back to Kakashi, gauging the situation.

She finally made her decision.

The child nodded in a stately manner; her head was held up high and her back was ramrod straight - definitely not your average kid. Kakashi chuckled as he stepped onto the steps and looked down at her. "What's the title?" he turned back to scan the titles on the shelf.

Blank eyes bore into him once again. "Division of Jurisdiction in Konohagakure,"

Kakashi nearly spluttered. He looked down once again. "Are you sure?"

"I am not vocally incapacitated, and I believe I made myself clear. Please take down the copy of Division of Jurisdiction in Konohagakure,"

As Kakashi located the book and got off the steps, he handed the volume to the girl, who accepted it with nary a trace of emotion. Her short arms struggled to hold the thick, dusty volume, and Kakashi sighed.

"I don't know what a six-year-old is doing reading stuff like this, but let me hold it for you," He plucked the book out of her arms, "Now, where do you sit and read?"

As she silently walked to the table nearby, she climbed into the chair and looked up at Kakashi. Kakashi took this as a cue to place the book on the table for her.

"Thank you for your assistance," Her tone was curt, and she flipped open the book. The jounin took this as a sign to retreat. At least she was finally reading.

A few weeks later, Kakashi was reading at a table, when he heard a soft rustle in front of him. Looking away from his book, he saw the girl sitting across from him, absorbed in a new book. His eye spared a glance at the title. Democracy in the Land of Fire. He held back his surprise, remembering the volume he had taken off the shelf for her. Nothing new, nothing new.

"Hello there,"

Brown eyes regarded him for a brief moment before returning to the pages of the book. Kakashi let out an audible sigh. "Don't you know it's manners to reply when someone greets you? Didn't your parents ever teach you that?"

Blank eyes looked up again. "Good morning, sir," her gaze was cold. Had Kakashi said something wrong?

"Er, same to you, kid,"

A brief silence ensued. "I am not six years old. I am eight,"

And that was the first time Kohaku had ever said something about herself to Kakashi. It would only be a few months later when Kakashi learnt the name of the eccentric child who seemed to have a lot of free time on her hands as she scoured the long-forgotten sections of the library.

xxxxx

"Kakashi-nii? Are you well?"

Kohaku's voice interrupted his reminiscing, and the silver-haired jounin jolted. He looked at Kohaku with surprise. "Ah, yes. I suppose I drifted off for a moment there," he made an embarrassed cough, "Sorry 'bout that,"

"It's no matter," Kohaku allowed the tiniest of smiles before dropping it to resume reading her book. Kakashi looked at the girl fondly before deciding to leave.

"Well, I guess I should get going. Don't wanna impose on you," Kakashi saw Kohaku nod slightly as he left. The girl would always be as emotionless as she always liked to be. There definitely was no changing that.

xxxx

"Wow Gaara. You're in a particularly bitchy mood today," Temari deadpanned as soon as she saw her youngest brother slumped over his desk in exhaustion. He had growled at Temari when she had cheerfully greeted him a few minutes ago, "What's up?"

"Couldn't sleep," the words came out muffled through his arms, "Can't sleep."

The blonde raised an eyebrow as she set her fan against the wall, where it always stood when she was talking to her brother. "Why not? Nightmares?" she scoffed at the prospect of her stoic sibling writhing in fear under the covers of his bed.

"Hardly," there was a sniff of contempt as Gaara's head still refused to look up from his arms, "It's more like I have a terribly vivid imagination,"

Silence met Gaara. That was when he realized he'd said too much.

Utter dread filled up Gaara, his stomach sinking. He knew what he would see if he dared to look up at his sister. He inched his head up slowly, peering out from a tiny crack between his forehead and arm.

Temari had a horribly interested look on her face, coupled with a grin that could rival the Shukaku's.

"Ah. Terribly vivid imagination, eh?" Could her voice get any more taunting and creepily eager? "I see. Who do you see in those 'imaginations' of yours?"

Gaara's neck felt warmer, and it definitely wasn't because of the stiff, upright collar of his coat. He knew he had to look up now, if he was going to salvage what little was left of his dignity. Seafoam met teal, as the siblings' near-identical eyes locked into a solid gaze.

"I do not know what you are talking about," Gaara found it hard to keep the eye contact, with the dubious smirk plastered on his older sister's face.

"Right," Not good. That was the tone Temari used when she was completely unconvinced. "Well, if you feel like sharing, I'm here. Kankuro's also free too, y'know. Although I doubt he'd be as much help as I think I'll be able to provide you with,"

"Your offer sounds kind, but I still remain clueless to your words,"

Of course, Kohaku wasn't the only stubborn one who liked to keep secrets. Gaara was the same too, only he wasn't sure what he was keeping to himself was about.

Really, what did all those strange things happening to him mean?

And another chapter comes to a close! This one explores the history between our favorite jounin and Kohaku - pretty strange, eh? Gaara starts to notice things about himself that gets affected by Kohaku, but he has nary an idea of what it means!

FAQ Time!

Gaara… sleeps?
Of course he does! He's human, just like the rest of the Narutoverse characters are. He was just unable to sleep before that because Shukaku would awaken if he were ever unconscious.

Secrets. Gaara has 'em?
Well, not really. I mean, his private woes are more like imperfect quirks that he prefers keeping to himself. I believe one of them is that he's actually pretty avaricious. (According to me. I can just see Gaara haggling over the price of something at a market.)

Temari's pretty evil…
I always admired the older sister who teases her younger brothers relentlessly and can still manage to be super-kewl. In fact, I plan on making her and Kankuro make more appearances in later chapters.

Gaara said something about teenage hormones. Doesn't that mean he knows what's going on with himself?
On contrary. Whenever I or one of my friends have sudden mood swings, I usually go, "HAHAHA. IT'S JUST THE TEENAGE HORMONES!" Aren't I optimistic?

Kohaku's reaction to Gaara was rather uncalled for.
I know. I wanted it to be that way. To display the amount of raw emotion that is causing the both of them confusion. That's why Kohaku's pretty snappy at him at the most oddest of times.

So, as always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! Oh, and feel free to make any suggestions too!

Luv,

Pichuzilla