Author: Back again with another instalment! Thank you for all the hits, favorites, alerts and reviews, everyone! I just graduated from sixth form, and despite it being the darkest year of A Levels in 37 years, I managed to get a place in my dream university and am pretty damn excited. So long story short, it's been a wild few months for me. Summer started two months ago, and I'm only now getting back into writing. You'll be glad to know that I'll be free to write for the next six months (except September) and hence regular updates!

Yay!

Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. I'm not talented enough to come up with the awesomeness known as Gaara.

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

Sweat trickled down the side of a Sunagakure sentry's face as he yawned and watched yet another desert carrion swoop down and snap up a much smaller animal in its beaks. He narrowed his eyes and leaned forwards in an attempt to identify the indiscernible prey - slow days like these were plentiful but boring, and his only way to pass time had been to cultivate an interest in observing nature in the dessert.

The village outskirts were quiet.

He leaned his head back for another wide yawn, and a black-gloved hand suddenly fixed itself over his mouth. Alarm bells started going off in his head, eyes widened, and he began to struggle, but it was too late. He had been unaware of the black bonds that had somehow been wrapped tightly around his ankles, and his arms rendered useless as more inky black ropes swiftly wrapped themselves around his torso, binding his arms against it.

"Mmf!" he attempted to speak, but his voice was muffled. Oh why oh why had he picked today of all days to be on solitary watch? A sharp pressure in his neck was the last thing he remembered before he succumbed to the darkness.

The sentry slumped into the arms of his assailant, and he dragged the unresponsive man towards the empty guardroom.

"Well, you sure made a quick work of it. Take your sweet time, why don't you? It's not like we're at risk of being discovered here," a grumpy voice said, "I thought all you Root people were efficient. Why didn't you just kill him?"

Sai paid no attention to his companion, as he checked the pulse of the sentry. Steady. He extracted a syringe from his weapons pouch, tapping the needle before carefully inserting it into a slightly-bulging vein on the side of the sentry's neck and injecting the liquid. He stood up, putting the syringe back into his pouch. "Because casualties are messy, especially ones that can be avoided. Besides, I made sure to inject a memory-loss hallucinogen- he's going to think he hallucinated the attack and fell asleep," Sai turned towards the person behind him, "I don't know how it is in the Akatsuki, but we're more discreet about things like killing, Kakuzu-san."

"And that's why I didn't bring Hidan with me," the masked man retorted, "Now, what do you want from me?"

Sai made no move to respond at once. He stared at the heavily-cloaked man in front of him; eyes trailing towards the black coat dotted with scarlet clouds. "Danzo-sama has a suggestion."

Kakuzu's green eyes sparked with calculated interest. "Oh? What does that man want from us this time?"

Sai's eyes moved away from Kakuzu and back to the soundly-sleeping sentry. He would not admit it consciously, but something about the exiled fugitive made him uncomfortable, and there was a nagging thought somewhere deep in his subconscious. "You will understand that Danzo-sama will be providing something in return for your assistance."

Kakuzu shifted impatiently. "Yes, yes, now tell me what is it that old snake wants."

"Firstly, I should make you aware of the fact that the platoon that Naruto-kun is on has a new member. A fifth member."

"So what does this have anything to do with what Danzo wants?"

"She is also a Root ANBU."

This caught the criminal's interest. "Oh? And do her teammates know of this?"

"I expect that this piece of information will be circulating in a few days' time, during which Danzo-sama would like you to collect her as a reward for doing your end of the bargain."

"And why do we want her?"

"She is a Shishimiya. I believe certain members of your… club, would be interested."

"Huh," Kakuzu had someone in mind, "Alright then. But you're going to have to give me a little bit more than that."

"I believe the five million ryo I have here is more than enough to satisfy you in exchange for this simple task," Sai motioned to the plastic case he'd left on the ground by his feet.

"Tch," Shimura Danzo sure knew how the Akatsuki ticked. Well, most of the Akatsuki, anyway. "What is it that you want?"

"Well, conveniently enough, we would like you to capture Shishimiya Kohaku," Sai pulled out a photo from his pocket, "This is the person."

Kakuzu took the photo from Sai's hand, and studied it. It was a standard mugshot that all shinobi had taken when they became genin. The same, cold lack of expression on Sai's face matched the one he saw on the photo. Unmistakably a Root ANBU. "And what would you have us do with her?"

"Nothing. Just keep her captive. Do whatever you want with her. Just don't kill her," Sai regarded Kakuzu briefly, "After all, we are aware of the… volatility, of your roster. We would hate for there to be a misunderstanding in our partnership, especially since it has been such a long-standing one."

Kakuzu scoffed. "So five million ryo to capture a pet? Is that it?"

Sai pushed the case towards the missing-nin. "Her disappearance will be very advantageous to Danzo-sama's cause," he watched as Kakuzu picked up the box.

"I can't guarantee that you will be getting her back. In one piece, anyway. Or alive." Kakuzu informed him, as he unlocked the clasps and opened the case. His eyes started scanning the neat stacks of money. "After all, you know how it is."

"We understand. So when shall we be expecting you to do the extraction?"

Kakuzu, seemingly satisfied with the amount, snapped the case back shut. "Soon enough. Are you in a rush?"

"We'd like it to happen as soon as possible, yes."

"Okay then. I'll bring this back to our leader, and we'll get it done in a week or two."

Sai's practised smile plastered itself onto his pale face. "Well then, thank you for your services."

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed dubiously at the feigned friendliness. He had never had a taste for the agents that carried out Danzo's dirty work, but he couldn't say no to easy money. "Right, then."

"So do we have an agreement?"

"Of course," Kakuzu raised the case, "Feel free to buy our services again."

Sai said nothing, but instead, continued smiling. Kakuzu turned around and with a few quick hand seals, he was gone in a puff of smoke.

The smile crumbled away, and the lack of expression returned. Sai looked down at the photo that was still in his hand. "Hm," he slid it back into his pocket, and walked out of the room.

xxxx

"Does your arm still hurt?"

Kohaku looked up from wrapping her ankle, which she had twisted slightly during a sparring session with Gaara that had ended a few minutes ago. "No, Kazekage-sama. I believe that the wound that you tended to a few days back has already closed up and is in the process of healing." Securing the bandage with tooth-edged pins, the auburn-haired girl then stood up, testing out her ankle by tapping her foot on the ground, before putting weight on it.

Gaara had been watching the girl with a fondness in his heart that he couldn't quite grasp. One that he didn't want to admit to being linked with the fact that he liked her, anyway. Two days after Kankuro's gleeful taunting of him having romantic feelings for the girl, Gaara was still reluctant to admit that his older brother was right.

Kankuro would only have the last laugh if his body was cold, as far as the young Kazekage was concerned!

"Would you like to have some tea with me?" The question came out sounding more like a plea to spend more time together, rather than a polite invitation, which was what Gaara had intended to be. He mentally berated himself; he wasn't supposed to be this eager! He was supposed to be a dignified head of a hidden ninja village, not some giddy teenager with a crush on some girl who most likely had hidden agendas that could potentially put said village in harm's way!

Kohaku regarded Gaara with what seemed to be a look of inquiry. He knew this meant that she wanted to know whether or not he needed something from her, but she did not want to ask. He decided to save her the trouble of doing so. "You have been patient with me, of course, so I wanted to thank you. Taking your free time to spar with me so that my skills do not rust is something I should repay," he explained, "I know you'd rather spend your time locked up in a dark room with dusty books."

Today had been the third time that he had sparred with the younger kunoichi. He knew that she had done so, even when she clearly had not wanted to, only because she felt like she owed the Kazekage at least a few hours of her time in exchange for the first-aid help he had given her a few nights ago. Still, Gaara had to admit that it was the most time he had spent in close proximity with the stoic girl in the year he had known her, and he - while it would go unspoken in Kankuro's presence, to avoid yet another annoying round of sing-song taunting - had to admit that he enjoyed her company a lot more than just observing her from afar.

"If that is what you wish, Kazekage-sama," was Kohaku's short reply.

Gaara smiled. "Okay, I know a good place nearby," he said, "Shall we go?"

Kohaku's response was a nod, and together, they walked towards the doors of the training room and back into the corridors of the Kazekage mansion. As they exited the building, and entered the streets, Gaara watched Kohaku's side profile the entire time with discreet glances.

The general mood had been different ever since the Konohagakure shinobi had divulged a small part of her personal history to the red-haired boy - it had been a snippet of information, but information nonetheless, especially considering the fact that Kohaku was a human fortress. Kohaku was less snippy with the Kazekage; more patient and lenient. Instead of coldly brushing him off and saying she had better things to do, she readily - which, in her case, was a short pause before answering - agreed to whatever he asked her to do.

Knowing her well enough to differentiate between willingness and obedience, Gaara had been pleasantly surprised to discover this new change. She was more receptive to the idea of tolerating his company now, and he liked to believe that there was finally some progress with their friendship (which was what Gaara had deemed it to be in defiance of Kankuro calling it a relationship) and he was just a few points away from being 'Kazekage-sama' to 'Gaara-kun'. Dropping the honorific was even better, in his opinion, but he would take what he could get. Beggars couldn't be choosers, after all.

As they took their seats at a vacant table in a small tea shop, Gaara and Kohaku made their orders and then their eyes met as the waitress walked away with the menus.

Silence.

Brown eyes slid from jade eyes towards the red scar on Gaara's forehead. He had noticed this behaviour before; once, when they had met for the first time in Meikyuu no Suna, and a few times after that when she thought no one had been paying attention to her. "You're burning a hole into my forehead, Chibi," he decided to say, "Finally coming up with questions about me, are you?"

Kohaku's attention snapped back to boldly meet the boy's eyes. "I am doing no such thing," she retorted.

Gaara scoffed, and took a sip of tea. "You know, it's okay to be interested in other people and their own stories. How else would you make friends?"

"The goal is to not have friendly relations," was Kohaku's sordid reply.

"Oh, don't be like that. Don't you want to know how I got this?" He raised a hand to point at the scarlet kanji. "It's a detailed explanation of what I told you after the first time we sparred. Do you remember anything I said?"

Met with a muted silence, Gaara sighed. "I'll tell you, anyway, since you're being stubborn."

"I was not being obstinate," came the cold correction.

"So, growing up as a jinchuuriki was not always rainbows and smiles. In fact, I'd say that there were neither rainbows nor smiles for me. My own mother died giving birth to me, because they had put Shukaku inside me even before I was born. Everyone feared and despised me, because they saw me as a living embodiment of the demonic Shukaku." Gaara smiled bitterly at the memory as he recalled the whispers of fear that swirled around him whenever he had left the safety of his home. The memory was so distant now. "As soon as I was able to walk and talk, my father trained me in ninjutsu, but other than that, the only other person I had contact with was my mother's brother; my uncle."

"My father, the Fourth Kazekage, was anything but loving. As a child, I was starved for attention. My uncle was a constant source of it. One day, my father decided to order an assassination attempt on my life. My uncle was sent to do the deed." The pain of losing the only person he had ever loved… Gaara knew that it was different now, but it still hurt to think about the day Yashamaru had betrayed him. His final words, telling him to die… Gaara took another hasty sip of tea. He had made his peace. "It was very traumatic for me, as you understand. My childish innocence was torn away with the stark reality of the fact that no one loved me, and so in my rage, when I killed my uncle, I used my sand to create this as a symbol of my resolution to be a demon that loved only itself. After that, I no longer had any interest in making friends. I swore to love myself and only myself, and so I became a sociopathic mass murderer in a twisted attempt to obtain recognition from the entire village. It didn't help that my own father constantly sent assassins to try to kill me. I became silent and withdrawn. Much like you, actually."

Gaara studied Kohaku's face - there had been a slight shift in expression. Her eyes. Instead of the vacancy that was usually there, it had been replaced by a softness that Gaara could identify as sympathy. Gaara cleared his throat, coughing awkwardly. He had never really spoken about his past so freely before - not even with Naruto, who was his closest friend. Yes, he had discussed it with the blonde a few times over a bowl of ramen, but he had never gone into specific details of what had transpired during his childhood. Making up with his siblings had been a much harder task, after the psychological damage he'd done to them, but they were unaware of the extent of the hurt he had been feeling, as well.

"Well, all's well that ends well. I met Naruto, and he changed my ideology. He solved my existential crisis with an old-fashioned beating, and now you see me as the Kazekage that was unanimously chosen by the entire village today," Gaara felt humble pride swell up in his chest as he recalled the day he had been chosen as the Kazekage, after two years of debating who would be the Fourth's replacement.

"I murdered my brother."

Gaara's blood ran cold at the quiet whisper. The tea shop was buzzing with conversation; so much dialogue was floating around that it was difficult to pay attention to anything but your own conversation. Gaara had almost missed Kohaku's admittance, but he had caught it. "What?"

He knew her brother had died, and that was why Kohaku became a human shell devoid of emotion. Or least, she actively worked at it, anyway. But he had assumed that the older Shishimiya had died due to an accident, or during a mission. Not once, had the thought of him dying at his beloved sister's hands, had crossed his mind.

xxxx

Kohaku hadn't meant to say it. But something about Gaara's story had made her feel an empathy that she could not rid herself of, no matter how much she wanted to. So much of her own history resonated with what Gaara had said, that she could not help but relate. The look of shock that was so clearly displayed across the Kazekage's face made Kohaku feel a stab bitterness that she had not experienced before. She knew he was going to have many more questions, and this time, she could not evade any of them no matter how much she tried. This was not something that she could mention in passing, and not explain. But was she ready?

Gaara's eyes searched hers inquiringly. He was quiet, unsurprisingly. The girl knew that Gaara was not going to push his questions, but he was not going to let them go unasked, either. She knew this game, and she was becoming familiar. He had this infuriating ability to ask questions without actually asking them, and she knew this because she too, had the same habit.

It was a conversational stalemate. Both teens continued staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Half an hour passed; their tea was cold, and as a waitress quietly came over to refresh their cups with more hot tea, Kohaku bowed her head. Gaara lifted his brow - had she given in? The waitress left, and Kohaku raised her head again.

She pulled out a notebook from her weapons pouch, and a pencil. Gaara found this odd, but decided to not ask any questions. Nothing she did was without reason. She started writing.

"I believe you are familiar with my affiliation with the clandestine legion of ANBU called Root." It was a statement, not a question. Gaara nodded anyway.

She was finally talking! Well, writing. Gaara wanted to openly express his excitement, but he knew better. He remained quiet.

"The efficacy of Root is largely due to our lack of emotions. It is our master's belief that a shinobi is nothing more than a tool that kills and achieves mission objectives without the compromise of emotional bonds." Kohaku's hand paused, before continuing. "To achieve this, we are raised with a sibling and at a certain age, we are forced against each other in a match to the death. And I won."

Gaara had not been aware of Danzo's insane ideology, but he remained unspeaking. Kohaku continued to write. "My brother could not bring himself to kill me, and neither could I. But it was either one or both of us, and my brother killed himself, because he could not bear to kill the only person he had ever loved. Me."

Gaara was dumbstruck. "If only I had been brave enough to kill myself, my brother would have lived on. And that is how I killed my brother." Kohaku finally spoke, surprising Gaara. She knew Gaara was going to ask about the writing, so she decided to save him the trouble. She opened her mouth, and stuck her tongue out. Gaara's eyes widened at the black, rectangular ink tattooed on the surface.

"What on earth is that?" he wanted to know.

Kohaku picked up the pencil again. "The existence Root is meant to be undisclosed matter, and to preserve the secrecy, we are cursed with this seal that prevents us from vocally discussing matters pertaining to the organisation and our master."

"But that doesn't stop you from communicating via a pencil and a piece of paper…?" Gaara trailed off, wondering how the secrecy had been maintained. Kohaku had had no problem relaying any of the details, so far.

"As you are aware of its existence, I am only able to acknowledge my affiliation without the risk of incapacitation." Kohaku's voice was quiet. "I trust that I have your full discretion."

Understanding dawned on the Kazekage. Why she had been so evasive; why she had been so reluctant to talk. Between the long-standing self-blame of having caused her brother's death, and the cursed seal, it made sense that Kohaku would be less than willing to talk about anything that had any relation to her own history.

Gaara felt a sudden rush of fondness for the girl. Taken aback by the new bout of affection he felt for her, Gaara coughed embarrassedly into his hand. "Don't worry," Gaara reassured her, "You'd have to strangle me dead before I'd ever give out a secret I was trusted with,"

"Thank you."

His black-ringed eyes widened at Kohaku's response to his words. The corners of her mouth had turned up, and it was not the small one Gaara had dubbed as the 'secret smile', either. It was a proper one, and she was openly displaying it. Gaara was, frankly, elated, and could not help but smile back.

It was a good day.

FAQ Time!

No one cares about these.

I know D: But if you do have any questions, feel free to ask me in a review and I will answer them to the best of my abilities!

So anyways, ''til next time!

Luv,

Pichuzilla.