I just want to thank everyone who took the time to favourite/follow this story, and to leave a review! Your support is greatly appreciated. c:

Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. I wish it did. loljk I do not have the capacity or the talent to appease the millions of Naruto fans around the world.

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.

There was not much Kohaku could do right then and there, and she knew it. Fuu would be in Suna for at least a few more hours while he spoke to Sai, and it was better for her to avoid him if she wanted him to continue believing the false memories she had given him. She had no idea what had come over her to fabricate almost two months' worth of partially-truthful memories when she was already in a very vulnerable position; she hadn't even realised that she had made the decision to do so when she sat down in front of Yamanaka Fuu.

She tugged at the hood of her cloak, pulling it tighter around her face as she discreetly navigated herself through the swarm of the late afternoon Suna crowd. After two months of being relatively isolated, Kohaku felt slightly overwhelmed by the volume and intensity of the sandy village, but it didn't take long for her to assimilate into her surroundings. It was easy for her to disappear into the masses, and find solace as she slowly collected her thoughts. Being left alone would've caused her to blank out — too much silence meant too much traffic in her head. It was easier to think of pressing matters when her ears were being constantly bombarded with meaningless chatter.

Speaking of meaningless chatter…

One thing that Kohaku had noticed that was strange about the search platoon that had found her was that Sai had not been with them, and instead had been replaced with an Inuzuka clan member whose name escaped her memory. The Inuzuka had declined to return to Suna with them, and had instead opted to stay in the Land of Water, muttering something about a troublesome redhead that had landed herself in the company of the Akatsuki. Back then Kohaku had thought little of it, but now she wondered if the redhead had been the same one that Kisame had been handling. Strangely, Kohaku found herself wistfully thinking that staying with the Akatsuki was a better fate than what was inevitably going to come for her.

Still, it was odd, how they had managed to find her. She wondered if Sai's exclusion had anything to do with their decision to search the Land of Water for her, but every time she had begun to ask, the conversation had been painfully obviously shifted to another topic that was completely unrelated. Maybe the people outside Root weren't as foolishly oblivious as Danzo had made them out to be. She could still remember what he had said to her and her brother when he had forcibly taken them out of their home in the mountains.

"Come now, children. The sooner you realise that the world is filled with useless people like your grandfather, who claimed to be loyal without question but hesitated when a sacrifice was needed, the better. You will learn to fight for your village, and only your village."

It had been years since she had left her home; since Danzo had uprooted the simple, idyllic life that she had only faint memories of. Itachi had mentioned to Kisame that she was the last of the Shishimiya clan — did that mean everyone was dead? How had they died? It had only been a little over ten years, surely it was impossible for everyone to have died so suddenly. Had Danzo done something to them after her grandfather's open defiance?

Kohaku decided she did not want to linger too long on this train of thought, and shook her mind to rid herself of it. It was pointless.

It was much darker now, Kohaku realised, as she looked up into the sky. The dying vermillion of the sunset was fading into a vibrant shade of purple, and the moon was beginning to outline itself against the sky. Fuu was probably gone, and it was time to head back, before someone panicked about her disappearing again.

xxxxxx

"Kohaku's back!"

"Oh, you're just in time, Shishimiya-san!"

"Kohaku, just so you know, I told Sakura-chan that we should eat out but she insisted on cooking instead. So if you die from food poisoning tonight, that's on her."

"NARUTO!"

Caught off-guard by the sudden onslaught of attention, Kohaku felt somewhat dazed as she stepped into the apartment to find Naruto being smacked over the head by Sakura, while Kakashi sat at a small dining table, having looked up from the book in his hand. Her eyes fell to the way the table had been modestly set up for four people, and the confusion must have been clear on her face, because Sakura placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled kindly. "I know it must be difficult for you to settle back in so quickly after such a long time away, so I thought dinner here would be a better idea instead of going out."

It wasn't the first time her team had done something that included her, but it was only now, that Kohaku realised just how profound the effect of something as small as that was on her. With great difficulty, Kohaku managed a very small smile and bowed her head awkwardly.

"Thank you," she said softly, her ears turning a bright scarlet from the clumsy effort. From the table, Kakashi watched his subordinates fondly. If there was anything that had happened to change Kohaku during her time in the Akatsuki, it was probably not entirely a bad thing, he decided. She was making a very clear effort to communicate rather than ignore, and that was a change he pleasantly welcomed, and wondered what exactly had transpired during her time with the criminal organization.

xxxxx

Halfway through the meal, the doorbell rang. Kohaku, who had been watching Naruto and Sakura as they obsessively watched to see when he would take his mask off to eat, decided to excuse herself and answer the door.

"Are you busy?"

Kohaku's eyes widened in surprise. There he was, slightly out of breath for some reason, as he panted softly while looking down to meet her eyes. He was still in his official ceremonial robes of white and blue, and his gourd was nowhere to be seen. It looked as if he had run straight to the apartment as soon as the council meeting had adjourned.

"Did you—"

"Run back here as soon as I possibly could?" Gaara flushed, averting his gaze as he coughed delicately into his fist. "I might have."

This time, Kohaku could not ignore the thrumming of her heart against her ribcage. It had happened before, with Gaara, too, only this time it was hard to dismiss. She wondered if the way she cared for the Kazekage was different; one that separated him from the rest of the people that Kohaku cared about.

Brimming with nervous energy, Gaara raked his hand through his hair as he waited - albeit impatiently - for Kohaku to say something. She had lowered her head, so it was hard for him to see what was going through her mind. Was she put off by his enthusiasm? Now Gaara wondered if he should've been calmer, and changed out of his robes and walked to her apartment instead of leaving immediately as soon as the doors of the meeting room had been opened. "Kohaku…?"

Hearing her name, the ANBU looked up, meeting his eyes. "No, I am— I'm not busy."

He smiled slightly. "Great."

xxxxxx

Not a word was said as Gaara led Kohaku through the brightly-lit streets of Sunagakure. The orange glow of the cluster of lanterns strung throughout the commercial district fell on them as they walked side by side, their hands only barely touching. Gaara wondered if he should have said something to break the silence, but as he stole a side glance at the girl next to him, her peaceful, unguarded expression made him smile again, and remain quiet. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy her presence.

They walked aimlessly, until Gaara paused and pointed at the laddered side of a building. "Let's go up," he said, and they climbed up onto a vast rooftop. As Gaara sat at the edge, and looked at the illuminated landscape of his village, he heard a rustle of clothing as Kohaku joined him.

He turned to the side, taking in her profile as she gazed upon the soft incandescence that emanated from the lanterns in the streets. Kohaku seemed to be aware of his staring, because she looked up at him. "Is there something bothering you?"

Gaara avoided Kohaku's piercing gaze nervously, before looking back at her. "Not at all," he shook his head, "It's very peaceful, isn't it?" He was referring to the nightlife of his village.

Kohaku turned her attention back to the landscape. "It is," she nodded slowly, "It's very different from Konohagakure."

"Do you miss it?"

"Pardon me?"

"Konohagakure, I mean. You've been away for quite some time — a year and a half, I think."

"Have I? That is a fact that has not c— I mean, I hadn't noticed."

Gaara hid a smile at Kohaku's obvious attempt to tone down on her formal language — he had become accustomed to her massive vocabulary, and wondered why she was making an effort to change the way she spoke. Knowing her, it was better if he asked at a proper time, and since she was just beginning this change - as far as he knew - the time would have to come much, much later. "I guess you've been busy to notice the time."

"I have."

There was a lull in the conversation, and Gaara opened his mouth to speak again, but Kohaku, surprisingly, beat him to it. "To be honest, Konohagakure is hardly a place for me to consider my home."

Gaara raised his brow in surprise. "Why is that?"

"My family lived in a place far away from the village. It was our clan's duty to protect the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, so we lived in the mountains close to the desert. I was brought to the village, but instead of living in it, I lived close to it, along with my brother and a group of other children who had been taken away as well, so apart from using the library, I rarely found myself in the village."

"… You're using past tense, I've noticed."

Gaara watched Kohaku's eyelids lower as she spoke again. "I was taken away, along with my brother, when I was very young. I have n— haven't seen them since, but I was told that I was the only one left in my clan."

"I'm sorry."

"It is— It's something that I have made my peace with," Kohaku said softly, "And the time I have spent in your village has reminded me more of what home is like than Konohagakure ever has."

Hearing Kohaku's words made Gaara's heart lift. Was she implying—? No. But should he take the risk and ask—? "D-Does that mean you'll stay?" the words tumbled out before he could rein them in, and Kohaku's response was a mildly confused expression on her face. Before she could get a word in, Gaara decided to say his piece. The one he had rehearsed over and over again; the words he had wanted to say to her when they had finally found her. This was the chance he was looking for; the right time. The right moment. The moment that had passed when Naruto had unknowingly interrupted with his ill-timed appearance.

He had to say it now before he lost his nerve and changed his mind.

"When you disappeared like that," Gaara began, steeling himself to the subtle tremor in his hands, "I was devastated. I didn't know why you disappeared. I didn't know if you were alive. And instead of feeling the responsibility of having lost a soldier I merely borrowed from an allying village, I felt a deeply personal loss. I lost you, and for a long time, I thought it would be forever.

"I couldn't do anything for you, and for that, I hated myself for being so useless. The things that I wanted to do myself… I had to get other people to do them instead. It was torture, and with every passing day, while learning of the search team's progress, for the very first time, I regretted becoming the Kazekage.

"The day you came back was the day I realised that I never want to let you go, ever again. I realise that it's selfish of me to say this, but I don't ever want you to leave Suna. To leave me. Nothing I did to ensure your safe return was me being a leader. It was me being a selfish child. Knowing you… Meeting you… It's turned out to be one of the greatest and worst thing that has ever happened to me. You make me so unbelievably happy, but you destroy me completely, too. And honestly, I don't know if that's a good thing, too. There are so many words in this language, and, well, you definitely know a whole lot more than I do. I lack the finesse with words to eloquently deliver everything I want to say to you without rambling on for ages, like I've just done. But now that I think about it, maybe I should've just gone with the one thing that I've really wanted to say, and should've said at the very beginning, ever since you came back.

"I-I love you."

I'm just going to pat myself on the back for being able to come up with such a fluffy chapter, then proceed to slap myself across the face for being so corny and cliche.

Thank you for reading this far, and feel free to ask any questions if you have any! Or dropping a review to tell me how you liked it is good too. Heh.

Luv,

Pichuzilla