Hello once again, everyone! This is indeed the sequel to Just Fall which was the sequel to Trust. It felt wrong for me to just leave Kyan's and Gaara's story in the dust, so after about a year after finishing the last installment, I'm going to pick it back up!

I hope you all enjoy reading this as much I know I'll enjoy writing it.

Scroll One; Chapter One:

I Don't Dance

A rumble above me. He knew I was there all along.

"Go, go, go," I whispered to myself, focusing Chakra into the bottoms of my feet. In a quick flash, I bolted from my hiding spot, escaping the wave of sand that came crashing down on the rock I hid myself under. As I sprinted, sand shot up in front of me, blocking paths I was going to take to flee.

I leaped up, pressing my feet against an earthy wall that sprung up before me and pushing myself back, landing in a messy flip. As I tilted my head, I saw Sunagakure not far in the distance, crowded with more people than usual. I mentally groaned, only to find my left ankle wrapped in a hand of hard grain.

"Shit!" I hissed, crushing it with my free foot. It broke into two pieces, allowing me to launch myself away from it. "One chance to hit him. Only one."

I needed the reminder as I gathered enough courage to reach into my pouch, grabbing three senbon between my fingers. Instead of looking up to see his familiar figure, he was nowhere to be seen. I came to an immediate halt.

"Behind you," his voice whispered. I whipped my hand around, expecting to stab his face with my weapons. I only collided with a sand sculpture of himself, which promptly tackled me to the ground before I could realize it was a fake.

"Damn it!" I yelled in frustration, flailing the blanket of sand off my body. No matter how many times I practiced, I couldn't even land one solid hit. Especially this time. I had no chance. However, there were plenty of distractions floating around in my head.

Gaara's true body appeared before me in a whirlwind of desert as I stood to my feet, brushing off my clothes. I couldn't get too dirty. This event was formal, after all. Even Gaara sported casual clothes.

"You're not focusing enough, Kyan," Gaara told me, giving a disapproving look. "You're letting yourself get distracted."

"And you're not distracted by it?" I asked him, placing my hands on my hips. "Not even a little bit?"

He didn't reply, but I knew I was right. It was hard for both of us to believe that today was the day.

"You know, its not every day the Kazekage's brother gets married."

()()()

I found myself in the bathroom shortly after, watching my older sister pace back and forth while trying to comb the stray sand grains from my hair. Temari, who had just finished her own make-up, slapped my sister's hand from her mouth.

"Don't you dare chew at your nails," she warned. "I put so much time and effort into making them pretty and I won't let you screw that up, Haketa."

"SHUT UP, INO PIG!"

With a nearly invisible motion, Temari kicked the door open and hoisted Sakura up by the front of her dress. "And so help me, if you and your bratty ass friend ruin my brother's wedding, I will destroy you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes ma'am," Sakura choked out.

I sighed heavily, lacing my hair into a neat braid. Some habits never die and that included my sister's nail biting.

I had to admit: I was nervous too. I'd never attended a wedding. I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew was that Gaara was going to walk me down the aisle, something we'd practiced together a thousand times, and Kakashi would ultimately walk my sister. Gaara, as Kazekage, would eventually recite some ancient lines he'd drilled into his head and the elders would recite theirs and, bam, our two families would become one. Then, I would force some tears and try to sneak away from the dancing bit of the ceremony.

Jeez, marriage is overrated.

"Kyan," my sister whispered. I turned from my reflection to find her bent over against the wall, holding her head between her legs. "I can't do this. I'm so fucking scared. I'm not even eighteen yet."

I gave up on my hair, allowing the black curls bounce down along my back. Kneeling next to her, I took her face in my hands. "You can do this. If you can chase after some crazy bitch on your own, you can commit yourself to Kankuro. And, you know, marriage doesn't automatically mean you have to start popping out babies right away. It'll be just like you're dating him, just with more jewelry."

I took her left hand in mine, examining the flashy engagement ring that Kankuro had stressed himself out over for months. What size? What kind of gem? Gold or silver? There were way too many options for him to handle.

In the end, he had settled on a simple silver ring with a diamond settled in the middle of two half-circles. Haketa immediately fell in love with it and I didn't want to admit to my jealousy.

Temari's head popped around the corner and before she could ask if we were ready, her eyes settled on my sister's crippling image. "Hey," she mumbled, kneeling on her other side. "Don't cry. I worked hard on your make-up. Look, I know, you're scared, but so is Kankuro. This is huge for him. I could never picture him getting married before you came along. Yet here we are: twenty minutes away from sealing the de—"

"Oh god," Haketa muttered, leaning away from us to stick her head in the toilet. I covered my ears to block out the retching noise.

"This is going to be interesting."

()()()

"Whoa."

I peeked around the corner, staring at the back heads of hundreds of people, covered by small umbrellas and the like. Some Suna residents even leaned out their windows to watch the ceremony.

Nervousness finally hit my gut. I had to walk between all these people with Gaara. It was a given that all eyes would be on him. Why did he have to be the Kazekage? And why did I agree to be the maid of honor?

Kankuro stood near the altar, handsomely dressed in a generic tux. Although he was cracking some (probably lame) joke with the elder, I knew he was nervous. He fiddled with his hands behind his back. That was a sure sign.

My mother, who was seated in the very front row, turned and searched around for familiar faces. Once we made eye-contact, she waved frantically, tears already streaming down her face. I now understood why Haketa puked.

"Are you okay?" Gaara asked from behind me. I jumped nearly out of my skin, returning to the safety of the hidden street we stood in.

"Um, ye-yeah, I'm good," I replied, smoothing out my dress. "You?"

He took my place to peek around the corner. Before he could notice, I took his presence in. The way the tux hugged his body, the way his hair could never be neat for any occasion, the way his fingers drummed spastically on the wall.

"Nothing I haven't faced before."

I sighed and stood straight just in time for a low melody to play. Everyone hushed each other until the area fell silent.

Hurriedly, Gaara took his place behind Kasaji, Kankuro's best friend, and Kiba. Kakashi, who stood last, took a quick glance at the book he had hidden in his suit. I stood behind Temari and Sakura, reaching back to grab my sister's hand. I rubbed circles on her skin slowly, knowing it had a small chance of calming her.

"I'm gonna puke again," Haketa whispered just loud enough for our group to hear.

"Please don't," I replied, wrapping my hand around Gaara's arm. "I'm sure you won't be the only who does."

I heard Gaara exhale slowly before whispering, "Okay. Let's go."

We began to walk in sync, although for every step he took, I had to take two to keep up. I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to rid myself of the uneasy sensation throughout my body. As expected, every pair of eyes settled on us. I tried to ignore them the best I could and concentrate entirely on Gaara's stride, but when whispers echoed around us, I couldn't help but let my eyes wander to the villagers.

"Kyan," Gaara hissed, flexing his arm. "Focus."

After what seemed like an eternity, we reached Kankuro. I broke away from Gaara to stand opposite of them. I glanced down the dreaded sea of people we'd just parted then back to the redhead, only to find him just finishing staring me up and down. We met gazes and instantly looked away.

Temari and Kasaji followed. He looked as proud as could be to have to her hanging on his arm, but she looked quite miserable. It seemed, if one looked close enough, that she was dragging him faster toward us. Anything to get away from him.

Next came Sakura and Kiba. As I watched them make their way down the aisle and take their appropriate sides, I noticed their hands lingered and for a split second, I saw her look back at him desperately.

"What is this?" I murmured to myself.

Finally, Haketa rounded the corner with Kakashi. My mother, upon seeing her, immediately broke into sobs. I turned my attention to Kankuro, who looked as if he'd stopped breathing. Quickly, he lifted a hand and ran it over his face, stopping it midway to cover the obvious smile.

All the nervousness and stress in Haketa's body seemed to disappear. She walked straight at an eased pace, staring only at her future husband. I'd never seen her look at him with so much adoration and passion before. It a sense, it scared me.

When she finally came to face Kankuro after placing the bouquet in my hands, Kakashi took a seat next to my hysterically crying mother. Again, I caught Gaara's stare. This time, we didn't break away. He looked as confused and scared as I felt.

The ceremony fell into a drabble of official words from the elder, Haketa, and Kankuro. They promised to love each other until the end of their days, blah, blah, blah…

Gaara and I finally broke contact when it was his turn to speak. I didn't listen. I could only stare at the bundle of flowers in my hands.

"This is so…unreal," I thought. "My sister, getting married. What the hell is going on?"

Before I knew it, the two were kissing. Gaara watched them intently. Beside me, Sakura sniffled loudly.

"Oh, don't even start with that crap," I hissed to her.

I handed the bouquet back to my sister – my married sister – and watched as she and her husband returned down the aisle, hand-in-hand. Claps and cheers surrounded them.

"Kyan! Kyan! Pictures!" my mother screeched. Only then did I realize most of the crowd had dispersed to another common area.

I felt as if I was in a daze as I stood next to Sakura and Temari to smile awkwardly and wait for a flash. Eventually, my sister found her way back to us to pose. The couple pictures came then. Gaara and I snuck our way to the back of the line to go last, just to watch how it was supposed to be done a few times.

"Okay, Kyan, stand next to Lord Kazekage," my mother coached, motioning me closer to him. I followed her instructions slowly. "And m'lord, let her grab your arm – oh, perfect! This is the best one! Both of you smile, now!"

I didn't smile. I knew Gaara didn't either.

()()()

"Look at all this food! I'm starving!" I announced, peering over the endless amount of food. My stomach growled viciously as I grabbed a plate and pushed through people.

"You don't want to get your dress dirty if you're going to dance, right?" Temari asked from behind me, her arms crossed over her chest.

I rolled my eyes and shrugged, plopping a huge helping of soba noodles onto my plate, avoiding most of the liquid. "I don't dance," I told her. "I eat and study. That's about it."

She gave a small huff and returned to her seat next to Kasaji, who yawned and stretched an arm around her shoulders. After obtaining all my desired food, I sat next to Gaara, who uninterestedly watched our siblings dance together. I pushed my plate closer to him.

"Want some?"

"No, thank you. I don't have an appetite."

"Suit yourself," I muttered, taking a quick (and probably unattractive) bite. As I ate, my eyes followed Haketa and Kankuro. Sporadically, they would kiss and he would whisper something to her. She would laugh and look at him as if he was the only man in the world. And he would stare at her as if she were the first woman he ever laid eyes on.

I pushed the plate of half-eaten food away from me. I wasn't hungry anymore. I wasn't sure what I was. Jealous, irritated, annoyed.

"What's wrong?" Gaara asked, breaking his stare.

"I don't have an appetite."

"Suit yourself," he replied, grabbing the plate from in front of me.

Eventually, more people decided to crowd the dance floor, picking partners to sway their bodies with. Parents danced with their small children, husbands and wives came together, and even strangers asked to dance with each other. Realizing this was my cue to leave to find a hiding spot, I stood from my chair only to turn to face my mother.

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded to know.

"Bathroom," I replied quickly, attempting to walk past her. She grabbed the back of my dress, stopping me in my tracks.

"You're dancing."

"I don't know how."

"Everyone knows how to dance."

"Except me."

"Kyan."

"Mother."

She sighed, letting go of my clothing. "Its your sister's wedding. The least you can do is dance. Lord Kazekage will dance with you, won't you, Gaara?"

"I will?" he asked, glancing back at us with a mouth full of food. He hurried to swallow before admitting, "I don't dance either."

"Good, then you're perfect dancing partners." Mother leaned closer to my face. "If you don't get your ass out there and dance, I swear, Kyan—"

"Okay, okay, jeez!" I said, holding my hands up in defeat. The heat of embarrassment sat heavily on my face. "I'll go. Just…don't drag Lord Kazekage into this. I'll find my own partner."

Hesitantly, I forced myself into the crowd of people. More than anything, I did not want to dance. I was an awkward dancer, even by myself. My body just didn't move gracefully.

After about three minutes of standing uncomfortably in the mass of dancers, I turned back around to retreat, only to stare into the daggers my mother was mentally sending my way from across the courtyard. Letting out a sigh of frustration, I turned my body just in time to be pushed into Gaara's chest.

"Oh, man," I muttered, covering my face. I knew full well that Gaara was not one for physical contact. "I'm sorry, Lord Kazekage. I'm not sure what happened."

"Quit with the formalities," he ordered, taking my hand in his.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly as he pressed his body closer to mine.

"Your mother is going to murder you if you don't find someone to dance with and you looked pathetic out here by yourself. You should thank me for saving your life," he murmured in my ear.

"But I don't know how to dance," I argued, staring down at our feet.

"And you think I do? If so, you're sadly mistaken."

"This is embarrassing, Gaara."

"It looks bad on my part if I don't dance as well."

Eventually, we fell into a rhythm of leaning side to side with each other. Not exactly dancing, but when we turned so I could see my mother, her expression told me it would pass as acceptable.

I'm not sure how long we repeated this. Before I knew it, my arms wrapped around his neck and his arms snaked around my waist, reminding me of the day nearly three years ago when Kankuro had sent Haketa and I back to Konoha for the last time.

"Don't think about it," Gaara whispered, his grip pulling me tighter.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"When you two left that day. Just don't let your mind wander to it. Focus."

Needing to know how he picked up on what I was thinking, I tilted my head upward to question him. But before I could, the flash of a camera erupted from somewhere in the surrounding crowd.

Only then did I realize we were the only ones still dancing.