"Kiele, you're..."

Temari eyed the kunoichi warily, her eyes shifting nervously between her and the young Kazekage, as if she expected the next Great Shinobi War to break out between them at any second. Kiele merely sipped her tea, Gaara watching her cautiously, as if not quite sure what to make of her yet himself.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, it's... nothing..."

"Since we've gotten Hinata back just as Lady Tsunade ordered," Neji began,

"We should get going back to the Leaf."

"Of course," Gaara agreed.

"I'm not going back with you, Hyuuga," Kiele droned, peering at the white-eyed Jounin from over top of her cup.

"I know. I've already made up my mind, as I've been having second thoughts myself."

"Kiele, I..."

Her eyes shifted to the second Hyuuga addressing her.

"T-thank you..."

Kiele gaped at her with wide-eyed appalled curiousity.

"What the hell for?!"

"For... saving us. Saving me."

Kiele shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"They let us go. As much as I'd like to take credit for that, the truth is, I can't."

Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously, instantly suspicious.

"They let you go?"

"Kabuto let us out himself. Although he didn't escort us out the front door personally, we encountered no opposition as I took the Hyuuga and left."

"It could have been a trap."

Kiele bristled, insulted, and her grasp on her drink tightened firmly.

"He said he had what he wanted from us, and that we were no longer of any use to him nor to Orochimaru. I let Takai guide me out from there. It put my senses on edge. Do you think the thought honestly hadn't crossed my mind, fool?"

"That's enough," Kankurou insisted, seeing his younger brother begin to seethe.

(You aren't innocent to him anymore,) Takai warned.

(Make him angry, and you're likely to ignite the old hatred for you in him.)

"Doesn't make any difference. He'd hate me anyways."

For a fleeting second, she recalled Gaara chasing her around the kitchen and dinning room in an attempt to get cookie dough.

"I heard Temari calling you from upstairs," Gaara lied.

Kiele smiled.

"Lord Gaara... Thinks I am an idiot..."

She made a few hand signs, and she ducked down beside of the fridge and out of sight.

"Oh, Okay!"

Her clone darted off upstairs, and sure enough, the second her clone was out of sight, Gaara was in the kitchen. Kiele sprang out from beside the fridge, catching his wrist as he reached for the cookie dough. She smiled innocently at him, but he returned the gesture with an irritated scowl.

"Kankurou-san taught me the replication technique."

She released his hand, waggling her finger in front of his face.

"Now, Gaara-sama, dinner is almost done. Please, wait a bit longer! You can eat your meal, and the cookies will be done by then!"

After he was done eating, the Kazekage tailed her around the kitchen like a second shadow. She had a sudden flash of genius.

"Gaara-sama... would you like the dough as well?"

She could see him perk up instantly, but it was gone the second she darted away from him.

"You'll have to catch me first!"

At first, she thought he might actually go for it. But when he crossed his arms and stared her down coldly, those hopes were shot down instantly.

"Kiele. You're not a child, so stop acting like one. I will not chase you, not for meager sweets, not for any reason."

Her heart sank, her shoulders slumping as she shuffled her feet. She had watched him wrestle Kankurou for the remote control only yesterday, so why was it just her he hated...?

"No... It hasn't changed."

(You'd be suprised. I know that I used to tell you that him finding inner peace was a far cry, but...)

Kiele surveyed the Kazekage skeptically.

"Exactly how desperate were those fools to honestly make Gaara the Kazekage...?"

(Idiot. Take a good look at him. You cannot tell me that he strikes you as the same person you used to know. True, he is still not as loose as Kankurou, and never will be, but at least he's not trying to kill you.)

Kiele's eyes hardened, scanned Gaara cautiously. He'd gotten a bit taller than she remembered him being, but it was prominently his eyes that caught her attention.

"Those eyes..."

His eyes had definitely softened considerably. They no longer held that bloodlust and anger that she'd grown so accustomed to seeing in them. Now, they simply seemed... empty. Unreadable even by someone who held an identical gaze.

"What happened... since the Chuunin Exams...?"

(That Naruto character defeated Gaara with his desire to protect his friends.)

Kiele's grip on her cup slackened, and she almost dropped it. She stared into the beverage with wide-eyed shock.

"Naruto did...?"

(I guess the boy's words hit their mark, because Gaara is completely devoted to this village now. He hasn't made a death threat since I don't know when, and the last time he attack a shinobi of the Sand... was when he attacked you during the Chuunin Examinations.)

"I don't believe it... Gaara couldn't care for anyone else but himself, of that I'm sure..."

(I'd suggest that you start rethinking your theories.)

"I never would've imagined I'd ever be having this backward arguement with you, Takai..."

The demon's hollow laughter echoed in Kiele's head.

"You Leaf ninja should rest up here before heading back," Temari offered.

"Head back in the morning."

"I'll take you up on that offer," Kiba replied, covering his mouth as he stiffled a yawn.

Akamaru barked in agreement. Unfortunately for Kiba, his dog was the only support he got.

"No," Neji argued.

"We have to report back to Lady Hokage as soon as possible."

"We'll send a message back to the Leaf for you," Kankurou suggested.

"Rest up while you can. It's a three day trip back to the Leaf."

Sakura shook her head.

"We've only been in the Sand a few hours at most. Since Hintat came to us, we've no reason to be drained."

Lee rose to his feet, grasping hold of Kiele's wrists. Her eye twitched as she resisted the urge to give the Chuunin an elbow shot to the face.

"I look forward to the day that we meet again," He gushed.

"Yeah... right."

She pulled her hands out of his, taking another sip of her tea. Watching the five Leaf shinobi leave, she wondered if Temari would give her crap about Lee later. But as the kunoichi shuddered, running a hand through her tresses, Kiele got the idea that she had other things on her mind.

"Tell us what's going on," She demanded.

Kiele arched an eyebrow, suddenly feeling the weight of the stares of all three of the Sand siblings.

"About?"

"Everything," Temari sighed.

"Kabuto, the kidnapping, the Akatsuki,your memory... everything."

"Well," Kiele began, bringing her index finger to her chin,

"It was the Sound who abducted Hinata and me. This crazy, wild eyed freak tried to kill me, but..."

She shot Gaara a satisfied smirk, which he returned with an arched eyebrow and a frown.

"...but he couldn't, because of Takai."

"What about the demon?" The young Kazekage demanded.

"Because of Takai, others apparently have a hard time killing me... so long as I keep my shield in place."

"Shield...?" Kankurou questioned.

"What shield?"

"It's what Takai calls it. I can manipulate the 'atmosphere', hence, controlling the emotions of others. Takai does it subconsiously, so even if I cannot or do not have time to use it, though it can still be broken, it will still protect me of its own accord. Takai has taught me how to wield this power, thus making the shield stronger."

Her eyes were glued to Gaara. If anyone was capable of breaking her shield, it would be another Jinchuuriki like herself. Out of the two she'd met, only one of them had ever had a desire for her blood to be spilled.

"How can the shield be broken?" Temari asked softly.

"It can't be broken by sheer physical means alone," Kiele explained.

"To break, my attacker's desire to kill me must exceed my own desire to keep them at bay. The shield must be broken by stronger emotions than my own."

"Did I get that about right, Takai?"

(Sounded good to me.)

"Why did Kabuto let you go so casually?" Gaara questioned.

"Even if he was unable to kill you, with such a bargaining chip in his possession... You were in a bad position."

Kiele shrugged, setting her cp on the Kazekage's desk. With a frown, Gaara swiped the beverage up before it could spill all over his paperwork.

"He said he had what he needed from us."

"'Us'?"

"I don't know if it was Hinata he wanted, or me, or both of us, but whatever it was, he got it. As for what you guys were going on about the Akatsuki, I have no clue what you're going on about."

"And your memory?" Temari pressed earnestly.

"You... remember everything now? But how?"

Gaara had been wondering the same exact thing. He'd done his homework thoroughly, and amnesia was not curable. Kiele shuffled her feet, absentmindedly chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"I never had amnesia to begin with. That was all just Takai, witholding my memory from me in an effort to try and clense my mind."

All the sand siblings appeared horrified, and even Gaara's normally stoic expression had dropped. He stared at Kiele, wide-eyed, as she dropped her gaze, gazing at the headband tied to her hip. Slowly, she traced the hourglass pattern with her idex finger.

"I guess... it never occured to the demon that stripping me of my memories would only serve to make me even more restless. And with the rising threat of this Akatsuki, it decided that we would be better off if I could defend myself."

"So it gave everything back? Just like that?"

"Just like that."

Temari leaned further forward, hands on her knees.

"So, I take it you can remember everything that happened while your real memories were being suppressed?"

"Bits and peices," Kiele admitted.

"Some things are clear, like when Gaara aided Lee against Kimmimaro, while others... they're very vague. Like it was just a dream."

Gaara scowled when she spoke his name so casually. He'd only been Kazekage a short time, but he already grown accustomed to the respect he'd gained. Only Kiele had ever acknowledged him so casually, as if he weren't anything special, as if he were normal. And until now, even she had revered his name. Now, the blatant lack of respect she held in her voice made his bloid boil. Still, when their eyes locked, she stared him down with such intensity, the spark in her eyes grew to a blaze. She looked at him as if she'd enjoy nothing more than to gut him like a fish.

For a long time, all four Sand shinobi were silent. Kiele felt as if she were an intruder amongst them. As far as she was concerned, nothing had ever changed between any of them. Temari was vainly still feigning concern as Kankurou pretended to ignore everything from a distance, where it was safest, and Gaara wanted to reduce her to little more than dust in his sand. Gaara scratched his head furiously, his jaw cletched in anger, knowing he was back at square one with Kiele. Sighing heavily, Termari rose to her feet, casting Kiele a listless glance as if she, too, were already missing Kiele's former kindness and modest demenor. Noticing Kiele's insulted scowl, she tried to amend herself, but it was Kiele who spoke first.

"It's best this way," She insisted firmly.

"This way, if Gaara or I are targeted by the Akatsuki, I can fight them. I won't be a burden to any of you."

"You weren't a burden," Temari murmured in vain.

Kiele pursed her lips, livid.

"They prefered me as I was post- Chuunin Exams."

(No kidding, child. Even I prefered you as such.)

Pride got the best of Kiele, and despite the demon's protests, she challenged the shinobi.

"I don't give a damn what anyone thinks of me. You all know well I am only around because I have no choice. I don't have to be kind to you bastards in the process."

Gaara bristled from his seat, gripping the arms of his chair. Kiele's jaw set stubbornly. Just as he knew they would, her eyes locked with his, and the old electricty that always flew between them when she looked at him hatefully like that sparked.

"Chiyo knew," He mused bitterly.

"She knew amnesia couldn't be cured, so she had me administer that powder not for amnesia, but to fight the demon's powers. She knew it was the demon manipulating Kiele, yet she said nothing..."

Kiele's jaw slackened, but her eyes remained glued to the Kazekage.

"I'm leaving. I've got to brush up on my skills, seeing how you guys have obviously kept me pent up for so long."

She finally broke her gaze, and Gaara's eyes caught sight of Kiele's bare wrist as she reached for the door.

"Where is your wristband?" He demanded.

Kiele inhaled sharply, raising said wrist to eye level.

"Oh, shit..."

"Where is it?" Gaara repeated.

"We were completely re-dressed upon our arrival there... They took it."

"What purpose would taking a flimsy peice of leather possibly serve him?"

For a "flimsy peice of leather", the Kazekage sure was getting pissy over it.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Kiele sneered angrily.

"Just have another one made for me or something if it's that big a deal to you. It's not that big of a deal."

But she knew she was in trouble. She bit down on her tongue in frustration. It was a big deal. Thr Fourth Kazekage had warned her as a child that removing that wristband was the highest form of defiance Kiele could demonstrate. Although it wasn't technically her who took it off, Kiele got the feeling that Gaara wouldn't be as generous to bypass that little detail.

"We all know where I stand," She reasoned.

"It isn't like I need some accessory to remind me."

Before the Kazekage could further argue with her, she quickly slipped out the door. Temari sighed in anguish.

"This is bad..."

"What's bad?" Kankurou questioned.

"That we have to start checking out food to see if she's poisoned it again?"

Temari scowled at him, unimpressed. Her brother chuckled, shrugging his shoulders lazily.

"Sorry. I could help it. It was too perfect."

"I was going to say... that it's bad that she's back to being so unpredictable. The only thing for sure, now, is that nothing is for sure."

Kankurou rolled his eyes dramatically.

"I don't think anyone's in the mood for your psychoanalysis, Temari."

"Kiele sure has been gone quite a while," Temari observed, placing her head in her chin.

Kankurou followed her gaze out the window and nodded. It was nearly sunset.

"Looks like we'll be eating out tonight."

The two siblings heard the door open downstairs, then slam back shut. Turning to one another, their eyes locked in understanding. Only one person in all Wind Country was gutsy enough to simply barge into the home of the infamous Sand Siblings unannounced. Not even the most desperate of thieves were that stupid.

"We're upstairs, Kiele," Kankurou called, moving to open his bedroom door.

Kiele stepped into the room, the muscles in her face flexing as she clentched and unclentched her jaw. Sweat matted her hair against her face and neck, and she moved to brush her strands of unruly black hair from her eyes.

"For an old sandbag, that demon sure is one hell of a slave driver."

(Watch it, child.)

Temari's brow furrowed, then her mouth slackened as comprehension began to sink in.

"You trained with Takai?"

Kiele rolled her eyes, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Well, I didn't ask it for advice in romance, that's for sure," She droned sarcastically.

"Kiele," Temari and Kankurou groaned in unison.

"What the hell else would I summon the demon for?!"

"That's actually something I never could figure out..." Temari began with curiousity.

"But how is it that Takai seems to be able to leave your body?"

"The demon isn't really leaving my body," Kiele explained tediously.

"It's simply an illusion that it has left me. A genjutsu. I guess, you could call it something like Naruto's shadow clones, although a bit sturdier."

Kankurou sighed. He took off his headpiece, scratching his head.

"You're such a pain in the ass sometimes."

Kiele shrugged, walking into Kankurou's bathroom. She flipped on the light, ran cold water in the sink, and came out with a damp towel wrapped around her head like a turban. Kankurou laughed, letting his hand fall back down to his side and completely dismissing their previous conversation.

"You look like an idiot."

"Who the hell cares? It feels good," Kiele explained, poking the fuzzy white mass on her head.

"I'm sweating so bad right now."

Her gaze flickered to the window, where Temari was still sitting on the windowsill. She could see the towering dome that was the Kazekage's building in the distance.

"Gaara back at work?" Kiele asked, still having difficulty accepting that Gaara was the Kazekage.

"I belong to Gaara now, seeing how the Fourth is dead..."

Temari nodded, following Kiele's gaze.

"There's no telling when he'll be home tonight. He still has quite a bit of paperwork to catch up on since he's been gone at the Leaf village."

She cast her brother a patronizing glare, who tried to brush the gesture off by finding a sudden interest in his cuticles, before continuing.

"I thought we'd eat out tonight, and that we could order out for Gaara. You'll have to bring his portion to him, Kiele."

"Whaaaaat?! Why me?"

"I have to prepare for my upcoming trip to Grass Country."

"What about Kankurou? Why can't he take it?

Kankurou rose his hands defensively, taking several steps away from the two females.

"No way. He's already totally pissed with me for not doing any of his paperwork like I said I would while he was gone, and letting it pile up for him when he got back. You have any idea what he'd do to me if I walked within a two kilometer radius of him with security escort?"

Kiele laughed, pulling the towel off of her head and wrapping it around her neck like a scarf. Temari giggled, and even Kankurou began to choke out a nervous snicker. Then it struck her... up until now, when had been the last time she'd laughed with these two? And when had it not been taboo to joke so casually about Gaara? It was as if all the intensity it the atmosphere had finally evaporated.

Kiele jerked the towel from her neck, wadding it up and chucking it at Kankurou, who caught it in disgust. He glared down at the towel as if it were plagued.

"The sooner you do something with your dirty laundry, Kankurou, the sooner we can go get something to eat."

Dinner that night was awkward, to say the least. It was obvious that the two sand siblings had questions for Kiele, but decided against every single one, their mouths opening and closing like fish before they finally resigned themselves to idle chatter. At least, that was how Kankurou started dinner. Somewhere between appetizers and desert, he skillfully had his waiter switch his refill request from green tea to something a bit stronger, unbeknownst to either female until he moved to stumble out the front doors.

"I'm not carrying him home," Temari grumbled, eyeing her underage, drunken brother in distaste.

Kiele snickered, waving the styrofoam box containing Gaara's food above her head.

"Sorry, but I have to take Lord Kazekage his royal dinner. I can't take Kankurou home, so unless you don't mind your little brother getting mugged in some dark alley..."

Her voice trailed off, watching in amusement as Kankurou laughed and stumbled into Temari, who immediately shoved him off of her, sending him into a giggling heap in the sand. Temari groaned before bending down to bring his arm around her shoulders. She sulked off with him, grumbling angrily under her breath. Kiele laughed, shaking her head, then ambled off in the direction of the Kazekage's building.

The corridors were dark and desolate, everyone having gone home for night. Even the young female secretary Kiele vaguely recalled with an obssessive crush on the young Kazekage wasn't stalking the outside of his office door as usual. Kiele wondered if her absence was an ill omen, warning her that the Kazekage was in a bad mood tonight. If this were the case, then perhaps Gaara had verbally eaten the poor girl alive. With a resigned shrug, Kiele twisted the doorknob and stepped inside.

The room was dimmly lit, with nothing but a few candles lit in the windows and on top of shelves. On instinct, Kiele reached over, flicking the light switch on and off repeatedly, wondering why her efforts were to no avail.

"The electricity went out, The Kazekage explained gloomily, never bothering to look up at her from his papers.

Kiele continued to fool with the switch hopefully, as if determined that the lights would suddenly come on out of means of a miracle. When she heard him sigh lightly, she dropped her hand, watching him shuffle another paper to the top of his stack.

"How far is the outtage?"

She saw his shoulders rise and fall in one fluid motion.

"It must have gone out not too long ago... We were just at the resturant and they had electrcity..."

Recalling her true mission in being here, she set the delivery on the corner of his desk.

"Fresh from Izutho's. Bon appetit."

Gaara hesitated, laying his pencil down on his desk as he leaned forward in his chair.

"Is that..."

"Salted tongue?" Kiele finished in disgust.

"Yeah. With a side of curry rice sauteed in god knows what and and some weird looking crusty crap Temari insisted that we all try."

Kiele felt as if she were advertising the food to him, but Gaara didn't seem to mind. In a swift motion, he had shoved aside the papers on his desk and reached for the box with his free hand as he dragged it to him in the small clearing he'd made. Breaking apart his chopsticks, his eyes met Kiele's. It took much of her being to stomache looking at him, and not to flinch and glance away as she was so accustomed to doing.

"How are Temari and Kankurou?"

Despite her prior evasive tactic, Kiele allowed a small smile to creep across her lips.

"You might want to consider camping out here for the night, and maybe into tomorrow evening."

Gaara arched an eyebrow, bringing the salted tongue to his lips.

"Why is that?"

"Temari is in a foul mood because Kankurou got himself smashed as hell. I didn't know that he got away with underage drinking, but I imagine he'll be a pain in the ass to deal with tomorrow with a hangover. He really doesn't have any tolerance whatsoever."

The Kazekage gazed at her intently as he ate. For the first time in a long time, Kiele found herself taking in Gaara's features as he calmly returned the gesture.

"He's so peaceful..."

(The lack of death threats and murder attempts are a nice change.)

"Yeah, no kidding..."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier today."

Kiele's jaw slackened, her composure dropped like a rock.

"W-what?" She stammered in shock.

"About the wristband."

Her eyes wandered from his face to her hands, dry and marred, as most Suna residents' were, from a life living in the desert. Her eyes then found his hands, calloused, but otherwise untainted by the natural occurances of the sand.

"The sand shield... His sand armor, it must protect them."

(A random observation.)

Kiele found herself gazing back at the Kazekage's face, who stared at her with wide eyed intensity, expectant.

"What's with that look?" She finally blurted.

"Do you forgive me?"

Before she could even think of answering, she found herself laughing. He frowned at her in confusion.

"What is so funny?"

"How absolutely rediculous this all is."

"What is rediculous?"

Kiele leaned across the desk, furrowing her brow as the Kazekage neither flinched nor shied away from her, but gazed back at her calmly.

"If anyone should be asking forgiveness, Lord Kazekage, it's me."

"How so?"

"Don't play stupid. You know what I did to you under the orders of the Fourth."

"A misunderstanding between us. And as I recall, I tried to end your life more often than you attempted to end mine."

"I never tried to kill you..."

"No, of course you didn't."

He leaned forward slightly, causing Kiele to lose her bearings and back off before he invaded too much of her personal space.

"You always tried to... What did you call it..."

She noticed him break the gaze he held with her to stare up at the ceiling. After a moment, he seemed to collect his thoughts, and peered back down to her.

"...'Save me'."

Kiele bit her bottom lip, racking her mind for a response. Gaara stared at her calmly, but that was anything but what she felt. She felt as if Gaara had reached into her chest and was trying to peice back together the fragments of what used to be a friendship between them.

"I want you to forgive me for everything I've done to you."

"Gaara..."

"I thought I'd killed you when I fought with Naruto. At the time, I cared nothing of your life, but when arrangements for a funeral arose..."

Kiele squeezed her eyes shut, dreading what emotions his next words might bring to the surface.

"...I was filled with so much anger. I realized that I didn't want you to die, and that your life had meant something to me."

"Why are you telling me this...?" Kiele murmured, blinking feverently.

She could no longer look him in the eye. Her heart was thrashing against her ribcage, rattling emotions she was sure she'd disposed of a long time ago.

"Because you need to realize that you are mine now, and I won't have you running away from me as you usually do."

Her fists clentched, her knuckles turning white.

(He is foolish,) Takai droned.

(He is the one who has spent the past few months running from you.)

"What about you running away from me?!" Kiele challenged, using the demon's information.

"You are just as guilty as I am when it comes to running away from me one another!"

"Not anymore," Gaara quickly amended.

He had completely forgotten about his food by this point, and pursed his lips in determination.

"I'm not running anymore. I'm tired of having nothing but bonds of hate with others. I want to experience what it's like to care for someone else, to know what it means to have someone who is precious to you."

"But, why tell me, Gaara...?"

"Because you have already claimed me as a person who is precious to you."

Kiele swallowed at the lump in her throat uncomfortably.

"You're right, Naruto. I did hold back on you. But only to keep a more important promise than the one I made to you. But don't worry. I'll mend that broken promise. Now come, and fight me, and we'll see which one of us has the stronger existence"

She could still see Naruto recoil in shock, the kunai in his hand almost fall from his loose grasp.

"What? Are you crazy?!"

"When you threaten Gaara's existence, not only do you threaten mine as well, but you threaten... My precious person."

"Him? That guy's your important person? Why would you protect him? That guy is a monster! He's... he's so..."

"He's alone, Naruto. Just like me...If you mean to hurt Gaara... then I'll kill you without any regrets or second thoughts."

"Gaara, I..."

The Kazekage gazed at her, also nostalgic from the gleam he held in his eyes.

"...We've come a long way..."

"Yes," He agreed softly.

"I suppose... as Kazekage, I have to honor your wishes. I will forgive you."

"I want you to forgive me as Gaara, not as the Kazekage."

"We'll get around to that, okay?"

A scowl crossed his lips, obviously not satisfied with such a vague answer. Kiele pointed towards the food, a small grin forming.

"You'd better eat that before it goes cold, if it isn't already."

"I'll get around to it," He grumbled, using her own phrase against her.

"In the meantime, I have something I'd like you to do."

"Coming from you, wouldn't that be more of an order?"

"Yes."

"Just checking."

The Kazekage leaned back in his chair, reaching for his food. He broke his gaze with Kiele, and his face became stoic once again.

"Pack your bags. You're going with Temari to the Grass tomorrow."

Kiele's jaw dropped, but she quickly regained her composure as she closed her mouth.

"You want me to take the Chuunin Exams."

"No. I want you to pass the Chuunin Exams," He corrected.

"Why so soon? I mean, I don't know if I'm in the best shape to pass any test--"

"You've fallen behind us," He pointed out.

Kiele knew of the truth in his words. Both Temari and Kankurou had become Jounin and Gaara was the freaking Kazekage. She'd been sleeping on the job... literally.

"Temari was originally going to the Grass alone, but I had a sudden change of heart. I can throw together two more Genin for you to team up with and send you off with her as your squad leader."

He leaned forward again, and his eyes locked with Kiele's again.

"When you come back to the Sand, Kiele, come back Chuunin. I'll be awaiting a report of your success."