Chapter 1

"Crap…" I sighed. "He said it would be right below…Ah! Found it!" A stack of papers went cascading to the floor as I pulled the bottom most folder out from under the rest. I groaned out loud. Did the previous Kazekage not believe in filing cabinets? Did Baki make some other poor pawn do this before I came along? 'Daagana, do this. Daagana, do that.' Annoyed, I didn't bother with the pile of papers on the floor, I just grabbed the box and file I needed and shut the door behind me with a slam.

"Good morning, Daagana-san." A woman said as she passed me in the hall. We bowed happily to each other on our way.

"Hey, Gana!" A Chuunin waved as he zoomed past me, probably late for a meeting.

"How are we this morning, Gana-sama?" Another woman came up behind me and as she passed, she pinched my butt cheek. I screeched and dropped my box as she laughed and dashed away.

"I will get you for that, Ai!" I hollered and begrudgingly began to pick up my papers once more.

"You dropped your things…again?" I looked up at the white robe of the Kazekage.

"Honestly, Gaara, you should really try to hide your surprise." I laughed. "I know it shocks you that I'm still so clumsy, two years later." I smiled up at his usual blank face. Without moving, his sand began to help me pick up papers. He folded them into a stack and gently placed them in my hands as I sighed. Sandy documents were better than wet ones, I guess. "Thank you. Now," I said as I stood. "Aren't you supposed to be signing things?"

"I don't know…there's nothing special about her. Her clones are pitiful." Hiniku munched on a potato chip and then annoyed, shook the crumbs out of her long blond hair. We laid prone on the flat rooftop of the newly built academy building, it was made out of smooth sand and still smelled like plaster and progress. The roof offered the best spot for spying, as it would seem, and we bellied up to the lip of the gable to watch. Out beyond was the Genin training ground, where a certain Genin was practicing with her Johyo.

"She does seem to handle her weapon well." I shrugged, trying to find at least one good thing to say about her.

"Yeah, only thanks to Gaara." Hiniku said stubbornly and smashed the potato chip bag into a ball, clearly done with it.

"I think if Gaara even picked up a Johyo, he honestly wouldn't know the first thing to do with it." I mused and watched Matsuri swing the dart and chain over her head, maneuver it around her body, and then kick it out to smash a target. It was all very expertly done and it made me want to learn.

"Gaara was the one who taught her, and besides, it can't be that hard if the Kidnap Queen can do it." Hiniku yawned.

"Ugh!" I threw my hands in the air. "Hiniku! You know how guilty I still feel about that!"

"Oh, yes! Because it was all your fault she got herself kidnapped by creepy celestial creepers. Your fault."

"Those men only took her because—"

"Because you weren't around to get got. Yes, I know. I was there." I sighed at Hiniku as she tossed her potato bag ball over her shoulder like I wouldn't notice. Almost a year and a half ago, Matsuri had been kidnapped by the Four Celestial Symbols Men in an attempt to lure Gaara out of Suna and steal Shukaku. Gaara and Naruto defeated them easily, but in the end, we learned that Matsuri had not been the original target. I was. But in my absence, she was a victim of opportunity. I had always cringed at the thought of what could have happened had I not gone to Konoha for the week to study under Nara Shikaku. And even though I went with the rescue team to save her, I still felt guilty. Guilty…and a little bit jealous. No matter what I did or thought though, the envy never went away. They had taken Matsuri because they knew she was important to Gaara. As his student, I always reminded myself, but soured. I guess the real reason I was resentful of her was because I grew up fearing Gaara…and she didn't. All she knew was that Gaara was the Kazekage, the greatest Shinobi in the Wind Country, not the demon that I had grown up fearing as a child.

"Anyway Gana, I gotta go. I'm meeting Kanman and Sho at the administration building. Some of us have to actually work for our rank." She pulled down her bottom eyelid and gave me a stink face.

"At least I won't be a Genin forever!" I shouted after her, "and pick that up!" but she just stuck her tongue out at me as she jumped off the roof. I shook my head after her but turned back to stay a little longer and watch Matsuri throw her sting around. By a very hush-hush order from the Kazekage, I had been promoted to Chuunin without passing the Chuunin exam. It was approved by the Suna council only because I couldn't be a Genin and work in the admin building, and none of those crotchety old men wanted to push pencils. Hiniku took it in stride, claiming that cheating was apparently the only way I would beat her, and we both laughed.

At the beginning of the New Year, life was normal, although, things had sure changed a lot in the past two years. I begrudgingly picked up Hiniku's trash and headed home, smiling at the thought. Yes, the mansion was home now. Home with Kankurou who had been recently promoted to Captain of the village Sentry and Gaara's personal body guard. Home with Temari, who unfortunately wasn't there all that often now that she was Suna's ambassador to Konoha. Home with Gaara, who was the pride of the Hidden Sand village and my boyfriend. Oooh, that's such a silly word. I grinned to myself as I entered the giant house and slipped out of my shoes. The maid and I bowed to each other as she quickly picked up after me and disappeared.

I was surprised to find Gaara sitting in the kitchen sipping tea and staring at his cactus. He wasn't usually home this time of day. Most of the time he holed himself up in his office long after dark. His bed never called to him the way mine did to me.

I smiled and walked over to wrap my arms around his neck.

"You know if you stare at it long enough, it sprouts legs." Gaara squinted up at me with a look that said he wasn't really sure if I was lying or not. I laughed and planted a kiss on the crown of his head. "Do you want some dinner?" I asked as I pranced over to the cabinet and rummaged around for something to eat. "I could make us some ochezuke, or maybe curry—"

"Daagana…" The fact that he said it in his Kage voice made me pause on the jar of Miso I was eyeing. I pulled myself out of the pantry and looked at him. He was holding up a very official looking scroll and waving it in my general direction without looking at me. Bad sign. Sluggishly, I swallowed the lump in my throat that always lodged itself whenever Gaara had this face. It was not his happy face.

"Yes?" I asked, going over and taking it from him. After I released the binding and spread it out on the table, Gaara silently took a sip of his tea and then poured me a cup. The words bled as I read through them: Chuunin, Akatsuki, Konohagakure, Jinchūriki, Alliance—

I mentally and physically groaned, and Gaara cocked an eyebrow at my expression. "Have you told Temari or Kankurou?" I asked.

"No…you are the first." He muttered, spinning the tea in his cup.

"And Tsunade came up with this?" I grumbled, rubbing my forehead forlornly. He nodded. "Well, it's…ambitious." I sighed finally.

"You think it's a bad idea?" Gaara fingered his teacup and I gave him a hard look.

"I think it is risky calling them out like this. The Akatsuki are dangerous. They already tried to take Naruto, what if they use this Chuunin exam as an opening to come for you?" He didn't say anything, just took a sip of tea.

That wasn't what this was about then.

Tsunade-sama may have been hoping to bring Akatsuki out of hiding, but Gaara had other motives, like exposing those who were staging a coup d'état against him. I sighed and rolled up the scroll. "This is about Fugi then, isn't it?" Instead of answering, Gaara avoided the question by getting up to refill the kettle with hot water. I got up after him, exasperated. "Gaara—"

"I have changed." The tea pot clanked against the counter with a slam that announced the statement's finality. "He will see it. I will make him see it." Gently, I took hold of Gaara and pulled him into a hug, if only to save the tea pot.

"He would be blind not to." I muttered into his shoulder, then I reached up and took his face into my hands, resting our foreheads against each other. "A joint Chuunin exam is a bold idea, but it will show the world that we are strong, we have allies, and our leader is confident in his people."

"Even when he is not confident in himself?" He muttered, and I sighed.

"Save you?"

"Save me." He nodded. This was our thing, our silent reassurance. He would say it to me, or I to him, and it was a quiet confession that we could use some help without actually asking for it.

"Will you stop bouncing?" Hiniku scolded me as we marched through the desert the next morning.

"No!" I smiled. "I can't wait for you to see it!" I grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "It's the most beautiful place you will ever see and everyone there is unbelievably nice. You have to meet TenTen, you'll love her—"

"Gana…you're gonna kill her." Kanman tried to ease me off of his girlfriend, who I had shaken into oblivion.

Gaara, Kankurou, and I were being accompanied by Hiniku's team of Genin to Konoha to meet with Lady Tsunade about the joint Chuunin exams we were planning to host together. It only happened after some serious begging to Baki and the smallest comment from Kankurou about having more man power.

"Keep up, you four." Kankurou ordered from the front of the group. He and Gaara were walking in the front with the rest of us following behind, even though I had made this trip more than twenty times. Hiniku's team consisted of: herself, Kanman, the shy red head, and Sho, a silent boy with green eyes. When we made camp for the night, I told them stories of my friends in Konoha, with Kankurou's commentary butted in every five seconds. Hiniku was more interested in meeting the stronger Kunoichi, like TenTen and Sakura, than she was in meeting Hinata. And of course, Kanman only ever agreed with Hiniku. Sho still didn't speak, though I could tell he was listening intently to the stories about Neji and Shikamaru. Many people in Suna had met Nara Shikamaru, but I had met the rest of his family and I told them all the funny stories about Temari's crush on him, and Yoshino's constant oppression of her husband and son.

Finally, after everyone had gone to sleep, I sat up with Gaara and stared at the stars. It was like the good old days when I stayed up with him so he wouldn't have to wait out the dark night alone. My head was resting on his shoulder and his arm was slung around me casually. I was trying really hard not to fall asleep…but failing.

"Daagana." Gaara whispered.

"Hmm?" I slurred.

"Look." I opened my eyes and looked up just in time to see a shooting star. It careened through the dark sky, leaving a trail of dreams in its wake.

"Make a wish." I told him.

"I wish for this to go well." Gaara nodded to himself, but I snorted.

"That's a horrible wish, Gaara." I nestled into him more.

"But I do need it to go well."

"Of course it will go well. Stop worrying. It's nothing to lose sleep over." He didn't flinch at my tactless nature anymore and paused just long enough to say,

"You are my favorite reason to lose sleep."

It was a whole new world the minute we crossed over into the River Country. Hiniku, Kanman, and Sho had never stepped outside of their village, let alone the Wind Country, and the bountiful scenery of the Land of Rivers was blowing their minds.

"What are those?!" Kanman cried and pointed at a tall oak tree. It was like a strange new creature had been born into their universe and they circled and studied it for a solid ten minutes. Kankurou just stood off to the side and face palmed over and over, repeating to himself how this was a terrible mistake.

"These are trees. They are like the cacti of the desert." Gaara told them slowly, they drank up every word. Sometimes I had to remind myself that Gaara was, in fact, a teacher now. While not many did, there were some students who loved to learn from him. And why not? Gaara had everything: experience, power, strategic insight. He was an exemplary Shinobi and I was proud of him.

"Some of these trees are in your medical books, Hiniku." I chimed in. "Some species' bark is medicinal while others have roots that are poisonous. There are hundreds of different kinds." Sho quietly placed his hand on the trunk of the biggest tree and stroked it like it was something precious. It was the only thing that kept Kankurou from shoving his head into the ground. I saw him watch Sho with a keen interest and I wondered if maybe Kankurou knew any Wood Style Jutsu, and if maybe Sho would be willing to learn.

We ended up spending the night just past the border into the Fire Country, because the Genin's lack of experience with tree jumping made things progress slowly. I tried to help Hiniku with focusing the Chakra into her feet, but she would have none of my coaching. Instead she barked the things I had said at Kanman, pretending she had it down perfect…when, in reality, Sho was the only one succeeding.

After long hours of practice, we were eventually able to fly through the trees in quick succession. Despite the slow going yesterday, we made it all the way to Konoha in a timely manner. Once we crossed over into the Hidden Village territory, we dropped down and opted to take the road in on foot. I couldn't keep still and fidgeted as we neared the massive gate. It had been more than a few months since I had been back and I just knew TenTen was going to give me an ear full.

Finally, the gates came into view and Hiniku gasped, not because of the gates themselves, but because of the color. Suna was my home and I loved it, but…Suna was bland. If Konoha was anything, it was vibrant, with its massive green doors and red characters telling us we had arrived. A little past the gates stood my favorite Kunoichi in the world who had her hand on her hip, smirking like we had kept her waiting.

"Temari!" I cried and ran to tackle her in a hug. She laughed and caught me like this was an everyday occurrence. Beside her stood a very bored looking Shikamaru whom I also hugged. He smiled small as he handed me a scroll with my name on it.

"From the woman." He muttered and went to address the others. He bowed respectfully to Gaara as I pulled the scroll open. It was from Yoshino, Shikamaru's mother. The woman. The nerve of that boy.

"Whose it from?" Hiniku peeked over my shoulder.

"The Nara clan. Yoshino has invited us for dinner." I showed Gaara the scroll and he nodded at it, but continued to speak with Shikamaru about the meeting they were preparing for. He was in full Kage mode and I simpered knowingly. He was going to be wound tighter than a coil until after this meeting with Tsunade-sama.

The village looked exactly as I remembered it, although it felt like they expanded a block or neighborhood every week! Konoha was certainly prospering in the peace, and it made me question Tsunade-sama's wisdom to want to disrupt it. When we arrived at the admin building, Shikamaru led us to the waiting area where they were staging the conference. The building was open air, and Sho hopped up on to the railing and shielded his eyes, catching the best view of the village.

"And now for the troublesome part," Shikamaru droned and turned to me. As a group, we stood just outside the conference room. Inside I could see a long table with grand old chairs on either side. It occurred to me that there was no head chair, as it was a meeting of leaders, but I didn't really know who else was going to be in attendance. Tsunade-sama had advisors, I guess? "Gana, I know it's a drag, but you guys can't sit in on the meeting." I was a little taken aback, but at the same time, I hadn't really imagined myself sitting in anyway. In the corner of my eye, I saw Gaara about to insist on my attendance but I put a palliative hand on his chest.

"Of course. Formalities, I get it." I shrugged indifferently. Temari let out a relieved breath and slapped a hand on Gaara's shoulder.

"No worries, little brother. Daagana knows her way around Konoha just fine. I'm sure we'll find her at Ichiraku's after the meeting." And then she turned to me with that terrifying gleam in her eye. "Won't we, Gana?" Everyone shrank under her petrifying stare…and then as though you'd flipped a switch, she marched the three Sand-nin into the conference room, dragging a pitiful Shikamaru behind her.

As Hiniku's team and I were about to exit the admin building, Tsunade-sama came sweeping down from her upper level office. When she spotted me, her face lit up.

"Daagana!" She beamed at us.

"Lady Hokage!" I bowed to her and motioned for the others to do the same. Hiniku's eyes grew to the size of gong plates when she saw the Kage. Hiniku had always been used to men being in power and I knew that while she knew that Tsunade was a female, actually seeing the woman who ran the Leaf Village in person astounded her.

"It's been quite a little while." Tsunade put a hand on her hip and studied me. Sakura and Shizune stood behind her and when I smiled at them, Sakura winked at me.

"Yes ma'am. It's been busy around Suna these last few months. Gaara has his hands full."

"It's nothing he can't handle." She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "Sakura," She said as she turned to go into the conference room. "Take the afternoon off with our allies."

It didn't take long for Sakura to find something for us to do. Hiniku was extremely interested in Sakura's medical Jutsu and Tsunade-sama's tutelage; so she took us to the hospital where she and Hiniku stayed for quite a while, talking herbs and technique. We left the two there and I took the boys to Ichiraku's, something a little more their speed. Teuchi beamed as I walked in and started preparing me a bowl before I even sat down. After a moment, he placed before me three plates: One straw mat with beautiful wheat noodles, one bowl with what I thought was a shoyu sauce, and one plate with the best toppings. A deconstructed ramen bowl.

"What's this, grandpa?" I asked as I split my chopsticks. The boys sat on either side, staring at the masterpiece.

"Do you have this at your place, Gana?" Kanman asked and reached for a blade of dried seaweed, but I smacked his hand.

"Hush."

"It's a new sauce I've been working on. Dip your noodles in and tell me what you think." I did as instructed and dredged a mouthful of noodles through the broth. It was thicker than usual and had an oily film about it. As I put it in my mouth and slurped, I stiffened. Oh my god, this was so hot hot HOT. I began practically seizing as Ayame poured me a glass of water and I downed it in one gulp. Teuchi thought this was the funniest thing he'd ever seen as he laughed and laughed at me.

"What did you do to her?" Kanman cried and fanned my face with a napkin. "Hiniku's gonna kill me if I let her die!"

"Wha—…What…" I couldn't even form words as I tried to understand what the hell just happened.

"Had a fella come in here complaining it wasn't hot enough, so I took your advice and ground the chili pepper into an oil to add into the miso."

"Oh god…" I rasped as the fire subsided. "Don't ever take my advice again."

"I promise it wasn't me." A familiar voice said and Umino Iruka ducked under the noren. I smiled at him, still a little worse for wear. "If it makes you feel any better, he got me with it too." I shook his hand as he patted me on the shoulder.

"Kanman, Sho, this is Iruka-sensei." Kanman greeted him enthusiastically and Sho in his usual calm way. He reminded me of Gaara in his simplicity. I had never heard his voice, but he was also a full two years younger than the rest of us. He had graduated his academy class before anyone else. I had a thought. "Iruka," The man smiled at me. "Do you know any wood release Jutsu?"

And that was how I got rid of the boys.