Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Infatuation can be identified as a temporary state of passion; short lived but breathtaking. The onset of many relationships begin with this state and when embraced can be overwhelming and euphoric, especially when the object of your admiration is not only receptive but an active player in the exchange.

Dry, there was a distinct lack of moisture in the air. It happens every year in the summer; the ocean winds that flow through the canyons loses its moisture as it makes its way towards Suna. The resulting airflow chaps the lips and leaves the skin cracked and chalky.

Temari recognized the dry atmosphere as she stirred awake. Her mouth felt thick and her throat burned when she tried to swallow. She reached for the almost empty glass of water at her bedside, the one remaining gulp bringing her immense relief but was far from satisfying her parched state. The skin around her mouth was chapped with a slight layer of residual oil that made her feel shriveled and pruned. She threw off the sheet for a blanket and headed to the bathroom to take a cool shower and replenish the lacking moisture.

Cooled and refreshed she immediately applied lotions to her whole body; several types were needed on a day such as today. She inherited her mothers' fair complexion, a rarity for desert dwellers, and although she was able to able to have a slight tan too much exposure to the sun without her lotions resulted in painful blisters.

She went to the kitchen and drank a full glass of water. She looked at the diverse selection of breakfast cereals but found her appetite lacking. On days with such heat she had little desire to eat, a full stomach was uncomfortable and decided to wait until she felt hungrier before she partook on a full meal. Instead she grabbed a slice of chilled watermelon from the fridge, relishing its watery sweetness.

Finally ready to go she grabbed a canister of water and stick of lip moisturizer as she headed out. When she opened the door a gust of dry sandy air flew into her house. She quickly closed the door to minimize the dust from getting into her living room. She let out an agitated sigh as she felt the full effects of the heat hit her skin; it was only 8am and already at least 90 degrees outside. One positive thing can be said of the arid atmosphere was that it depreciated the effects of the heat. The air immediately dried the sweat from her skin making the intense temperature more tolerable then the moist heat of Konoha, where the humidity leaves a sticky residue on the skin.

Konoha, why does her mind always fall back on that city? Ever since she went there for her first chunin exams she's never been able to get its taste out her mouth. At first her she thought her initial fascination was because she never visited such a different culture. Suna was so tense; the shinobi were tense, the citizens were tense and most of all her father, the then Kazekage was tense. But Konoha, one of the first things she noticed was that it had this laid back vibe. At first she thought they were spoiled from lack of battles but later found the apparent tranquility of the city was partially a ruse, to make it seem as if they weren't paying attention when in fact they were watching very closely.

Plus there was another aspect of the city she found attractive, she wasn't ready to even entertain the possibility just yet, but it was in the back of her mind.

Making her way towards the Kazekage building she wondered what her brother wanted from her, last night he requested that she immediately report to her in the morning.

She briefly knocked on his door then opened it; Gaara looked up from a paper in his hands and gave her a nod, wordlessly beckoning her inside.

"I have some inquires regarding the upcoming chunin exams from the daimyo, looks like he wants to now who's going to be in them, for betting purposes probably." He handed her the paper "Start packing your things, I want you to leave for Konoha and finish with the preparations."

"Of course Gaar…Kazekage-sama" she corrected herself as she took the paper, she was proud of his position and tried her best to respect it, despite her being the eldest. Gaara upturned his mouth slightly at the honorific, for some reason it was nicer hearing it from his siblings then from anyone else.

Giant trees loomed above; massive structures whose girth surpasses the average home in Suna. The trees soared overhead making the sky look like blue splotches in a sea of green, and the air was potent with the smell of fauna and pine. The sheer volume of the forest is as overwhelming to her as the emptiness of the desert is disorientating to one from Konoha.

Slowly the red gates of Konoha came into view. Temari gave a relieved sigh; her feet ached and wanted a decent warm meal before she tackled whatever assignment was waiting for her. She felt the tingle of charka and immediately came alert, but continued to calmly walk down the road knowing her proximity to Konoha made it improbable that it was an enemy. Out of the corner of her eye she saw an ANBU flash through the trees and she knew they were making their presence known for her. If they were going to do anything they would have done it already so she continued on towards the gate.

A concerned crease formed between her brows as she considered why ANBU chose to make their presence obvious. She wanted to believe that the increased security was due to the upcoming Chunin exams but her gut told her there was more to it. Her pace quickened as various scenarios flashed through her mind, trying to cull her overactive imagination she knew the only way she would calm down is with some real answers.

She reached the gate and gave the chunin guard a stiff smile, she was tired and the presence of ANBU unnerved her. The chunin returned the smile and gave her an understanding nod. He quickly flipped through some papers and checked her name off the list.

"The Hokage asked for you to meet her as soon as you arrived Temari-san." He said with a lopsided smile.

She warmed her smile and gave a quick nod. Slightly squinting her eyes she searched her memory for the chunin's name "Thank you…um…Izumo?" She guessed the first name that came to mind.

"Nope it's Kotetsu." he said with a smile to reassure her he wasn't insulted. "Don't worry a lot people get our names confused."

"Kotetsu" she repeated, taking note as to not forget next time she sees him. "Sorry about that, I'm still learning everyone's name" she said with an apologetic look. The man knew her name and she forgot his, it made her look bad and she hated perceived weaknesses, regardless if it was a seemingly insignificant lapse in memory.

She gave him one last smile and went on her way. She refrained from becoming outwardly angry but she mentally chided herself for forgetting his name. As a shinobi details were never insignificant, details were the difference between life and death. She shook off the self-doubt knowing it would irritate her further, making her attitude curt. She knew she had a reputation as being a hard-ass kunoichi and because of it people tended to avoid her. She didn't mind the reaction, even enjoyed it, but knew that the networking necessary for the exam preparations would be easier if she presented a friendlier vibe for the duration of her stay.

"Ah Temari, good you're here, come in." The Godaime gestured to the chair in front of her desk "Sit." she ordered.

"Hokage-sama" she gave the women a deep bow of respect after closing the door, "Shizune-san" she greeted the Hokage's assistant with a nod and a smile. Shizune gave her and big happy grin as she left the office and Temari couldn't help but broaden her smile in return. Shizune was one of those rare people who had an infectiously positive disposition. Although Temari was fairly certain that even Shizune's positive outlook was severely tested by the Godaime's more irresponsible behaviors.

"ANBU made their presence known to me outside the gate" Temari said as she removed her large fan so she could sit down "I take it something's happened for them to tout their powers in front of allied ninja" she said with a raised eyebrow. She didn't want to sound accusatory but their presence didn't exactly make her feel welcome.

Tsunade smirked "Straight to the point, that's why I like you Temari." she leaned back into her chair "Don't take it personally, I have ANBU on high alert for security precautions."

"Precautions against what?"

"Recent events has made us weary of…well everything." She laughed, "with our preoccupation with the Atasuki I don't want other nations to get the idea that we're an easy target during the exams"

She was hiding something, with the Suna alliance stronger then ever it was unlikely that other nations would be looking to invade, unless she had doubts about Suna's allegiance. "I promise you that Suna will do everything in its power to assure the safety of all in attendance, much is at stake for Suna in the success of these exams. We also have a reputation to uphold."

"I'm not questioning Suna Temari," Tsunade assured "believe me your presence and cooperation will provide much for the moral of our ninja."

"Your anticipating an attack." Temari conluded.

"With the recent defeat of the Itachi Uchiha at the hands of Sasuke the Akatsuki have become desperate, we believe they will make their move for Naruto soon."

Temari frowned "Not a good tactical move to capture him during the exams, with such heavy guards it doesn't make sense. It's not like their trying to make a statement on their ability by overpowering Konoha, like Orochimaru did, they just want the Jinchuriki."

Tsunade gave a slight smile and leaned forward. "I didn't say they were going to make their move during the exam I said that they would make their move soon. As for symbolic attacks, well Orochimaru's more reverent minions are expected to make some sort of move during the chunin exams. But that shouldn't concern you now."

"Doesn't concern me?" Temari raised her voice in outrage, "I was instructed by my brother to make sure these exams go off without a hitch, any sort of attack during these exams very much concerns me!"

"Calm down, I was simply going to suggest that we continue this conversation tomorrow, It's getting pretty late and I'm sure your tired. Shizune arranged for your lodging." Just then Shizune came into the office and held the door open.

Temari gave the Hokage an exasperated look "When the guard said to immediately meet with you I assumed I would be filled in with what's happening"

"I did. I said what needs to be said to reassure you for now, I know it feels like I gave you a partial overview but please realize I bothered to tell you this now out of respect for the alliance. There will be a meeting at 8 am tomorrow, things will be explained in detail then. Dismissed."

Temari got up and bowed to the Hokage noticing her hands fiddling with something under the desk. She wanted to scoff but refrained out of respect. Whatever, she was too tired to care.

She followed Shizune to another office, this one was much smaller but somehow didn't feel as cramped as the Hokage's. There were various organized piles of papers on the desk, each with a small post-it with neat writing attached. Shizune picked up a pile labeled "Temari" placed the papers in a folder and handed it to her.

"Here you go." Shizune said with a smile "These are a list of guests who've reserved hotel lodgings for the exams. You need to assign each guest with a room, make sure you take note on their preferences and how much money they'll willing to spend. I wasn't sure if you knew where all the hotels in town were so I assigned Shikamaru-kun to help you out. Meet up with him tomorrow to get this started, it's due in 2 days. We've got a lot more things to do after this. Oh and I booked a room for you in the hotel you stayed in during your last visit."

Hotel accommodations? This is not what she expected to be doing "I thought I would be more involved with the security of the exams." Temari objected.

"Oh don't worry you'll be involved in a little bit of everything, we're giving you a well rounded experience. You're a jonin so you'll be involved in the high ranking meetings, like tomorrows. We're not trying to keep you out of the loop, it's just the Hokage wants things done right, and she's confident you're the woman for the job. You have a reputation of being a perfectionist and that's what we need."

Satisfied with her answer and flattered at the compliment she relented. "Alright, tomorrow at eight."

"Good night Temari-san, see you tomorrow" Shizune said with a smile.

"Goodnight Shizune-san" Temari answered not having it in herself to return the smile.

Authors note:

I based the weather in Suna with what I experience in L.A and Las Vegas, NV. Dry air is the norm for Los Angeles in the late summer into fall, and summers in Vegas is ridiculously hot but tolerable because it's so arid.

I based Konoha's environment on the sequoia and redwood forests here in California. A must see for anyone who appreciates the wonders of nature, truly breathtaking. Although the humidity we experience in Cali is nothing like the mid-west, but I thought it was a good contrast to Suna's environment.

Please review; good, bad, correct me, advise, criticize (be tactful about it, no flames please), or whatever you want to say.

Thanks for reading:)