Chapter 2

Temari and Shikamaru slipped quietly out the back door of the noodle restaurant.

"Temari! Temari! Look over here!" Cried a voice in the darkness.

The couple turned and a bright flash hit their eyes.

"What the hell?!" Shikamaru yelled and started forward but Temari grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Shikamaru, it's okay! They're with the Mirage!" Temari said.

"Mirage? What the hell is that?" Shikamaru grumbled still trying to clear the spots from his eyes.

"They're THE local tabloid of the sand." Then she grabbed his arm excitedly, "I wonder if our picture will be in tomorrow's issue? They only publish once a week!"

Shikamaru looked over at Temari who was clutching his sleeve and her teal eyes sparkled looking up at him. He couldn't help but sigh, "Is it that important to you to be in that magazine?" He asked curiously.

She pulled away from him and looked up with a thoughtful expression, "No, not really but it would be really nice to show all those Sand kunoichi that you're taken." She said with a wicked smile and laugh.

Shikamaru laughed self consciously and put his hand up to rub the back of his neck. "I don't think that's the problem. It's more likely that I should hope that it shows the guys in this village that YOU are taken."

They had continued walking back towards the inn where Shikamaru was staying. They held hands loosely as they walked slowly enjoying the night sky.

Temari's face took on a stunned expression and then she laughed really hard. "I don't know what you mean!" She turned her head to look at him curiously.

Shikamaru stopped walking. "Come on! That parade of guys that just happened to come by our table the ENTIRE night."

"Those were just council members and their families. I've been gone for a while. They were just paying their respects."

"And showing off their sons. It was like they wanted you to see what else was out there on the market."

"Oh please! I've trained with many of those guys! We go way back but not like that. Not like this!" She brought up their joined hands as a sign of their commitment to each other.

Shikamaru sighed. He hated sounding like a jealous jerk even though that's exactly what he was right now.

"Your right." And then he let out a chuckle. "However, I am glad that I paid our waiter to make sure that we had privacy for the rest of the night!"

Temari pulled back again and looked at him, "You did that?"

Shikamaru chuckled again, "Yeah I did, after the sixth interruption in an hour, I had had enough. Which was a good thing cause otherwise our date would have gotten sabotaged by Ino and Kankuro!"

Temari started laughing again. "Yeah, I guess, that was a good thing! I always knew that Kankuro liked Ino but I can't believe that Gaara was there with Sakura."

Temari gave Shikamaru a sideways glance to gauge his thoughts on the subject.

Shikamaru shrugged, "I don't know what's going on between her and Sasuke. And you know what?" He said as they reached the door to the inn he was staying at. He put his hands on either side of her face. Her curling blonde hair was always spiraling around her so he smoothed it back, loving the silky, softness of her hair.

He leaned in close and said, "I don't care." He gave her a soft kiss. When he pulled away he saw that her eyes had closed and she had a small smile on her face.

"Care to come up for a nightcap?" Shikamaru whispered.

Temari sighed, "I thought you'd never ask."

::

Matsuri and Sari were sitting in the coffee shop having their morning cup of caffeine. They had ordered only one fruit plate to split between them and had foregone their morning pastries. They were determined to get fitter. They both had their eye on a certain shinobi that they were trying to impress.

"Hey did you see this?!" Tian threw down the latest edition of the Mirage. There on the front page was a picture of a laughing Gaara and a pink haired kunoichi that they recognized as Sakura from the Konoha village. Side by side was a picture of a laughing Kankuro carrying a blonde haired kunoichi named Ino on his back. The caption read, "Burning Sands of Love!"

Both girls looked intently at the tabloid cover page and then looked back at each other over the tabletop, "Gaara! Laughing?" They both said incredulously simultaneously.

"Yeah and that's not all! Look at Kankuro! Can you believe that that hussy has the nerve to make a move on him? Here! In Suna!"

Matsuri and Sari looked up at their friend. Everyone knew that Tian had the hots for Kankuro. She raved about him all the time. She even started making up her own face to mimic his when she went out on missions. Kankuro thought that it was a compliment to his leadership. No one dared tell him to his face that it was more of a testament to how strongly the girl obsessed over him.

Tian continued to rant, "Can you believe the gall of these kunoichi from Kono? I mean they think they can just waltz in here and take our men. It's bad enough that Temari is dating that Shikamaru guy. I mean where is that going to go?"

Matsuri spoke up, "I really like Shikamaru. He's a nice guy and a really great shinobi."

Sari piped up, "Yeah and the way Temari gets all soft and gooey when he's around." The girls exchanged looks and laughed. They loved to watch a romance unfold before them.

Tian looked at her two friends and sighed in disgust. "No! We cannot allow this international fraternizations! They need to stop! If this is allowed to continue then what's to stop all of our strong shinobi from defecting to other nations on the whims of 'love'!" Tian said love like it was a bad word. She looked at the two girls for reactions. She was shocked when the girls just shrugged.

"Excuse me, miss" the waiter said as he delivered their breakfast to the table. Tian moved aside.

When he left she put her hands on either side of the tabletop and said menacingly, "Someone needs to stop this!"

Matsuri and Sari exchanged a look of uncertainty between them. Finally Matsuri spoke up softly, "You can't stop love, Tian." She said simply.

Tian looked at her friends in disgust. "So you both would just give up on Lord Gaara just like that!"

The girls looked away and said nothing. They couldn't even look at each other.

Tian gave a grunt of disgust and stalked off.

::

Temari was having breakfast with Shikamaru.

"Page 3! We got page 3! Upstaged by my brothers! I'm never going to hear the end of this." She sighed and put her head down on her forearms, looking forlornly at Shikamaru. "I knew that I should have made you wear something more formal before we went out."

"Hey!" Shikamaru said, taking offense. "I always wear this!"

"Precisely my point! There's work clothes and then there's 'going out' clothes. I need to take you shopping!" Temari said with a serious glint in her eye.

Shikamaru sighed miserably and this time it was his turn to put his head on his forearms. He looked up at her from his prone position, "Ah what a drag! You sound like my mom!"

Temari gave him an appraising look while she munched on her breakfast pastry. "What's so bad about that? I really liked your mom." She said with a smile.

Shikamaru groaned, "Precisely my point! I'm doomed!" He said melodramatically.

"We'll go shopping after lunch." She announced with a smile. Shikamaru buried his head in his arm in reaction.

::

Ino sat cross legged on the foot of her bed. She was still in pajamas from the night before. Her hair was loose and cascaded down her back. She sat brushing her long blonde hair. Sakura had just came out of the bath and was wearing a robe. She went over to her closet and grabbed out a short sleeved red tunic and knee length black shorts.

She looked over at Ino and said, "I'm done with the bath for now if you want to use it."

Ino stretched her arms up and smiled, "I'm good. I showered last night. I can't wait to go see the Majestic Sand Dunes of Suna!"

Sakura smiled as she changed into her clothes. She wanted to see them too but she looked over at her duffle bag and thought of the real reason she was so keen to come to the Sand, her chakra dart.

Several months earlier, Kono and Suna had been asked to join a trade agreement with the Land of Rivers. Gaara had come to show that he had no ill will towards the land that was home to Seimei. Gaara's student, Matsuri had been kidnapped by heretics for the revival of Seimei. They thought to use the power of the one tail inside Gaara to restore their leader. Gaara with the help of Naruto were able to save his student and defeat the long dead leader.

It was then that Gaara had spoken of the opening of the Lady Chiyo Institute for Toxicology. She had been honored when he asked her to join the faculty. Lady Chiyo had been a renown specialist in poisons. Sakura as the apprentice to Lady Tsunade had studied the art as well and had made quite a name for herself in the field. She had declined Gaara's kind offer though because at the time she couldn't see herself living anywhere but Konoha. However if she was honest with herself, her main reason had been Sasuke. The only time she saw him was when he came to report to the Hokage. If she left the village, she wasn't sure that she would ever see him again.

She went to her duffel bag to pull out the chakra dart. She always had to keep it with her or else it would start to cry and howl something fierce. It was similar to Kisame's Samehada. It had been forged using the blood and chakra of orphaned children. Sakura, as well as Niishi, the forger of the dart, had made it their mission to try to track down all the weapons made and to somehow put the souls to rest. The problem was that it was impossible to know where the weapons had ended up. Niishi had made a list and submitted it to Lord Kakashi. There were fifteen weapons listed that were chakra draining types that had been forged in the same manner as her dart. Her dart had only come to her by accident when someone tried to kill Sasuke with it in the Land of Lightning. The chakra dart had bonded with her when she forcefully removed it.

Tenten was the first one that had thought that it was a chakra dart made in the same form as those used by a certain nomadic tribe in Suna. Niishi confirmed that she had made four such darts. The darts were loaded into a tube and using the chakra infused with one's breath, the user would blow the dart at their intended target. Sakura's dart was chakra draining so once embedded into its victim, it fed off their chakra and blood, causing them to weaken and eventually die. The Suna clan though would dip their darts in poison. The poison would penetrate and basically do the same as the chakra draining dart unless the person had the antidote or was immune to it.

Sakura had hoped to find out more about this tribe and if possible learn their methods for using their darts. She also found it odd that Niishi had been commissioned to make four darts. This particular weapon was not common though quite lethal. She was curious if the tribe had had any defectors as of late who possibly may be against the peace alliance. However, this mission was her own alone. Except for Niishi, no one, not even Lord Kakashi, knew that she was here for any reason other than to support the opening of the new institute.

Ino saw Sakura go towards her duffel bag and misunderstood her friend's intent.

"Are you going to get that emerald out again?" Ino asked, still combing her hair.

Sakura sighed and took out the green stone that had been a present from Sasuke to her. The stone was beautiful but its main purpose was to act as a locator for Sasuke. It would light up and grow warm if Sasuke was near by. She held it out and saw that there was no glow. At last communication, Sasuke was near the border of the Land of Lightning. Of course that had been nearly a month ago, but still the lack of any light proved that he was far, far, from here. Sakura put the stone back in her duffel and zipped it up.

She turned to her friend and smiled, "You better get dressed if you want to see those dunes. It's already ten o'clock."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Sakura looked over at Ino. Ino had stopped brushing her hair and got out of bed silently. She went to the door and closed her eyes in concentration. She opened them again and shot Sakura a wide grin. She opened the door to a smiling Kankuro holding two cups of steaming coffee. He was leaning against the door frame with a folded newspaper under his arm.

Kankuro looked Ino up and down, "Wow you look even good in the morning without makeup!"

Ino smiled back and grabbed the cup of steaming coffee and sniffed appreciatively, "I could say the same for you." She quipped back and then gave him a heart wrenching smile as she took her first sip. "How did you know I love coffee?!" She sighed.

Kankuro shrugged one shoulder and said, "Lucky guess, I guess." Then he looked over at Sakura and added, "I got one for you too!"

Sakura put her hands up defensively, "Thanks for the effort but I'm a tea drinker."

"Ah, you and Gaara! He's the same way! Won't touch the stuff!" Kankuro looked back over to Ino appreciatively, "So what do you two ladies have planned for today?"

Ino piped up cheerfully. "Going to check out those Dunes that everyone always talk about!"

Kankuro smiled, "Good choice, good choice." Kankuro put his hands in his pockets and looked up almost shyly, "Would you like some company?"

Ino looked at him wickedly, "Oh we'd love it if Gaara joined us!"

Kankuro looked a bit shocked, "Not Gaara! He's working. You know Kazekage stuff. I meant me."

Ino punched him playfully in the arm, "I know what you meant. I was just playing with you. Meet you downstairs in thirty?"

Kankuro smiled hugely and said, "Yeah I'll be there." And then practically floated out the room.

When the door clicked closed, Sakura looked over at her friend and said, "You know, Ino, he really seems to like you."

Ino started to change out of her pajamas and answered back, "Yeah, and I like him back."

Sakura sighed, "What about Sai?"

Ino turned suddenly and started to zip up her tight black pants. She said almost defensively, "What about him?"

"Well I thought that you and him, I don't know, that you really liked him." Sakura said.

"Well I did! I mean I do!" Ino sighed almost angrily and sat down on the bed to get on her high heeled black boots. She turned angrily to Sakura.

"I do like Sai okay! I like him a lot! But a girl has to know when to cut her losses. I threw everything I had at him. The boy didn't even flinch!" She looked down at the bed covers. When she looked up her eyes glittered with unshed tears. "I'm Ino Yamanaka! I'm used to boys falling all over themselves to get my attention, not the other way around. Is it so bad of me to like the attention that Kankuro gives me? Yes I don't love him or anything but I do like him. I'm sincere in that."

Ino got up and walked over to the mirror to fix her hair and makeup. "Who knows?" She said with a shrug, "This might end up going somewhere. If it doesn't well," she turned and gave Sakura one was her devilish grins, "I'll just enjoy the ride while I'm on it!"

Sakura had to give a chuckle at that. She wished that she could be more like Ino. She picked up her duffel and went over to eye her friend in the mirror.

"Well I don't want to be a third wheel, I think I'll just hang out around the village."

Ino turned and grabbed Sakura's hand and implored, "No, no! You must come with us! I might do something wickedly bad if you aren't there to keep me in check."

Sakura laughed and pulled her hand from her friend's, "Well then enjoy the ride!" She said as she ran to the door and opened and closed it quickly. She chuckled when she heard Ino's hairbrush hit the inside of the door.

::

Sakura skipped down the stairs of the end and snuck by Kankuro who seemed to have his head in a newspaper. She walked out onto the streets of the village. She loved the architecture of the place. The large adobe buildings shaped like lanterns. They were beautiful. She walked a ways trying to find her way to the office of the Kazekage but realized that she was hopelessly lost. She spied an elderly man and his daughter walking down the street in front of her.

"Excuse me, can either of you give me directions to the Kazekage office." Sakura asked politely.

They both looked Sakura up and down. Sakura kept her most polite smile planted on her face.

Cha! What's wrong with these people?! Inner asked with a growl.

Finally the elder man pointed down the street and said "Make a left at the corner. It's the tallest building at the end. Can't miss it."

Sakura thanked them politely and turned in the direction they told her to go. She could still feel their eyes on her when she turned the corner. As she walked down the street, she felt more and more eyes on her.

Why am I being so paranoid? She asked herself reasonably.

What's up with these people? Inner growled again.

Finally, what seemed like an eon, Sakura stood outside Gaara's door. She was surprised to see that there were no ANBU standing guard. She was about to knock when the door opened.

"Sakura" "Gaara". They both spoke over each other. "You first" they said again in unison.

Gaara stepped back and said, "Please come in." Sakura entered his office and knew instantly that she entered his inner sanctuary. His office was a round pillar like most of the village buildings. He had almost a 360 degree view of the entire village from his vantage point. Only one section was blocked by a floor to ceiling mahogany bookshelf. Sakura could not even see as far as it went.

"How do you get a book from the top shelf?" She asked pointing up at it.

"Easy" Gaara replied seriously. He began to float up using his sand.

Sakura laughed, "I forgot that you can do that! This room is beautiful!" Shed twirled around to look at it from all angles. It was obvious that all Kazekage had been men. It was a very masculine room.

Gaara motioned to her to sit down, "To what do I owe the honor of your visit?" Before she could reply though he seemed to have a sudden thought as if he just remembered something, "Is it that article in the paper?"

"Article in the paper?" Sakura asked curiously.

Gaara turned to a side desk and rummaged through until he produced it. He handed it to her and said quite serious, "It's just rubbish! No one believes that trash!"

Sakura took the paper and instantly saw the cover page featuring a picture of her with Gaara and then her mouth gaped open at the heading, "Burning Sands of Love!" She said and then started laughing. No wonder everyone kept looking at her strangely when she was asking for directions to Gaara's office. They probably thought she was going to a lover's tryst.

Gaara frowned and took the paper from her. He looked at the cover again. He didn't understand what was so funny. He looked back at her quizzically. Then he shrugged, "Well if it's not about this then what can I do for you? Have you reconsidered that faculty position?" He said with a twist of his lips which is what he thought passed for a smile.

Sakura removed the chakra dart from her bag to show it to her friend. Gaara reached instinctively to touch it. Sakura put her hand out to catch his wrist. She heard the menacing growl of the dart though she was sure that no one else could.

"It's a chakra dart." Gaara said simply and pointedly looked at her hand which still encircled his wrist.

Once Sakura was sure he wouldn't touch it, she removed her hand from his, "It's not just a chakra dart. It's a chakra draining dart." She clarified.

"Four such darts were commissioned and made. I wanted to find out more about them. I heard that there was a tribe in Suna that specialized in the use of such weapons."

Gaara sat back and nodded, "Yes the Sumiyoma clan." He said. "One of their own is a genin in our ranks under Kankuro, Tian, I believe her name is."

Sakura nodded. Gaara looked at her questionably and asked her how she had come across such a weapon. She gave him a vague run down of the events which led her to acquiring the weapon.

Gaara looked at her vaguely and then it seemed a light bulb went off in his head, "This reminds me." He again searched through a pile of missives on another table. "I was going to send word to Kakashi but since you are here. One of my ANBU came across a man bearing a striking resemblance to Sasuke. In fact so striking that he initially reported that it was Sasuke. Thinking Sasuke was in the area, I sent my third eye out to investigate. I saw the man and he indeed seemed like Sasuke right down to his chakra signature. Is Sasuke working undercover? The men that he were with are renown criminals and are known for their plots against the alliance."

Sakura looked at him curiously, "When did this occur?"

"Just a few days ago." Gaara replied. "Why?"

Sakura sighed in relief, "All I can tell you for sure that I know that the person you saw could not have been Sasuke."

Gaara looked at her intensely, "How can you be so sure?" He asked in his gravelly voice.

Sakura met his stare unwavering, "Because I have a way to know where Sasuke is. I know for a fact that he is not in the Land of Wind at this time nor has he been in the last four days. I cannot say more than that."

Gaara nodded and seemed relieved, "I trust you and am glad to hear it. Please let Kakashi know though what I happened to witness."

Sakura nodded in agreement. Just then her stomach grumbled. Gaara looked up, having heard it. "Lunch?" He offered.

Sakura raised one eyebrow, "Is that a good idea?" She pointedly looked down at the paper on his desk.

Gaara shrugged indifferently, "No one reads that anyway." He replied.

"Hmm humph", she said disbelievingly. Her stomach rumbled even louder. She realized that she hadn't eaten breakfast and it was indeed close to lunch.

"Sure, let's go." She answered. Gaara gave another twitch of his lips, "I know a great spot. Do you like dumplings?"

"Do I?!" She said excitedly.

Gaara remained looking at her stoically.

"That means yes! Yes I do!" Sakura said and laughed. She forgot how Gaara was so literal.

Gaara gave another twitch of his thin lips. "Great then. Let's go!"

::

Ino and Kankuro made their way to the very edge of the village, towards the popular tourist attraction.

As they walked, Ino noticed several people passing them riding these white boards that seemed to hover a foot or so off the ground.

Ino stared intensely at one as it flew by. "What are those things?" She asked in wonder.

"Oh those are hover crafts. The newest fad here in the Sand. They were developed by a man from the Southern part of Suna, Ninen Koi. He's a multimillionaire entrepreneur. He originally made his money by discovering oil near the coast. Now he funds private ventures such as, well, the hover crafts. Gaara had to put him on the council. We need all the funding we can get after the war. Hopefully this new institute will also supply us with some more revenue."

Ino nodded thoughtfully as he talked. They held hands and strolled leisurely towards the venue. She could get used to this, she thought.

When they reached the site of the Majestic Sand Dunes her breath caught in her throat at the sheer magnitude and beauty of the place. Ino leaned over the low railing. They seemed to go on forever. Sai would love to paint this, she thought suddenly and then felt the pang in her heart.

Stop! She ordered herself. Stop thinking about him!

Kankuro reached down to put a hand on either side of her small waist and drug her back towards him and reality.

"Be careful!' He said and pointed at a nearby sign. The sign depicted a large sort of wormlike creature with multiple sharp teeth. Under the picture was a list of feeding times. The next one was in ten minutes.

Ino looked up into Kankuro's face and smiled.

"You can let go now." She said with a smile but her meaning was unmistakable.

Kankuro smiled down at her, "Maybe I don't want to." He replied with a leer and pulled her closer.

Ino stomped the pointed heel of her boot down on his foot. Not hard but hard enough to get her message across.

Kankuro let go immediately and started hopping on one foot.

"Okay point taken! When the lady says let go. I'll let go." He said as he massaged the top of her foot.

Ino looked at him and smiled. She waited until he was able to walk again and then grabbed his hand. She drug him back to the railing.

"Cool!" She cried as the sand seemed to come alive. Great mounds of sand at least a half league of so in width started to churn up and outwards. Suddenly a giant sightless maw filled with row upon row of sharp teeth broke the surface and reared up to plummet back down. It's hairless body seemed to go on forever as it dove back under the surface of the sand.

"Yeah they know it's almost feeding time so they are starting to get riled up." Kankuro explained.

"What do they eat?" Ino asked curiously.

Kankuro looked at her sideways and said, "Raw meat."

Ino shivered and then had a sudden thought. She let go of his hand and grabbed the camera that she had brought which she wore around her neck. She quickly brought the strap over her head and ordered Kankuro to take her picture.

Kankuro laughed and agreed.

"I want a picture with me and one of those sand thingies!" She called out to him as he backed up a ways to get a good shot.

"Worm! Sand worm!" Kankuro replied back.

Ino shrugged and tossed her long blonde ponytail back. She sat on top of the railing and gave the camera her profile and turned her head towards the lens.

Kankuro called out, "Be careful!"

Ino sniped back, "I am! Just take the shot!"

Kankuro chuckled, "I have to wait for the Sand Worm, you know!" Ino stuck her tongue out.

Finally the worm complied and Kankuro was able to take the shot. Ino started to step down off the railing when suddenly a person on a hover board zoomed close to her and she was shoved over.

She fell straight onto the red sand dune. The worm had already plummeted back down but once it sensed that something had landed on its home, it began to make a beeline right towards Ino.

Ino stood up and looked back towards the platform. It was an easy 12 feet or so to the top. She started to jump but realized too late that she was sinking into the soft sand. She twisted this way and that but she only seemed to get stuck further.

"Ino! They're bringing the rope! Just hold still!" Kankuro yelled down at her.

"Okay!" She yelled back. Then all of a sudden she felt a giant shift in the sand. She started to feel herself being propelled upwards.

She couldn't quite keep the fear from her voice. "Kankuro, hurry! I feel that worm thingy coming!"

Kankuro looked back down at her and then over to where they were running with the rope, "Shit! They're not going to make it!" Kankuro said frantically. He suddenly looked down intensely and cried out, "Ino, go limp!'

"What?!" She yelled back. It was hard to hear with the roar of the sand as she suddenly felt it start to dissipate all around her. She felt the slimy touch of the worm's skin as it started to break the surface.

Kankuro called out, "Trust me! Go completely limp!"

Ino let her mind retreat. She really didn't want to feel the slimy creature devouring her anyway.

The next thing she knew she was in Kankuro's arms and the crowd was cheering. Several camera bulbs were going off. Ino looked up into Kankuro's crinkling eyes and said in awe, "You saved me! But how?" She asked as she looked back at the giant worm still tunneling through the sand below.

He wiggled a finger and suddenly her arms jerked upwards to wrap themselves around his neck.

"You made me a human puppet?' She asked incredulously.

He looked down at her and then set her back down on her feet. Ino felt the severing of the puppet chakra strings as they melted away. Her body tingled where they had connected to her muscles and she fell forward a bit as she tried to regain control of her body. He ignored the gathering crowd and looked at her sincerely.

"I'm sorry. It was the only way to get you out of there in time."

Ino placed her hand on his chest and looked up at him through shiny blue eyes, "No, it's okay. It's okay!" She said and then reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck of her own accord. She gave him a soft kiss on the lips. The crowd exploded.

She his her head in his chest and he heard her utter the words, "Thank you!"

Kankuro hugged her back. Then he looked around the crowd of people that had gathered.

"Okay folks! This shows over but hey look over there! I think they are about to start the feeding!" Most of the crowd dissipated. A few stragglers stayed back to utter their amazement at the great rescue.

"You are truly the hero of the sand!" Many shouted as they walked away. Kankuro buried his face in Ino's sweet smelling hair and said, "It's okay! They are all gone now!"

Ino raised her head to lock eyes with Kankuro's. "I've never felt so mortified! What happened? I felt that girl on the hovercraft kick me over the side."

"It was a girl?" It had all happened so fast and unexpectedly. Also the rider was wearing a safety helmet.

Ino nodded. "Yea! Before I fell over my hand brushed the side of her face below the helmet shield. I felt her anger at me, her malice." She looked up into Kankuro's face. "Why did she hate me so much? I truly felt her wish for me to die." She said sadly.

Kankuro buried her face back into his chest. "It's okay. Let's get you back to your room, okay?"

Ino nodded.

::

Tian was even more angry when she saw her sensei's great rescue of the Konoha kunoichi.

Great, she thought, now I've brought them even closer together! Good job!, her Inner said sarcastically.

"Shut up!" She yelled back and slapped her hand angrily onto the helmet she was holding. Some people nearby heard her outburst and moved away from her, casting her sidelong glances. Tian stuck her tongue out at them angrily. She had to turn away. She couldn't bear looking at her sensei anymore as he gave the other girl his attention. She tried to calm herself down. There would be other opportunities to get the girl away from her love. She knew that fate meant for her and Kankuro to be together. With that thought in her head, she put her helmet back on and boarded her hovercraft for home. She would just need to be patient.

::

Hello everyone. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. If so, please send me a review. You know how much I love to hear back. Thanks also for you hit follow/fave. I like to know that there are people who are actually out there and want to know what the next chapter brings. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for this one. Thanks again!