Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Special Thanks: goes out to rao hyuga 18, Guest, Clovergirl100, TheGirlWithNoIQ, haruhi65, OmNomNom 'smily-face, and greetingsfrommaars for all your wonderful reviews! Also thanks to everyone who's added this to their alert and favorite lists - I'm so excited to be starting out this journey with you all!

Author's Note: Not much to say about this chapter, other than Itachi and Temari finally come face-to-face again after a decade - and I get to set the scene for some fun stuff coming later! Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!


*~Chapter I~*

~The Desert~


The hot desert wind ripped through her hair, roared in her ears, slapped across her face. Sabaku Temari clung to Kazedansu's neck as she pounded toward the finish line just ahead, each hoofbeat bringing the pair of them closer and closer to the victory they both so desired.

Today was her day. She could feel it. Nothing would get between her and her desires. Nothing - absolutely nothing - could bring her down.

Victory is mine!

Five more strides and they streaked past the line, ahead by several lengths. Grinning, Temari straightened in her saddle and gently tugged on her reins, slowing the unwilling Kazedansu. The mare tossed her head and roughly bounced through a few trotted paces, letting her mistress know her displeasure at being reined in. Ignoring her mount's fit of pique, Temari lifted her head to the early morning sun and grinned triumphantly. For the first time in four years, it felt like she'd finally outrun the ever-present darkness haunting her every waking - and sleeping - moment.

Reveling in her victory - and her freedom - Temari turned to grin at the man on horseback who had slowed to ride next to her. "Looks like Kazedansu and I are more ready for this race than you are," she taunted.

Sabaku Gaara looked at her askance, his wind-tousled hair shining as bloodred as his stallion's coat. "This is Kaen's first race," he replied. "We're saving his best speed for then."

"Hmm." Stroking her mare's sweaty neck, Temari savored her early taste of victory. "This may be Kaen's first race, but it's Kazedansu's last. She's going to go out in style, I tell you." After nearly thirteen years of being Temari's dependable mount for everything from racing to carrying her from village to village for missions, she knew Kazedansu deserved her upcoming retirement. But neither of them were willing to go through with it without one more shot at the annual race - and their fourth trophy together.

Gaara's response remained unspoken as one of the guards posted atop the wall to the left called down, "Riders approaching, Lord Gaara! I believe it's the envoy from Konoha."

"Envoy from Konoha?" Temari shot her brother a surprised look from the corner of her eye. "What in the world is going on?" It had been a decade since Temari had last heard the village's name. The unexpectedness of hearing it uttered now in her own home village unsettled her in a way she couldn't quite describe.

"One of Konoha's ninja has come to join our ranks." Gaara nodded an acknowledgement to the guard and reined Kaen around so he could head toward the stables.

Temari's grip on her reins went slack with shock, allowing Kazedansu the opportunity to follow after Kaen. "But they're-"

"His loyalties are not in question." Gaara's repressive tone implied he would say no more on the subject, and it would be best for all involved if she just dropped it.

But Temari didn't want to drop the subject. Konoha remained a bad memory for her, the trip having been full of misfortune and disaster for her family. She harbored no doubts the Sabaku name lived on in infamy within those walls, part of a scandal which had followed them all the way back to Suna. She also disbelieved those in Konoha, unlike their fellow villagers, had forgiven and forgotten so easily. "Why here, though?" She deliberately pushed the issue - and her brother's temper - but she didn't care. She had to know why the enemy had come to Suna, and why Gaara was accepting his presence so easily.

Lips thinning in displeasure, Gaara shot her a dark look out of the corner of his eye. "Because he is not so different from me," he said firmly. "He has been banned from ever returning to his home village. Suna is the closest ninja village to his own. He will be able to live here without being judged for the things of which he was accused."

"Which would be...?" Temari needed to know.

"Something I will not speak about. He is coming here to get a fresh start, and I will not let his past be dredged up before he even sets foot in Suna." Sighing, Gaara dismounted Kaen and handed over the reins to a waiting stablehand, pausing until Temari did the same and joined him before going on. "I am depending on you to show him around Suna and introduce him to our way of doing things."

Temari grimaced: Not an entirely unexpected development, but certainly an unwelcome one. "Okay, I understand why you're assigning me this duty. But why didn't you tell me about all this before he showed up on our doorstep?" They entered the cooler atmosphere of the house, and she let out a breath. A bath would definitely feel good right about now. Infinitely better than escorting around someone she didn't even want in her village.

Gaara stopped in the long hallway forming a bridge of sorts between the business and home portions of the Tower. Turning to face her fully, he said, "I understand why you feel the way you do about Konoha. But they're not all bad, Temari. Within the next few years, we'll be forming an alliance with them, anyway. Learning how to get along with this ninja will help pave the way to better relations when Hinata comes." As had become the norm, his usually businesslike expression softened at the mention of his fiancée, with whom he'd become acquainted for a grand total of a few days during the aforementioned disastrous Konoha trip.

At the sight of Gaara's obvious softening, a rarity in and of itself, Temari felt her resolve to hate the new ninja weakening. Gaara was obviously fully committed to making this work, and once he set his mind on something, no one could talk him out of it. Not even her.

For better or worse, it would seem she was stuck with the new recruit. "All right," she sighed. "What do you want me to do with him?"

Nodding approvingly of her change in attitude, Gaara crossed his arms and shot a glance down the hallway to the closed double doors separating him from the stairway up to his office. "Show him around Suna. Get a feel for his abilities as a ninja."

Temari waited for more, but the one thing she expected to come first didn't come at all. "That's it? I'm not supposed to keep an eye on him?"

"If it makes you feel better, I suppose you can. But as he'll be staying in guest quarters here, at least for the first couple months of his stay, I don't think it will be necessary." Gaara nodded to her, then turned to go.

Feeling as if she'd suddenly been sent into the desert - alone, on foot, without food or water or any idea where she was going - Temari stared, openmouthed, at her brother. You mean to tell me he's not just going to be in the village, but here, in our house? "Gaara! Why do you trust him so much?" she called after Gaara, just as he'd grasped the door handle.

Looking at her over his shoulder, he said simply, "Because he's risked everything to come here. What does he have to lose?"

Staring at the door, which Gaara had closed behind himself, Temari decided there really wasn't a better answer than that.

Didn't mean she had to like it, though...


Itachi had traveled through the desert before on his way toward other villages for missions. He'd never once in all that time, though, thought he'd make his home in the arid middle of it. As if in promise of worse to come the coarse sand and powdery dust worked their way through his clothing, itching uncomfortably at his skin as he, Kakashi, and Yamato were escorted through halls and up steps to the office of the leader of Suna.

Meeting Sabaku Gaara for the second time in his life - noting how the young man wore his maturity like a mask - Itachi searched for any hint of recognition in the other man's face or eyes. Did he remember their one meeting a decade before? Or did Itachi wear his own circumstances like a mask that turned him into a completely different person than the one who had encountered the young boy?

From his place in the chair behind the desk - one of only five pieces of furniture in the surprisingly large room - Gaara met Itachi's eyes squarely, no hint of the thoughts going through his mind visible in their green depths. "It has been a long time."

He does recognize me. Feeling oddly gratified, Itachi bent into a bow and then looked up with a smile. "So it has, Lord Gaara. Thank you for agreeing to receive me into Suna." Lady Tsunade had informed him all details were taken care of, that his citizenship - and place in the ranks of Suna's ninja - were guaranteed. But still, Itachi didn't want to seem forward or presumptuous. Gaara had had ample time to change his mind.

Gaara stood from behind his desk and nodded to Itachi's escorts, a silent dismissal. When the two had exited, leaving Itachi and Gaara alone in the room, the redhead came around to stand before Itachi. "Lady Tsunade informed me of the details-" he hesitated a moment, then added an emphasis on his next word when he continued "-all the details, of your circumstances. Thus far, I am the only person in Suna who knows the true story. It is your choice whether you choose to inform anyone else of your background."

The fewer people who knew the truth, the better. He thought it highly unlikely he'd ever find someone with whom he could - or would - share the truth of what happened the night the majority of the Uchiha died. Itachi bit back that bitter confession and bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Thank you for your discretion, Lord Gaara."

Turning, Gaara picked up a box from his desk and held it out. "Inside you'll find the paperwork you need to sign to declare yourself an official resident of Suna. Also included is the usual paperwork to be filled out to join our ninja forces, though I've already issued you an identification badge and a headband, which you'll also find inside." He motioned to the surface of his desk. "You may fill out the paperwork here, now, if you wish. Or you can fill it out later and return it to me within the next few days, after you've had a chance to look around and get settled in."

For the hundredth time in the past few days, Itachi wondered just how, exactly, Lady Tsunade had persuaded Gaara into so willingly allowing him to join Suna's ranks. Being a hardened realist, he didn't believe for a moment an appeal to sentiment had had any part in it at all. She would have had to make a solid case for how he would be of concrete benefit to Suna. Closely as he looked he saw no evidence of mistrust in the other man's face, and felt more than a little surprised there been no mention of a trial or probation period. From how the lord of Suna spoke, he fully anticipated Itachi to be approved to go out on a mission for his new home village as early as the moment the ink dried on his paperwork.

As Itachi pulled the two packets of paper from the box and reached for a pen, Gaara returned to his side of the desk and rearranged a few folders. "I've arranged for my sister to show you around," he said.

Itachi's breath stalled in his chest for just a moment. Temari. An image of fiery teal eyes, thick golden hair, and an extremely disapproving frown flashed through his mind, but he firmly pushed it away. He was not in Suna to renew acquaintances, especially not with those who hated him upon first sight. He'd come to make a new start - for both himself and, by his absence from Konoha, his little brother. "I remember her," he said evenly.

"She is hard to forget," Gaara said dryly. Without giving Itachi a chance to respond to his surprising comment, he continued, "She'll also spar with you at some point, so we can get a feel for your abilities. I'll also likely send you out together for your first few missions, especially if you work well together over the next few days."

Resisting the urge to voice his doubt on that front, Itachi blew on the shiny ink of his last signature and then pushed the papers across the desk to Lord Gaara. "Very well, milord. Thank you again for this opportunity." It was far more than he had expected or deserved.

Gathering the papers, Gaara tapped them twice against the desk before sliding them into a folder which he set aside. "Thank you for pledging your loyalty to Suna," he replied, his words containing a clear dismissal.

The moment Itachi stepped through the door out of the office, he froze in surprise. Standing just a few steps away, sharing a stilted conversation with Kakashi and Yamato, stood a person exactly like yet completely different from the one he'd met ten years before.

He knew the moment he laid eyes on her he was looking at Sabaku Temari. She'd grown taller, her curves rounding attractively into womanhood. And yet her hair, tied up in four distinctive ponytails, was just as gold as he remembered; her eyes still flashed with the defiant fire he'd immediately keyed on the first time he looked into them. Her lightly tanned complexion, as smooth and flawless as a doll's, instantly shifted from an emotionless mask to shocked fury when she finally took notice of him.

"You!" Hands clenched into fists at her side, she charged toward him, her fury strong enough to knock him back a step.

Brushing past him, she slammed angrily into her brother's office, voice raised enough he could hear every word she said. "Why didn't you tell me it was him?"

Though Itachi tried not to listen, he still heard Gaara's response. "Because I knew exactly how you'd react. He is a permanent part of Suna now, Temari. As permanent as you or me." He didn't raise his voice, but his words held the same impact as they would have if he had.

Temari sighed loudly. "I haven't spared a single thought - well, okay, maybe I have once or twice, but not seriously, and not for a while - for him in ten years. And suddenly now he's back in my life, and you don't even think it necessary to warn me?"

"He saved your life ten years ago. I thought over the years your anger would have eased." Something thudded, and then Gaara continued. "You are the best person for this job, Temari. Like it or not, right now you're the one other person in this village he shares an acquaintance with. I know it's not much, but this is his home now, and I want to do what I can to make his transition easier. I know if I were in his place, I'd be grateful. And I suspect you would be, too."

Itachi stared at a spot on the wall across from him, wondering if Gaara read minds. A part of him had been hoping Temari would be the one to show him around, since he'd met her and been fascinated by her before. Though he had hoped her anger had eased in the intervening decade. Apparently it had instead grown even stronger...

A moment later Temari appeared in the doorway, her smooth expression offering no hints about what she thought or felt. Her eyes flicked over Itachi once from head to toe, a glance full of professionalism and no personal curiosity whatsoever.

He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or insulted.

"You'll want to have a chance to settle into your new quarters," Temari said at last, brushing past him and taking off down the hall. Taking her comment as an invitation to follow, he fell into step next to her, automatically memorizing each turn they took so he'd know his way around. "Once you've had a chance to do that, I'll show you around Suna so you can get a feel for the village, like a local. You know - the best places to shop in the marketplace, the best places to eat, things like that."

At least she wasn't treating him like a tourist. "Thank you."

They passed through a huge set of double doors; Itachi instantly felt the shift in the atmosphere. Even though the décor had not changed - shades of brown dominated every direction he looked - he sensed a lessening in formality here. They'd passed from a place of business into an abode.

Keeping the pace brisk, Temari motioned vaguely with one hand as they half-charged down the hall. "Dining room's that way. Kitchen's next door. At the end of that hall's the library, and you go down that way if you want to find the training rooms. We've got weights, rope courses, and other various training tools." They went up a flight of stairs - big surprise, also brown - and turned right at the landing.

"This is the floor we hold in reserve for guests," Temari said stiffly. Her tone implied they did not have many. "Your room is the fourth down this hall." She abruptly halted in front of the door in question, reaching for the knob with one hand as she glanced over her shoulder at him. "If you have any questions, there are servants running around all day. The night staff is mostly comprised of guards."

Nice, Itachi thought dryly. Her final comment implied he was housed in the safest place in all of Suna - and also made it clear he wouldn't be able to sneak around, or even out. "Thank you, Lady Temari."

She tilted her blonde head in acknowledgement, then stepped back to allow him around her. "I'll leave you alone to get settled in," she said. As she started back down the hall, she called over her shoulder, "I'll meet you at the bottom of the staircase in an hour." With that parting comment, she vanished around the corner.

Not exactly a warm welcome, but Itachi hadn't really been expecting one. Stepping into his quarters, he closed the door and gave the space a cursory glance. As expected, the room was decorated in various shades of brown, though the rust red trim pleasantly surprised him. The small sitting room, fully furnished, looked comfortable and welcoming.

...Then again, anything would after a nearly nonstop trip from Konoha, the last half of which included a trek through the desert playing hide-and-go-seek with a sandstorm.

Swinging his pack off his shoulder, Itachi crossed the room and poked his head through the open door leading to the bedroom. Again, shades of brown and red with the occasional touch of black met his roaming gaze. Since he was staying a while, was he allowed to redecorate? Or was it too early to ask for such privileges?

Dropping his pack next to the bed, Itachi planted his hands on his hips and looked around. So, this is where I'll be staying for the forseeable future. He couldn't bring himself to call this place - these quarters, this building, this village - home. He just couldn't do it.

He had a feeling no matter how hard the tried, he wouldn't be able to think of anywhere but Konoha as home.

Kneeling next to his pack, Itachi withdrew his old headband from it. He should have left it in Konoha, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to do it. So holding it in one hand, and his new one from Suna in the other, he closed his eyes and let out his breath.

I am a shadow. I am invisible. I have chosen this life. It is my duty. It is my honor.

I am a ninja of Suna, and I will give my all to her and her people. No matter what the cost.

Stuffing his Konoha headband back into his pack, Itachi laid the one from Suna on his nightstand and tried to convince himself he was doing the right thing.

It was, after all, his only choice.

*~To Be Continued~*

Author's Ending Notes: Kind of an explosive beginning - so exciting! I was so happy to be able to write Itachi and Temari's meeting again after a decade, plus do some subtle setting up for some rather exciting stuff to come later. Also, to those of you still inquiring about a sequel to Shadows - still nothing yet, but don't give up hope - I know I haven't! (Okay, I'll admit it - I'm just not ready to let this universe go. I'm having so much fun exploring all its nooks and crannies!) Thanks for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope to see you all again for the next update!

Author's Ending Notes 2: A quick note on the meaning of Gaara and Temari's horses' names. Kaen means flame, and Kazedansu means Wind Dancer (I took the two words and just put them together for easier typing). Thanks for reading!