Disclaimer ~ I do not own Naruto, or it's characters.


"We can't go on like this."

Gaara sighed, brushing a strand of hair away from his face in frustration, sometimes being the village leader was... testing.

"The village is relying on us to keep up moral, especially after the invasion... and you picked now of all times to go missing?"

Kankuro watched as his little brother was lectured by a scrawny council man, it was amusing to say the least...

"Don't you think about the consequences? What if there was an attack, or crisis, we need you here; not prancing round the desert picking up strays!"

The man was fuming, face turning steadily read at Gaara's stoic indifference whilst Kankuro chuckled in the background.

"And to top it all off, you drag that desert rat back to the village and leave her unsupervised, without consulting the council; the elders are after your blood..."

Gaara gave a warning glare, leaving the man to sputter, "I can assure you, Daikon, the girl is harmless."

"How can you be so sure? She may not be a shinobi, but she could be a spy sent to infiltrate the village, and you just gave her a free ticket in!", spittle flew out his mouth with each word, much to Gaara's disgust.

Not that he showed it.

"If it's a question of trust, I will be willing to take full responsibility for her conduct."

"It's not trust that is the issue, it's a question of your judgement; she's a liability, one that we could do without, and -"

"Are you questioning my judgement?"

Kankuro felt his skin prickle, as Gaara took a step forward, his glacial eyes piercing the poor man as sharp as any kunai.

"I am the Kazekage.", his older brother couldn't help but snicker as the redhead assumed his trademark pose, arms folded and head held high, his posture gave the person a sense of being looked down upon, despite the others height.

Daikon cringed, as the full weight of the Kazekage's glower crushed him into submission... almost.

He visually shook his head, and stuttered out, "R-regardless, Kazekage-sama... the elders will see this as a lapse in judgement..."

"Do not forget that it was the elders who appointed me this position, if they don't believe I have the ability to make decisions for this village, then it is their judgement that is lacking."

His face was set in a tight line, scowl almost visible as irritation practically oozed out of each pore.

"...Forgive me, Kazekage-sama, I am merely concerned about the safety of our village.", he bowed stiffly, his face set and his back ridgid.

Flexing his legs, Kankuro pushed himself off the window and sauntered towards the bickering pair.

"If you are so worried about the girl, then why not have her watched?", he said with a lopsided grin, "I'm sure we can spare a shinobi or two, especially if it is the sanctity of our home at stake."

Looking flustered, the council man began to wringe his hands in obvious dismay, the puppeteer gave him a mock concerned glance.

"Or are we so weak, that we can't squeeze a few decent ninja from our ranks, even at the expense of our precious village?", there was a sarcastic edge to his voice, as his eyes glittered with mirth at the expense of the man before him.

"N-no... It shouldn't be a problem, i'm sure we can find someone suited to the task... after all... village security comes first...", he stammered.

"Well, since the elders seem to be so antsy about this whole affair, i'm sure they could lend us a couple of bodyguards?", he casually rocked on the balls of his feet, grinning like a cheshire cat

"W-well... I... um...", the man was choking on his words, sputtering wildly.

"I mean, it's not like they have a shortage or anything... what was it, seventeen jounins and four chuunin?", the man paled at his words, and Kankuro's grin, if it was possible, seemed to stretch further.

"Seems like overkill to me...", the purple faced man stretched, with his arms behind his head and sighed, "Well, it can't be helped... I guess i'll just have to take responsibility for this situation, since it was partly my fault anyway."

Gaara gave his brother a pointed look, "Kankuro, you have other responsibilities in the village, your ninja duties won't allow you to watch the girl full time."

"I can still take some of the responsibility, besides, it's not like i'll be alone; i'll have our dearest sister helping right along with me!", he smirked, "Well, her and a few Anbu... can't take any chances, right Dai-kun?"

By this point the man was flustered beyond repair, his eyes twitching madly, veins throbbing on his forehead, and his hands clenched painfully at his side, deciding to cut him some slack, "Well, that solves that dilemma, you should go report our decision to the council... i'm sure your precious elders are just dying to know." Kankuro waved him off.

The man breathed a sigh of relief, scurrying away until...

"Oh and Daikon..."

He turned, painstakingly slow, meeting Kankuro's feral grin.

"For your information, we did not prance through the desert... we swaggered with manly pride, Temari included."


I itched all over, my limbs on fire; pricked with burning needles... I'm so tired, why can't I sleep?

Through the suffocating darkness I hear noises, voices and unfamiliar sounds that set me on edge, could I be dead?

No, I fought too hard, for so long... God damn it, i'm too alive to be dead!

I came too far to give up now!

As I fight my way through the haze, sounds, voices filter through, I hear a small pulsing, the click of heeled shoe... I caught pieces of a conversation, but the words seem jumbled...

A sharp pain races through my arm and I am blinded by the glare of a light, i'm aware, and painfully awake.

People begin to rush in as I survey the room, I squint my eyes at the sudden activity, are these... nurses? doctors?

Taking in the sterile, bare walls... the rough, crisp white sheets that rub my tender skin, I can only assume I'm in a hospital, I wrinkle my nose up in disgust... well, only a hospital could smell so deceptive... ugh.

Ignoring the cloying smell of bleach, I test my dry throat... a bit sore but i'll live... wait.

I'll live... I actually survived!

'Take that fate, you can't bring me down with your impossibility and bleak outlooks!', I think, as I do a mental victory dance.

I feel the rather pained grin that threatens to split my skin open; ouch, I really need some aftersun, or skin cream... some water would be nice too!

"Excuse me", I rasped, grimacing at the sound of my torn throat, "Could I have a drink?"

The bustling women paused at my request, they looked confused... surely my voice wasn't that bad?

Then, after a few moments, one cautiously approached me, she had a nice face, with warm brown eyes and a sweet smile... and she spoke to me.

Which would have been great if I could understand what she was saying!

What kind of language is that?

It's certainly not english, and come to think of it, the writing is different as well... squiggly symbols, kinda like chinese, or japanese?

Her writing is so graceful, it seems to flow across the page, I wish my handwriting was as beautiful as that, man, it sure would make a difference from my sloppy penwork... then again, my english tutor would have a heart attack if I suddenly wrote this well...

"Kita"

"Huh..?", I said elequently. Yes, that's me, intellegent, witty, can't put anything past me. Giant swirly vortexes of doom? Nah.

Waving arms caught my attention (Since they were perilously close to my face) as they gestured towards the nurse in my thoughts.

"Ki-ta.", she pointed a rather clean finger towards her face.

Oh... the name game, that I can understand... I put my hand on my chest and say (croak), "I'm Maria"

"Immaria", she smiled, as she held out a glass of water.

Well, it was a start.