All that time in isolation had proved to be effective enough for her to start thinking. Throughout all those years, questions muddled simultaneously in her head, keeping her up every possible moment. She was thinking: Was she really capable of handling such a mission?

The answer to her prayers soon came into a bright light, into her own resolve. That happened to have been her own 'Will of Fire'. Konoha was now her home, even if she was to go ahead with her life- long mission she was given seven years ago, it was safe to say it was only bring more problems rather than solve any of them. She had finally decided to remain in the Hidden Leaf and protect whom she could with her own resolve and even now, she finally gained the courage to smile whilst doing so, even if it meant facing a fearful death.

But unknown to her, she wasn't prepared to meet the biggest obstacle in her life.

Her training had continued with Kakashi after Naruto had left the village, and each time the Copy ninja sparred with his student, it was obvious that there was improvement to her skills. Not only quick and nimble, but her strikes were just as precise as the last. The teacher really had it cut out for him this time round, though soon enough, the spar had ended with her defeat once again, the Hatake once again standing over her form, a constant dull look in his eye.

As per usual, it always ended with him informing her of her good parts, as well as criticizing what she still needed to improve. I guess this is what Shikamaru meant a 'a drag', she thought, prepared to listen into his hints on what would allow her to grow as a ninja. Though it seemed that had to wait when another Leaf member had appeared from the trees.

According to the fellow shinobi whom had been searching for her to give the younger woman a message, her presence was required by the Hokage for… Something?

That had been all the information that the man had given her, a sudden dread overwhelming her on what this 'something' was. For her sake, she hoped that it was anything but a lecturing for getting hurt that last mission. Though, then again, it had been her fault for falling into such a simple trap. With an audible sigh of defeat, she gave a nod in confirmation to the man's message.

"Alright, I will be there as soon as I can…"

That dreaded feeling didn't leave her gut at all until she had reached the door of the office. With a few subtle knocks and entering, there had been the fifth Hokage doing paperwork, and with a calm, collected expression that didn't look like that she was going to beat Kiyo have to death with her might.

Just as the thought made her spirit waver with fright, it seemed strange that she would call her up for something completely different.

"You wanted to see me, Lady Tsunade?"

With a brief nod of the blonde's head, she had taken out a couple large envelopes, tightly sealed from underneath her desk space.

"I believe I can trust you to deliver these for me. They are highly important documents that I am trusting you to deliver as soon as you can."

What a relief… At least she wasn't getting her butt kicked… At least this time…

"But where to?"

"To Sunagakure… I want you to deliver these to the Kazekage…"

That was truly when her heart dropped into her stomach. Did she say… Sunagakure?

"Ah, you must be mistaking me for someone else…" She said rather timidly, through behind that nervous smile, she hoped that she would set her aside and let someone else handle this job. But, it didn't seem that she would get away from this that easy.

"Judging by your former alliance with the Sand, as well as the fact that I know that you have unfinished business, I am trusting you that you will accept this job."

"But…"

"I said that I trust you with this. If this is about Gaara, you don't have anything to worry about. Just like you, he's changed quite a lot. I doubt that he will prove trouble…" Tsunade interrupted the younger girl before she could make up some excuse of being unable to go. After the death of the Third Hokage whom was responsible for her as a kid, all the information based around her was passed down. She knew everything… But now in the middle of this conversation, her glance had darted to the women's expression. Impatience was what she saw. If she would continue this type of behaviour for any longer, she was sure to just snap.

With an inaudible sigh of defeat, her body slightly slacking in a relaxed position, she finally spoke up once again after the brief moment of silence.
"Very well, I will take these to the Sand… But I just hope that you are right…"

With that now out of the way, the red head took the package and headed off towards the Land of Wind.

'It will be fine', she said, 'There's nothing to worry about'. Even still, the thought of being found not only by Gaara, but by his siblings was enough for her to slow down her pace enough so it was like a stroll in the fresh green forestry, a crisp breeze pushing her hair back and tangling a few strands. There had been a certain degree of warmth in the area, yet the shade of the treetops had stopped it completely.

But then again, what were the chances that she was going to get spotted by them once she returned for a short space of time? Sure, she may get recognised by a few of the elders, but she hoped that would be the most that would happen. Just the idea of being reunited with some family friends had brought a smile to her pale lips, though if she didn't want to get into any sort of trouble, she would have to keep the reunion short. That was it. She had decided that she would give the documents and leave the village…

Exactly three days had passed since she began her journey back to her homeland. Never again would she forget about the unbearable heat that the stretch of desert provided, each step of burning sand becoming more easing than the last. Even a line of sweat ran down from her forehead every so often and fell onto the dry, crumbling surface, evaporating within moments. After 8 years of living with decent weather, she didn't expect it to be just as hard as when she first left the village. Never mind, as far as she could tell by the direction of the sun, she was near enough to her destination, and luckily with no obstacles this time around.

The half blind kunoichi's pace slowed down into a brisk walk as soon as she reached the entrance of the village, two guards with their faces hidden standing just outside. They were blocking the entrance from intruders it seems. Did something happen?

"State your business…" One of the guards said, forcing the girl to stop at a halt.

That voice… She was sure that she had heard it before…

Could it be…?

"Genta? Hakaru? Is that you by any chance?" She had finally replied, only to be given a blank stare, the two masked Shinobi to give each other a swift glance.

"How do you know our names? That only other person that could have known our names besides Sunagakure is the little squirt we escorted years ago. Though we thought that she didn't make it due to no word given."
With those little choice of words out of anything else that could be said, a spark of irritation instinctively grew in the female, yet there weren't any signs that she would lash out at anyone anytime soon. Though instead of giving them a direct answer with words, she showed her blind eye as proof that she still existed in this world.

She was still alive no doubt, which left the two dumbfounded to say the least.

"Little…Squirt?" Hakaru had managed to squeeze out between his lips, yet only to be given a firm response of her actual name. Genta merely laughed at her response, taking the few steps that were between them before ruffling her red hair.

"We are only just messing with you, don't worry. But how much you've grown! Honestly, you didn't even reach our waists the last time that we saw you. A fine, young lady you've turned into…"

"Yeah, if only I was years younger, I would have gladly asked you out." Hakaru interrupted with a large, cheesy grin, which quickly disappeared by a hard knock on the head by the older ninja.
"Hey, why did you have to do that!?" He yelped out in pain, now holding a pout across his face whilst the girl gave a nervous laugh by his comment.

Even if she had grown, it didn't seem that these two have that much? Then again, it was that childlike innocence that would always bring happiness in a dark situation.

"So, what are you doing here exactly?" Hakaru asked out of mere curiosity. She didn't seem all that prepared for a full-on assassination attempt, so it clearly must have been something else…

"I have a package here to give to the Kazekage from Lady Tsunade..." She just vaguely said. Might as well remain straight to the point.

"Right this way, we will take you to him…"

With a bright smile by the both of them, their greetings had finally come to a standpoint, leaving them with the job of escorting her towards the Kazekage's office. Yet this came without being called out by a few older citizens, which were quite familiar during her childhood, though one of them stopping her in her tracks.

"My, here I thought that I would never see you again. After all, you gave us all a fright when you disappeared." The old woman whistled with a beaming expression that could surely make anyone's day.

"Sorry about that." Kiyo had responded with an uncomfortable tone, merely from the fact that no one, other than a select few had known about her immigrating. "… I've just had some things that needed to be taken care of for Lord Fourth back then. Though it's nothing that should concern anyone around."

"I… I see… Well it was definitely nice seeing you again, young lady. Look at you, you are just the picture of your mother…" She added as a compliment.

Though without this kind, old lady realizing, it stung her deep down into an old wound that Kiyo had thought had already healed, and it was pretty obvious by the slight change in expression.

"Oh… I…"

Kiyo had raised her hand slightly, giving a comforting smile behind every other emotion that she had thought that she gotten over by now. It seems that there was still something that she still needed time to accept.

"It's okay. I'm fine. Whatever happened to them was a shock, but I've moved on with my life. They were good people so I am sure they are in a good place."

The friendly old woman was clearly not buying into the facade, but to save the awkward moment, she merely just nodded.
"Well, if you are staying, you are more than welcome to come by. I'm sure the rest of the family would be delighted to see you."

"I appreciate that, thank you. Anyway, I have some more business that needs to be dealt with. It was nice meeting you."

With a bow of formal gratitude, she finally headed back to her escorts that had stopped as soon as she had to speak with the villager. Though, after the sudden delay, it seems that that was the end of the surprises. At least for now.

Though, despite the fact that she got recognised so often, she made it outside the Kazekage's office without gaining notice of the red-haired boy. That being said, she didn't even see him around at all. What was going on?

Though, what she was expecting was to walk in and receive a harsh stare of a man that she detested, hated, the man whom began her true suffering since as a child. Just the thought of seeing his face boiled her blood. She wasn't prepared, but she sure as hell wanted to give him a piece of her mind, even if it meant resulting in her treachery in some form. She didn't care…

She didn't want to hurt anyone…

"Kazekage-Sama, you have a visitor." Hakaru stated after gently knocking on the door, opening it up wide enough for the girl to walk into the office. But what she seen was not the man she once saw as a little girl, the cold stare of a man whom had given up on his very own son. Instead, it was a calm look of teal blue eyes, a gentle look unlike what she had never seen from this guy.

"Gaara?"