When Neji was woken later, he stared at the fresh earth before getting up. He dusted off bits of dirt from his palms and noticed Ten Ten and Isane were whispering something to each other and the other males were curious.

Neji, on the other hand, ignored them. He collected his things and asked if there was anything he could do to help clean up the camp site.

Kakashi agreed to let Neji help with Isane and Ten Ten's chore of dispersing any signs of a fire. Isane had agreed to carry the still hot logs and some stones to be disposed of in a nearby pool of water. Neji assisted her, since it was heavy. She and Neji stacked the pieces onto her blade.

When he closed his hands on the blade, Neji half expected to be cut, but, instead, it was dull, more like a very thick slab of metal than a sword at all. As they walked, it dawned on Neji that the sword itself looked somewhat shorter than he'd remembered it. He didn't say anything because it was rather pointless to make a statement about it. They found the pool of water and Neji watched Isane stay back from the edge.

Her profile had said she had a fear of water. It was obvious now. She was trying not to let the water touch her as she tossed the objects in. There was a wave of water coming back from the displacement when she ducked behind her weapon, using it to stop the water from hitting her.

Neji just moved back so the water only touched the soles of his footwear. He watched Isane shake off a bit of moisture on her knees before running to stand beside Neji. "Can we go now?" he asked, turning to leave without an answer.

As they walked back to the campsite, Isane asked Neji; "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

He stopped and wheeled around. "Don't ask me those things. You have no business asking me."

"Alright." She just smiled. "If you don't want to talk about it, I won't push it. So, you think we'll make it to Sunagakure all fine and dandy?"

Neji shook his head. "Without a scratch? That would be impossible. No mission goes perfectly according to the plan of the leader. Besides that, you and I will be staying in Suna longer, depending upon Kakashi and Gaara's orders." Neji started walking again.

Isane seemed to have let that one go. She seemed much more likable than any of the other girls Neji had met. She wasn't obnoxious, she wasn't quiet, and she wasn't such a tomboy it was impossible to see her as a girl. Neji thought there was something he liked about her, not too much.

Maybe it was the fact that she wasn't super strong or super important. She was so plain, except for her ninja skills.

Neji shook it off. His head had to be clear and focused on the mission. He couldn't have his thoughts on anything else, for fear he'd fall apart.

When they got back, everyone was ready to get going. Kakashi gave a quick smile to Isane as she hitched her sword back on her back.

As they made their last, quick spring for the small village they'd meet the Kazekage in, Neji's eyes looked to his left. Isane's sprint was much different than anyone else. Isane jumped, yes, but she twisted through branches and leaves and limbs with ease. It was the turning motion that caught Neji's attention.

The report on her had said that Isane avoided anything touching her right arm. Was it possible she'd developed this sprint to avoid hurting herself with branches?

---Hoshiko---

She was sprawled out in the grass, watching the clouds. They'd made it early, as promised, and she was enjoying the smell of grass and the beautiful blue skies with the few clouds they held.

At the moment, Hoshiko was disguising herself as Gaara, as to let the kage wander around and see the village through her body, where nobody would be scared of him or treat him special and he could experience normal living. She didn't actually care. She thought it was nice to let him have his own path.

There was a soft "thump" and she sat up. Isane was standing there, obviously shocked.

"Hello," Hoshiko said, trying not to smile.

Isane looked behind her and then bowed to Hoshiko. "Sir, um, what's the difference between friendship and alliances?"

"Nothing. Friends form alliances with strong bonds."

Isane breathed easy. "Forgive us for being so late. We had a bit of a hold up when we parted with another team. Perhaps we can make up for that time, Kazegake-sama?"

Hoshiko smiled. "I'm not Gaara." She clasped her hands together and the sand melted off her face and her hair unfurled. She smiled at Isane. "He's in town, doing some shopping and to find something to do while we waited. You are late, true, but not by much."

"An hour is unacceptable," Kakashi said. He stepped forward to save Isane the trouble of explaining herself. "Where is Gaara? I'd like to speak to him promptly, so we can get this over with and I can send these Jonin with you."

Hoshiko smiled brightly and perked up. "Alright. He should be--"

"Here." Gaara was walking up the beaten path beside the sprawling lawn of grass. His hair was a bit longer and he looked a bit worn from travel. But it looked just like the refreshed Gaara Kakashi and Neji had seen after his rebirth. He gave a small smile and held his hand out. "It's good to see you again, Kakashi-san."

"Yes, good to see you too. Let's get down to business."