The next morning, Hitomi was allowed to explore, but she had to face the facts: she had devised dozens of plans for this place, and yet she had no fucking idea on where to start. As she left the hotel where Ensui had booked a suite for the entire month, she realised she was standing out, with her traveling outfit. A carefully innocent expression on her face, she reached a little street far away from the main ones then looked for what she needed.

On a clothesline, she found an outfit roughly fitting her size and looking like the one kids wore in this village. She took it and left a bit of money in its place before going to change in an alley and putting her previous clothes in her bag. She could have bought clothes, yes, but it was funnier to do it the ninja way.

Now that she was ready, she could start working on her main scheme for Sunagakure, the one she had not even dared dream of. Finding the Sunajin kids was easy: just like Shikamaru had said about Konoha, they played not so far from their Academy. She looked around but didn't see the dark red hair she was looking for. A few boys tried to have her play ball with them but she refused with a playful laugh: she had better things to do than run after a fucking ball, thank you very much.

She found him well away from the other kids, a torn ball at his feet. He looked so sad, so small, Hitomi's heart broke a bit as she approached him. She had done the math while on the road: at five years old, Gaara's loneliness upset him, but no one had tried to kill him yet – no one had yet pushed him to a killing spree that would leave him scarred for life.

"Hi!" she chirped. "Can I sit with you?"

He jumped so hard when he heard her voice, she had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop her laugh. Obviously, Ensui's lessons worked if she could take anyone by surprise.

"Y-you want to sit with me?"

Hitomi's heart broke again, but she kept her feelings at bay. Taking a few steps toward him, she offered him her sweetest smile, the one that made people think she was harmless. She needed more smiles, and quick. "The others are too noisy for me. You look quiet and not too, ah, agitated, so I thought you'd be a better choice."

Just like that, it was done. The first phase of her plan had been so simple to check off that it shocked Hitomi quite a bit, but not when she started really thinking about what was going on. Gaara was just a little boy, starving for any kind of affection, and he hadn't yet learned to be wary of people his age. For a moment, she felt guilty about using his weaknesses to her own advantage, but she brushed that feeling off: she knew it was for the greater good.

"So you control sand, uh?" she asked half an hour later. "Do you think you could use it to make sculptures?"

"Doesn't it f-frighten you?"

She shrugged. "I live in a clan where people control shadows. Way scarier than sand, trust me! Can you make me a camel, please? I've never seen one and I'd really like to."

The little boy nodded, his cheeks a pretty shade of pink, and Hitomi applauded when the sand did his bidding for her. It was so easy to play the affectionate little girl in this situation, although Ensui would have raised an eyebrow then died of laughter if he'd seen her act that way. Since it was what Gaara needed, though, she was happy to do it.

Soon, too soon, the sun started to set, throwing warm colours all over the sand. Sunagakure was a really beautiful village, even if the forced isolation had cost it a lot of luxuries and it showed. Compared to Konoha, this village wasn't quite as developed, especially in the poorer areas. Hitomi reached to take Gaara's hand, moving as quickly as she was used to, but his sand reacted without giving her time to back away, violently scratching her hand. She yelped and looked down to the angry red marks, where her skin was starting to bleed.

"O-oh no, I'm so sorry!" Gaara looked almost sick with worry and regret. His hands were shaking, and he seemed to be holding back tears. Hitomi's heart hurt to see him like that. With her good hand, she touched his arm, careful this time not to startle him.

"It's okay, Gaara-kun. Ensui-shishou will heal this in no time at all."

"But I hurt you!"

"And?" she shrugged. "You didn't do it on purpose. My shishou did worse to me during training, and yet I know he cares for me, a lot. I'm not angry with you, Gaara-kun."

"Gaara… Only Gaara, please. A-are you sure you're okay? Maybe we should go to the hospital."

Frowning slightly, she looked at her hand more closely. Sand had gotten in the deepest parts of the wound. "No, I'm okay, don't worry. If you want, you can come to see Ensui-shishou with me. He'll heal me and you'll be able to see with your own eyes that it's not a serious wound. What do you say?"

It wasn't what she had planned, but she could adjust around this new development. This time, she made sure not to take Gaara by surprise as her hand found his. She answered his obvious surprise – he probably wasn't touched often by anyone – with a soft, encouraging smile, then took him to the hotel where her mentor was waiting, thanking her awesome memory that helped her find her way.

Ensui was not pumped about her being wounded and gave Gaara a dirty look. As soon as she saw the child making himself cower, on the brink of tears, Hitomi stepped in, giving Ensui one of her own stares. She looked almost defiant, her delicate features as calm as the night sky despite the difference of strength between them. "It's not Gaara's fault. No one taught him how to control his powers. He's my friends and I won't let you scare him, shishou." Her tone was still respectful but firm. She wouldn't back down from this.

Her heart ached when she heard the little choking sound coming from behind her. She knew no one ever fought for Gaara; he only had an uncle who hated him and could barely hide it, two frightened siblings, and a father who saw him like a tool and nothing more. It only made Hitomi more certain that she wanted to be this person for him. She stood up a little taller, her eyes looking right at Ensui's with all the righteousness she was capable of, as she made the little voice in her head saying she was no better shut up.

"I wasn't going to hurt him."

As Gaara still hid behind his apprentice's back, the Jōnin sighed and crouched to their level, trying to reduce the danger he represented. It was hard for him, who was oozing a cold and quiet threat at all times without even trying. He didn't really get why Hitomi was stepping in like that. She'd always accepted him and who he was. He understood a bit better when he looked at the boy, at the way she protected him.

He was important.

Ensui didn't know in which way yet and wasn't sure she would ever explain it to him. He had known from the very first day that his little apprentice left nothing to chance, a common trait amongst geniuses. Hell, he had been like that too. The Nara clan was full of manipulative people, himself included. He gladly left Hitomi toy with him, since she did whatever he asked, always. She was a good enough apprentice that he let her get away with it.

"Listen, Gaara-kun, right? I know children can play a bit rough sometimes. I'm not mad and I'd say Hitomi here isn't either. Could you please take the sand out of her wound so I can close it?" He could have used a jutsu to do it, of course, but he thought it was important for the kid to participate in the fixing of his mistakes. He didn't have a lot of experience with children – Hitomi didn't really count – but it seemed like a nice principle. Once the wound was clean, he wrapped her hand in his, the gesture gentle and careful, then used a surge of minty chakra to mend her skin. It was just a scratch, really, but he felt better now that it had disappeared.

"So, I understand you have spent part of the day together. Please tell me about it. And Hitomi? I'd very much like to know where you put the clothes you left the hotel with."

The little girl shrugged, trying her best to look guilty – her best wasn't really good, her eyes were sparkling. She knew what she was doing, did everything for a reason, but he doubted he'd get the complete version of this one right now. After all, they had company, a little boy who followed her around like she was her hero. Ensui trusted her, though, and he had learned to be patient: she would tell him what he wanted to know.

"I just wanted to walk around the town without being noticed, that's all. I took an outfit from someone who wasn't looking, but I left money, so it doesn't count as stealing." She blushed under his inquisitive stare and even lowered her eyes to the carpet, looking embarrassed. Gaara was shaking his head, clearly astonished. He clearly couldn't believe the audacity she was showing. "Well, after that, I found Gaara, all alone, and I decided to talk to him because he looked sad. His powers are awesome, shishou! He can command sand. He made me animals that don't exist in Konoha."

"And your friend isn't required to be somewhere at this time? Surely, his parents should be looking for him."

For the first time since he'd arrived, Gaara spoke. "I can go home whenever I want, sir." He didn't say why, but Hitomi signalled to Ensui and nodded in the direction of the window. At his suddenly thin lips, she knew he was probing the area with his meridians and had felt the presence on the roof of the building in front of their hotel. His eyes shone with comprehension for a second and he smiled at Gaara.

"Well, you can stay, then Gaara-kun. I don't know what Hitomi has in mind for you, but I'm sure it implies…"

"Can you play shōgi, Gaara?"

"Shōgi, yes. I can see you have the situation under control, kid. I need to run an errand in town, I'll be back early enough to order food. Do you want to stay for dinner, Gaara-kun?"

The child looked up to Ensui, adoration in his eyes. "C-can I?"

"Of course you can!" Hitomi reassured him as Ensui left the suite. "Now, about shōgi…" She taught him the rules then they started playing without caring about the time they spent on it. After a while, Ensui came back with a bag full of local dishes, and Gaara explained everything they were eating. The food was a bit spicy for Hitomi, but still good. The two children continued playing then, sometimes advised by the adult, who tried to stay impartial. Of course, Hitomi led, as she was used to the game, but Gaara was a clever little boy and he held his own.

Alas, it was quickly time for him to go. It was late and Hitomi needed her sleep. She had had a full day of freedom, but her mentor didn't intend on letting her wander around during the month they would spend in Suna.

"If you want," she said to Gaara as he prepared to leave, "you can come tomorrow morning. Ensui-shishou has booked a training room in the hotel, I'll be there to fight and practice with my shuriken. Then, in the afternoon, he's gonna give me a botanic lesson and make me work on my strokes. I'd like it even more if you were there."

Gaara's smile was so bright it had to hurt. Carefully, so she didn't spook his sand, she came to him and hugged him, bidding him good night. Then, she went back to the little living room their suite had, where her mentor was waiting for her. Judging by his amused and yet impatient expression, he had questions.