She flung open the shutters covering her outside window. The instant rush of hot desert wind sent her hair flying over her shoulders as she took it all in with a deep breath. Finally, she had some time. She pulled the top drawer of her desk and snatched the already opened pack of cigarettes. From the low count, she knew she would have to get some soon, but that would have to wait until the end of the work day. There were still at least three patients left for the day, two of them here for their regular bi-weekly psychological tune up. She pulled out her lighter from her pocket, lit the end, and took a deep relaxing inhale. The subtle taste of the smoke enveloped her mouth and for a short second, it was like time had stopped, and everything going on in the world wasn't of any concern as long as she held onto it. As soon as she exhaled, the smoke dissipated into the air, leaving behind a bitter stain on her tongue. She went to take another puff when her alarm went off.

"Ms. Yamada, you have a visitor here to see you." Spoke her assistant through the telecom. With a frustrated sigh, she put out her cigarette in her ash tray and picked up the phone.

"Who is it? My next patient arrives in less than twenty minutes."

"It's the member of The Suna Council, Lord Yura, Ma'am. Should I schedule him for a meeting at a later time?" she asked. In the background, she could hear the man muffling curses at her. What business does he have coming here?

"Send him in."

Instantly, her office door was opened and Lord Yura stepped forward, giving her a respectful bow, which she returned. She gestured for him to take a seat as she pulled up her own.

"Lord Yura, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? And please, keep it short. I have another patient coming soon."

"I understand that your staff is in charge of the psychoanalytic research and development pertaining to Genjutsu. You've made quite a bit of progress in this field, you should be proud." He explained, but she understood that from dealing with patient after patient, buttering her up with compliments meant that something bad was lurking behind those teeth.

"You're not answering the question, sir. And I believe I've made it clear that I have to get back to work soon. Why are you here? Have you come for me to show you the data I've collected from my research?" she asked.

"On the contrary, I'm here representing the entire staff of The Suna Council. We are in the process of selecting the next Kazekage. Lord Rasa's children are his only descendants, Gaara is one of them."

"The Shukaku's Jinchuriki?"

"Yes. Most of the Council members have agreed to allow Gaara to train for the Kazekage title, but there are those of us who strongly disagree. He's been a danger to everyone and himself ever since he was a child. Over his teenage years, his tendencies have become more savage. We are turning to you to evaluate him psychologically." He explained.

"But if he's a threat, it could be more damaging to involve him politically." She said, and his lips curled an unsettling smile.

"I'm glad you understand."

"Why involve him at all?" she asked.

"Both Gaara's brother and sister have made claims that his violent behavior has changed. They assume he's relinquished his demonic traits, and therefore should be granted a choice to join the Council, but we need solid ground proof. Ebizo mentioned your organization, so I came by personally to ask for your service. Allow Gaara to become your next patient."

"Asking me to do something like that, I'd have a better chance of survival on a suicide mission. No medic in this entire village has been successful with cracking the Shukaku host. Almost all of them have died trying!" she pointed out.

"I understand you completely, the monster just can't simply be tamed… However, you are the top recognized psychologist in The Land of the Wind, you wouldn't want anything to tarnish that image, now would you?" His eyes darkened as his smile grew sinister. What did he have up his sleeve?

"What are you insinuating?"

"You could try your best to treat him, or you could write a statement confirming that he's not mentally capable of such a title… It's a risk down either path for you. I want to protect this village from all threats. After we were defeated by The Leaf, they still hold as a potential issue for us along with many others. Gaara has been a problem for us ever since he was born. He's a failed experiment gone wrong and this village and its people had to deal with it for a long time. Giving him a spot in the political world would give him the power to unleash wreckage anywhere and everywhere. I cannot allow that to happen!" he explained.

"Even if he is unstable, creating a statement out of the blue isn't that simple. If you want proof, he needs to come here and be tested… but then that would mean putting my entire staff at risk." She said half-heartedly.

"It's a risk we are willing to take."

"But I'm not! We've come so far with this organization, we can't have any bumps in the road of our progress!"

"It would be a shame that your team would be willing to send away a patient… Perhaps the Council should reconsider your funding in our next meeting."

"You can't do that! You think you can threaten me!" she exclaimed, furiously.

"Who gives more credibility when it comes to the village's medical financial matters? You or a Council Member?" he began. This bastard. "All I'm trying to do is persuade you. Take Gaara in and get the information you need to write that statement, saying he's mentally unstable. After that, he'll go back to being The Ultimate Weapon, he won't be Kazekage, and you go back to psychology. Nothing will change…"

"And what if he has changed, like they said?" she asked.

"Then you will be the first medic to tackle the most dangerous jinchuriki in the desert. Now that would give you more credibility than I, but as for your current state, I doubt you would want to chance that with your life and your goals…" He stood up from his seat and bowed before heading to the exit. "We expect to hear an answer from you by the end of the week. If you value your organization as well as you've said, I suggest you sit on it for a while and make the right move…"

The door shut behind him, leaving her with an erratic heartbeat and a nervous bead of sweat running down the back of her neck. That bastard! Who does he think he is, storming in here and demanding something so ridiculous? Creating a false medical assessment is highly illegal, and that was practically what he was asking her for whether she saw Gaara or not. She remembered the news reports and the documents of the past medics appointed by Lord Rasa to try and help Gaara, and they were professionals, far more professional than her. If he was as deadly now as he was back then, there's no way that she would come out of this unharmed, and what's worse is that if she refused, he would take away her funding for research. There's no way that she could come up with the money on her own. The economy was already fluctuated enough as it is, and it could be years before she could get back to the speed of progress she was making right now. The tarnished rumor, she could probably live with, but that too could potentially end the cash flow. With nowhere else to turn, her hands were tied. She had to do what Yura wanted.

Her telecom beeped once again. "Ms. Yamada, you're twelve o'clock appointment is here."

She took in a deep breath to compose herself. She couldn't allow her patients to see her in a distraught state. That wasn't professional. Lifting the phone, she gave permission for them to enter and went about her day, taking notes and performing tests. She tried to keep it out of her work, but it still lingered in the back of her mind throughout the day. Patient after patient came, each with about a fifteen minute smoke break in between for her to think. When the last person was gone for the day, she went to the bathroom to do her business and then went to the breakroom to grab a snack from the vending machine. Peering at her reflection through the glass of the machine, she felt disgusted with herself. She never looked so weak, letting him play her like that. How was she ever going to get out of it?

"Oh, Ms. Yamada, how are you?" She followed the voice to the doorway, where her young apprentice Mariko stood with a smile.

"Just a very long day…"

"Something wrong?" she asked, being the nosy little girl that she was. If it wasn't for the fact that she was good at her job, Yamada wouldn't have put up with her abnormally happy-go-lucky attitude.

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head.

"Mariko, how would you like to do a job for me?"