Two weeks passed and Sasuke, Kakashi, and Kokoro were energized and ready to start taking missions again with Naruto as a team. With Tsunade finally taking the position of Hokage, Konoha shinobi were finally able to take missions outside of the village. It had been a hard recovery for the village the past few weeks and Konoha was still rebuilding from the destruction caused by the invasion during the Chunin Exams. The newest development for the village was the shaky alliance formed between Konoha and Suna. While both villages were wary of each other, especially from the uncalled-for attack on Suna's side, the alliance was necessary for both unstable villages. So, it came as no surprise that Konoha and Suna would send their shinobi out on a joint mission to try and remedy problems while mending the bond between the two villages.

Kokoro bit her lip as Team Seven was assigned a joint mission with a team from Suna. Their mission was to investigate a series of bandit sightings on the Suna and Konoha border. They were to leave in an hour's time if they wanted to meet up with the Suna team and make camp before sundown. Kokoro ran home and gathered her belongings quickly before meeting Sasuke and Naruto at the gates. A few moments later, Kakashi arrived and they set off. They were making great time before Naruto had to stop for a bathroom break. All that ramen finally caught up to him and his digestive system. It was one of the worst smells Kokoro had ever had the displeasure of smelling and she quickly noted mentally to coerce Naruto into eating more vegetables.

Once Naruto finished and was ready to go, they set off again. The weather around them grew hotter, cluing them into the fact that they were drawing closer to Suna and its shared border with Konoha. Eventually, they made it to the border and headed towards an outpost close by - their rendezvous point. They stepped inside the building and looked around, trying to find their mission companions. Kakashi had already sensed them and knew they were inside, but the three genin had no idea. It wasn't until they were actually in the building that Kokoro could smell them, one smell, in particular, was vaguely familiar. She tensed and proceeded with a stiffness that garnered the attention of her dark-haired teammate. He eyed her form and nudged her discreetly. She looked at him and he raised an eyebrow in response. She grimaced and quietly said, "You'll see."

They entered the main room of the outpost and spotted three Suna shinobi standing about. Two were standing against the wall as far away as possible from their third teammate, who was standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed over his chest. Kokoro looked everywhere but at him, but he looked nowhere but at her. He looked at her with a hopeful gleam in his eyes that faltered and vanished once he realized she was avoiding him. He knew it was too much to hope that Kokoro would forgive him and greet him like before, but he couldn't help it. She had been his first friend, the first person to accept him for who he was. She had continued to try and be his friend even though he had pushed her away. He wanted to be able to rekindle that friendship. He missed her.

"What?!" Naruto yelled in confusion. He pointed at Gaara and shouted, "What are you doing here?!"

"I am here to aid in the mission with my team," Gaara responded calmly and with amusement.

"I'm surprised they sent you," Sasuke retorted. Sasuke and Gaara shared stone-faced expressions. Meanwhile, Naruto glanced around him and found a decent-sized rock laying about. He picked it up and threw it at Gaara. Kokoro wondered why Naruto did that as Kakashi pulled at his ear.

"Now, now, that's no way to greet our comrades," Kakashi said placatingly.

"It was just a way to greet him," Naruto squeaked out as his ear throbbed in pain. "Besides, he wasn't gonna get hurt."

"Naruto, you really shouldn't be doing unnecessary things at the moment," Kokoro said. She pointed towards a corner of the room where Gaara's teammates were huddling and shaking in fear. "Some people are big wimps and can't take it."

"Say," Naruto said after eyeing the two Suna shinobi with annoyance, "why aren't make-up dude and fan lady with you?"

"Kankuro and Temari, Naruto. Kankuro and Temari," Kokoro sighed out. Honestly, she wasn't surprised he couldn't remember their names.

"I'm currently listed under the regular forces," Gaara explained. "These," he gestured towards his teammates, "are my subordinates, Yaoki and Korobi."

"I'm Yaoki!" the man with dark hair shouted.

"I'm Korobi!" the man with bandages wrapped around his head shouted.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake, the jounin in charge of this mission. This is Naruto, Kokoro, and Sasuke," Kakashi introduced them.

"Hey," Naruto greeted with a wave. Kokoro and Sasuke mimicked his wave but didn't say anything to them.

"They're still rookies, I'm afraid. Please be patient with them," Gaara said with a bow of his head. Kokoro was shocked that Gaara was being so polite with them. She knew he and Naruto had fought during the invasion as Naruto couldn't help but brag about how he fought and defeated the redhead endlessly, but she didn't know the fight had knocked some sense into Gaara. She didn't know how to feel about the sudden 180 degree change in behavior from the last time she saw him. How was she supposed to feel about him now that he was, well, nice? It was easy to scorn him when he was giving off 'I'm going to kill you' vibes, but now? It kind of hurt her to ignore him.

She glanced at him quickly to see that he was already staring at her. She bit her lip and turned her gaze to Kakashi. She wanted to see how he felt about it. Kakashi felt her gaze on him and looked down at her. He read the confusion in her eyes and watched as her eyes darted towards Gaara and returned to meet his. He shrugged discernibly and turned away so he could give further instructions.

"We should head out," Kakashi said. "We need to discuss what we're going to do and how we are going to do it. It would be better if we could see the terrain on which we'll be working as we devise our plan."

Kakashi turned and headed out of the outpost. Naruto followed behind him. Kokoro started walking too but paused when Gaara walked up to her. Sasuke saw his intentions and blocked his path with a hard glare.

"If you know what's best for you, you'd stay away from her," he threatened. He grabbed ahold of Kokoro's hand and pulled her away from Gaara and out of the building. As soon as they caught up to the rest of Team 7, Sasuke let go of her hand and began walking as usual.

"You didn't have to do that," Kokoro told him.

"Did you want to talk to him?" Sasuke asked dubiously.

"Not exactly," she admitted. "But he seems different."

"Don't tell me you're falling for that."

"You think it's a trick?"

"How else could the guy change so quickly."

Kokoro shrugged and discreetly turned her head so she could look behind her at Gaara. He was walking in front of Yaoki and Korobi with an unreadable face. Yaoki and Korobi walked behind him with a blatant amount of distance and Kokoro couldn't help but feel sorry for Gaara. She was elbowed hard in the side. She let out a puff of breath and glared at her dark-haired teammate. The only indication of his movement was an imperceptible smirk. Kakashi lept onto a tree and jumped from branch to branch until he settled on one. The others followed his lead and soon they were standing in a loose circle.

"Now that we've joined up," Kakashi started, "Gaara's team will approach from the western side of the mountain. Team 7 will approach from the east. We'll simultaneously attack the bandits who are based at the summit. The assault will commence at midnight. Does that sound okay?"

Gaara nodded his head.

"The bandits are made up of rogue ninja. Word has it that chunin-class ninja are among them. We'll need to be stealthy," Kakashi finished.

"We'll go with your strategy, then," Gaara assented. Then he addressed Kakashi solely and added, "There's something I need to discuss with you beforehand."

Gaara jumped from the tree and landed on the ground. Kakashi trailed behind him.

"Why's Gaara acting all secretive?" Naruto asked.

"I've no idea," Kokoro replied quietly. She watched them talk from a distance and strained her ears to hear their conversation. Unfortunately, her dad knew how far out she could hear and guided Gaara just outside of her radius. She pouted slightly and sat down against the tree. A few moments later, Kakashi drew her attention away from her pouting.

"We're leaving now!" he shouted as he began running away. Naruto cheered in excitement and jumped down, accompanied swiftly by Sasuke and Kokoro.

"What did he want to talk about?" Kokoro asked curiously.

"It's nothing to concern yourself with," Kakashi replied.

"If it has to deal with the mission then I should concern myself with it," she replied.

"Don't mix your feelings with the mission," Sasuke said tersely. Kokoro glared at him.

"That's rich coming from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Enough," Kakashi said sternly as he stopped and held up a hand to signal them to stop moving.

"What's wrong Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked. "Why'd we stop?"

"How long do you intend to tail us?" Kakashi asked. "Show yourself!"

"No wonder you received the reputation you have," a male voice said. "I thought I had hid my presence." A man materialized behind Sasuke with a mask decorated with a creepy smiling man hiding his face. Backing him up was a handful of shinobi with similar masks. "We have no intention of interfering with the missions of allied nations."

"An ally nation?" Kakashi repeated. "Do you belong to Suna?"

"Please think of us as. . . auditors," the man said.

"Auditors?" Naruto repeated.

"Inspectors," Sasuke clarified. "They could be here to observe the mission."

"But why do they need masks for that?" Naruto questioned. "I don't trust them!"

"Actually, they don't trust Gaara. Isn't that the reason you're here?" Kakashi asked.

"Lord Gaara's power poses a serious threat to us. You have also seen his jutsu. Don't you agree that it is a power that shouldn't exist?" the man asked. Kokoro tensed as she understood what they meant. They weren't sent to observe the mission, they were sent to assassinate Gaara. Was that what they talked about earlier? Did Gaara know he had a tail?

"It's not a bad proposition for Konoha either," the man continued. After all, your neighboring village will have one less powerful weapon."

"Gaara isn't a weapon," Kokoro defended. "He's a human being and a shinobi from your village. You don't get to choose when and if he lives just because he's a jinchuuriki!"

"Lord Gaara is a serious threat to both of our villages and cannot continue to exist!"

"Shut up!" Kokoro shouted right as Naruto landed a punch square in the guy's face. Kunai were immediately sent flying at Naruto, who ran forward with swiftness. Thankfully, Sasuke managed to block all of them, leaving Naruto unscathed.

"Don't let them go!" one of the other shinobi shouted.

"Surely there are those who are sympathetic towards Gaara in Suna," Kakashi said with fake nicety as he clamped a hand on the guy's shoulder. "You people were not able to accept Gaara. And I can understand your point. I once felt similar," he confessed. He looked at Kokoro and said, "But don't jump to the conclusion that we feel the same way now."

Kakashi launched his lightning jutsu and electrocuted the guy with fierceness. Sasuke and Kokoro kicked into action and began fighting the Suna shinobi. Kokoro attacked with power and speed she didn't know she possessed. She was angry that they thought they could kill Gaara, that they thought they could treat him like a weapon, like he had no worth in life. She activated her kekkei genkai and tore through as many as she could. She stopped only when they were all taken care of. Kakashi grabbed some rope from a storage scroll and threw some at Sasuke. He ordered him to help tie up the bandits. Kokoro wondered why he didn't ask her to help when he gestured with his head for her to find Naruto. She nodded her head sharply and set out.

She found them in record time. As she neared them, she scanned over Gaara's form and found that nothing was wrong with him. She did the same with Naruto and let out a breath of relief when he, too, was not harmed. She looked at Gaara's teammates and noticed their body language was different. They weren't as scared of Gaara anymore and were standing closer to him than ever before.

"Hye, you're late, Koko!" Naruto shouted with a big grin. "We already crushed these guys!"

"So I see," she said with an affectionate smile. Then she faced Gaara head-on for the first time and said, "I'm glad you're not hurt."

Gaara's frozen face skewed into shock as his eyes widened and his mouth popped open silently. Kokoro chuckled at the gobsmacked expression and hummed. Soon after her arrival, Kakashi and Sasuke arrived.

"The ones we encountered are all tied up," Kakashi informed them.

"I've caused you trouble. Forgive me," Gaara apologized.

"These are the ones who caused trouble," Naruto said as he walked up to one of the masked shinobi sitting unconsciously against a tree. He reached for the guy's mask, but Gaara stopped him.

"Don't! I know perfectly well what they're like. But still," he trailed off. "They are fellow Suna shinobi."

After a beat of silence, Kakashi said, "Well then, shall we get back to our mission?"

It was easy enough to take care of the bandits. With 6 people working together, the mission ran without another hitch. When all was said and done, Team 7 gathered their belongings and got ready to leave. Before they said their goodbyes, Gaara stopped them.

"I would like to speak with you if that is okay," he told Kokoro. She glanced at Kakashi. He shrugged his shoulders and found a spot on the wall to lean against to wait. Kokoro accepted Gaara's request and they headed out of the building they were in and into the forest. They waited until they were far enough away to start talking to one another.

"I want to apologize for how I acted towards you when we met again right before the Chunin exams started," Gaara apologized with a bow. "While it was my intention to act harmful towards everyone, I regret my actions. If you would allow me, I would like to be your friend again."

Kokoro said nothing as she studied him. Should she accept his offer of friendship? She could tell he was different than before and that he was making an effort to be friendly towards those around him. But she didn't know why. She didn't know why he acted the way he did before. She needed an explanation before she could accept anything.

"Why did you do it?" she asked.

"You know of Shukaku. He used my hatred against me and was able to influence me to kill others," Gaara replied.

"What happened for you to be consumed by hatred?" Kokoro asked. "That time I visited after Shukaku destroyed part of Suna, you were so different, so mean. What happened? How did he get out?"

Gaara was silent as a painful haze entered his beautiful eyes. He closed them and sighed out. When he opened them, he said, "Do you remember Yashamaru?"

"Your uncle?" Kokoro asked.

"Yes. After you left the first time, my father started testing me to see what my limits and abilities were. He sent an assassin after me one night while I was standing on the roof. I allowed Shukaku to attack them and strike them with a fatal blow. I unmasked the assassin and was met with Yashamaru's face. He told me he came after me of his own free will. He told me he didn't care about me, that all the love and care I received from him was fake. He told me I was a monster. So, I killed him and allowed Shukaku to take over. I was too young at the time to analyze the situation in its entirety," he explained.

"What do you mean?"

"Yashamaru lied that night. I didn't find out until recently, but he didn't want to kill me. My father ordered him to test me, to attempt to assassinate me to see how I would react. I failed the test and Yashamaru lost his life."

Kokoro walked up to Gaara and hesitated for a second before enveloping him in a hug. Gaara tensed, not used to the affection, then reciprocated the hug. Kokoro squeezed him harder, letting him know that she was there to comfort him and that she was there for him. Now that she knew the reasoning behind his actions, it was easier to forgive him. She still felt unsettled about the whole situation with Lee, but she didn't want to hold a grudge against Gaara, against her first true friend. Her thoughts wandered towards the letter she received from Gaara and she couldn't help the curiosity from taking over.

She pulled away from him reluctantly and asked, "Did you get all of my letters?"

"I did," he affirmed. "I apologize for not believing you before."

"It's okay, Gaara," she reassured him. "I'm not going to hold it against you."

"Have you read my letter yet?" he asked a bit shyly.

Kokoro giggled nervously and confessed, "Not yet. I didn't feel right reading it while being mad at you."

"In other words, you were being petty," Gaara deadpanned. Kokoro burst out laughing at the unexpected word flowing out of his mouth.

"Yes, I was," she admitted. She sobered up and placed a hand on his shoulder. She looked him directly in the eye and said, "And I would like to be friends again."

Gaara lit up and smiled minutely.

"Then, should I expect a letter from you soon?" he asked hopefully.

"As soon as I get back to Konoha."

Dear Kokoro,

First, I want to apologize for the way I have treated you. I falsely accused you of abandonment and dishonesty. I was under the pretense that you never did the things you claimed and failed to realize you would never lie. I found your letters, all of them. I was surprised to find them locked away in my father's quarters. I only found them after his belongings were packed away and moved to storage. I read all of them. I read about your birthday gifts, about your time in the academy, about the time you spent with your team, about your missions. I read the fondness you held in each of them, the curiosity you held at what I was doing, and the longing strewn into them.

I had no idea someone could miss me enough to continuously send me letters I would never receive. The conviction in that letter you sent after you received word you were not allowed to communicate with me was mind-numbing. I still cannot comprehend how you could be so loyal to someone you may never talk to again. When I read your last letter, I admit that sadness overtook me. I didn't want you to blame yourself or to feel as though I wasn't the Gaara you knew. I never wanted you to see me in that light, as a mindless monster murdering everyone who got in its way. I am just glad I did not hurt you during the Chunin Exams, that I did not succumb enough to hurt someone who never gave up on me.

To be honest, I think Shukaku favors you some. He pretends to hate everyone, but the way he treated you, the way he held himself back and held me back from hurting you tells a different story. In my haze of hatred, I remember feeling confused whenever I was faced with you as an obstacle. Shukaku always hesitated. Maybe it didn't seem that way to you, but I am connected to him and his thoughts. I could hear the reluctance. I could feel it. I know that this information doesn't excuse his behavior or mine, but I wanted to inform you as the realization still confuses me.

I know I may never be forgiven for the way I treated you and your friends. I hope you can, but I know that it is futile to hold onto something that may never come true. My only wish is that we could talk once again. Just once would be enough for me. Looking back at the time I spent in Konoha, I rarely saw you smile. I hope I can see your smile again. If anyone deserves to smile in this world, it's you.

I decided to write this letter because I wasn't sure if I would ever see you again. I also admit that I don't think I would be able to say any of this in person. I won't hold it against you if you don't write back or if you don't read the entirety of this letter. If I never hear from you again, I wish you happiness and peace.

Gaara