Disclaimer : Same as before.

A/N: Sorry last chapter was so short. Had no idea how to continue it, and had to do a little research.

"Focus! You need to concentrate!" Temari yelled at me for the fith or sixth time.

I made a face, "You try doing it when you don't know what exactly it is you are doing!" I yelled back. I had my eyes closed and my hands in what Temari said was a 'Simple hand seal'. Simple my ass, my hands were already cramping up from the strange position.

It had been a week since the attack. I had been training with Temari every day since then, and she said I was learning very fast for someone who had no idea what she was doing in the first place. The first day was spent teaching me how to throw shruiken and the ninja knives, which I found out, were called Kunai. She had tested my aim and reaction time and she said that I was almost as good as her, so we could move on to something more difficult. The something turned out to be what she refered to as Chakra Control. I didn't under stand the concept at first, but she had found some books and scrolls on the subject that I was supposed to study every night. I tried, but at the end of the day, I was so tired from the training that I could only read a few pages before I fell asleep. I guess it was better than nothing. I figured out the Chakra Control thing out on my second attempt. She refered to it as Kinobori. Plain and simple, it allowed me to walk up walls. It's pretty neat.

"C'mon, one more time. Form the seal, concentrate, and then do it."

I bit my bottom lip before nodding. For the last few days we had been praticing what she called 'Bunshin no jutsu'. She said, that if I did it correctly, I would create a clone of myself. I had already mastered the Henge. It was a disguise move which I picked up on the second day of trying it. It was like playing dress up in your head.

I formed the seal once more, pictured two of me, standing side by side, concentrated, and yelled, "Bunshin no jutsu!"

I heard a noise to my right and there was a slight amount of smoke, and when it cleared, it was like looking into a mirror. I couldn't help but stare in disbelief. I had done it. I actually did it. I glanced over my shoulder at Temari and she was beaming.

"Good job! You finnaly got it!" She ran towards me and punched me playfully in the shoulder. I couldn't help but grin.

"So what's next?" I asked. It was still early afternoon, and I was ready to tackle the next obsticle.

"Well, we have to find Gaara."

My grin faded, I hadn't seen Sand Man since that night in my room. I wasn't really looking forward to having to find him.

Temari noticed the look on my face, "Think of it as a test. If you pass, I'm sure I can convince Gaara to let you become a Genin of Sunagakure."

I raised an eyebrow. Temari had explained the hiarearchy of the ninja ranks the other day. Genin was the lowest, but you were considered a full fledged ninja of the village at that point. I couldn't help but give her a half hearted smile. I could almost picture the look on John's face at him hearing that I was a ninja. I felt a pang of homesickness in my chest. Would I ever see my friends again? What had happened to John? I sighed and noticed that Temari was on her way back to the Kazekage Building. I ran after her.

"Do you really think your brother would allow it?" I asked as soon as I caught up.

She shrugged, "I don't see why not. If anything, you would shock the hell out of him. I don't think he knows that I've been training you. He's been busy."

I interlaced my fingers and streched my arms out infront of me, "So all I have to do is find him?"

Temari nodded, "But you have to use at least one of the things I have taught you this past week. Understand?"

I frowned but nodded. There were only so many places he could be, and if he was busy, he could be in his office.

Temari pointed to the building, "Then get going." She said with a grin.

I nodded and sprinted up the steps and dissapeared inside the building.

Once I was inside, I realized that it was much darker than usual. I narrowed my eyes and looked around. I didn't see any one, and I didn't hear anything. I slipped into the shadows and behind one of the many pillars that were in the entryway. Tem-chan said I had to use one or more of the Jutsu things she had taught me this last week. Well, the easiest one at the moment would be the Henge. Now was the hard part, who should I look like? I pondered this thought for a moment when I heard muffled voices down the hall to my left. I quickly formed the seals and whispered, "Henge no Jutsu."

I ducked out from behind the pillar and made my way to the hall that led to the Kazekage's office. I paused just outside the door. There were noises comming from withen. I grinned to myself, I found him already. This was too easy. I reached out and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

I reached for the door handle but paused, that wasn't Gaara's voice. I shook my head slightly and walked in anyways, raising an eyebrow at what I saw.

It looked like Kankuro had been searching for something in Gaara's office. There was a mess of papers on the desk, and particaly unrolled scrolls scattered everywhere. The Cat Head in question was kneeling beside a book case, pulling out one book at a time and checking the title on each.

Kankuro looked up at me and surprise crossed his face, "I thought you were supposed to be training Amanda all afternoon."

I praised myself silently, it had worked, he thought I was Temari. I shrugged, "We finnished up early."

He eyed me for a minute before nodding, "Take it she's doing better?"

I smiled, "Yep. Catching on real fast." I crossed my arms over my chest and looked around, "Have you seen Gaara around today?"

Kankuro nodded, "Yeah, he said he was going out the the desert for a while. But that was like, four hours ago." He looked back at the book in his hands, sighed, and shoved it back on the shelf.

I nodded, "Thanks, Cat Hea-" I stopped short as Kankuro looked at me and shook his head. The jig was up, I slipped and reavealed who I was. Damnit.

"You almost had me there, why are you disguised as Temari?" Kankuro demanded as he stood up and approached me.

I pouted before dropping the Jutsu, "Tem-Chan told me that if I could use what I learned and find Gaara, then she'd talk him into letting me become a Genin." My shoulders slumped forward and I looked up at Kankuro hopefully, "Do you know where he goes when he goes out into the desert?"

"Usually around the same place we found him last time. About an hour's walk straight out into the dunes. I'd be carefull though, I think we're going to have a storm." He said as he glanced out the window.

I looked too, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so I brushed it off, "Well, alright, see you later!" I said as I turned and left.

--

I made it to the gates and out of the city with no problem at all. The problems started when I was about a half an hour's journey north of the city. The winds started to pick up and there was sand flying in the air. It made it difficult to see, to breath, and to walk. Pausing for a minute, I did what Temari had taught me on day two, I focused chakra to my feet, and by doing that, I didn't sink into the sand as I walked, and it made it much easier to walk though the sandy wind.

After walked for a little while more, I checked my watch. I had been walking for close to an hour, and still no Gaara. Not only that, but the winds were constantly growing stronger and stronger. I screamed every profane word that I knew and kicked the sand at my feet. I was going to get lost out here. I couldn't see my foot steps anymore, and the sandy winds made it damn near impossible to see. I plunked myself down in the sand and pulled my bandana down over my nose and mouth. My day had gone from great to bad in the span of one hour. I had mastered a few Jutsu's in only a week, when other people needed years of practice. I didn't understand it, and I could tell by Temari's astonished looked every time I did one right, that she didn't understand it either.

I sheilded my eyes and looked around. Sand in every direction I looked, not only that, but the winds just kept getting stonger and stronger. sand was piled up over my sandles when I decided I should at least keep moving. I stood up, and headed in the direction that I thought I had came from.

With the wind at my back, I moved a little faster than I had on the way out into the desert. But it was apparently in the wrong direction. The storm calmed down to it's usual breeze and when I looked around, I couldn't see anything that even resembled the Village.

A little voice in the back of my head told me I should have turned back when the storm started. I frowned, yeah, that helps so much right now. I kicked at the sand at my feet and nearly tripped over what the sand had been covering. There was a scroll, half burried in the sand. I crouched and picked it up and brushed it off. It was tied shut with a red string and I was half tempted to open it when I heard a voice from behind me.

"What are you doing out here?"

I turned around so fast while still crouched that my feet slipped in the sand and I fell on my rear. It was Gaara, looking quite like his normal self, angry stance, glare intact, but minus his giant gourd.

"I was actuly looking for you." I said as I stood and slipped the scroll into the pouch Temari had given me after our first training session.

"Really." He crossed his arms.

"Yeah, really. Tem-chan told me to find you, using what I learned this past week." I said with a nod.

"And what exactly would that be?"

I formed the hand seals for the Henge and took on the appearance of Temari once again, "This."

"It took you a week to learn that?" He sounded mildly surprised.

I dropped the Henge and shook my head, "Two days."

The look of surprise vannished and he looked me over and nodded towards my leg.

I looked down and realized he wanted to know about the injury. I reached down and pulled the pant leg up to reveal a diamond shapped scar, "It's healed."

I watched as he opened his mouth to make a comment, but apparently he had decided against it because he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me back in the direction I had been walking from. As it turned out, I did get turned around and was walking farther and farther away from the village, and he was now, leading me back. After about an hour and a half, I could make out the village gates a ways off. I remained silent the whole way. Not because I was afraid to say anything, or because I had nothing to say, but because Gaara seemed to be deep in thought. He just had one of those expressions some people get when they're thinking and not really paying any attention to anything else. I figured it would be best if I saved my questions untill later.

I let him drag me along untill we reached the Kazekage building. It was here that I pulled free of him and crossed my arms, "Okay, what the hell's going on this time?" I demanded as I jumped in front of him.

He glanced at me before walking around me, "Go back to your room. Your training is finnished for the day." With that said, he dissapeared into the building.

I narrowed my eyes at the dark doorway and sighed, I was getting left out of something that I assumed had everything to do with me.

"I'm not a child." I grumbled as I did as I was told and headed to my room. I got half way there when an Idea struck me. I spun on my heel and headed towards Gaara's office.