In the morning we meet our guide. He's a short man, with blonde hair bleached whiter than his skin, which has been tanned a dark colour, presumably from spending so much time in the sun. There's no way to escape from the sun in this place. No way but death anyway, is what I might say if I was being morbid. Oddly though, I'm in a good mood this morning.
This trip isn't looking too bad anymore.
We are greeted only with a brief 'good morning' before our guide sets off. We follow behind him in silence at first, later the others talk just as they have for the rest of our trip. They fall a little behind to talk while I walk ahead with our guide.
I walk in silence, a bit awed by the desert. It seems endless; I almost wonder why it hasn't covered the entire world yet. And I wonder how anyone could be crazy enough to build a city in this place.
But somehow, I feel better out here, a little more like my old self.
"And you miss?" the guide interrupts my thoughts, "You're a ninja too?"
"Yes." I answer. Of course I am; why else would I be here?
He just nods and keeps walking. "I was afraid of that." I hear him mutter to himself, just barely. I roll my eyes. Some people.
We come to an oasis soon after I've emptied my canteen, and stop there for a little while before continuing on; just long enough to refill our water supply and have a bite to eat.
We walk all afternoon without stopping. Most of the time we are silent, but every once in a while our guide asks me questions – about popular styles and foods in Konoha, what plants grow well there, how old I am – about anything it seems, but what might be important. He seems to me a strange man; more interested in listening to me describe the way woman like to wear their hair than in telling me about Sunakagure. It's hard to tell if he's really young or an older man who's simply well preserved. Sometimes he seems quite simple, but he knows the desert like it's his home. I guess it is his home.
The sun is setting when we reach the next oasis. Here I sit for a while, resting my feet for a second.
"Are you okay?" The guide asks.
"Yes I'm fine." I answer shortly. I'm not interested in his concern; especially since he probably thinks I'm not strong enough to be a ninja, or make this trek across the desert. But I don't have to prove anything to him, so I don't get up until we leave again.
As we walk he tells us that the next oasis is much farther, so we'll have to watch our water consumption closely. He also tells us that the nights in the desert get very cold, and since we didn't bring anything to keep us warm we'd walk all night.
I'm glad for it – I'd rather not sleep tonight anyway.
We reach the next oasis the next afternoon. It's much bigger than the others, and once we've rested and filled our canteens our guide tells us we'll wait.
"What are we waiting for?" One of my companions asks.
"For your ride." The guide answers and sits on the ground.
The others shrug and lie down nearby. Soon after their breathing slows down, but whether they have actually fallen asleep or they're simply pretending is anyone's guess. It seems to me that they wouldn't be so comfortable here as to fall asleep, but we have been awake for a long time now, so maybe their exhaustion is genuine.
I walk a ways away to take a look around.
"Don't wander too far." Our guide warns me; I wave over my shoulder to him. Of course I know that – I'm not an idiot.
I climb the top of a dune and all around me is sand. It feels like a dream, but it's not. The sun truly is beating down on my skin, and no doubt I'll have a burn to show for it later. I suck in a deep breath and exhale it slowly. It burns my lungs; it's so hot and dry.
I suppose I'll have to get used to this, if we're going to be living here for a while. Not for the first time I wonder what I'll be expected to do in Sunakagure.
I've been standing here for a while when I notice movement in the distance. A small group of caravans is approaching. I turn back to see if anyone is paying attention, but the others are all lying on their backs in the sun, looking oblivious to the world. I turn back to watch the caravans coming closer for a little while, and when it becomes obvious that they are truly coming this way I walk down to wake our guide.
"There's a group headed this way." I tell him, "That wouldn't happen to be our ride would it?"
He stands slowly and walks with me back to the top of the dune. He squints into the distance for a bit – a show I expect he puts on for my sake – and then turns to me and smiles.
"You're almost there." he says, no doubt thinking he's terribly witty and mysterious, and then he walks back to the others and wakes them. I stay where I am to watch the approach.
There are two caravans in the group approaching, led by two camels each. They're funny looking creatures, camels are. All lumpy and tall, gangly yet droopy. That was my first impression of them. When they come closer I notice their big eyes and lovely long eyelashes, and I almost think I'll like them.
Moments later I actually meet one, and when it spits on me I know I'll be avoiding camels as much as possible in the future.
Two dark skinned men jump down from the camels. Our guide appears beside me with the other two. With a minimal exchange of words we are dumped on the men with camels, and our guide leaves. We are told to get into one of the caravans.
It's a bit squishy inside, but it's out of the sun so I don't mind. The ride isn't long anyway before we're told to get out again.
I'm actually disappointed to see that we're in the city; in fact, we're standing outside a large building, with ninjas coming and going all over. I suppose this is their headquarters of sorts.
I was kind of hoping to actually be able to see the city from a distance before being sent into it. I imagine that it would be rather beautiful, though not in the same way as Konoha. I wanted time to adjust I guess, and being cooped up in a caravan is not a good way to adjust.
And I'm sort of dreading this thing now. What if I can't do what is asked of me?
"You are the ones from Konoha?"
I look up to see a small woman wearing a Sand headband watching me expectantly. I nod and finger my headband. She smiles encouragingly and motions for us to follow her before walking up the steps and inside.
"Welcome to Suna," she says as we follow her through a maze of hallways. "I hope it won't be too hard on you, having to come live in a completely different place. I don't suppose it's much like Konoha at all here."
We reach a small door which she holds open for us and ushers us inside. "Good luck." She whispers and then closes the door on us.
We're left in a smallish room filled to the ceiling with filing cabinets, and a large desk in the middle. Seated behind the desk is someone I recognize finally.
"Temari!"
She stares at me for a while. I realize she probably doesn't recognize me, and I wish I hadn't said anything.
She frowns and then asks tentatively, "Sakura?" I nod happily, and she smiles at me. She looks much older, though I realize I must look it too. We're in a profession that ages you quickly. "I'm glad you're here." she says. "It's nice to see a familiar face. And new faces too," she adds quickly, looking at the other two. "So you three are the representatives from Konoha?"
We nod in unison. It seems so rehearsed I almost laugh, but I stop myself. Still best not to appear too unprofessional.
She nods briskly and stands. "Things are bad in Konoha – it's a well known fact unfortunately. We know that times are difficult, and we are trying to ensure that they don't become any worse. But I'm sure you received the same lecture back home, right?"
"Pretty much."
Temari watches us for a bit, leaning back on her desk, a distant sort of look on her face. She looks like she's searching for something. After a while though she sighs, I guess she didn't find what she was looking for and pushes herself off her desk. She sits back behind the desk and starts looking through one of the piles of papers on her desk.
"Things haven't been much easier on us here either, but for different reasons. The trade between our villages was not simply for diplomatic reasons. We do need your help, so I hope you aren't here simply because you thought this would be an easy job for a while. What I mean is; you're not here for vacation."
The man beside me smiles and shakes his head. "We know by now that there's no such thing as a vacation on the job. And besides, we weren't volunteers; we were chosen by the elders." Temari raises her eyebrows at him, and he realizes that she may have been offended by what he said. "Not that I wouldn't be here anyway, given a choice."
Temari smiles and shrugs casually, "Don't worry about it; I know that no one would really rather be in a strange country working for another government than at home. But still, I hope you'll learn to fit in here, as you may be here for a while if things continue as they are."
She makes a small noise of satisfaction and pulls out some papers from the stack with a triumphant look in her eyes. "Here we are! Your assignments. You'll all be expected to perform various duties as a sort of ambassadors as well as these," she holds up the papers, "but those are fairly basic. Mostly you just need to show your face at boring meetings and banquets. We promise you won't ever be put on the spot, or have to make important decisions for the good of our nations. We know that's not what you signed on for – even if you never actually signed on at all.
"Watanabe Takeshi." She says, and holds out a paper to the talkative man beside me, the one I talked to a couple nights ago. I realize that until now I didn't even know his name. That would never have happened to me before. "You'll be working for Sakamoto now. He's a good man, and we trust him well enough to trust you with him. I hope you get along well."
Watanabe takes the paper and studies it. After a moment he nods to Temari, and she looks at the next paper.
"Ito Masuyo, you will also be working for Sakamoto. I'm sure he'll find ways of keeping you both busy." She hands him the paper, and then hands me the last sheet.
"I'm sorry Sakura, but you'll be separated from the others. We need your skills as a medic more than anything."
"Of course." I agree. That's what my strength is, and I fully expected them to use it. I'm glad too, that I'll be doing what I'm best at – what I enjoy most. And I know it sounds callous, but I'm not too upset to be separated from the others.
We're sent out then, to find those we're supposed to be reporting to, and get ready for tonight. It seems that already we're expected to show our faces at a sort of welcoming party.
Once we're outside I head one way and the others head another way. We say goodbye until later, and I'm left on my own to find the hospital. On the back of the sheet Temari gave me I find a helpful little map. Soon enough I'm standing in front of a large stone building. 'This where you'll be spending a lot of time in the future.' I tell myself. 'Better make this good.'
I take a deep breath and walk into the hospital.