I wake up in the middle of night, disturbed. I slept only fitfully and never long enough to dream. Everything feels wrong somehow, and there's something I'm missing, I know. What is it?

I get out of bed and sneak out the window to the desert. It's different at night. It's cold, and yet somehow it feels more inviting than it does during the day. It seems almost magical.

I remove my shoes and walk barefoot in the sand, walking in a straight line away from the city. The sky is clear and the moon and stars light the desert with a bluish glow.

I stop and look back to see my footprints, leading up to my feet in a straight line behind me. They're not fading or blowing away. Maybe I'm safe tonight.

As soon as the thought crosses my mind I notice a figure in the distance. It seems to be getting closer too. I drop down into a fighting stance, just in case.

When it's close enough for me to see, I realize that it's Gaara. Well, I'm not quite sure, but judging from the cloud of sand he seems to be riding on, I assume its Gaara. But to be sure, I concentrate a bit of chakra in my eyes so that I can see better. It acts as a sort of telescope, confirming my assumption. I also realize now that he's not coming towards me; in fact he doesn't even notice me, or if he has he's ignoring my presence.

So I follow him. From a distance of course, and I do a good job of it, because he never notices me. But then I wonder… Maybe he does notice me, and he expects me to follow him.

I follow him anyway.

He seems to be wandering without aim through the desert. He travels quickly, and I have to run to keep up with him. I suppose it must be very easy for him – to float around on a cloud of sand everywhere. But by the time I wish I had never thought of following him it's too late, and we've traveled too far from the city for me to be able to find my way back. I just hope Gaara has to get back to the city in time for my lessons.

We reach an oasis, and he stops for a little while. He seems to be searching for something, but after a while he gives up. He looks up at the sky then, and apparently he sees something that means something to him because he moves on now with renewed vigor.

It's only when the city comes into view that I realize what it was he saw. He saw it was time to go back. Lucky for me; the moon has nearly set by the time I get back into the city. I manage to sneak in to my room again without being noticed, and then I lay in bed, unable to sleep until it's time for me to get up and go to work again.

I know I should really listen to Seri's advice, but it isn't easy when mysterious things are going on.

Luo walks with me to the hospital, and this morning we actually talk. When I think back I can't remember a thing we talked about. Little nothing topics that are fun and captivating when you're talking about them, but impossible to remember later. I'm just glad we can get along now. I think it helps that I've been feeding him, and I'm not a bad cook.

Maybe I can get a job at Kenta's restaurant when I'm old and no longer able to run around like I do now. Wouldn't that be nice?

I sigh deeply. I'm hopeless.

"Something wrong?" Luo asks. I shrug, and I'm spared having to give him any more of an answer by Junko, who comes running up to me, very excited for some reason.

"Sensei! Sensei! Is it true that you can peel off burnt skin and make new skin underneath?"

"Well, sort of…" I answer, wondering why she would ask something like that. She knows all about the effects of burns. It's rather basic knowledge for someone as smart as Junko.

She turns to Kenta and sticks out her tongue. "See! I told you she could do it!" She turns back to me, smiling widely. "I'll bet you could fix a burn victim right up in no time! What, like, ten minutes?"

I realize what she means then. I shake my head. "It doesn't work that way." I tell her, and she looks so disappointed I feel bad. "Well, not exactly. I mean, I could do that, but it would be an enormous waste of chakra, and besides which, sometimes it's better for the body to do real healing on its own."

Junko still looks unimpressed. No doubt she feels that way because of the mundane nature of bodies. Or what she believes to be mundane. Really, human bodies are amazing things. Their regenerative capabilities are something else, to be sure. I always end up thinking about Naruto's body in these cases, but his body was different. It was amazing in a different way. Amazing that it could stand up to everything he threw at it, as well as being able to house the fox demon as it did.

I laugh as I realize that my students have been speaking to me, while I've heard nothing. What good does it do me to think about those things now? I have my own responsibilities and duties here and now, and they're quite enough to keep me busy.