Thanks to my two reviewers (so far) - you guys ROCK! Also, this chapter is a bit mangled and sucky. And it really didn't turn out the way I wanted. Sorry.

A/N: I am using … for line breaks, the lines don't work.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but this empty head.

Amid swirling colours and mazes of textiles, Kimiko roamed aimlessly. Clothes draped over her arms, she twisted the fabrics around sweaty hands. Temari's call seemed so far away. She was now wondering whether shopping was even more difficult than a shinobi mission. And this one turned out much more complicated than she thought.

Gaara, the Kazekage, the man she was sent to assassinate, had freed her from the Raikage's grasp, and was now helping her get a life. They both agreed she should leave before the Chuunin Exams ended, before her former 'comrades' hunted her down. Unfortunately, Temari had insisted she needed to get a new wardrobe, seeing as she was leaving all her chattels behind. She had posed the suggestion to Gaara as "disguising Kimiko." But it was really more of an excuse to play dress-up with a life-sized doll.

Nearly running, the kunoichi (was she missing-nin now?) raced through racks of flowing material, only to crash into a precariously balanced pile of clothes. Kimiko stared, her voice failing her to see this impossible feat. In the time it had taken for her to get lost, Temari had created eight stacks of clothing, circling one fitting room.

"There you are," said jounin barked, and Kimiko found herself shoved into the cramped change room with an outfit that looked four sizes too small. After an hour, she concluded that her previous notion was absolutely correct - this was more tiring, incessant and gruelling than any mission she had ever encountered.

Finally, she had had it - and emerged from the depths of the change room to give her bossy guide a piece of her mind. But when she found her way past the piles of discarded clothes, Temari had vanished. Panicking only slightly, Kimiko ran to the front of the store and was about to go further when she saw a head of blonde ponytails a little down the street.

Temari was talking to a Konoha chuunin, Kimiko gathered from the vest and forehead protector. He had a brown ponytail and a bored expression. Why was Temari blushing?

"Kimiko-san! Why aren't you trying on those outfits?" Kimiko could only stare. What the hell gave her permission to - breathe, calm down. Useless emotions.

Ready to attack Temari about the dangers of leaving a kunoichi in a foreign store, she stopped short. Something clicked into place. Was Temari blushing because she liked this guy? He looked younger than her…and uninterested in her.

"Oh, I forgot…Kimiko, this is Nara Shikamaru. He's helping with the Chuunin Exams." Kimiko complied to shake his hand. He was polite, at least.

"Um, why don't you go back into the store and buy what you want?" Temari suggested not-too-subtly, giving Kimiko the allowance from the Kazekage. The brunette kunoichi picked out a few random things, and absurdly found herself wondering if she would look good in them. It wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone…she didn't need to.

As she left the store, only to be confronted with the image of Temari batting her eyelashes at Nara Shikamaru, Kimiko was hit with a sudden realization. Temari had probably planned on staying in Konoha longer, and abruptly her time had been taken away by some random Cloud-nin girl who showed up out of nowhere and somehow eclipsed the hope she'd had to stay with her…friend. Guilty and regretting her own selfish requirements, Kimiko ran back to the apartment Gaara was staying at, in the frightening speed only she managed.

………

"I don't want Temari to come with me," she bluntly stated. Gaara had watched her jump in through the window and toss a bag of unidentified items to the floor. Now he listened, confused by her distress.

"Has she done something?" he asked carefully. Temari was known to step on some toes, and he didn't want to inflame any violent reactions. But Kimiko shook her head furiously.

"She has been nothing but kind to me - and that's why she needs to stay." Evidently seeing his non-response signified bewilderment, the kunoichi continued. "I have…I just appeared, and now it seems like everyone's bending over backwards to help me. I don't deserve your kindness, I tried to kill you! I don't want her to sacrifice anything more than the time she's already lent me…I don't want anyone to."

Tenting his fingers, a useful pose that people took to mean deep thinking, Gaara looked at Kimiko solemnly.

"You feel like an inconvenience?" She nodded. "We all want to help you. That is what friends are for." Her eyes widened a fraction, starting involuntarily. If she was complimented by this, she had no idea how good it felt to call someone a friend. Well, what else could he say? He had just met her, but there was a certain quality to her company, the way she didn't talk too much and didn't pry into his thoughts, that he felt a connection immediately.

"I still want Temari to stay. She has friends here, and I will not be the reason she is pulled away from them. I can go alone."

"Nonsense," Gaara waved his hand. "If you insist, I will send Kankurou, but never alone. That's just asking for trouble." Kimiko finally nodded. She was trying so hard not to be troublesome.

………

Kankurou was not the impassive man his brother was. He tried to make Kimiko laugh all through their three day trip to Suna. She didn't, of course, but she appreciated his friendliness. On the second day, they stopped in the forest for the night.

The moon was blocked by branches, but the fire lit the clearing well enough. Kankurou actually looked a bit scary with the face paint and hood, the darkness around him carving his face into a grotesque mask. Kimiko stared at the burning sticks, as every now and then ash would crumble off, pulled away by the wind into the haunting night sky.

"Kankurou-san," she began, "why is…" Her voice failed her, and she was not strong enough to finish her question. But, fortuitously, Kankurou was not so different from his younger brother, and picked up on the direction she was heading.

"Why is the Kazekage treating you so well? Why is everyone treating you so nicely?" he took a stab at finishing her sentence. She just nodded. "Well, we have to follow his orders; we don't have a choice about you." He grinned, and Kimiko understood he was teasing her. She must remember to study these feelings.

"As for Gaara himself, I can really only theorize. I suppose he was reminded of his past, of how much pain others caused him, when he saw the pain they put you through. Maybe he only took you to the hospital because he didn't want to kill another person needlessly."

"I didn't want to kill him either. I tried to stop, but…" Her sentences seemed to be dying on her lips. Kimiko waited for Kanurou to carry on.

"Well, maybe Gaara could tell. Anyway, now he just wants you to feel accepted as a citizen - almost - of Sunagakure. Oh! I guess you'll need some forms and stuff when we get home." Kimiko bit her lip when she heard 'home.' It was so natural for him to refer to the village as such, but for her it was the furthest she'd ever been from the house she'd grown up in, from the land where her father came from. Would she ever be able to call this distant desert home?

Kankurou offered to keep watch, but as Kimiko lay down, she found herself unable to close her eyes. She hadn't even noticed that she was afraid of entering Suna and being lost among all the new faces. She hadn't even noticed she was afraid of…being alone.

………

The desert was just as hot as she'd expected. It was a good thing some of the randomly grabbed clothes were suited for this weather, otherwise she may have melted from the heat. Kankurou told her she just wasn't used to it yet, but in time it would just be a pleasant warmth. Hopefully.

As her new guide had imagined, there were indeed forms to fill out, and forehead protectors to burn. However, the Kazekage had to be present at a citizenship ceremony, and she needed his signature. Damn. What perfect timing. He would arrive in a week. For now, Kankurou told her to stay in the Kazekage residence, in Gaara's room. He was nervous about the hospitality of hotels, seeing as she was pretty much broke, and also hanging in-between villages.

She lay awake again, and wondered what she would do for the first week of her liberty - being confined to this room. A week without fresh air or space seemed like the exact opposite of freedom. These oppressive thoughts were terrifying in their own right. Somehow, in the night, thoughts drifted up that were too scary in the day. She didn't notice that she'd fallen asleep at all, until she opened her eyes and the sun was beaming at her.

The windows had some very strong locks on them. Was Gaara afraid someone would break in? Who in their right mind would do that with a Kazekage in the room? Kimiko shook her head and slid the glass pane open. The wind was wonderful in the overheated room. The desert did have a certain tranquil beauty, in the early morning when the sun wasn't so tyrannically blazing and the wind was gentle.

Kimiko waited for two hours before she collected her courage and went to see Kankurou. She ended up getting pretty lost along the way, the labyrinth of offices that dominated the Kazekage residence seeming to double back on themselves. After wandering into the lobby for the fourth time, Kimiko consulted an elderly man as to Kankurou's whereabouts.

"He will be present at our meeting this afternoon," the man said crisply, obviously more important than Kimiko had taken him for. "You may speak to him after that, but you will not interrupt nor delay the meeting. Good day." His arrogance was almost comedic. Kimiko decided to wait.

She had to wait for most things to happen in her life. Drifting with the tide, she was pulled into every course of action, regardless of her wishes. She'd chosen to forget wishes. That way, you were never disappointed.

After the meeting, Kimiko ambushed Kankurou, walking beside him. She asked if there was actually anything she could do.

"Hmm, sorry, but I think you just gotta wait it out. The Kazekage will be back soon, so be patient." Patience was a virtue, but after training so hard to become so fast, Kimiko found herself short one virtue. People were just so slow! At least most shinobi travelled quickly. She hoped wistfully that Gaara and Temari would travel as fast.

………

Finally, the Chuunin Exams were over. One more day to talk with Tsunade, and then he would head home. Gaara already knew who he wanted to become chuunin.

Not so strangely, all of the Cloud-nin had disappeared, though three had made it to the final round. Apparently they'd all dropped out. Gaara knew he should inform the Hokage, and help prepare for future assaults.

As he watched a bird fly away in the distance, he thought inexplicably of Kimiko, her understated charm that had, by some means, entranced him into helping her. What had he been thinking?

There was a possibility this was all a trap, and before she'd come to talk to him about Temari, he'd been wary. It might've been a set up. But her genuine concern for others putting her ahead of themselves was an emotion that was just too…pure. Gaara, and to think of it, she herself, never had anyone want to make their lives easier, or more comfortable. He couldn't imagine putting himself in that situation. He would probably just have ignored Temari's presence as they travelled back to the foreign land.

So why did she care?

If he would just realize what he was doing, the sand might not be falling quite so fast. But he didn't know what would happen, he didn't even comprehend his own feelings, or he rejected them in misunderstanding. Time was wasting away.

……….

I just realized how OOC Kankurou is…oh well. Please review!