Sakana woke to the sound of knocking. Slowly she crawled out of bed, already guessing who it was. When she opened the door standing there was her best friend, and the oldest member of her team, Temari.

"Morning, Sakana-chan," she said, smiling. "Don't forget we have to meet at the gates at 10 a.m. sharp."

Sakana nodded. "Okay, I'll see you there."

"I'm off to go wake up Kankuro nii-chan," Temari said, sighing.

"Well, good luck with that," Sakana laughed. "I'll see you at the gates." She closed the door and went to get ready.

Coming out of her shower fully awake, Sakana quickly changed into her traveling clothes, grabbed her kunai and strapped her shuriken pouch to her right thigh. She then seized the pack that she'd put together last night and jumped out her window, making her way quickly to the gates.

When Sakana appeared Gaara was already there - always the first one to arrive anywhere. He walked over to her and slipped something into her hand. "Thank you for last night...Sakana-chan," he said to her quietly. He then went back to where he'd been standing. She blushed; that was the first time Gaara had ever called her "chan" before. Opening her hand, Sakana gasped at the beautiful rose necklace he'd given her. It was intricately carved and completely made of sand.

As she slipped it on she looked up at Gaara and mouthed "Thank you" to him. A small smile played across his face, but quickly disappeared with the arrival of the rest of the team. Kankuro still didn't seem quite awake, and Temari looked alert but annoyed, probably from having to deal with Kankuro – who was anything BUT a morning person."

"Are we all ready?" Baki asked. "I want to try and get to Konoha before sundown." They all nodded. "Then let's get going." He turned, leading them out of the village and into the desert.

Fast-forward to Konoha
Sakana was completely out of breath; they had made it to Konoha in record time. She slowly began to inhale deeply through her nose and out her mouth, feeling the rhythm of her heart slow to a normal pace. As she did this an odd sense of déjà vu washed over her. She must have looked as confused as she felt, because Temari stopped and walked back to where Sakana stood.

"Everything okay?" her friend asked.

Sakana began to nod, but then shook her head instead.

Temari laughed. "Well, which is it? Yes or no?"

"It's weird," Sakana replied. "I feel like…I've been here before."

"It's probably just nerves" Temari replied, shrugging. "C'mon we'd better catch up with the others or we'll lose them. Could Baki-sensei go any faster?"

Quickly rejoining their teammates, the girls dutifully followed their sensei into the leaf village.

Gaara's POV
"So this is Konoha," he thought to himself, conspicuously looking back at Sakana. She was having an avid conversation with his sister, and he could see the necklace he had given her hanging gently around her neck. Inwardly Gaara smiled, knowing that she'd never have to take it off because the sand he'd used to create the rose would never crumble or break. He then looked back to Baki, who diligently led them further into the village.