Who-oa! I am so mega-psyched right now! I just had the most brilliant idea ever! But you guys won't learn the whole thing until wayyyyyy later :)

Oh! And, after Mitsuo, I'm out of characters for name analysis. Any ideas for my filler chapters? Let me know! (Preferably in review form lol)

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"You want to learn medical jutsus?" Asked Kameko skeptically.

Now, Azami was in shock from the loss of everything she ever cared about and hadn't even begun to cope with the loss of Masayoshi and Yoshihiro, but she was still a kunoichi and was still instinctively good at tricking even other shinobi.

"Yes!" She exclaimed excitedly. "But...don't tell Gaara, okay?"

"You...you want me to keep a secret from the Kazekage?" Kameko backed up. "I...I don't think I can do that." She stuttered.

"Well, no, not keep a secret...I...I want to surprise him. He doesn't seem to think I'll be much help, so...I want to show him that I can help!" If Azami hadn't already been broken up inside, her conscience would have been gnawing at her for lying to Kameko, who had been so nice to her and seemed so friendly.

Kameko smiled. "It'll be a while until you can heal, but alright. I'll teach you."

As Kameko showed her the handsigns, Azami focused intently, knowing that now, when she looked sad, Kameko would think that she was just concentrating on medical jutsu. Really, Azami had the signs memorized the first time Kameko showed them to her.

"Thank you, Kameko-san." Azami said when Kameko showed them to her a third time. "I believe I'm going to practice them until Gaara gets back."

"Certainly!" Kameko smiled. "You'll want to surprise him!"

Azami smiled, then looked slightly ashamed. "I...I'm sorry to be asking another favor, but...is there a tree I could possibly have to plant?"

Kameko looked at her, puzzled. "You do know that trees will only grow in this greenhouse, right? It's too warm and dry for them anywhere else in the village."

"Yes, but I'll be leaving the village soon, and...well...I just like planting trees. I've wrecked a lot in fights, so I always feel guilty about it."

Kameko smiled. "Sure. How about this apple sapling?"

Azami smiled back. "Sure, that's perfect. Thank you, Kameko-san."

"It's no problem. But I've got to mix up some antidotes and do some inventory, so..."

"I think I'll practice my handsigns over there." Answered Azami, motioning to the area beside the door. "Gaara will be here in three hours, so I've got to get these down if I want to impress him!"

Kameko smiled and walked away, and Azami's smile immediately fell off her face. The hole in her ribs, which she had deliberately avoided mentioning when she got the idea to learn medical jutsu, was throbbing. With a quick glance at Kameko to make sure that she wasn't looking, Azami performed the jutsu and attempted to heal her ribs. She didn't know the risks of it, but she didn't mind much, seeing as dying was actually an ambition of hers. She was surprised, however, when nothing bad happened, and she looked down to see that she was healed.

'Pfft. Not for a long time my ass.' She thought criticizingly. Then, she went back to 'practicing' the handsigns, messing up occasionally to make it look right in case Kameko was watching. 'This is perfect. Now, with this medical jutsu, I'll be able to make that sapling grow into a full-fledged tree. That can be the monument to my village that I promised them. I'll put it right in the middle of the town square.'

At about eight o'clock, the door opened and Kankurou walked in. "Kameko, Gaara wants two of your neutralizing antidotes."

"Can do." Kameko answered from across the greenhouse. "It'll be about ten minutes, so make yourself comfortable."

"Sure." Kankurou replied, sitting down on the groud to the left of the door. Then, he noticed Azami on the right. "Hey."

She looked up. "Hi." Then, she went back to her hand signs.

Something clicked in Kankurou's mind. "Hey! You're Kikuchi Azami!"

She looked up at him again. "Yes, I am..."

"It's just that, when I saw you earlier, you were covered in injuries. Now that I see you without them..." He grinned. "I must say, it's quite an improvement."

She raised a delicate eyebrow. "What?"

Thinking that she had only misunderstood him, he replied, "You're way hot. When you and Gaara come back from wherever you're going, you wanna catch a movie?"

She looked at him incredulously. "You're...hitting on me?"

He grinned. "I guess you could call it that."

She looked at him in surprise for a moment. "You're no Masayoshi." Then, she punched him in the face and walked to the other side of the greenhouse.

A stunned Kankurou was laying on the floor when Kameko walked over with the antidotes. "What happened?!" She asked, bending down over him worriedly.

From where he was, he had a perfect view down her shirt. "Nothing." He replied. "Just a little dizzy, I guess." Flashing her his most winning smile, he sat up.

A blushing Kameko helped him stand up. "You'd better let me check you over, just in case."

Kankurou had been working on his abs recently, so he nodded and then pointed at them. "You might want to start there. I've had some pain there lately."

Azami, meanwhile, was hiding in some plants, disgusted at the conversation she was hearing and at Kankurou in general. A part of her tried to be fair, knowing that he hadn't known about her village and that even Gaara didn't know about Masayoshi, but the larger, more controlling part of her was just pissed off in general. Her village was dead, and the bastard thought she'd be able to be happy enough to flirt or even respond positively to flirting? No wonder she had punched him.

Nestled in a corner behind several bushes, Azami was pretty much invisible. She sighed, trembling and trying to hold in her tears. "Damn it...God damn it!"

Hidden in shrubbery, she buried her head in her arms and waited for nine o'clock, when the Kazekage of the second most powerful shinobi village would be coming to get her to take her to her ruined village, where they'd be taking on an unknown number of Sound ninja, alone.

'Hurry up, Gaara.'

"Kabuto!"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?"

"Our scouts have been sent out, yes?"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama. Just as you requested."

"What was their excuse for returning so late?"

"I only spoke with Mitsuo. He told me of a kunoichi in the village that held them up."

"I wasn't aware that Kawa had shinobi."

"Apparently a small family of ninja had moved there in recent years. The kunoichi, her brother, and their parents. Their parents were eliminated quickly, as was the boy, but the kunoichi was a problem. It appears she fought all six of them for three days and two nights."

"Did they mention a name?" Asked Orochimaru, straightening a little with interest.

"No, sir. They didn't know it. Would an adequate description suffice?"

"I suppose."

"She is apparently 5'4". Her hair is brown, her eyes were seen both as blue and green, and she seems of average build. She looks to be about fifteen."

"Dismissed."

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama." He mumbled, disappearing into the shadows.

'So, Azami.' Thought Orochimaru. 'I've found you at last.' He stood and began to pace. 'There's no way those six idiots managed to kill you on their own. You're alive, somewhere. Most likely in Suna. Since you're alive, you'll be on your guard, of course. You don't know the things I know, so you won't be expecting me. After the attack on your village, though, you will be expecting trouble. I'd better wait a month or so.' Then, he smiled, and his tongue licked his lips.

'I can't wait to examine you.'

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OMG! Oro knows who Azami is?! Ho-ho! I bet you weren't expecting THAT! Bahahaha yeah. That's right. I sort of forgot to mention that this is an AU where Sasuke never left the village? Oops. Well, you know now!

I like reviews :)

BlackDragon333