A shadowy figure stood alone in the mist. A dark cloak covered the top part of his face and all of his body. He smiled, and the air seemed to be heavy with the evil feeling emanating from him. Another form approached him and whispered something in his ear. His face abruptly turned professional. "Good. It seems as if all is going according to plan. Dismissed." The second figure disappeared as quickly as it had come and a smile once again found its way over the hooded figures face.

"The bait is set. Lets see if it sets my trap in motion."

Shiyomi... "Shiyomi..." whispered the whispered the female intruder. Sato, they called him a juunin, turned to her and whispered, "What?" She looked surprised for a moment and then turned to him and smiled at him shyly. He was kind and she had immediately liked him. It helped that he had rescued her. He was also the one to give her a name. She shook her head and said, "Nothing. Im just trying out my new name, thats all." He smiled back at her and pulled up the hood of the cloak so that she was hidden from prying eyes. He said it was for safety duing their journey but she sensed the villages wariness of her. Where did it come from? Were they wary of all strangers? Her thoughts were interrupted as Sato said something to her. "Oh, Im sorry Sato. Can you repeat that for me? Im afraid I was thinking about something else." She heard a small chuckle issue from him. "I said, do you like your name? Do you think it suits you?" She blushed slightly, embarassed at herself. "Quite so, thank you. Its a very nice name." She looked up at him and smiled in gratitude. He smiled back and took her arm as he led her to the meeting place he and the kazekage had decided upon before departure.

He had returned a week ago with news that the Konoha village was too indisposed with missions to allow itself the lose of even two ninjas. the news was no surprised to the Kazekage. So now they were going to head for the village themselves to help out Shiyomi. Sato spent the week alloted to him before heading out again to restock his supplies and get some much needed rest. During that time he was also in charge of looking after Shiyomi, since they still didnt know if she was a threat or not. They had talked a lot during that time, and he began to believe that she really didnt have any memory of her time outside of the village. And so, with that thought in mind, he did all he could to help her remember but he got the feeling that she wasnt putting her heart into it. Like maybe she didnt want to remember but the thought struck him as silly. Who wouldnt want to recover back their memories, and how can their fear something they cant remember? But as the week continued on he became even more sure of the fact. After all, her fear could be instinctual. He quelled the anger that rose when he thought of someone hurting her. She was like a little sister to him and he would try his best to protect her on the trip to Konoha.

"Care to tell me whats on your mind?" She glanced at him and looked away embarassed. "Yes. Asking would only make me feel naive, like I had missed something important." Of course, she already felt like that but saying so would only increase the feeling. He laughed outright at this and she blushed. He grinned at her and she felt her hair being ruffled. "Dont worry about it. You've lost your memories so of course your going to have some unusual questions. No one is going to make you feel inferior or anything." She looked up at him shocked, "So you believe me then! You dont think Im lying about my memory?" A surprised look came over his face. "Of course I dont think your lying. Why would you say that, has someone accused you of it?" She shuffled her feet and glanced down. "Well, no... But I get this feeling from everyone... Like maybe their wary of me and I dont know why. Its part of whats been bothering me. I mean, your village seems to have lots of strong people in it, and yet it seems to be... jumpy... Like every new strange thing is a threat..." A sad look came into her eyes and she heard Sato sigh. "Its true, we are wary of new things. But thats because we live in a time were peace is hanging on a very delicate thread. Theres a thin line right now between being an ally and being an enemy. Some of the villages cross that line, thinking that they can get away with it if they cross back over. But the Sand has always striken back at these attempts to weaken us. Its how we have maintained our strength."

"Oh... Is that why your escorting me to this next village? Because of that line?" Laughter once again returned to his voice as he answered her and she felt relieved that she hadnt upset him. "Oh no, of course not. A few years back we had a chuunin exam take place over there and an... incident... happened involving our kazekage. I guess you could say that the people of that village had saved him. Ever since then the two villages have been close allies. Our kazekage considers their hokage one of his precious people, along with his siblings and the village. I guess you could say that their best friends. Otherwise you would not be going." Her became blank as her thoughts had once again overcome her. She was deeply lost and thought and hadnt realised that they had reached their destination. She gave a small "Oh!" as she bumped into something and looked up, her thoughts chased away at the sight of the kazekages pale blue eyes. She saw something indecipherable flicker over them as she blushed deeply and backed away, apologizing and giving herself room to gain her bearings with help from Sato. She was disturbed by the emotions those eyes brought to the surface and avoided looking at him again.

Gaara had been thinking about the green eyed intruder as he awaited them. He was surprised when he felt something stumble into him and there was a tug at his heart as he found himself once again staring into the green eyes that had haunted his dreams. He looked up quickly as she backed away, mumbling an apology, and saw a smirk and a knowing look plastered on Sato's face. He hid it when the girl turned to him and whispered something to him. Gaara saw his face twist as he tried to suppress his laugh and failed miserably. Irritation and a blush flashed across her face as she looked away from him in embarassment. Gaara cleared his throat and Sato wiped the tears from his eyes as he came forward and whispered what she had said in his ear. "She says your eyes are quite beautiful but do I think that they can see through people? She hopes not because then it would be no hard task for you to see through her clothes. If you are happening to keep this useful ability from the rest of us then maybe its time we had a little 'chat'." Gaara felt his face heat up and he glared at Sato. "If you have enough time to joke around then maybe you should spend some of the energy on the mission. I should also tell you that Kankurou and Temari are too indisposed at the moment to accompany you to Konoha Village. You shall have to do this alone. Is that alright?" Sato winked, "Of course my Lord. And it would be most helpful if you could tell me that secret eye technique? It would be most helpful..." WHAP Shiyomi smacked him over the head and he started laughing again.

He finally stopped laughing and tried to look at the girl seriously but couldnt hide the amusement in his eyes. Gaara nearly smiled as he turned to the girl who was still avoiding looking at him. Sato had a way of making people like him. Sato winked and said, "My apologies miss Shiyomi. Ill try to behave myself during our trip to Konoha." Gaara felt a brief shock as he heard Sato call her by name. "Shiyomi? Did you gain back some memories or had you always known your name?" He felt a little flash of anger as she turned on him now, rage written all over her face. "No, for your information Shiyomi is not my name! Sato decided that he couldnt very well call me 'Hey you!' the whole time we'll be traveling together so he came up with the name! If you doubt my word so much then so be it! You wont have to worry about it again because I dont think I shall be returning!" She turned away from him and stormed off, away from him and the village but not so much that Sato couldnt keep a good eye on her. "Did you really name her? Are you sure thats wise Sato? Like naming a stray because you got attached to it. Just because you've named her doesnt mean she can stay. She could be a threat."

Sato turned to him then, irritation on his face. "With all due respect my Lord, but I dont think she's a threat. And what you said just now was uncalled for!" Gaara sighed and turned away, angry green eyes haunting him. "If she is lying about her memories, then this trip shall reveal her disceit. If not, then she is welcome to stay either here, or Konoha if they will take her. By the looks of it though, she has made up her mind not to come back either way, which is partially my fault. Tell her I apologize for any misunderstandings." Sato had a mind to tell him to tell her himself but then thought better of it. Just this once anyway. He inwardly grinned and nodded to Gaara. "Fine. Then with your blessing, we shall depart."

"Go then, and good luck." was his reply as he saw them take off, and he couldnt help thinking as he looked up into the rain clouds that threatened to overcome the sky that they would need it in the times to come. He shook his head slightly and went inside, convinced he was reading to much of simple rain clouds.