Note: Just a message to all who are following this fic - do leave a review and tell me how you like it so far (some encouragement won't hurt)! Thanks to all who have reviewed so far! Sorry, but i won't be releasing any spoilers at this point in time... though updates should be speedy so you wont have to wait long!

Lee had no idea how he felt when, during a particularly gruelling 10km morning run around Konoha, he crashed into a courier ninja and, upon hastily assisting the shaken shinobi to his feet with a thousand apologies and a bow found, in the ninja's hands, a letter, hastily signed, from the soon-to-be Kazekage Gaara inviting, to the Kazekage Induction, none other than that eternal baka Uzumaki Naruto.

This happened in the space of perhaps three seconds.

"Gaara invited NARUTO?!!?" He thundered, causing the ninja to topple over once more.

"I wouldn't know, sir... courier ninja do not read the mail we carry." The man replied hastily, clearly wanting no trouble, "Please hand the letter over... or I will have to take it back by force!"

For a moment, Lee simply stared at the letter and finally felt some sort of emotion rise within him. He spent the next few moments trying to find a name for it: anger (no, not quite), grief (what ever for?), confusion (well, certainly, but it shouldn't be this strong), hurt, irritation, passion, melancholy, shock, bewilderment...

"Sir, the letter please..."

"Wait, can you hold on 2.35 seconds while i figure something out."

Irritation, suspense, vexation, rage, the bittersweet symphony of a thousand traumatized heartbeats, joy, poignance, envy...that's it, envy! The moment he confirmed the feeling, it grew stronger by a thousandfold, creating a tight angry knot in his chest.

But exactly why am i feeling envious?

"Sir..."

"Another 2.57 seconds!"

That blasted talisman! I daresay it made me think that i had some kind of special bond with that Sand nin! It made me wish i had been invited to the Induction! Yes, that's the only possible reason. It's like in that movie about some ring or something, how the ring was trying to find its master... that talisman's creating all these strange feelings in me because it wants to go back to Sunagakure!

"Here you go!" Lee handed the letter back (2.57s later) with a triumphant smile, "It's pointless to deliver it anyway. Uzumaki Naruto is not in Konoha."

The courier ninja shrugged and pocketed the letter, "Not my business. Have a good day sir!" The man took two steps, bent his knees and flew off, leaving a troubled Lee rooted to the spot, his momentary elation giving way, slowly but surely, to that strange, brooding envy.

---

"YOU?!" Tsunade, fifth Hokage, who was lately beginning to feel quite her fifty-something years, nearly spat a whole pint of sake at the innocuously-beaming shinobi before her, "YOU are accompanying ME to Suna?!"

Lee backed off two paces, a large sweatdrop forming at the tip of one large, bushy eyebrow, "Is there...a problem, Tsunade-sama?"

There was a tense moment of silence.

"No, no of course not!" Tsunade waved and closed the report she was looking at with a sigh, "It just seemed strange to me that Sakura would approach you, of all people..."

"She would have asked Naruto," Lee quipped quickly, "If I hadn't accepted." Upon speaking the word 'Naruto', Lee's envy swelled once again and he quickly punched it down.

A vein burst in Tsunade's right temple. "WHAT?!?! I must have a word with that girl!"

She looked at Lee again, with a somewhat kinder expression, "I guess this is the lesser of two evils. Anyway, I don't doubt you'll do a competent job as my escort. It's just that, in my opinion - and please don't quote me on this -, Kage Inductions are a colossal waste of time. The actual ceremony can last up to five hours... i'm not sure if you'll be able to take it." She raised an eyebrow. Lee had a reputation of being...twitchy.

"It will be excellent training for me!" Lee exclaimed, slamming a fist into his palm, "I will definitely not disappoint you!"

Strange, Tsunade thought, The last time i sent him on a mission to oversee a wedding in Itakagure, he run back screaming for mercy. She shook away the memory, "I'm glad to hear it. Please report here tomorrow morning at seven sharp. You are dismissed."

"Hai!" Lee backed away respectfully and gave an inward sigh of relief. He had been worried for a moment that Tsunade might actually reject him (he was almost completely convinced it couldn't happen though - not with the talisman in charge!).

On his way out, he glimpsed, on a tall stack of untouched mail, the very same letter he had snatched from the courier ninja that morning.

Lee frowned before realising: Of course. The ninja couldn't find Naruto - so he entrusted it to the Godaime. Knowing the Godaime, though, that letter would soon be buried and forgotten. With that thought, he quickly exited before the envious part of could make any form of inappropriate emotion response.

Seven, tomorrow morning...

---

"I've put a barrier around this room - its completely safe and soundproof," Kankuro whispered, turning to the tall, curvacious figure staring idly out the window. "Now we can talk." It was dark outside, the sky a curtain of stars. The figure turned about and arched a well-shaped eyebrow.

"Will you stop being so scared already? Its not like he can hear us or even cares to hear. And, besides, his mood has lifted considerably since our last mission - or have you been too busy staring at your toes to notice," Temari laughed a fierce laugh and her brother bristled.

"Cut it out, will you? If I recall, you weren't this flippant two months ago... when he was a creepy psychopath." Kankuro said, still whispering, "And he's still a creepy psychopath to me."

It runs in the family, Temari thought sardonically. "Anyway, you certainly didn't call me here to discuss our brother's mental state, did you? Out with it, what do the elders want now?"

"They want us to retrive the Union Medallion."

"The Union what?"

"Medallion. It's a talisman that..." Kankuro sighed. It was a pain having a smart-ass for a sister, "Apparently helps the desert choose a wife...for the Kazekage. All the Suna females line up in some sort of ceremony and it...er... points to the appropriate one. Something like that."

Temari's eyes widened, "That has to be the stupidest thing i've ever heard." She rolled her eyes, "And, besides, Gaara's only thirteen. I'm not sure he -"

"I swear they're dead serious about this," Kankuro said, between gritted teeth, "They think its been stolen." He crossed his arms and sat on the edge of a futon.

"Wait, let me guess." Temari tilted her head to a side, "Absolute secrecy, barrier-sealed room, hushed, frightened tones - they think Gaara stole the Medallion and we are to steal it back."

Kankuro nodded, looking terribly grim. "Right under the nose of that psychopath."

"Which is why you called me. Because you can't do it alone."

"Whatever, Temari."

"It's hopeless anyway."

"What?!"

"Think about it, little sis," Temari walked up to her brother, "If Gaara did steal it, it would be suicide to try to get it back. He's a creepy psychopath, remember?"

"See, you're scared too."

"Not scared. Realistic. But, if Gaara didn't steal it - then we're in even worst danger."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. The only other person who could have stolen the Medallion... would be some girl who actually wants to marry Gaara."

"Holy -"

"Clearly a suicide case. We'd have to track down that girl immediately and prevent any bloodshed."

"But if Gaara did take it..."

"Then we have to switch strategies." Temari's eyes lit up dangerously. "It's obvious why Gaara would want to steal that thing."

There was a moment of suspense, which Temari dispelled with a callous shrug, "We'll have to warm him up to the idea of marriage." She said it easily, like it was the simplest thing in the world.