"Seluni!" A voice and several knocks on the door woke me up. It took me a minute to realize where I was, and what had happened the night before. Gaara was gone.

I rolled off the bed and felt a sharp pain on my neck. I touched the area and winced; I remembered that Gaara had bit me there a just a few hours ago.

The door opened, and Temari appeared, dressed in a similar fishnet outfit to the one she wore yesterday. She had a huge grin on her face, and held a package in her hands. She ran to the bed and held it out to me.

"Here, Seluni," she seemed out of breath, "This is for you – a gift from your new sister!"

I grinned and took the package. I opened it to find a beautiful, shimmering green dress, with silver and emerald jewelry to match.

"Th- Thank you!" I was caught completely off guard by the elaborate present. Temari smiled and put her hand on my shoulder.

"I know this must be extremely difficult for you. Traveling to a new country, to marry a man you've never met, I can't imagine the stress. But this is for the ball tonight. It's sort of a welcoming party for you, so you're gonna have to be sociable and what not. After all, the image you portray will affect Gaara as much as yourself." She paused. "Um, I don't really know how to introduce you two. Gaara's a bit different."

I smiled again. "Actually, I've already met him."

Temari's blue eyes widened. "What? When?"

I was suddenly reluctant to tell her of what happened, but I figured she could explain things more thoroughly if I did.

"Wow," she sighed when I had finished speaking, "I would never have guessed he would try to see you the first night you were here. Usually he's a little more . . ."

"Patient?" I suggested.

"No, well yes, but he's not the type to get overly excited about seeing someone. But, at least he was civil – even if Shikaku wasn't."

"So who is Shikaku anyway?"

Temari explained that Shikaku was the demon raccoon living inside of Gaara. It was a strong demon, and it could release itself and control Gaara whenever the boy got excited.

"I've only ever seen Gaara get excited over fighting and death," she added, "Never towards . . . a girl."

She smiled devishly, making me laugh. I looked up at the blonde girl, not as a stranger, but as a friend.

"Do you have a dress picked out?"

Temari laughed. "No, come on, you can help me pick one out. I have more dresses than I know what to do with!"

We spent the next few hours trying on clothes and jewelry, me telling her about my life in the Lightning Country, her explaining to me the customs and people of the Wind. For the first time, I actually felt like I had a sister, a family.

We were both in elegant dresses and makeup when there was a knock on Temari's door. Kankuro's head poked in and stared at us.

He cleared his throat. "Dressed up a bit much for breakfast, huh?" I laughed and looked down at my sparkling blue and white dress, then over at Temari's brilliant red gown. She gave me a mischievous smile.

"Do you want to wear these to breakfast?"

Kankuro snorted. "Considering this is her first time meeting Gaara, she might want to dress a little more, uh, normal."

Temari sighed and agreed. "Maybe next time. Hey, do you have anything else to wear then?"

I shook my head, earning another grin from the blonde.

"Okay, sweetie, let me grab an outfit for you. Kankuro, we'll be down in a few minutes."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Breakfast was held in a large dining hall, where feasts were usually hosted. Long tables filled the room, but only one, at the front of the hall, was set with food. There were a dozen people seated, with Gaara in the center. He wore the white Kazekage robes and rested his head on his hands, dark lidded eyes closed. The others in the room were avidly talking when Temari opened the door.

She moved aside to let me enter first. Immediately, all talking stopped and every eye was focused on me. I swallowed and looked nervously at Temari. She gave me a nod for courage, and I felt a bit stronger. I walked to the front table, stopping a few feet before it and bowed deeply, as Temari taught me. I looked up at Gaara, whose face was expressionless as he watched me. I remembered what Temari told me to say.

"Kazekage Sabaku no Gaara, I am your loyal servant, Raikage no Seluni. I am at your command."

There was a minute of silence where I became increasingly nervous. Had I done anything wrong? Was something wrong with my clothes?

The room held its breathe as Gaara studied my face and finally spoke.

"Welcome, Raikage no Seluni. Your father did not lie when he spoke of your beauty. I am pleased. Come, sit at my side."

I found his remark to be a bit uncalled for. However, I nodded and walked around the table, sitting in the empty chair between Gaara and a man with a mask over half his face. Temari sat farther down the table.

Conversation resumed, yet I ate without taking my eyes off my plate. Why was everything so formal here? And I understood that Gaara would want to pretend this was the first time we met, but he hadn't said anything since.

I glanced up at him, but he was turned to Kankuro, both speaking in low voices. I looked at the man to my left, who smiled back at me through his mask.

"Enjoying the Wind so far?" he asked. I opened my mouth to speak, but I really couldn't think of how to answer.

"I haven't been here long . . ."

He laughed, and leaned in to whisper to me.

"Personally, I hate this shithole," he whispered, "Sand everywhere. All this formality and fake smiles, and underneath it all is corruption. Violence is what rules here, although no one will speak of it. Blood thirsty bastards, the lot of them."

Blood thirsty. What I had called the Wind Country the day before I left.

My face must have shown my shock. He pointed to the ninja forehead protector, which covered his left eye. I noticed the logo on it wasn't the Wind's hourglass, but instead was a spiraled leaf design.

"Who are you?" I asked.

He smiled again. "I apologize. I'm Hatake Kakashi, of Konoha."

"Konoha? The Fire Country?"

"Yup. Ever been there?"

I shook my head. "This is my first time out of the Lightning Country." Kakashi looked surprised. "That's odd, for such royalty not to travel. And you're not a ninja. Usually any kage's children will train to be his successor."

I looked at my plate. "My father never wanted me to be a ninja, once he found out that I have no talent in the field. When I was young, I was tried in every technique in the country. Eventually, he gave up, and accepted that his heir would never be Raikage."

That's why he hates me, that's why he sent me here, I thought bitterly.

Kakashi looked at me curiously, and absently touched the spot on his forehead protector where his eye would be.

He seemed to be thinking intently.

"Do you –" He was interrupted by a voice from my right.

"Seluni," Gaara said, and I turned to meet his blue eyed gaze. The feelings I had the night before came back to me as I did so.

"I want to apologize for last night," he said in a low voice. I glanced over my shoulder, but Kakashi was talking to someone else.

"It's okay, Temari told me about Shikaku." He seemed somewhat relieved and sat back in his chair.

"Gaara, I think . . . well, we should get to know each other if we are to be married." I winced inwardly at that last word.

He scoffed. "You don't want to know me."

"If I have to marry you, I think that's best."

"When you marry me, you will have plenty of time to figure out that you hate me." His face was expressionless. "Besides, I'm far too busy to waste my time chatting with you."

Taken aback, I shut up and miserably returned to my breakfast, uninterrupted by either Gaara or Kakashi.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After the meal, Temari offered to take me out to see the village and shop for proper clothes.

"Just wait until you see all the shops and restaurants, you're going to love the Wind, Seluni, I'll make sure of it!"

Temari lent me another set of clothes, layered cloths with folds to place over the face in case of a sandstorm.

I looked in the mirror and saw a stranger looking back at me. My hair was done up in a Wind style Temari taught me, my makeup was different, and now these clothes completed the transformation. I looked like I belonged here, like a Wind Country citizen. My heart went out to my own Lightning Country, but strangely, I realized I missed it much less than yesterday. I looked forward to shopping with Temari. Maybe, this country wouldn't be so bad.

The streets were mildly crowded, and the wind was low. The shops were surprisingly friendly considering how harsh the weather and buildings seemed. As we shopped, Temari insisted I let her buy me clothes.

Along one street, Temari suddenly stopped walking, with a terrified look on her face.

I stopped "What's wrong?"

Following her gaze, I saw a group of four men walking towards us quickly. The man in front, tall and handsome with spiky black hair and goatee, was glaring at Temari.

Temari grabbed my hand and ran into the nearest shop. The men immediately ran after us, pushing people away to get through the crowds.

"Who are they?" I gasped as we darted between racks of clothes. Temari mumbled something incoherent as we reached a door at the back of the store. Shoving it open, we received a blast of wind, but Temari didn't slow down. She led me down another street, and I glanced back. The men were apparently gone.

We stopped to catch our breath just outside a bar, and I grabbed Temari's arm.

"What was that? Who were those men?" She looked at me with sad eyes.