Chapter 1

It was a rare peaceful day in Sunagokure, the Village hidden in Sand. It was market day; all around, villagers were smiling and laughing as they bought and sold their wares. Children ran around; playing with leather balls, wooden hoops, or silk ribbons while their mothers squabbled good-naturedly with merchants over prices. Yes, it was a lovely, peaceful day in the village; yet Gaara of the Sand couldn't shake the feeling that there was something amiss. He walked through the village, looking at all the smiling faces and trying to manipulate his own normally grim expression into something resembling a smile.

Some urge or instinct caught Gaara and forced him to look skyward, but there was nothing there to see aside from the normal birds wheeling about in the clear, blue sky.

"Hn," he muttered, gazing into the blue infinity, "Why do I get the feeling something's about to happen?"

Just as Gaara was about to return his attention to the bustling market, a glimmer of movement caught his eye. Something-too far above for him to tell what-flashed and arced down through the air toward the forest surrounding the ravines that surrounded the village.

His raccoon-like eyes widened. "Huh. I wonder what that was."

He summoned some of the Shukaku's energy, in the form of the sand that poured from the gourd on Gaara's back, and disappeared. The villagers, unconcerned, went on about their business. They all knew that their young Kazekage often went off on his own, and he always came back unscathed.

Gaara walked soundlessly along the cliffs at the clearing between the ravines and the forest, letting his memory of where the strange missile had disappeared into the trees guide him. Aside from the normal, green smell of growing things there was a smell of blood-fresh blood-permeating the air that pulled Gaara into the forest and away from the cliffs' edge. Twigs and leaves crunched beneath his feet as he progressed farther beneath the canopy.

A screech stopped the young Kazekage midstep. On the loamy forest floor, a few yards off to the side, was a huge hawk, almost twice the size of a human child. Its feathers were ruffled, and its wings were spread, puffing up the hawk's size even farther. It was almost as if the hawk was protecting something, like a nest, but why would a hawk build its nest on the forest floor? The hawk screeched again and launched itself at Gaara's face. The young Kazekage's didn't move, and the hawk rammed into a wall of sand. The giant bird fell to the ground, stunned.

It was then that Gaara saw what the hawk had been guarding, and it wasn't a nest. A young woman who looked to be about Gaara's age lay on the forest floor with a giant shuriken throwing star embedded in her back. Gaara summoned a tendril of sand that snaked out and pulled the weapon from the girl's back, throwing the shuriken into a nearby tree. He moved closer, using the sand he'd summoned to attempt to staunch the flow of blood and cursing that he'd not thought to bring a med kit with him. There was so much blood pooled around the young woman's body that it seemed impossible for her to still be alive. Gaara checked the girl's throat for a pulse, and he found one. It was faint, but it was there. The girl's skin was pale beneath a dark tan because of the amount of blood she'd lost. Gaara put his hand near her mouth to see if he could feel even a wisp of air. The girl was still breathing-barely-and, while Gaara was unsure whether that was a good thing, he was oddly relieved that the girl still clung to life. As he crouched beside the girl's still form, Gaara noticed something he hadn't seen from farther away: the girl was not just some random traveler who'd been attacked, she was a ninja! Though from which village, Gaara couldn't tell. The girl's forehead protector had fallen from her head and lay facedown in the dirt. A weapons pouch was tied to the girl's leg, and another, smaller pouch rested on her hip.

"I wonder what's in it," Gaara muttered, "Eh, probably none of my business. Either way, if I want to find out anything about this mystery girl I should get her to a medic before she completely bleeds out."

The hawk had regained its balance, and it flew to Gaara's shoulder as the young Kazekage picked up the girl's limp form, holding her as he would a wounded ally. In a swirl of sand, the motley group was on its way to Sunagokure Hospital.