Author's Note: Thank you Yoko89, JohnGreenGirl, Nerdcat21, and thegirlwhocriedink for your comments. I hope all you wonderful readers enjoy this chapter. Also thanks to everyone who has favorited this story! Until next week everyone :) P.S. If you are a fan of Haikyuu! I have a fanfic for that fandom as well called Casually Cruel, check it out!

TWO

Gaara walked into the Suna Hospital, finding Kankuro lounging on a bench near the back wall across from the nurse station. His older brother's arms were crossed, and his head was tilted downward. Yukata, Matsuri's closest friend, paced back and forth in front of Kankuro. Panic created creases in her face as she bit her thumb, completely blind to Gaara's presence. Shira wasn't among them, but the messenger hadn't said anything about him going into surgery.

"Lord Kazekage," Yukata gasped when she spotted him standing a few feet away. Dirt dusted her shinobi attire and a few tears stretched on the front pockets of her flak jacket. She walked forward, a tinge of pink on her cheeks. "The mission—"

"It's okay," Gaara interjected, face void of any emotion. He still hadn't quite mastered expressing himself, but he hoped the tone of his voice would ease her worry. "Where's Shira?"

Kankuro lifted his gaze. "He's getting patched up."

Gaara turned his attention to Kankuro. "How serious where his injuries?"

"Minor. A few bumps and bruises."

"What happened out there?"

Yukata stepped forward, hand clutched in front of her chest. "They came out of nowhere. It happened so fast."

Kankuro nodded, his eyes drifting to the small coffee table between him and Gaara. The glossy magazine covers shined due to the overhead canister lights hanging from the vaulted ceiling. The look on Kankuro's face was hard to read. Normally, he was an open book, wearing all his emotions like a mask. Gaara stood with his arms crossed, eyes drifting from Yukata and Kankuro. He had only glanced over the report before heading to the hospital. The conditions of his shinobi mattered more than the events. The council would disagree with him on that, but since the war—no, since Uzumaki Naruto had saved him from his hatred, he'd come to learn lives were not expendable.

"Any idea who they were? Why they attacked?" Gaara stared at his older brother.

Kankuro looked up, his face paint had been smeared and his black clothing was powdered with sand. It had been a while since Gaara had seen him like that. As a puppet master, Kankuro kept his distance in battles. The attack must have been a complete surprise. Kankuro shifted on the leather bench and pressed his back against the pale yellow wall. His eyes remained downcast as if he were recalling the events moment by moment.

"They wore red cloaks," Yukata spoke out, gaining Gaara's attention. "They were fast and used a multitude of ninjutsu. We never saw their faces."

"We captured one with Kuroari, but when I check inside for the body it was only dust. So whoever they are, when they die some sort of jutsu must ensure they are never discovered." Kankuro clenched his fists on his knees. "Those bastards."

Gaara nodded. "I see."

"Lord Kazekage, Matsuri-chan had a serious injury when we were out there. I thought…" Yukata trailed off and shook her head. "A young woman saved her life. If she hadn't been there, things might have been very different."

"And where is this woman?"

Kankuro nodded to the double doors on their right. The doors lead to the examination rooms. Through the small rectangular windows of each door, nurses could be seen walking around the hall with their eyes glued to medical charts. Kankuro sighed, pulling down his hood, revealing his short brown hair. "Shira's in exam room three, Izayoi is the one bandaging him up."

"Her name's Izayoi?" Gaara asked.

Yukata and Kankuro both nodded.

"What was she doing out in the desert alone?"

Kankuro shrugged. "We asked, she just said she was a vagrant. Supposedly she was heading toward the Land of Silk. That's all she told us though."

Gaara walked toward the double doors. He wanted to thank her for saving Matsuri and coming to the aid of his older brother's team. When he crossed through the threshold, he heard Shira's voice came from a room two doors away. At the door, Gaara stayed back to listen in on the conversation.

"Where did you learn your techniques? You're possibly more skilled than the medic-nin here," Shira said.

"When you travel as much as I do you learn some things," a woman, presumably Izayoi, said with a small laugh.

"But you aren't a shinobi?"

"I don't come from any village, but I do know how to defend myself."

"How long have you been traveling?"

"A while."

Though he couldn't see them, Gaara could tell from the softness in Izayoi's voice she didn't want to speak much of it. He assumed there were painful memories attached to her reasons for traveling around. Shira must have picked up on it as well as he remained silent and stopped his probing. Only silence remained, even the nurses had seemed to vanish from the hallways.

"You're good to go," Izayoi spoke up. "Try to take it easy for a few days."

"Thank you," Shira replied, probably smiling.

Gaara took this as his opportunity to make his presence known. He stepped into the threshold and knocked on the door pane. Shira sat on a bed, his left arm bandaged from his finger tips to his elbow. A woman with a loose braid of chocolate-colored hair sat on a stool before Shira. She turned in her seat and looked at Gaara with sorrow-filled violet eyes. Despite the sadness in her eyes, she put on a smile and stood from her seat. When she bowed, the loose fringe of her hair fell around her face. Gaara tilted his head, studying her with a mild intrigue. He wouldn't deny her beauty. She wasn't tall, he could see clear over the top of her head and her build could only be described as dainty. Of course, Gaara knew better than to assume her small size made her weak.

"Gaara-sensei?"

"Lord Kazekage," she greeted in a soft voice.

"It would seem I owe you much gratitude for saving my shinobi." Gaara stepped further into the room, glancing to Shira for a moment. "You've helped both my students. I thank you deeply for that."

Izayoi straightened and shook her head. "If someone can help another, they should."

Gaara's eyes widened with intrigue. He took notice of her clothing, plain and simple, a bit worn as well. She wore sandals and a short black kimono embroidered with gold butterflies and a bright yellow obi. The long draping sleeves were tattered around the hem. A cloak with mud stains about two inches long rested at the foot of the bed near Shira.

Izayoi walked over to a chair pushed into the corner of the room, picking up a satchel. She hung it on her shoulder and smiled at Shira and Gaara. "I should be going. My work here is done," she said as she grabbed her cloak from the bed and put it on. "Please excuse me."

"It's not even daylight yet," Shira said before Izayoi could pass Gaara. "Why don't you at least stay for breakfast? Allow us to repay you."

Izayoi smiled and turned on the balls of her feet. "I told you that isn't necessary."

Gaara tilted his head. Beautiful and kind—a rare jewel. He couldn't let her leave, she had captured his interest. A lone woman traveling by herself and having medical skills, the mystery about her was fascinating. He wanted to know a little more. "Could you tell me your name?"

Izayoi blinked and looked at Gaara. "Nakasawa Izayoi."

He'd heard the name before, but he couldn't recall where or when. "My brother informed me you are heading to the Land of Silk."

"Your brother?"

"Kankuro, the puppet user."

"I see."

"May I ask what you're seeking in the Land of Silk?"

Izayoi stared at him, her eyes had a spark in them like fireflies dancing in the night. "You may, but I shall not provide you an answer."

Shira's mouth fell open.

Gaara smirked. Not only was she beautiful and kind, but her bravery was nothing to doubt either. His curiosity of her grew even more. Her unabashed gaze and stance didn't waver as he took a step toward her. In some aspect, Gaara was reminded of his older sister, Temari and even the pink-haired medic, Haruno Sakura. Izayoi, however wasn't a shinobi like them, but rather a normal civilian.

"I am not a citizen of the Sand Village, nor am I a shinobi. My business is my own, Lord Kazekage." She bowed her head to him.

"Indeed," he replied. "I will ask no further then, but I insist you at least allow us to provide you a meal before you leave."

Izayoi straightened, meeting Gaara's eyes. "You're quite insistent." She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed. "I suppose breakfast wouldn't be out of the question."

Gaara nodded. "In an hour then. Shira will accompany you."

"See you then." Izayoi didn't smile, she only stared at Gaara as if she were trying to read his motivations.

#

Gaara flipped through the countless reports on his desk. Kankuro had accompanied him back to his office and stood in front of Gaara's desk, watching with curiosity. They'd just gotten back from the hospital ten minutes prior and all Gaara could think about was the Nakasawa name. He swore he'd come across it in a report a few days ago. What it was about he couldn't remember, but he was certain he'd seen the name. His eyes scanned document after document. Nothing came up. He clicked his tongue and got up from his chair, going over to the reports stuck on his bookshelf that needed to be filed away in the archives.

Kankuro plopped down on the couch to the left of Gaara's desk. "What are you looking for?"

Gaara pulled a binder from the bookshelf. He dropped it down on his desk and flipped through the pages within. His eyes scanned the pages, looking for her name.

"Are you even listening?" Kankuro prompted.

Gaara drug a finger across a few sentences, reading the passages and muttering the words out loud.

"Guess not."

Nakasawa Yukie, a priestess from the Land of Swamps, was killed by rogue shinobi believed to be from the Land of Wood. Gaara clicked his tongue, wondering if Izayoi had any connection to the priestess. Her name wasn't common, but she also claimed to be a wanderer according to Kankuro.

"What're you reading?"

Gaara closed the binder and turned to his brother. "I had read the name Nakasawa in a report."

Kankuro raised an eyebrow. "You think there's a connection or something?"

"Perhaps," Gaara replied, leaning back against his desk. "The report is about a priestess of the same name being killed."

"Are you going to ask about it?"

"Even if I did, I doubt she would say anything about it."

Kankuro chuckled. "She is pretty tight-lipped. That may be the reason she's managed to be on her own for so long."

"We'll mind our business."

"Oh?" Kankuro questioned with a smirk. "You seem to be curious though."

Gaara shook his head, taking the binder and slid it back into place on the bookshelf. The mission request had come in over a month ago. The village asking for aid was poor, but had ties within Suna as they provided many herbs for antidotes and salves to the puppet users. In a sign of good faith, Gaara sent a team of four to handle the situation. He hated to call the mission a failure as the request was to protect the villagers, and not a single one was harmed—only Priestess Yukie. Of course, in her request to the Sand, she mentioned her death would be inevitable. He had questioned the reasons for that, but he never did get an answer.

"She is a beautiful girl." Kankuro eyed Gaara, his smile growing with each passing second. "No shame in probing a little bit."

Gaara crossed his arms. "What are you getting at?"

"Nothing."

"Sure."

"But if I was, I think you should consider it. You convinced her to have breakfast after all."

Gaara sighed and walked out of his office, leaving Kankuro on the couch cackling like a hyena.