The desert summer was brutal to the village. However, sitting within the confines in the Manor of Roses gave a small attempt at a cool breeze with the air conditioning and the fans everywhere. Oroshi sat in a simple kimono that exposed her neck-line, fanning herself as she enjoyed the peace within her original home. Hana had asked her to come by, but her old mentor was no where to be found yet. She glanced around at her servants, each holding their gaze down as they waited for her next command. With the Kazekage busy with sending his children to the Chunin Exams soon, he had very little time for herself. Oroshi, taking her gaze to the glassed window, was glad that he was much too busy to summon her.

"My you have grown since i've last seen you," Hana entered the room, her presense always gave off a cheerful essense when she entered, "It's been only a week, and yet I can see the changes."

"Onee-san," Oroshi offered a graceful bow of her neck before looking up at Hana, "I trust you wish to speak privately."

Hana gave one look at the servants before allowing them to scurry out of the room. She then sat behind Oroshi, running her fingers through her rich dark hair. Oroshi, uncomfortable with how close she was, sat stoic and thought of something else. The young geisha didn't say a word, and she didn't have to with Hana's years of experience knowing what Oroshi had wanted to say. Hana then murmured, "You're a full geisha now. A bit young, for my taste, but now have that out of the way. If it gives any consolidation, it was one of the highest the village has ever seen."

Oroshi stiffened before feeling Hana grip her hair slightly. Hana exhaled deeply before released Oroshi's hair, "I've read the paper sent from me by an old mentor from Sound. The Daimyo was found dead last night, they said the cause was exhaustion. There isn't an investigation, your mission was a success. Now the Kazekage will see your potential and the hard work i've put into you."

"Do you still love him?" Oroshi turned on her knees to face Hana, her eyes questioning her mentor.

Hana's expression did not change, but Oroshi saw the hint of a smile on Hana's lips. Her mentor then stood up, taking Oroshi's fan gently to fan herself as she walked over to the window, "There is no time for love in our line of work, Oroshi. He did not choose to be my danna because I offered only one line of work. You..."

She looked over to Oroshi with a glint of amusement in her dark eyes, "You offer two. You offer the escape to a beautiful world of leisure while playing the vipor in the night to his enemies."

"Hana," Oroshi breathed, finally being able to call her mentor by her first name felt uneasy, but she had to say what was on her mind, "The ultimate mission... I don't think I will be able to do that."

Immediately, Hana walked over to Oroshi and slapped her cheek hard. Oroshi recoiled for a brief moment before standing quickly, pulling out her hidden fan from her sash and open it. Hana froze, taking a step back. Both geisha paused at the scene they were making before taking a few more steps away from each other. The fan that Oroshi had pulled out was a last resort 'weapon' that was doused in poison. One wave towards a single person and their throat would swell up before the body began to take in the full effect. Oroshi's eyes were wide before she quickly snapped the fan closed and tucked it back within her sash. Hana, now fully aware of Oroshi's capabilities, held the hand she slapped Oroshi with and looked away, "You are my life's entire work. I was only trained in the art of beauty by my mentor, but I managed to train you in the art of beauty and poison without any help from anyone else. My danna has passed away, I have no children for myself, and you want to disobey the one goal I have given you? Oroshi, do not disobey me. Do not make my entire life's work be meaningless."

Oroshi stood still as Hana stalked out of the room as if she had actually been hit with a blow to her stomach. The young geisha didn't move for a few moments before snatching her parasol and made her way out of the manor. She barely made it a few steps out of the manor before the heat began to bake through her thin parasol. There was no way she was staying a second longer in that manor, so there was no turning back. Her servants scurried after her, begging her to come back until it was at least slightly cooler out, but Oroshi disregarded them and continued to briskly walk through the heat. The mixture of her anger, frustration, and the lack of water she had for the day started to take it's toll as she start to feel a sensation in her head. Her vision was slowly turning to black before Oroshi pinched herself to keep moving.

Then, she felt a firm hand grasp her and bring her to a place of total darkness. Oroshi squirmed away from whoever had taken her, but they placed something in her mouth and the cool, refreshing taste of water seeped into her mouth. Without even putting up a fight, Oroshi drank as much water as she could before leaning against the cold feel of the wall closest to her. Then, she opened her eyes, her vision fixating around the surrounding darkness. A familiar face appeared not too far from her, "Kankurou?"

"I saw you out there," he took the cantine away from her, "My dad would be pissed if something were to happen to you."

Oroshi recalled the other night. The Kazekage had boasted to his children about how Oroshi was officially apart of their family and their team. Temari hadn't spoken to Oroshi since, and Kankurou hadn't said anything either. Oroshi, embarressed at how he was presenting her to his own children since she was around their age, was thankful they didn't say anything to her. She looked around the small, seemingly abandoned house before asking, "What is this place?"

"It used to belong to my uncle," Kankurou answered as he showed her a small picture of two young adult siblings, "He lived here before he passed away. I kinda hang out here once in a while to get away from Temari and Dad."

Kankurou sat in front of a sturdy wooden table, it looked like he was working on Karasu or adding new parts to him. Instead of his regular ninja outfit, he wore loose, dark gray pants and a tan shirt. For once, he didn't wear his face paint either. The young geisha was able to notice how similar he looked to his father. Turning her focus away from Kankurou, Oroshi looked around the living room some more before glancing at the clock. The Kazekage hadn't planned any times to meet with her, so there was no reason to worry about heading back to his manor anytime soon. As long as no one saw Kankurou take her into that house, then she should be fine. Oroshi went to a mantle that held pictures of the Sand Siblings when they were younger, the Kazekage and his deceased wife, and the rest of the family. As she gazed at Kankurou's mother's picture, Oroshi relaxed her gaze. She felt nothing for her regarding her as the wife of her patron, but she could feel the mixture of guilt and relief that she wasn't around to see what her husband has done.

"It's none of my business, but you and my dad aren't...doing what everyone thinks you're doing, right?"

Oroshi froze at the question as she placed the picture perfectly back in it's spot. She didn't want to anger the spirit or give any reason for her to be haunted. Then, she turned slightly to see Kankurou stopped working on his puppet to ask his question, but he wouldn't look at her. Since it was just the two of them, she could speak somewhat freely, "It's not like that, it's just business-"

"Just business?" Kankurou looked over at her, his gaze hard as he got off from his seat, "Everyone in the village is ridiculing my dad for being a lech because some pretty girl, that's a year younger than me, in his home! I don't care if you're a geisha or a kunoichi, or both, whatever.. I just need to have some peace of mind that he's not a lech and that you're just trying to do your job without making things complicated."

"He's just a patron," Oroshi spoke up as she crossed her arms softly within her sleeves, "Even my mentor agrees that I'm far too young to be a full geisha, and I am, but my relationship with my danna is not a physical one. I hope that gives you some peace of mind and a better understanding of the position i'm in."

Kankurou eyed her for a few moments before grumbling to himself before taking his original seat and began to work on Karasu again. Oroshi sighed to herself as she glanced at his work. She walked over to the table slowly to oversee his work. As a puppet-master, Kankurou was one of the best in the village to create puppets for shinobi use. Oroshi noticed the type of poison he was using and watching him measure out the preferable amount, only to stun a foe instead of killing them off. She dug within her kimono for a second before taking out a vial and placing it next to Kankurou. He stopped for a second as he glanced down at the vial with a curious expression, "Are you serious? That could kill someone with just a droplet."

"It's rumored to do that, but I found out otherwise," Oroshi took a hari that Kankurou used with Karasu and placed it horizontally over the opened vial, "The fumes, by themselves, sink in around the metallic surface of your needle. If just the fumes, the poison isn't deadly. It'll numb the area that contacts the skin for about thirty minutes. The only thing your battle partner will suffer is just slight nerve damage if you hit anything vital."

The puppet-nin looked up at Oroshi before taking his hari back and continuing his own work. Oroshi took the vial and placed it back within her kimono. She turned to go somewhere else in the house before she heard Kankurou say, "Next time I fix up Karasu, i'll try your method."

Time passed until it was later in the evening. People were filing into the village for the end of their work day. Oroshi stood about two feet from the window as she watched attentively at the scene outside the house. She heard Kankurou wrapping Karasu up before strapping the puppet to his back. The two then shared a gaze for a few moments before Kankurou approached the window to look outside as well, "Going home to see my dad?"

"No," Oroshi answered softly, "I must arrange tomorrow's kimono with one of my servants."

The two stood in silence as a few minutes marched by. Then, the silence was then ended by Kankurou saying, "I heard from Baki that you're joining us for the Chunin Exams. You're not actually going to join, are you?"

This surprised Oroshi. She hadn't the slightest notion of continuing down the kunoichi path. This must've been arranged by her patron... Oroshi didn't answer his question. Instead she opened her parasol inside the house, gave a slight nod of her head to Kankurou, and left the house. She meandered through the street, her sandals barely covering her feet from the warm sand as she made her way to the Kazekage's mansion. Once she was inside the mansion, she forced her parasol into the hands of one of her servants, took off the shawl she wore and handed it quickly to another servant. Oroshi maintained a calm exterior until she found the one man she wanted to speak with, but he was already talking in private with Temari.

"You!" Temari turned, her sharp eyes ablazed with anger, "Who the Hell do you think you are!?"

"Temari!" the Kazekage took Temari's upper arm, "You will watch what you say to her!"

"How can you believe that you can just waltz right in on my team and think you can just sleep your way up to the top because of what you are!?" Temari yelled angrily, forcing herself out of her father's grip as she neared Oroshi, "I'm so sick of hearing about you everywhere I go!"

Oroshi was about to pull out her fan, until she noticed Temari was actually forcing herself not to come closer to her. The two stared each other down. Temari was the first to leave, Oroshi watched as the kunoichi slammed her door shut before turning to see her patron. Oroshi couldn't openly go off on him when there were gossiping servants all around them. Instead, she walked passed him and into his office where he trailed after her. She heard him slide the door close before approaching her from behind, massaging her shoulders gently, "Now, Oroshi, don't be so cold with me."

"Don't touch me," Oroshi shrugged him off, taking a few steps away from his reach, "You told Baki to have me go with the others when you know i'm not like them. I don't do open battles and I don't fight with other shinobi. You know I can't compete with them!"

"You're not going there to fight," he approached her, gently pinching her chin to look up at him, "You know what you'll be doing there."

He pulled himself away from her before sitting in front of his desk, "On a different subject, a new ally is arriving after you and my children leave. Upon your return, I will now have a new stand in this country as well as a strong alliance with other, more formidible countries. You do understand that your wealth with be increasing with my rise in power."

Oroshi crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall. Surely this would make her happy, to live a life of leisure, but she couldn't. Her ultimate goal to kill Gaara has yet to be complete and she would have to cross many barriers in order to get remotely close to Gaara. Oroshi turned her gaze to the Kazekage and murmured, "You are sending me to a trap, I hope you understand that."

With that said, Oroshi stood up straight and moved towards the door. Then, everything went dark in the room. The Kazekage stood before her, blocking her reach for the door. They stood perfectly still before Oroshi backed away. As her patron, she could not hurt him. However, that didn't mean he couldn't do anything to her. The Kazekage then bent down to where they were eye-to-eye, "If you were just a few years older, I would reassure you the regular way a man would reassure a woman. But you are still just a young girl, though your training says otherwise. Put your trust in me."

She was baffled by this situation. Bent down on one knee was the Kazekage, holding her hands in complete darkness, and telling her to trust him. All her teachings were screaming for her to do otherwise, but for the first time, Oroshi could feel something similar to normacy. Just feeling like a typical female. Was this what Hana felt when she was near the Kazekage? Oroshi felt her hands betray her first and hold the Kazekage's hands as well. Her eyes widened slightly as he stood up slowly, she hadn't realized how he towered over her. He then bent slightly to her forehead, grazing his lips against her forehead, "Trust me, I wouldn't have placed all my effort onto you if I didn't think you'd make it this far and go further."

What was this feeling? Oroshi felt his hand on her upper back as he led her out of his office. She stood in the hallway for a moment as she soaked in the reality of everything. Now, she was going to another country to watch the Sand Siblings compete in the Chunin Exams. The goal: get as close as possible to Gaara before the strike.

The day arrived that the team would be leaving. Oroshi sat in the kitchen, eating a bowl of rice in silence until she heard Temari's thundering footsteps echo throughout the room until she saw the blonde female enter the kitchen. The two females glared at each other for a brief second before Temari grimaced away and went through the fridge to find something to eat. Oroshi finished her bowl of rice before sipping her cup of tea then her glass of ice water. The tension was thick in the room, almost hard to breathe in. Temari then sat at the table, keeping her gaze off of Oroshi as the young geisha did the same.

"I don't like you."

Oroshi then responded to Temari, "I don't like you either."

"You're weak. You focus all your time and energy on your clothing and hair rather than on getting stronger," Temari pointed her chopsticks as Oroshi's hair.

"You've gained at least ten pounds and look like a man," Oroshi looked Temari up and down.

"That was all muscle because I want to better myself for my village while you eat nothing but rice and get skinnier until you're nothing but a stick," Temari stated as she took a bite of the cold fish she had pulled out.

"Well if we were in a beauty contest, you couldn't compete because you're so ugly and fat," Oroshi crossed her arms.

"At least I have a figure and a chest, you have yet to even develop anything!" Temari slammed her bowl onto the table.

"At least when I do develop everything, it'll be a lot better than yours!" Oroshi hissed as she clutched her chopsticks tightly.

"Ahem..."

Both Temari and Oroshi turned their heads to see Kankurou standing awkwardly as he kept his gaze to the floor. Temari snatched both bowls and threw them at Kankurou's head, "Don't just stand there, say something!"

"I'm packing my things, I don't have time for this," Oroshi groaned as she stood up to leave the kitchen.

"My dad is looking for you," Kankurou mentioned quickly.

The room became offly silent. Oroshi didn't even want to look to see Temari's reaction, but Kankurou's reaction seemed...dismayed. She nodded briefly before exiting the room and went to see the Kazekage. His office was empty, so was his bedroom, and his other usual places. Then, Oroshi was given a note by her servant that read, ' Look for me in the garden.' Well, he could've told her that to begin with! Oroshi went out the back of the mansion to see her patron standing among the small garden of cactus she had guessed his deceased wife had kept. She took out her normal fan to keep herself somewhat cool as she approached him in the shaded area, "You wanted to see me?"

He didn't say anything. Instead, he held out the scroll she had given him the night he became her patron. Oroshi gave the scroll a confused glance before looking up at him, "Lord Kazekage?"

"If anything were to happen, I cannot have you bound to a dead man," he spoke solemnly, "I've made many mistakes in my lifetime, and I don't plan on making one more when I can fix it now."

"S-stop!" Oroshi took a step back, "You're still my patron..."

"Oroshi," he turned towards her, "Just take the scroll and come back to Suna with a new sense of freedom. Once your mission is complete, you'll be able to live a life of luxury and never have to depend on anyone for money anymore."

Why did she feel like this? Didn't she feel nothing for him? Oroshi could feel her eyes water up, was this what rejection felt like? She turned her back to the Kazekage, "I won't accept it. You will keep the scroll because I gave it to you!"

She heard him chuckle. This infuriated Oroshi as she spun around on her heel to see him with his hands behind his back. Oroshi balled up her fists as she glared at the ground, "Why are you doing this? Why now of all times?"

"There have been plans, and I'm not a naive man," he answered calmly, "All that I ask is that you do what you must when it comes to Gaara. I cannot have a monster destroy my village because I messed up. What's happening here will be a secret. To the village, I am your patron. You will be funded from the Kage's personal account even if something were to happen to me. But, I cannot ruin your future because of a selfish dream of mine."

He approached Oroshi and handed the scroll into her grasp. The Kazekage grazed his fingers through her hair as he murmured, "If something happens to me, I have made a seperate account for you to continue to take out as much as you need for your future endeavors. Now go, take care of my mistake for me while I clean up my own mess here. That is my last order for you as my geisha."

Oroshi watched him leave her side and re-enter the mansion. She gripped the scroll tightly, confused at what just happened. Without a patron, emotionally, she had no one to confide in. He was her only ally that she could talk normally around since he, besides Hana, knew her missions. Oroshi then felt a single tear streak down her cheek before another tear soon followed. Why was she crying? Something was wrong...

"Oroshi? Where the Hell are you!?"

Baki's voice rang throughout the air. Oroshi quickly wiped away her tears before pinching her cheeks and walked casually to the others. Temari didn't look over to Oroshi as Baki and Kankurou greeted Oroshi. Gaara, like Temari, didn't bother to turn either. Oroshi kept her gaze on Gaara before turning to Baki, "I can't run as fast as you guys."

"Temari," Baki turned to the kunoichi, "You will carry Oroshi."

"Like Hell.." Temari growled as she glared over at Oroshi.

"Yes you will," Oroshi approached Temari, but the kunoichi evaded Oroshi's touch, "I demand that you carry me!"

"You can't tell me what to do!" Temari snapped.

"Both of you, shut up," Gaara stated sharply, causing Temari and Oroshi to stop their bickering for a moment.

Temari reluctantly allowed Oroshi to crawl onto her back, the young geisha resting herself against the kunoichi's back. It would take three days to get to the Land of Fire. Oroshi's gaze didn't leave the Kazekage's mansion. She could faintly see a figure from his office window. A pain to her heart made her eyes tear up again, but no one would be able to see her tears when they were running, right? What made Oroshi feel uneasy was seeing the second figure from the Kazekage's office window.