Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

REVISED: 11/30/16

Sweet Misery

Chapter 4

Ino's favorite season has always been summer. She loved lying out in the bright sunlight, soaking up the heat and napping the day away. She loved the gentle breezes that helped to you cool off, and how the flowers would be at their most beautiful. And the sunsets had to be her absolute favorite of them all, seeing the shades of red, orange, yellow, and pink (sometimes purple) as the sun set, ending the day and starting the night. She loved it all.

Let it be known Ino loved summer. Period.

But this was not summer, this was hell.

Ino didn't know she could sweat so much without dying from feeling so disgusting. Of course, Kakashi thought ahead to put on their cloaks as they grew nearer Wind Country. It was a saving grace as Ino wasn't getting burned to a crisp, but it didn't help with venting out her hot and sweaty body.

The heat was unbearable to say the least.

Ino glared up at the unforgiving sun then turned her glare to the hot sand that baked away her feet in her sandals and stung at her toes. Desert life was not for her it seemed. Her glaring eyes then turned to Kakashi who acted as though the heat didn't exist with his mask still in place and his orange book in his right hand.

'How does he do it?' Ino thought, feeling very envious. From what she could see he didn't have a bead of sweat coming off him. While here she was sweating up a storm of disgust. It was making her gag. The blonde ninja frowned deeply, her eyebrows knitted downward with her frowning lips.

"Nothing like full blown summer to make you love the outdoors huh Ino?" Said blonde didn't know if she wanted to give an equally sarcastic reply or just choke him. Considering choking him took more energy than it was worth (that also included catching him) Ino decided to grunt as her answer.

How was she supposed to survive three months in this heat? What was she thinking going along with Lady Tsunade's plan? This was not what she considered a vacation, not one bit. And to think things were looking up only two days ago too. Ino wiped a good handful of sweat off her forehead, scrunching her face in disgust. If she broke out in zits then there would be hell to pay! Once more she glared at Kakashi wondering what his secret was. She knew there had to be some type of trick because there was just no way could the Jounin withstand the heat covered from head to toe as he was. Hell Ino didn't have nearly as much on her and she was sweating like no tomorrow.

What was his trick?

She could just ask him, but that didn't leave her much of a challenge plus knowing the older man he probably wouldn't tell her anyway just to annoy her. Ino eyed him carefully while trying to keep herself from sinking into the sand shifting underneath her. It was like walking on water but with sand instead. It was constantly moving as she walked and Ino was almost tempted to center chakra into the soles of her feet to keep her steady. She almost fell at least twice since yesterday. The blonde raised an eyebrow in thought before bringing her hand up to her face, stopping it an inch from touching her cheek and holding up her index and middle finger together. Slowly she focused her chakra while watching Kakashi the whole time.

Ino had been told by Tsunade while training under her years back that a few ninja including the Sannin herself could regulate their body heat with their chakra. Doing so would help alleviate the body from overheating or becoming frozen. It was a hard technique to do and took much concentration and focus to do so. Ino never tried it herself, but she was sure Sakura knew how and seeing Kakashi-sensei not sweating bullets in this weather was making the blonde think that he too knew it. Slowly his chakra became visible to her eyes allowing her to see it flaming up and flaring through his body. There she could also see it moving through his limbs quickly, faster than normal.

Smirking proudly, she released her focus allowing her eyes to adjust back to normal. Bringing her hand down, Ino glared a little at Kakashi. So he did know how to regulate his chakra to keep his body at normal temperatures! She was even more jealous than before. If only her chakra control was as good. Not to put herself down, Ino's chakra control is rather good right under Sakura's to be exact, but not with hers or even Hinata's level. Even the quiet Hyuuga could most likely regulate her chakra! Ino clenched her hands tightly. It just wasn't fair! She trained hard, so very hard. Working on her skills daily, even when she locked herself away from prying eyes after learning of her father's death she kept on training.

Her father had always complimented her on being so adamant on her training especially after the war. She was looking to be a great leader in her own right and left none in her clan to worry about her taking over as head once she was older and her father retired. Ino worked so hard, but it just felt like she was going nowhere fast. It was like every step she took forward, she was also taking two steps back while everyone else around her seemed to be growing stronger by leaps and bounds.

Where did the time go? What happened to Ino Yamanaka being ahead of the class? What happened to the confidence and strength many envied and admired? What happened to her?

Ino felt a headache coming on. She needed to stop thinking so hard about everything; there was no need to get depressed about things out of her control. She wasn't Sakura, the control freak! Ino liked having some control but overall went with the flow (as long as it benefited her that is). Plus she couldn't change the past, no matter how much she wished she could (and really she seriously wished so). Putting herself down would only hinder her in the end so Ino literally shook her head of such thoughts and focused more on just getting to Suna in one piece.

"Did you want to take a break? We're just about there," Kakashi called over his shoulder, stopping his walking as he pulled his face out of his book. Ino shrugged her shoulders for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I could use a moment of rest."

Nodding his head as well they both set off to find a suitable place to relax for a minute or two.

It didn't take them long to find a rock formation further ahead. From the looks of it the area had been somewhat a mountain before eroding and breaking down under the heat, wind, and sand. Ino was sure that at some point way back when Wind Country wasn't full of just sand, it could have been quite an oasis, but something happened along the lines like no rain or such that lead to the country drying up to dust. More like sand really. Ino sat down on a smooth rock shadowed by the monstrous mountain side taking great pleasure in the rapid change of temperatures from just getting out of direct sunlight. Kakashi too, with his regulating his body seemed to find relief in being shadowed.

"How much longer before were there?" Ino decided to question, she pulled out a bottle of water from her overheated pack. Unfortunately the water was more hot than cool, but water was water whatever way she looked at it. Dehydrating wasn't such a great idea so she sucked it up and down most of her bottles content. Kakashi leaned back against the jagged wall shading them with his arms behind his head and legs crossed at his ankles.

"We shouldn't be too far off from Suna, maybe an hour before we get there." The blonde frowned at the thought of having to walk any more in this heat but found some happiness in knowing their trek would be over with sooner than she thought.

"That's good because I cannot stand to be in my clothes any longer…" Ino made a noise of disgust as she pulled her cloak off. Kakashi chuckled lightly as the younger ninja fussed over the sweat drenched outfit. He did feel sorry for her, he was just lucky to know how to keep cool in such conditions. "Don't you dare laugh! I know for a fact that you would be in my situation too, if you didn't know how to regulate your chakra!" Ino snapped pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"My, you are quite full of surprises aren't you, Ino. When did you figure that out?" Kakashi jokingly asked which only further angered her.

"Not that long ago! If you didn't know how to do that you would be in worse condition than I am." He nodded his head in agreement.

"You're right. I would be but I do know and as such I am not."

Ino scoffed at him in reply, crossing her arms and turning to look out over the expanse of the desert she could make out. The further she looked out, the more dazed she felt. Once more she got the feeling as though she were looking out at the ocean; both felt never ending, just went on forever from her view point, it was sort of humbling and she felt herself calm down.

Ino then stretched back; lying down upon the smooth rock she sat on and closed her eyes. They would get there…eventually…

As she laid there relaxing her thoughts went towards Suna. She had never been there before; none of her missions ever took her out to the village or even within Wind Country. Both Naruto and Lee had told her about the village before she left. Of course she couldn't really go by what Lee told her, he was way too modest and nice to tell her what the village really was like. He spurted on about it being such a lovely village, full of life, and golden in the sun. In Naruto's case he told her there was a bunch of sand…everywhere and it got everywhere too. The look on his face told her he had gotten quite a bit of the stuff in places it obviously shouldn't go. Ino inwardly groaned at the thought of cleaning sand out of her clothes. Sakura mentioned that it tended to be very windy there and along with that wind was sand. The pinkette complained about her hair drying out continuously her last trip there and how her mouth felt like she had gritty sand in it all the time.

'Definitely not sounding like a vacation at all…' The blonde frowned. She didn't actually know which one she dreaded more going to Suna or staying in Konoha. If she had stayed she wouldn't have been able to find some type of clue about her father's death, but now she had to deal with being stuck in another village completely unknown to her and she only knew about three or four people there. Not that she couldn't get to know a few others while there, but it was the point of the matter that she would feel rather…lonely. Her frown turning into a bitter sweet smile as she thought of the saying her father had always said, 'Damned if I do, and damned if I don't…'.

Ino felt that was most certainly and extremely truthful statement in the world…

An extreme sense of relief and happiness filled into Ino's chest as her eyes set on the huge cliffs surrounding Suna. For a second she thought the heat and sand were playing tricks on her mind, making her believe it could very well be a mirage. But when Kakashi sighed out his relief she knew for sure that they had finally made it. She was amazed at the strategicness of Suna utilizing the large cliffs of the mountain encircling them as protection and even the entrance into the village seemed heavily guarded with their ninjas.

Ino and Kakashi walked side by side through the narrow passage that would lead them to the gates of Suna. It was ten times cooler as they were shielded from the burning hot sun. Ino smiled lightly as she noticed up ahead the welcoming party. Standing there in all their glory was the sand siblings. Temari stood off to the left leaning casually against her giant fan making motions to Kankuro who stood on the far right with his arms crossed wearing that same black uniform and from this distance Ino could make out his purple kabuki paint too. Then there standing between them with his arms crossed as well stood Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage of Suna.

He stood motionless ignoring the loud voices of his older siblings and kept his greenish blue eyes on her and Kakashi as they got closer to them. Ino smiled lightly, knowing she should be very grateful to him, if not for him allowing her to come and stay at his village (regardless that she's coming mostly as a Konoha liaison) she would never have been able to visit the last place her father was alive. Ino watched Gaara's face carefully, seeing if there was any signs of annoyance for her being there but he just stood there stoic like. A brief image of Sasuke came to mind.

They both stopped right in front of the siblings and Ino instantly bowed down at her waist to show her sign of respect towards Gaara. Slowly her eyes moved to her right at Kakashi…who just stood there with a smiley eye and waved a hand saying, "Yo". A vein started to throb in her forehead.

"What are you doing Kakashi-sensei! Bow!" Gaara frowned and bought his hand up.

"That is unnecessary-." Ino swung around in a circle, kicking her leg at Kakashi's knees taking him and the siblings by surprise and forcing the older man to drop to his knees in a partial bow. Temari smirked gleefully, hiding her laughter behind her hand while Kankuro snickered openly. The blonde smirked at her handy work before standing up straight with a brilliant smile.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay in your village, Kazekage." Gaara stared down at Kakashi who turned an angry eye on his escort before looking back at the girl who was his age. She seemed rather feisty and it made him wonder if this was a show of her 'emotionally compromised' instability.

"You can just call me 'Gaara'," He commented giving her a very bland look as if it didn't really matter to him like just calling him a 'piece of shit' would be fine as well. Ino still kept her smile turning to greet Temari and Kankuro as well.

"Hey Temari, Kankuro." They replied back and introductions were essentially done with. Gaara turned to lead them into the village. The gates opened up giving Ino her first view into Suna.

The first thing she noticed was that everything and everywhere was covered in sand. The buildings and houses were a mixture of brownish gold (mud, rock, and sand mixed together) and the roads were all harden dirt and mud along with layers of sand on top. There was just no real way to get away from sand in the desert huh. Ino bought her hand up to cover the sun from her eyes to get a better look. The sun would gleam off the buildings giving them an almost golden feel. It wasn't something she was expecting and really it looked nice (maybe Lee wasn't just embellishing about the village). Also the building designs were quite different than back home. For one almost every building had a circular or oval shape with either flat or dome like roofs. Their windows were also thicker in appearance, most likely to prevent from shattering by the strong winds that carried sand with it, and the occasion sandstorm. Her blue eyes roamed the area as they walked, Kakashi chatting with Temari and Kankuro while Gaara listened in.

It was about two in the afternoon people were scarcely out at the moment. Ino thought for a minute that it was because of her, like an old village that didn't like strangers who would hide out in their homes and watch them walk by with distrustful eyes. Gaara seemed to notice her line of thought and commented, "At one in the afternoon is when the sun is at its peak and being outside becomes almost unbearable for most. In an hour or so most of the villagers will be outside once more." Ino smiled politely.

"Wow, I never thought about that. It's so different here from home," Ino said in a wistful voice. "Don't you guys ever miss grass or trees? Any plants?" Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow before shrugging his shoulders; he slowed his walk so he was alongside her as Ino had fallen behind the rest as she looked about.

"You can't really miss what you have never had in the first place. I enjoy the lush greens of forests outside Wind Country, but I prefer the desert." She nodded in understanding feeling a pang of homesickness as she took in her surroundings. "It's not like we do not get plants and trees though, Ino. We have many varieties of Acacia trees scattered about the village along with cacti, shrubs, and bushes. What you see isn't always what you get; there is always more than meets the eye." Gaara smirked at the end causing Ino to blush deeply at the implication of his words.

It was then she finally noticed how good looking the Kazekage truly was. He stood taller than the last time she saw him (though her accuracy wouldn't be so great as she had only seen him from a far), his height reaching above her own by two or three inches. He was even taller than Temari finally, only being shorter than Kankuro now, but she was sure he would still grow to be taller; hopefully. His red hair was actually more of a dark auburn color reddish in tint but actually brown in certain lighting. On closer inspection of his face she noticed a very fine line of hair on his eyebrows that from far away would be invisible, but close up you could make them out. They were lightly brown but very thin as though he plucked them everyday though that was unbelievable.

Gaara had a strong chin probably from his father and a straight, narrow nose with high cheekbones. In her eyes he was definitely a catch. His lean build didn't make him look so sickly skinny anymore if memory served her right back at the chunin exams he looked rather puny to be honest. Now though, her cheeks seemed to only get rosier as her thoughts continued, he was quite the cutey.

"I guess you're right…Gaara." His name sounded funny on her lips and she wanted to call him by his title so bad because the sign of disrespect nibbled away at her. He just nodded, still finding no reason why he should care. Ino wanted to tell him why he should care, but it wasn't exactly her place. She didn't even know him all that well.

"How can you guys stand the heat?" Ino blurted out, wiping some sweat off her forehead in disgust. Thinking about it now all she wanted to do was settle in and take a nice ice cold shower. Temari laughed, turning her head to wink at the other blonde.

"All of our clothes are made with a material that helps us regulate our body heat. Plus we're use to it," She shrugged at the end like it was no big deal. Ino sighed, shaking her sweaty hand towards the ground.

"Maybe Temari can take you to some of the shops here to buy some of our clothes," Gaara mentioned, running a hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head like he was unsure of himself. Ino found it so cute and nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah, that would probably be best. Otherwise I'm going to be taking a shower twice a day." She laughed lightly then thought better of it, seeing how she probably just put in his head her taking showers. Ino didn't know if he was seeing anyone or for another matter, if he had ever seen anyone romantically in the first place. She looked him over in thought.

"Have you…never mind!" Ino wanted to smack herself upside of the head. What the hell was she thinking, just asking casually if the Kazekage had ever dated or kissed a girl before like it's just a howdy-do! It wasn't unusual for her to talk without thinking, but she had gotten much better at not doing that! Ino worked hard to think before she spoke even having Shikamaru help her out. She hadn't slipped up for a good long while now and here she is speaking nonsense. She mind as well ask him if he ever had sex while she was at it!

Gaara eyed her, probably thinking she had lost her mind before looking straight ahead. Luckily for her they were coming up to the Kage tower quickly saving Ino from making the conversation with this village's leader even more awkward and embarrassing.

"Well here we are! This is where you'll be staying, Ino." Temari waved her hand out towards the circular building. Ino raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'm staying here?" Kankuro rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, where else would you be staying? Every village liaison stays at the Kage tower; there are apartment rooms near the back." He tossed his thumb towards the back of the building with his almost condescending voice as though he were speaking to a child. She glared at the puppet master wanting to give him the finger so bad but withholding the desire. Tenten did warn her about him.

"Sorry, I've never been a village liaison before," The blonde mumbled out, trying not to snare at him. Both older siblings looked confused, glancing at each other before setting their eyes on the youngest that happened to be standing by Ino.

"What do you mean you've 'never been a village liaison before'?" Kankuro asked gruffly, sending a glare her way. Temari crossed her arms and sighed.

"So the Hokage is taking away a liaison who knows what they're doing and giving us someone who has no idea. Great." Ino frowned deeply. It wasn't like she was totally helpless! Tsunade drilled all the rules, regulations, and knowledge into her head for two weeks straight along with tutoring sessions from Shikamaru. She knew what she is doing, damn it!

"I wouldn't count Ino out you two," Kakashi said looking rather bored (or his normal default expression). "She may be new at this, but I'm sure she's nothing to worry about. Our Hokage had brought her up to speed for the last few weeks." Ino looked and felt completely shocked. It made her extremely happy that he came to her rescue, but even so it made her feel babied. She could defend herself! She didn't need others to run to her rescue.

"It was my decision to allow her to come as an inexperienced liaison, remember Temari at one point you were the same," Gaara brushed pass them all, entering the building and leaving them in his dust. Temari scoffed glaring at Kankuro who snickered at her as he entered after their little brother. She then looked back at the Konoha ninjas.

"He's right; I shouldn't have jumped down your throat so fast." Ino shrugged like it didn't bother her. She guessed that was the best apology she was going to get out of her so she took what she could get and followed the other blonde into the building.

She got slapped across the face by the instant air conditioning causing her sweaty skin to go cold and sending a shiver down her spine. Kakashi sighed at the feel of the cold air while they followed through the main entrance. It had a waiting room type feel to it with some seating areas and a reception desk right in the center of the room. It differed from her village's Kage tower just by the design of the building. The top round dome she knew was Gaara's office, but the whole building was circular making the walls rounded compared to the square and rectangular walls that most of the Hokage's tower was made of. Of course Tsunade's office too was in a more oval appearance. It made Ino wonder if all of the Kage's towers were oval or circle.

They walked right pass the receptionist who smiled at Temari but eyed Ino and Kakashi, unsure of them. Ino didn't understand why, if not for Konoha, Suna would be in dire shape especially if they had gone to war like Orochimaru had wanted to happen. They walked into a long hallway that led further through the building before taking a turn along the circular wall to a more spacious hallway with several doors on either side. Gaara stood by one near the very end of the hall with Kankuro walking towards him.

"This will be your room during your stay," Gaara stated, unlocking the door to let Ino walk in first. Like Kankuro had said earlier it was a simple apartment like room with a small kitchen on the left with a bigger sitting room/living room on the right with two doors on the opposite wall of the entrance. Looking into the one closest to the kitchen was the bathroom that had a separate shower and bath from the actual toilet and sink. The other door closest to the living room was the bedroom.

Ino walked in smiling at the cozy room. The bed had to be queen size with a night stand on either side along with a medium sized dresser on the left side of the bed near the bathroom wall and a small closet on the right. The colors were all off-white or brownish in tint giving the rooms more earthy feeling rather than a dirt and sand feeling like she would have thought. Ino threw her pack on the bed before tossing her cloak on the floor just being happy to be rid of it and turned to the other occupants in the living room. She smiled as she closed the door to her bedroom.

"This is great! I even like the color tones here too." Kakashi seated himself on the couch without a care in the world. Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"Glad it made your approval," He grumbled. She rolled her eyes.

"Why don't we let Ino get settled I'm sure you want that shower," Temari commented winking at the other blonde. "Then we can give you a proper tour of our village. You've never been here before right, Ino." She stated knowing for a fact already that she hadn't but Ino shook her head 'no'. "Cool, Kakashi your room is right next door did you want us to give you some grand entrance." He shook his head with a chuckle.

"No, I think I'll be fine to enter alone." She nodded as Gaara tossed him his key. The auburn haired teen then turned to Ino reaching forward with his hand for her to take it. She walked up to him taking the small silver key from his hand, her fingers lightly brushed his. Ino clenched her hand around the key pulling it to her chest with a small smile. He nodded and walked out along with his siblings.

"We'll come get you in an hour!" Temari called out, closing the door behind her. Kakashi closed his book right after and leaned his head against the back of the couch, looking right at her.

"Your face is red." Ino glared at him before jumping right over the couch landing on a cushion beside him. She dropped the key on the coffee table where the copy-nin's feet were propped up. He watched her carefully. "Oh yes, I think Gaara is quite the dashing young fellow too." The blonde felt her face heat up more; she turned to Kakashi throwing her left hand out to slap him hard on his chest, gaining a slight cough from him.

"Shut up! It's not like that okay! He's cute so, it's nothing." Kakashi rubbed his chest though she knew it didn't actually hurt him one bit.

She crossed her arms willing her face to cool down and stop being so red. Then she thought dreadfully if Temari and Kankuro noticed too. Her face flamed up again making her feel much like Hinata. Ino promised she would never jokingly poke fun at the blushing Hyuuga for the rest of her life.

"I'm sure it is nothing, so how is Suna so far?" He inquired, intertwining his fingers over his chest as he slouched down on the couch. Ino leaned back to stare up at the ceiling where she noticed a ceiling fan, it wasn't in motion at the moment. Her eyes then moved to spot a switch turned off.

"It's okay I guess. I'm surprised that it's not the waste land I thought it was. Then again you shouldn't judge a book by its cover huh," She laughed lightly, deciding if she should get up and turn the ceiling fan on, the air conditioning was on but having the fan on would help it circulate more. Kakashi nodded before coming to a stand and walking towards the door.

"Well Ino, I will leave you to it, I'm in need of a shower." She blinked at him in slight confusion before shouting out as the door was shutting, "but you didn't sweat half as much as me!"

Ino sighed deeply, relishing in the silence of the room before forcing her tired body to stand. She walked over to the fan switch to turn that on before heading to her room for clean clothes and that much needed shower!

Ino quickly finished pinning up her blonde hair into a bun since she hadn't had time to properly blow dry it off. She had changed her clothes into something a little less…there. She switched out her normal top for a purple tank top that came to just above her belly button with a longer back sleeveless vest made of light clothe left open. She wore a full purple skirt that stopped above her knees. She ran to the door hearing knocking against the wood. She pulled it open smiling brightly.

Gaara stood on the other side of the door nodding to her.

"I thought you would be back in your office…working," Ino replied to his nod rather lamely. He raised an eyebrow before shrugging his shoulders.

"I had taken the day off expecting your arrival." She smiled lightly. That was very sweet that he had taken the day off just to help her out and give her a tour of his village. Ino closed the door, locking it securely before turning back to him. She looked around not seeing another soul in the hallway.

"Are Temari and Kankuro not coming?" Ino asked, watching as Gaara shook his head. She frowned a little wondering why it was just him. Not that there was anything wrong with Gaara! She had just not been expecting just him. To be honest, she was actually just a tad nervous being alone with him, she didn't fear for her life or anything, more like feared of what would come out of her mouth. She was afraid she would start yapping about stuff without thinking and further embarrassing herself in front of the Kazekage.

"No, we will meet up with them for dinner tonight though…that's not a problem is it?" Ino quickly shook her head.

Though his face remained emotionless his eyes expressed everything his face did not. She could see it in his eyes that he worried that she was afraid of being around him. Though completely untrue, it wasn't unreasonable that he would think that way. She was sure there were still quite a few of the villagers who would never see him as their leader regardless. It reminded her of Naruto, though he saved them all from the Akatsuki a few villagers believed that the village wouldn't have been nearly destroyed had he not been there. Ino brought out her brightest smile rivaling Gai-sensei and Lee.

"Not a problem at all! I would love to be shown around by the Kazekage himself!" Gaara only nodded but Ino was sure she saw a bit of relief in his eyes. They both started down the hall, walking side by side. Before long they were once more outside though the heat had alleviated at least five degrees from when she had last been out. The wind was blowing softly, not as harsh as it had been when she and Kakashi were trekking through the desert.

Ino noticed that there was barely any sand within the wind.

"Why is the wind not so sandy here?" She inquired as they walked down another street from the street leading to the main entrance of the village. Gaara nodded his head to many of the villagers who bowed as he walked by.

"The cliff walls that surround the village help keep most of the sand from entering. The wind that blows through only carries the sand within the village unlike in the desert. Sandstorms can sometimes help get rid of excess sand or just bring more." Ino nodded, bringing her hands behind her back as she watched people come and go. It wasn't such a deserted village anymore. She noticed how everyone wore robe like clothes, or at least the civilians did while the shinobi wore more ninja attire with some variation of robe on them. Ino looked over Gaara's maroon colored attire, noticing the robe-ish like coat that was standard for him.

"Any reason everybody wears robe like clothes?" Ino questioned next. If he was going to give her a tour then she mind as well ask questions about the people, village, and customs. She knew what she needed to about being a liaison but nothing of the history of the people who lived there. It made her think that maybe they should make a world history book where each chapter detailed about each village, how they became, and all that. No important information that would harm them in the long run though.

"The material is much the same as what Temari had spoken of before. We usually wear the robes because of the layers to protect our skin from the sun, wind, and sand, otherwise it would dry out our skin." Gaara spoke softly, saying every word with careful consideration, something Ino lacked herself at times. She nodded thoughtfully, that made complete sense and she sort of felt like she should have known that instead of asking about it.

"What about you?" Gaara glanced at her before smirking lightly. Ino felt some heat rise to her cheeks but tried to beat down the blush that was trying to overtake her.

"I constantly have a sand shield on my skin. I never have to worry." He gave her a look as though to say 'duh you should know this already' but Ino just smiled giving him a shrug.

The next two hours was spent walking around in the decreasing heat listening to Gaara speak about the village, their citizens, and history. Ino had always thought Gaara to be a man of few words but here he was speaking more in the last two hours than he had ever at least in her presence. His voice sounded almost unused and came off rough at times, but he was passionate about his village showing his pride in being the leader and even telling Ino how he plans on bettering the village for the future.

Ino found herself smiling more now than she had in the last few weeks since her father's death. 'Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to be sent here,' she thought as they continued their walk. Listening to Gaara helped inspire her to work harder on finding the killer with Kakashi and Shikaku on her side, Ino was sure she would succeed.

Gaara walked further ahead of her going into a small restaurant. Ino smiled lightly feeling once more that everything was heading in the right direction. Sure there were a few meetings to worry about but she wasn't so afraid anymore, she could do this! She felt confidence radiate off her.

Ino looked up to the darkening skies.

'If you're watching dad, don't worry I won't let you down!'

Chapter four done with! I had a rough time trying to get Gaara to show up on the damn page. At first I was going to write a passage about him before they got to the village but it just wasn't coming out right. Then I pushed myself to just start typing and slowly I got to the village and even some conversation going! I had to look up desert plants and trees including whatever pictures I could get on Suna. I wanted to be as accurate as I could be when describing the village and stuff. I read up on desert wear too so I wasn't just talking out of my ass, lol!

Also the whole thing I said about Naruto and Akatsuki is something I had thought about after reading that chapter in the manga. I like that everyone likes Naruto now, but ya know Pain wouldn't have attacked the village if Naruto hadn't been there or born there for that matter. I just feel like the people who hated Naruto because of the fox wouldn't just be happy that Naruto saved them when he was the reason Pain attacked in the first place. Anyone get what I'm saying? I just think that seemed a little too…nicely placed? I know were hitting the end of the series but it seemed almost too good to be true. But hey I'm going for realistic and this is just manga so…*shrug*

Anywho I hope you all enjoyed! Please let me know how you like it, trust me Gaara will show up more but like I said before this is Ino-centric!

ALCzysz17