A/N: Guys, I'm so sorry for not updating in forever. Between college and work I didn't have time to update. At least, that was the case back in March. Now I don't have a job, but I have transferred to Western Michigan University, and as great as university life is, it's a lot of work. I do sincerely apologize, though. No amount of excuses will change the fact that I haven't updated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter Fourteen

Guard Duty

I was staring at the ceiling after a long, restless night when the knock cam.

"Darcy, Gaara requests your presence," Baki called. "I trust you can find your way there?"

"Naturally," I replied, standing up and brushing my hair.

"Then make your way there as soon as you can." I heard his footsteps recede into the distance.

I didn't need to change clothes, since I hadn't slept at all, and therefore hadn't changed out of my clothes.

I headed to Gaara's office as soon as my hair was brushed, and my clothes were straightened. I knocked when I reached his office, and the door was opened moments later by Temari. She motioned for me to stand next to her against the wall and be quite, since Gaara was in the middle of a meeting with a couple of Suna jounin. It seemed I came in right at the end of the meeting, and Gaara was busy wrapping it up, so I don't think he noticed me at first.

It wasn't long until everyone in the meeting stood. The Suna jounin bowed, and left the room, but Gaara remained sitting. He met my eyes, and with a small smile, said, "Sit."

I did, as did Temari and Kankuro, who I hadn't noticed standing on the other side of the door.

"Did you guys just get back?" I asked Temari and Kankuro.

"Yeah, early this morning," she said. "We hurried as quickly as possible. I don't like leaving Gaara alone like that. He is my little brother after all."

"And Kazekage," he reminded her, jokingly. It was weird seeing Gaara like this, knowing what he used to be like. He'd come a long way.

"What did you want to see me about, Gaara?" I asked.

He frowned, his face turning serious, and asked, "Have you thought about what Orochimaru could possibly be after?"

Looking down at the table, I said, "Yes, and I've come up with nothing. I think we first need to find him to really know what he's up to."

Gaara nodded. "Who would you propose sending on a mission like that?"

I thought a moment before answering. "I think my team would work best." I held up my hand to stop him from talking when I saw he was about to protest. "Listen to my reasoning before you try to stop me. The three of us already have experience spying on him, and Kye was literally in his base. Plus, we kind of know him. I think we would be the best choice. If we go, you'll be able to keep more skilled ninja here to help defend your village. Gaara, I know you don't want to lose me, and I don't want to lose you, but the fact of the matter is that my team and I are better suited for spying. Akito can track, Kye's kekkei genkai is perfect for communicating without headsets, and if we get captured, we can still plan an escape, and as a medic I'm perfect back up. Plus, we're all great fighters. We know what it means to be shinobi, and we know what it means to not give up."

"Really? Last time you fought Akatsuki, you would have died if we didn't intervened," Gaara pointed out. "You gave up when you thought there was no hope, and that's not the way of the shinobi."

"That was then," I said. "I made a mistake. A stupid one that would have cost more than just my life, and I'm luck you were there. But I've grown since then. We all have. Besides, this is Orochimaru, not the Akatsuki. He's tough, but I'm not afraid of him, and I won't be outnumbered this time."

"You never know what could happen during a recon mission," Gaara said. "Never assume anything."

"Gaara," Temari spoke up before. "She has a point, you know. You have to think about this as the Kazekage, not as her fiancé. Our village needs to come first, you know that, Gaara."

Gaara looked down at the table, and silence filled the air for a couple of minutes. When he looked back up, I could see how guarded his face was, like he was holding back all emotion, and I could feel tension rise in the air around us. "I agree that this is the best option; however, I want you to wait another day before you leave, so the wall is almost done. I can't afford to have my village defenseless, nor can I afford to lose track of Orochimaru."

I nodded. "We'll work extra hard on the wall."

"No, I have other plans for you three," Gaara said. "I want you working with Shiki on the wall, as guards. I will be sending a guide with you, but it's important for you to know the area to the best of your abilities." Gaara stood, and walked out of the room, motioning for Kankuro, Temari, and myself to follow him.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To get Kye and Akito," Gaara said, his voice sounding strained.

As we walked down the hall, I tried to figure out what to say to him to make this situation better, but nothing came to mind.

We walked down the hall until we reached Kye's and Akito's room. I knocked on Kye's room, and she groggily opened the door, looking like a hot mess. "Get ready, Kye. Gaara has a job for us."

"Ugh, right now?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

"No, tomorrow," I said sarcastically.

"Oh, okay, good," she said. As she was closing the door, I stuck my foot in front of it.

"No, you moron, now," I said in exasperation.

"God, you don't need to be mean," she grumbled. "I'll be ready in a minute."

Just as her door closed, Akito emerged from her room, looking just as groggy as Kye, but as far from a hot mess as someone could get. "We just need to wait for-" I stopped when I heard her door open and looked over to see her walk out – with Neji right behind her.

We were silent for a moment, all staring at the boy that had clearly been in Kye's room all night.

Out of nowhere, Kankuro coughed loudly. "Um, should we, uh, get going?" He asked. I was shocked to see him glaring at Neji.

Awkward, Neji hugged Kye, and turned and left.

I glanced at Kye, but decided to not say anything. We walked down the hall, Akito, Kye, and I side by side following Gaara, and flanked by Kankuro and Temari.

What's going on with you and Gaara? Kye's voice rang in my mind. He seems… tense, and you're not walking by him, either… her thoughts trailed off, and she glanced at me for a moment.

He's working in Kazekage mode. He doesn't want to send us on this mission after Orochimaru, but he knows he has to, and he knows we're the best choice. I paused, thinking. Well, it's more like he doesn't want to send me on this mission. But he knows he has to. So he's blocked off his emotions, I guess.

Wait, what mission after Orochimaru? Kye asked.

He's sending us to track Orochimaru, and find out what he's up to. It was my idea, actually, I replied. But we're spending a day on guard duty first. He wants… well, we're almost there; he'll explain it all.

Kye simply nodded.

Akito sent a curious look our way, wondering what we had just talked about, and Kye quickly relayed to her what we spoke of, and I saw Akito nod.

The walk to the wall was long and silent, and I was beginning to feel guilty for what Temari and I said to Gaara, but I knew I could let emotions get in the way of the mission.

We finally reached the wall after about ten minutes of walking, and we headed up the sand stair to the top. We met the woman who I assumed was Shiki. She had blonde hair that was clean cut in a military style, except for her bangs, which covered her right eye, and she wore tan Capris, and a black tank top was underneath her unzipped Suna jounin vest. Her blue eyes looked at us as we approached.

"Lord Kazekage, how can I help you?" She asked. Though her tone was formal, she stayed leaning against the wall.

"I need you to teach these three what you can about the desert," Gaara said, indicating Akito, Kya, and myself. "As well as have them on guard duty."

"Understood," she replied, eyes returning to the sea of sand.

"Kankuro, I want you to stay up here, you'll be their escort across the desert," Gaara continued, turning his attention to his older brother. "I also want you to judge the progress of the wall. If it's progressing quicker than expected, I want you to lead them on through the desert. I trust your judgment, so there's no need to come tell me when you're leaving, but please do send a message of some sort."

"Yeah, sure," Kankuro said.

With that said, Gaara and Temari left.

"I hope he's not mad at me," I said, once they were out of earshot.

"He'll get over it once you return to the village safely," Kankuro said.

"I hope so," I said. "I hope we don't have another stupid argument about how I shouldn't be a ninja."

"You two are engaged," Kye said frankly. "I doubt there will any such argument." She glanced out at the desert, but added as an afterthought, "If you do, then he's not worth marrying."

"That's not something I want to find out after the engagement, dummy," I said. "But we should focus on the task at hand."

"Indeed," Shiki said. "Now, you three, listen up." She showed us a map, and began explaining what there was to know about the desert. "One of the most important things is to stop moving and find cover whenever there's a sandstorm. Even our best shinobi don't brave sandstorms. If it doesn't kill you, it'll get you completely lost, and being lost in a desert is certainly enough to kill you. Very slowly, at that. Dying of thirst and hunger is not how I'd want to go."

"Same here," Kankuro said.

"Alright, I want you four to break into pairs, and guard the wall," Shiki said. "Just keep an eye out. One pair should be on one side of the hole in the wall, and the other pair should be on the other side."

"Sounds boring," Kye grumbled.

"I never said it would be fun, but it's important," Shiki said. "Alright, pair up."

"Kye, with me," Kankuro said before anyone had a chance to say anything.

I looked at Akito and raised my eyebrow. "Guess we're together, then. Which side do you two want?" I glanced back at Kankuro and Kye.

"Doesn't matter to me," Kankuro said with a shrug.

In the end they were on the left side and we were on the right.

As predicted, the job was boring. Until, that is, I glanced over at Kye and Kankuro. They were standing suspiciously close.

"Hey, Akito," I whispered. "Isn't Kye with Neji?"

"Yeah, why?" She asked.

I just nodded at Kankuro and Kye.

"Are they… holding hands?" She asked.

"I'm… not sure. It's hard to tell from this distance," I replied.

You two enjoying the show? Kye's voice rang in my head, and, by the look of it, Akito's, too.

I just shook my head, focusing my attention on the desert.

Just don't forget about Neji, I thought to myself, hoping she was listening. I never got a response, though, so I couldn't be sure if she heard or not. I sighed, this had already been a long day, and I knew it would only be longer.

"Hey, it'll be okay," Akito said suddenly.

"Huh?" I asked, glancing over at her, not sure what she meant.

"You and Gaara, things will be okay between you two," Akito said. "He wants to protect you, but he has to take care of his village."

"I know, and I understand, it's just…" I trailed off, trying to find the right words. "It's just hard, I guess. Seeing him this strained, knowing it's my fault."

"It can't be helped, though," Akito said. "You need to do your duty, and he needs to do his."

I nodded, eyes returning to the desert. I watched the wind blow the sand around, but it wasn't enough to create a sandstorm. Not yet, at least.

Hours passed of us doing nothing, but I supposed this would be good training to improve our awareness and our focus levels. I glanced down at the work being done on the wall. They had made considerable progress. It was only halfway done, but considering the hole was made a couple days ago.

It wasn't until the sun was beginning to set that Kankuro and Kye appeared at our side.

"It's time to go," Kankuro said. They both looked serious, their fun from earlier done with.

Akito and I nodded. Once we sent a message to Gaara saying we were beginning our mission, we set off through the desert to search for Orochimaru.

A/N: Once again, I do apologize. I will try to update over break, though. Since I have about a month off. Let me know what y'all thought!