The following morning was a brisk one, leaves turning shades of red, orange, and yellow all around with birds just beginning to wake up. The horizon was turning from a deep blue to a lighter shade, from pink to yellow, and the village of Konoha was still asleep under the stony gaze of the five Hokages.

Naruto inhaled deeply, and then quickly sneezed it out as the cold air tickled his nose. He was rubbing his nose when he saw Ino and Tsunade, and behind them the massive gates. He sped up, eager to finally start his mission, and to finally be able to see Gaara. Ino saw him coming first and waved at him, her long ponytail swaying behind her. Naruto grinned and went up to her.

"Yo, Ino! How's it going?"

"I'm freaking frozen. How are you?"

"I'm cold as well. I did put my makeup on this morning like you said, but what's the point?" He asked curiously. "I'm going to be traveling for three days."

"I just wanted to make sure you could do it on your own, which it appears that you can, even if it's only halfway decent." She said scathingly.

"I thought I did a good job with it…"

"I'm just kidding, Naruto. It looks good. You'd better go talk to Tsunade now. She wasn't happy with getting up early two days in a row and I bet she doesn't want to wait any longer."

"Oh, yea." Naruto grinned at her again and walked over to Tsunade, pulling his coat tighter around him to shield him from the cold. "Hey Tsunade! You got the papers?"

She reached into her robe and pulled out two folded letters which she handed to him. "One of those is for the Kazekage, and the other is for the border guards. The Kazekage's has a red seal on it, so try not to confuse them."

Naruto nodded and put them in his pack, taking care not to crumple them.

"Anyway, you know all of my advice and concerns so I'm not gonna repeat them. Good luck on you re mission, Kurai-san." She said, reminding him of who he was. He nodded and turned to Ino. "Bye Ino! Bye Tsunade!" He waved at them one last time, and then turned to the gates. He tightened hi head band and confidently strode through them, hearing them creak close behind him. He didn't look back and started running, quickly reaching a fast, steady pace and jumped into the trees above. He went from tree to tree, the scenery flashing past him in a blur of colors.

He thought about what would happen once he reached Sunagakure. First, he would have to change into a clean pair of clothes and redo his makeup, obviously. Then, he would show the border guards his letter that Tsunade gave him which would admit him into the sand as an official ambassador. They probably had rooms for people like him to stay in, but if not, he would just have to buy a room at an Inn somewhere. After that, it was just make it up as you go. Posing as an ambassador would get him into the meetings and allow him to get close to Gaara, but it also had its problems. He would be called to meetings, he didn't know how often, and he would have to attend them, which took away time from his real mission. Plus, he thought, he had to make sure he acted as a stranger around Gaara, bowing to him and all that instead of treating him like a friend. His normal reaction would just to be talking to him like normal, ignoring all the formalities and such. He would undoubtedly be in a lot of trouble if he acted like that this time, he thought with a sigh. Well, on the positive side, at least he'd get to see him which was something. He hadn't seen Gaara in a long time, probably around a year or two. Hopefully he hadn't changed much. Gaara had been around seventeen when Naruto had seen him last.

Three days later, Sunagakure was visible to Naruto. Even at his distance, Naruto could make out the massive canyon walls that hid and protected the village. The only sign that a village was even there was the few small buildings next to the pass that led into the village. The pass was faintly visible as a tall, dark strip in the wall, roughly big enough for three to four men to walk abreast. A faint breeze arose and little wisps of sand arose and blew across the land scape, swirling around each other. Naruto dusted off his cloths he had recently changed into and took out a pocket mirror to examine his makeup, by Ino's request. He made sure there were no smudges, and more importantly that his whiskers weren't showing. When he was sure that it was good, he snapped it shut and shoved it back into one of his many pockets. He checked his outfit one last time and then picked up his steady running pace one again towards the entrance. Even though it was only around 10 o'clock in the morning Naruto was starting to perspire a little from the hot dessert air. Naruto shrugged in his coat a little, wishing he could take it off, but he knew better than that, knowing that he would probably get burned. His cloak flapped out behind him, silver ling lining sparkling a bit, and his hair streamed out, flashing and glinting in the bright sun overhead. He slowed down 30 feet from what was obviously a captain of the guard and went up to him, pulling out his letter from Tsunade and checking that it was the right one.

"Name, please?" Asked the guard in a muffled voice, half of his face was covered by mask, not un-similar to the one Kakashi wears. He was looking down at a list.

"SaitouKurai." Naruto replied, putting up his mask of indifference.

He traced his finger down the paper, looking for Naruto's name. "Ah, yes. Follow me, Kurai-San. Ill lead you to your quarters." He walked towards the Slot in the canyon, calling out to another guard as he passed. "This is Kurai-San, the ambassador we were told about. I'll be back shortly after taking him to his quarters." The guy nodded and Naruto's escort looked at him, still walking. "May I call you Kurai-san? I'm not big on formalities."

Naruto nodded, looking ahead.

"You can call me Kana-Chan if you wish."

Naruto blinked and looked at him. A transvestite? "Chan?" He wasn't able to contain his curiosity.

'Kana-Chan' grinned at him. "I'm actually a girl. I dress like this 'cuz I like fooling people. It's kinda like a prank, y'know?"

Naruto nodded, completely understanding. If he was in his normal form, he would be grinning with her right now and discussing all sorts of pranks he had pulled in his life. In this form though, he just stayed quiet, seeming uninterested. Naruto blinked again as they entered the passage, as it was a lot darker in here than outside. The relief from the glaring sun was quite welcomed though, and even the sand below their feet was a bit damp since there was never much sun that reached inside. The passage went on for a fairly long distance until they finally reached the end, and the large village was before them. All the buildings were made in an identical style, and all of them were made of sand. The sandy streets all led directly to the center where the Kazekage's building stood, bigger than all the rest. A few people looked at them curiously as they emerged from the dark passage, but most were too busy going around doing their daily business, until they were nudged by their neighbors.

As Naruto and Kana walked down the street, whispers followed them and giggly teens pointed at Naruto when he passed. Eyes followed him, blushing slightly if he looked in their direction. Thankfully, he had his shades which offered him some cover from everyone.

Kana elbowed him as they walked. "You're quite the eye candy. You're goin' to be famous around here in no time at all." Laughter was evident in her tone, and Naruto glared at her, which was lost behind the sunglasses.

"Be quiet. I just need to get into my room and then I'll be safe."

"Heh? That's the longest reply I've gotten from you yet."

"Are we almost there yet?" he said, changing the subject.

"Yep. Your living in the Kazekage's building there, see?" She pointed to the center building which they had almost reached. "I'll lead you to your room and then I'll be goin' back to my post."

She pushed open the big double doors and led Naruto down a pleasantly cool hallway. They went up flights of stairs and down more hallways identical to the first one. Finally, she reached a handsome cherry wood door and pushed it open. She bowed mockingly to him, holding open the door. "Your room, my majesty."

Naruto hit her lightly on the head as he passed, examining the inside. The walls were white, like the rest of the building, but there was polished, deep reddish brown, wood floor with a few tastefully placed rugs around the room. There was a king size bed in one corner that was already made with a thick layer of blankets and pillows, and a dresser stood nearby along with a small bedside table. A desk stood on the other side of the room stocked with brushes, ink, and scrolls ready for use, along with a couple of candles standing in little silver holders. A window next to the desk allowed a grand view of the village outside. Another door, not quite as handsome as the first, was standing next in the middle of one of the walls and Naruto assumed it led to the bathroom.

He turned around to Kana, who was still standing in the doorway. "It's pretty nice. You leaving?"

"Yep. My duty here is done. The Kazekage has been informed of your presence and will probably call for you in a couple hours. If ya wanna talk with me, I can most likely be found at the entrance, being captain of the guard and all. See ya!" She grinned at him and closed the door, leaving him alone in his new living space.

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