hi, peeps!

Snow Fairy here, and hopefully not as psycho as last time...

DISCLAIMER: i don't own Naruto...

WARNING: contains more than the one pairing... so it's kinda a bad idea for me to call it a ShikaXTema...

Anyway, enjoy!

The sand village could be so boring sometimes, Kankuro decided. He was tuning up the Crow on the balcony of his apartment, staring out at the sand. In the distance, he could see Temari practicing her wind scythe, scattering the sand around her.

"She's been training a lot harder lately, don't you think Gaara?" he asked the boy beside him, who had his heavily lidded eyes closed as if he were asleep.

Gaara responded with a grunt, shrugging his shoulders. Ever since the Chuunin Exams, Gaara had been even less responsive than usual. And he had barely spoken a word to either of them since their mission for the Fifth Hokage.

Come to think of it, Kankuro pondered. Both of them have been this way since that mission...

About a month ago, the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade, had given them a mission: to help the Gennin and one Chuunin of the Leaf Village stop Sasuke Uchiha from going to Orochimaru. The three of them had split up on the mission, though; Kankuro had no idea what had happened to the two of them, only that they had fought with their opponents against the sound ninja. The shadow-guy and the no-talent weirdo.

Nevertheless, the two of them had been a lot more quiet than usual, and Temari was devoting a lot more of her time to training.

Oh well, he thought, as he fixed Crow's head back on. It's not really any of my business what they do…

Temari collapsed onto the sand, huffing and puffing. She'd been working on her wind-scythe jutsu for most of the day, and she was exhausted. It was a lot easier to perform this move in the Land of Fire, where the winds were a lot easier to move. The air here was almost stifling compared to the cool breezes of the Leaf Village, and the people there were a lot friendlier…

Next time… the mission will go perfectly…

Temari sat up and reached for her water. She must be hallucinating from the heat… him, friendly? Yeah, right…

She took a sip, and leaned back into the sand, staring up at the sky. They were small, but there were a few clouds slowly sailing across the blue canvas… clouds…

Stop it! Her mind cried out. Stop thinking about that… that jerk!

There was a thump next to her and she looked over to see Gaara next to her. He had a stick in his hand and was tracing shapes in the sand… the symbol on his forehead, the sand ninja emblem… and the manifesto for the leaf…

He looked at her, his eyes blank as always. "You want to go there," he said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Temari let out the breath that she had been holding. "Yeah," she muttered, staring at the symbol in the sand.

"Not the village itself, you want to see a certain person…?" he asked, as he traced more images. "What happened when we split up?"

Temari didn't look up. "I took out the ninja that was fighting one of the leaf- squad," she said simply. "What about you?"

"I saw what I had done," he replied. "That kid was limited before…"

"Are you referring to that Lee-kid?" she asked, looking up to see sad eyes watching her.

There was a pause, then "yeah."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we'll see them again soon," she said softly.

I really hope so… she thought, as another image flickered in her brain. I owe that guy at least one hit…

Shino was at the border between the lands of Fire and Wind, staring into the horizon. You couldn't see his eyes behind the glasses, and you couldn't see his mouth for the high collar, but inside he was brooding. That puppet-master… Kankuro. He had yet to have an actual match with him, and it would be nice to battle him…

He shook the thoughts from his mind. He had a mission to complete…

When Lady Tsunade had called him to her office, he hadn't expected to be given this of all missions…

"This mission will be arduous and tough, but it will be like a character building exercise for you, Shino…" she had said this with a straight face.

"What is the mission, Lady Hokage?" Shino had bowed, not quite sure what to expect. He had been the only person called in for this mission, even though both Ino and Naruto had been free to go as well.

"Your mission… is to go to the Sand Village. You are to present this invitation to them, and escort back three ninja."

"What is the invitation for?" Shino had asked, his curiosity getting the better for him for a moment. "That is… if I have clearance to know, of course…"

At this, Tsunade had smiled, and shown him the letter.

Ninja of the Sand,

In order to strengthen ties between our villages, I am inviting three of your most promising ninja to stay in our village for a short time.

They will be treated as one of our own, and be extended every courtesy that our village can offer.

This is to ensure the ties of our two villages will not be severed with the coming of the next generation.

Yours sincerely,

Tsunade,

Fifth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"I am to be sent… to guard a piece of paper?" Shino had had to work hard to control his anger. The bugs around him buzzed angrily.

"You are being sent to show the Sand ninja the way to our village," Tsunade had countered, smiling wider. "Pack your bags and go. You have no time to waste…"

This is a waste of time. Ino could have been sent by herself, Shino thought as he started moving again. But I suppose… this could be a good chance to fight him again…

"Baki-sensei?" Temari asked, not believing her ears. "What do you mean?"

The Jounin had explained the situation before, so Shino jumped in. "Our Hokage thinks that in the spirit of goodwill, we should invite you to our village to establish greater ties. This is to ensure that betrayal in future is not considered in the next generation of leadership." he said, looking straight at Gaara.

At this, Kankuro cut in. "So why were we picked? Surely we three lowly Gennin -" Temari grinned at this. "- aren't the only ones who could be picked. There are many Jounin who are next in line to be Kazikage-"

"Lady Tsunade thought it best to pick you three, as you are familiar with the shinobi of our village, particularly the Gennin, and – " Shino glanced at Temari, who shifted slightly. "- a certain Chuunin."

Gaara closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. "So what have they decided?" he asked, as if he didn't care one way or the other. But inside, he was excited. A chance to go back to the Leaf, in a time of peace as well? He could talk to that Uzumaki kid and-

No, he told himself. I don't need anyone. Least of all him…

He glanced over at his siblings. Kankuro looked mildly interested, though Gaara knew that a change of scenery was enough to keep him entertained. Temari was struggling to control some emotion, Gaara could sense that much. But the emotion was foreign to him… it was definitely excitement, but… maybe he should keep an eye on her…

Baki looked to them. "The Sand Village council have decided that it would do good to strengthen ties between our villages. This Gennin will accompany you back to his village."

The three of the Sand looked to the one of the Leaf.

"Since when are we in need of a bodyguard?" Kankuro stood up, outraged at the thought.

"Believe me, I'm not happy about this assignment either," Shino countered, turning to face Kankuro, his hands clenching in and out of fists. "And the official term is 'escort', you know… you've only ever come to the village in times of war, so I'm supposed to act as a guide. In case you get lost." He spat out the last word, and Gaara detected a slight smile in his voice.

Kankuro launched himself at Shino, screaming in fury.

Gaara opened his eyes, so that he was staring straight a Kankuro's back. "Leave it, Kankuro," he murmured, just loud enough to make Kankuro stop in his tracks. He turned to Shino, and made a short bow.

"We are honoured to be chosen as representatives of the Sand," he said, with no emotion revealed in his face or voice. He turned and left the room. Temari stood up.

"We apologise for our brother's behaviour," she said, before grabbing a hold of Kankuro's wrist and dragging him from the room. "We will leave tomorrow morning, so get some rest!"

Baki turned to Shino. "You are in for hell."

Shino pushed his sunglasses further up his nose.

"I can always put him to sleep," he said in an unconcerned, yet menacing way.

So whaddahya think?

Please review, or favourite!

I may just be a lowly gennin, but-

Okay, girl, get a hold of yourself...

Huh? Imagination-Kakashi?

Sorry for the girl's ramblings... we see you soon 3

Huh? Wha- Errr Byyyyyyeeee!

Snow Fairy

xoxo