A/N: I know you people are probably going to think me completely and totally evil and moronic for writing this fic with having such a scant amount of knowledge on what happens in Naruto after a certain point but… I'm bored! I've read some other fics and I have a pretty good idea of what's happening after Sauske leaves: Gaara becomes Kazekage, Sauske eventually comes back, Naruto eventually becomes Hokage (some think he's the 6th others the 7th), Sakura is a skilled medic nin, Shukkau is gone but Gaara still controls the sand, and Gaara and Naruto are more or less friends. Anyway, that's about all I know so bear with me.

Wow, if you really read all that you have a better attention span than me.

I know Gaara is OOC in this chapter, but close to ten years or friends and having to deal with his people's moaning gives him a little patience. Besides, how can I off my character in the first chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of my other favorite animes.

It was a sunny day. Just like the day before that and the day before that. Just as it would be the next day. In Suna, it was always a sunny day. Of course, the Kazekage would not notice that the sparse hard grass that managed to push its way up from the ground looked greener on that day with not a cloud in the sky or that the cactuses were sprouting small pink and yellow flowers.

No, all the Kazekage would notice would be a cry for help or a sense of impending doom. On such a beautifully sunny day, however, the only doom that one would see would be the pile of paperwork that towered two feet high on the Kazekage's desk. But doom was doom and the youngest Kage ever would meet it head on.

Kazekage Gaara looked up, as there was a knock at the door. His sister, Temari was poking head in. They stared at each other for a minute before she entered the office. She firmly planted her feet on the on the floor and put her hands on her hips. Ever since Gaara had stopped threatening her years ago, the part of older sister fitted her perfectly. He had a feeling today was no different.

"Gaara, you've been up here for hours, come with Kabuto and me to lunch today."

"No."

"It'll be good for you and good for your image as Kazekage."

There we go. The duty trip. Next is…

"Come on, you haven't gone out with us in ages…"

There's the guilt trip. And finally…

"GET UP RIGHT NOW!!!"

Sigh. Things were much easier when I could kill her without a second thought. The truth was now that Temari acted like his sister, even after all these years, when she worked herself up, she was terrifying. "Fine." He said, getting up and strapping his gourd to his back.

"Hey, glad to see ya agreed." His brother, Kankuro, said as he walked down the steps.

"Hn. It was a choice between a rather painful headache because of my sister's yelling or a headache because of my brother's disgusting eating habits. I choose the latter." Gaara allowed his dry sense of humor to poke through.

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Kankuro yelled indignantly.

"Says you!" said Temari, pushing past him. "Come on, Gaara, we need to get to the restaurant before your fan club realizes you've come out of the cave." She said, referring to her nickname for his dimly lit office.

"Hn."

They walked through the village, going unnoticed for the first few blocks because Gaara only wore his Kage robes on formal occasions, but soon his flaming red hair and conspicuous gourd drew attention from the hordes of girls (and in some cases, guys) that claimed to have loved him since he was a child.

He ignored the girls and Kankuro's playful jealous remarks as he followed Temari. Suddenly, Tamtat, one of the guards for the gates of Suna ran up to them. He bowed and Gaara briefly acknowledged him with a curt nod.

"Kazekage-sama, there has been reports of a camp out in the desert. Our ninja have said that the camp was abandoned when they saw it, but had to leave quickly because they heard the person coming. The information they gathered was that the camp is one mile away from the village, just beyond the dunes. This person was most likely male and had been traveling for awhile."

Gaara nodded. "If the person does not move by sunset, report back to me." He said shortly.



Gaara smirked. After an annoying lunch with his loud siblings and hours of paperwork, sunset had finally come. Apparently the camper had not moved. Though he usually did not condone violence, he admitted that it would be nice if the man gave him a reason to release his pent-up frustration.

Which explained why he was traveling alone under the protection of his hardened sand sphere in the middle of a sandstorm. Suna was famous for their sand storms that crept upon the village at night, but this one was exceptionally powerful. Had anyone lower than a Jounin been out in the storm, they would have been swept off their feet. He wondered if the man was still out there or if he was even still alive.

Tamtat had said that the camp was set up one mile from the village, near the dried oasis. Gaara knew the place well; when he was a child, before his uncle had tried to kill him, he had been taken there every now and then. It was a small pond, with a single green tree and a few bushes. Nothing special, but to the lonely boy it signified something more- life, the love of his uncle, and some time to be away. There was a sand storm many years ago, completely choking the small oasis of everything living. Now only the twisted tree and lonely roots remained.

A flicker of light caught his attention. He continued moving forward, cautiously. A few hundred yards away, it became obvious that the flicker was a fire, but… who could light a fire with winds going eighty miles per hour?

He approached the camp. He frowned. There was indeed a fire, flickering but still, not going out. A dark mass that he guessed was a person was laying next to the fire, on the other side, not being blown by the sand and wind like he should, but calm and apparently sleeping. The half of the tree shook and its limbs were being stripped away, but part of it was still a peaceful.

He stepped toward the small camp, but as he came within five feet of the fire, his sand barrier came in contact with something else. He was pushed back. His eyes widened. It didn't hurt, but still, it was surprising. A purple mist glowed before him for a moment, then faded. The person stirred.

They sat up and pulled back a hood of the robe they wore. Black hair fell forward and empty eyes stared at him for a moment. Gaara's breath caught in his throat, though he didn't show his surprise. Her (for there was no mistaking that this was a woman) eyes were like his… well, at least in essence. Like him, her pupil was so small that it was indiscernible. They were dark purple, almost black and were so… empty. There was loneliness and hopelessness there that he knew so well. He felt a twinge sympathy, but did not let his guard down.

She walked over to him and put her hand out. Gaara thought that she was going to touch his face, but the purple mist was there again. This time Gaara recognized it as a charka signature. The charka seemed to fall away where she put her hand, like water disturbed from falling. She stepped under disturbance and motioned for him to go through.

He hesitated, but she put an arm up against the wind and once again motioned inside. She didn't look like she was strong in any sense of the word, so he ducked under. The first sense was surprise. His sand, though strong, still allowed him to feel the resistance of the wind. Now, however, it was as if he was in a house. He looked around a saw that they were in a dome, barely visible save for the rushing sand around them. He heard a sucking noise and turned his attention back to the girl.

She wore the normal robes for the desert, which covered her from ankle to neck, with a hood to be pulled around her face. Black hair pooled in the hood of her robe, but some made its way out. From what he could tell, it went down to just above her waist. She was young, probably his age if not a few years younger. That only heightened his suspicion. What would a young girl be doing in the desert…

"Have you been sent to kill me?"

Her hollow voice startled Gaara from his thoughts. He stayed silent.

"It's all right if you have been. I was just wondering. Here," she said. She dug in her pockets until she found something. "It's fake, but it'll get your superiors to think that the job is done."

She held out a black stone. Gaara stared. What was he supposed to do with this? And how could she talk about her own death so lightly? He glared into her deep purple eyes.

"Hm? Not an assassin, huh? Or maybe you want me dead for another reason." She put a curled finger to her chin and seemed to think on it.

"I will not kill you unless you give me reason to." He said brusquely.

She shrugged. "Oh, I'll probably give you reason to. But, hey, that might take another couple years."

"Why are you here?"

"Because there is a sandstorm out there." She said, turning away and heading back to her spot on the other side of the fire.

Gaara's patience was being tested. He raised a hand and sand grabbed her around the waist and turned her roughly towards him. Her eyes widened. Gaara took enjoyment in her fear… for a second. She smiled impishly at him.

"Oh, so you didn't like my answer?" She said sweetly.

"Don't' turn your back on me, woman."

Gaara's sand collapsed in on itself. Gaara looked around wildly before seeing the woman on the other side of the fire.

"Don't tell me what to do, man."

Gaara struggled to keep his anger and confusion in check. "What do you want from Suna?"

"Suna?" The girl cocked her head. "Why is it close by?"

Had Gaara been a normal person, he would have sweat dropped. What else was in the middle on the desert? "Yes."

"Hm… I haven't been there in awhile" She said, thinking out loud.

"Do you know where you are?" Gaara asked patiently.

She shrugged. "In the desert."

"That much I thought was obvious."

She nodded. "Yup. So, can you tell me where Suna is." She thought for a minute. "I wonder who's in charge now. The last guy was awful."

"I am the Kazekage." Gaara waited for the comment about his height, about his youth, about his weird look, but none came.

"Oh really? You must be pretty good. Hope you're doing better than those other freaks on power trips."

"Hn. Are you planning on visiting Suna?" He was trying to get used to her blunt manner of speaking. To tell the truth, it was refreshing. Too many people lied and sugarcoated things if they thought he didn't want to hear them. Of course, she could just be a good shinobi.

"I think that would be good. At least, for a time." A thoughtful look came upon her as she gazed at the stars through the swirling sand. "Yes, that will be fine."

A/N: So was it awful? Do you want more? Come on, I need feedback, people!!!!!