The heat from the desert sun was becoming almost unbearable as the day progressed. I watched each of my students as they slowly started to understand the concepts they had been presented with, and soon, the room was filled with the howling of solidified wind. A smile crept on my lips as they would cheer or their faces would brighten as they finally achieved their goal.

I called them all to attention and motioned them over. "You've all done well toddy, why don't we take a break. Make sure to rest so your chakra can replenish." I smiled and they nodded quickly and dispersed. I glanced over at the window and walked over. Outside, Gaara was training with a single student. She looked gentle, and a bit mousey; unfit for the shinobi world one would think. I watched them curiously as he instructed the girl. He has a lot of patience..

I shook my head a little and turned my attention to an elder from my clan who was approaching me. "Ami sama, I'm afraid you are needed by your mother." My lips pursed slightly.

"Can it wait? I want to finish the lesson first."

The old man shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid not, my lady. I have been instructed to take over for you for the time being. Now, do hurry, please." He walked over to the group of students and I cursed under my breath. I sauntered away from the academy and to the Sasaki district of Suna.

My mother stood waiting for me, her arms crossed impatiently over her chest. "Did Isako sama not tell you that I wanted you here as soon as possible?" I shook my head slowly.

"He said nothing about the time." My hand rested on my hip. "What is it that you need from me, Mother?"

She sighed softly. "Come along, I need to brief you on a mission that the village council wants one of our clansmen to take care of." Her eyes met mine. "It will be good training for you."

"What rank is it?"

"It's an A-rank; you'll be put in a new squad. Unfortunately, your current team isn't quite ready for one of this level."

Anger washed over me and my voice turned cold. "My team is plenty strong, they can do it."

"I'm sorry Ami." She grasped my shoulder. "You don't have a choice. Ren and Kano won't be you're team when you're the head of clan." The tone of her voice was losing its formal touch, becoming one more of impatience and slight anger.

My eyes narrowed but I stepped inside anyway. "So who are my teammates?"

"Actually, you only have one." Her gaze left mine and she looked to the door. "Hagane san, come here."

My eyes followed her train of sight as a young man, only a few years older than I, stepped from the doorway of my home. He bowed his head, letting his jet black hair fall in his face. "Ami sama, it will be an honor to fight alongside you."

Before I could stop myself, habit forced me to return his bow. "It should be interesting." I looked up at him. "I'm afraid I don't know you."

"Forgive me." He looked up at me with light silver eyes. "I am Sasaki Hagane, I'm your third cousin." a smile tugged at his thin, yet perfect lips.

"Nice to meet you." I quickly returned his smile then looked away, toward my mother. "Can we discuss this now?"

She nodded. "Follow me."

xXx

Day turned into late afternoon and soon Hagane and I were briefed on the mission we would be doing together. As we stepped outside into the slowly darkening sky, my teammate looked over at me and bowed his head slightly. "Have a good afternoon, Ami sama." There was something strange about the way he looked at me, almost like he would if he were examining a product before purchasing it.

I averted my eyes quickly from him. "Thank you, you do the same." He left me after a moment and I sighed. What a strange man... I shivered lightly and bit my lip. "No matter..." I murmured quietly to myself as I spotted Ren running toward me quickly.

"Ami!" she cried out. She skidded to a stop in front of me. "I've been looking everywhere for you! There's been an emergency; the council needs you to get to Konohagakure as soon as possible!"

I grabbed her shoulders. "Ren, calm down, what happened?"

"There was an incident, Gaara sama, Temari sama, and Kankuro sama were injured in battle, the Shukaku came out!" Her body was shaking lightly under my palms. "They need you to go there and keep watch over them as they heal," her voice was slowly becoming calmer.

I nodded quickly. "Alright, thank you, Ren." My hand left her shoulder. "Do they need to give me any other instructions?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, they want you to leave as soon as possible."

xXx

A little less than three days passed. The gates of Konoha were in my sight as I walked toward the rising sun and breathed a sigh of relief. One of the town men at the gate stood and stopped me as I passed through. "What is your business?"

"I've been sent from Suna to watch over out shinobi who were wounded in battle." I quickly gave him my name and those of the elders who sent me.

The second man nodded. "Alright, thank you miss." he smiled a little at me and I couldn't help but return it. These two, they were a perfect example of some of the inviting, forgiving Konoha ninja that were so forgiving. I gave them a small wave and hurried to the hospital quickly. A nurse showed me the way to the room where Gaara was residing.

"Aren't you a little young to be an escort?"

My lips formed a shy smile. "I have a good relationship with them, and the village council has confidence in my abilities." The woman nodded and kept walking silently.

He was in a room divided by a thin curtain, meant to bring about a sense of privacy. On the other side, I hear the almost feral voice of the yellow-haired boy of Konoha, Naruto.

Gaara's hooded eyes were far away as he looked up at the ceiling. I held my breath for a moment then went to him slowly. "Gaara kun?"

His body remained unresponsive for a moment, and then he slowly turned to face me. Though it was normally pale, his skin seemed even more drained of color than usual. His lips parted slightly and he murmured my name in his soft voice. "Ami chan..." He moved to sit up but was quickly stopped by the nurse.

"Lay still, Gaara san." His black rimmed eyes closed slowly and he took a deep breath before following her instructions. I went up to his bedside and took a seat on the edge of the white, slightly scratchy sheets. The nurse turned her attention to me. "Do you need anything else?"

I shook my head. "No, thank you." She gave me a brief nod then left. After the door shut, I surveyed the room slowly. Everything was bleached white, even the pen resting next to the clipboard that contained information on vital signs seemed to have lost all pigmentation on the exterior of it. Why on Earth do they make everything in hospitals white...? The ominous feeling given off by the shade of death didn't arouse feelings of hope, but more of dread. My eyes finally came to rest on Gaara's peaceful face. His crimson hair looked even more vibrant against the colorless pillow.

Gaara opened his eyes slowly, as if he could feel my eyes resting on him, and a hint of a smile pulled at his lips. "Are you alright...?"

Shock rushed through me as his questioned reverberated through my head. "Am I-? Of course I'm alright! I'm not the one in the hospital right now!" He opened his mouth to speak again but I quickly kept going. "I was scared to death when I found out you were here! What were you thinking? You could've died!" I clenched my fist. "You didn't have to put yourself at risk like that, why didn't you just wait for back up? What if you had..." My voice trailed off quietly and I bit my lower lip sharply, puncturing it. Before I could stop myself, I wrapped my arms around him softly and murmured. "You're my closest friend Gaara kun... if I lost you... I don't know what I'd do..."

His heartbeat was audibly increasing as I stayed there. He hesitated for a moment, and then slowly his arms encircled me. "I'm sorry... Ami chan..." The sincerity in his voice was overwhelming as he spoke. "I don't want to see you hurt or afraid..." Hot tears threatened to spill over my cheeks. We remained there in silence for a time; thoughts raced through my head, mainly those of confusion, but beneath that, there were those of security. His voice sounded like an angel's as he murmured to me, "So much has changed... it's almost been a year since we've become friends..." Ice met sky as our eyes locked. "You are precious to me Ami... I promise to protect you... no matter what..." He gave me a small smile. "You're my closest friend as well..."

It felt as though my airways constricted as he emitted those words. A sensation swept over me like no other had before, flooding me with warmth. No longer could I hold back the moisture collecting in my eyes. "You... are precious to me too..." I murmured, "I will do whatever I can to keep you safe from harm... and to make you happy..."

He smiled a little at me and touched the dot of crimson accumulating on my bottom lip. "You can start by refraining from hurting yourself in the future." his red hair rustled as he shook his head slowly.

Blush flooded my cheeks and I looked away as I wiped the rest of the liquid off. "Okay, I promise."

xXx

Recovery was fairly quick for the three siblings, and before the week was up, we stood at the gates, preparing to depart. To send us off, Naruto and his team stood before us. I smiled at Sakura, who quickly hugged me. "Be sure to write, Ami chan." She winked at me, forcing me to laugh.

"Of course, Sakura chan! I would never forget something like that." We gave each other a brief squeeze before resuming our original places. Sakura and I had become friends rather quickly when I came to work here. She was training to be a medical nin, and had been working on Naruto. Since Gaara had been in the same room, it wasn't hard for us to meet up every once in a while.

"By the way," she muttered in my ear, "don't be afraid to take chances, Ami chan." I looked up at her, feeling confused.

"What do you-?"

"You'll see." She flashed me a smile again. "Have a safe journey!" Sakura gave us a wave as I smiled back and started off with my four companions.

As the day gave into night in the dense forest, our small group settled amidst the tall trees. The moonlight provided a dim, white-blue light as we settled down and set up camp. Kankuro stood up. "A fire might be a good idea; you never know what's out here. Maybe it'll ward off any animals." He looked over at me and winked. "They always go for the pretty ones, wouldn't want anything to happen to you. That's why I'm here Ami chan."

I, too shocked by his abrupt statement to reply, raised my eyebrow slightly in confusion. Gaara walked over to his brother and locked eyes with him. "I recall it being her duty to protect us while we recover, not the other way around."

Temari sighed. "You're both so immature sometimes... Hey, Ami chan, can you help me set up?" I nodded quickly.

"Sure, Temari chan." I went over to her and got to work while Kankuro and Gaara worked on their own in silence. Matsuri, the girl who Gaara had taken on as a student, stood timidly to the side.

"Should I get firewood, Gaara sensei?"

He looked up at her and shook his head with a small smile. "We should be alright for now; the moon provides plenty of light. Besides, Kankuro wasn't serious about animals; he was only trying to impress Ami chan." Kankuro glared, making his younger brother smirk a little. "And might I say, he's doing a very poor job, isn't he, Ami chan?"

For a moment, I remained silent. At first, I only snickered, but soon I burst out in fits of laughter, holding my stomach as it cramped from the strain. "You two... are so... funny...!" I managed to choke out as I laughed. Slowly my laughing died down and I composed myself. "Sometimes I forget that you're brothers, it's moments like these that it shows though."

Temari chuckled and pulled me back over her way. "Ah, brother rivalries, they're so cute!"

"Hm? What do you mean Temari?"

"It's nothing." She smiled coyly. "Then again, you'll probably see sooner or later. Anyway, everything's pretty much done."

Matsuri nodded and sat down. "So... who's sleeping where?"

"First we need to set up watches," Gaara answered. "I'll take the first and we'll go from there."

"No, Gaara kun, Sakura chan told me you needed rest." I put my hand on his shoulder. "I've been trained to stay up for 72 hours without sleep, let me take over watch duty."

He looked at me, startled. "That's too much time, Ami chan. You need rest as well, I can see that you're lacking in sleep."

What I failed to mention to my companions was the fact that I had been sacrificing sleep because of the worry that I had felt for all of them. I had no idea the rings under my eyes had been so noticeable. "... It's fine, this is my mission." There, the only excuse I had.

Gaara was silent for a moment, then, finally, he nodded. "Alright. The second you start to nod off though, come get me. I'll take over."

"I will thank you." My gaze left him and wandered to the others. "We'll set up here; a fire won't be necessary, it will only alert people to our position."

They all nodded and started working on setting up the small bundles that worked as beds. Once they were sleeping or on the verge of unconsciousness, I took my post on a low branch that overlooked the site.

xXx

Small gusts of wind whistled through the leaves as the night continued creating a sound similar to that of a waterfall crashing down on smooth, weathered stones in the pool beneath it. With the intermittent breezes came the scent of bark and fresh grasses from the surrounding forest, creating a sense of comfort in my now shivering body. "Damn this cold..." I muttered as the moon shone down with its dull silver light from directly above me. I pulled my legs to my chest slowly and hugged them.

In the distance, wolves sang to the glowing orb of light in a strange, haunting harmony that rang throughout the area. Within one of the rests, a light cloth covered my shoulders. Gaara sat beside me. "You looked cold... and tired still." His eyes glowed a strange blue green in the soft lighting, making them stand out even more from the black that encircled them. The light reflected off of his pale skin, giving it a slightly bluish hue, and as I thought of these things, I blushed, realizing that I was staring. Quickly, I averted my eyes.

"Thank you..." I murmured, hugging the blanket closer around me. "I forgot that you're an insomniac too."

"I have been far longer than you." He touched my shoulder. "It's not healthy, you know; you deserve some form of rest, Ami chan."

I shuddered under the sudden heat emanating from his palm. "A mission is a mission," I answered in a matter of fact tone.

A smile started to play on his lips. "Are you alright?"

Confusion and embarrassment flooded through me. "I- I think so, why?"

"You're shivering."

For a moment I didn't believe him, but before long, I felt the chills running through my body. I looked at my hand; it was shaking uncontrollably. I grasped it in the other one and sighed. "It's colder up here than it is in the desert, that's all." A sheepish smile crossed my features. It's not like it was a lie, besides, I wasn't exactly clothed for the mountainous regions. I'll have to remember that next time, I thought.

Suddenly, and before I could react, he wrapped his warm arms around my shoulder and pulled me close. "You shouldn't be forced to suffer at the hands of the cold." The funny thing is, when I turned his expression was completely serious. I couldn't hold back the light chuckle as it left my lips. He looked down at me. "What are you laughing at?" Outrage was detectable under his calm tone.

"It's just... kinda funny how much you worry about me," I said through the giggles. His expression remained confused for a moment then he sighed.

"I can't help it; I guess I just can't imagine not having you around..." His hand grasped mine. "I was alone without you, Ami..."

"G- Gaara I-" Words caught in my throat as I sifted through the depths of my mind to find the right thing to say. The answer came very simply and suddenly, "Would you believe me if I said I was too...?" His gentle smile graced the night and he nodded.

"I think I may, you've changed in the past year; in a good way, that is." His eyes left mine and focused on the stars shimmering lightly throughout the sky in shades of blue, red, and occasionally a strange lavender. "Sleep, my friend, you deserve it. No, you need it." The words were spoken so gently, but there was no room to say no.

"Fine, you win..." I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. Before I gave way to complete unconsciousness, I heard him murmur,

"I will protect you... my star..."

xXx

Sunagakure's heat hit like a warm, comforting blanket from the cold mountain regions as we stepped in its boundaries. With a quick goodbye, I parted ways with my group and ran back home. Tentatively, I pushed open the door and stepped in. "Mother...? I'm back."

In a flurry of golden hair, she rushed in front of me and grabbed my cheek. "Did anything happen? What went on? Did you do something stupid?" Quickly, I jerked my face away from her.

"What are you talking about? I was on a mission!"

She sighed in relief and closed her eyes, but not before I caught a glimpse of the red where her blue eyes that matched my own should have been. "Ami, we need to discuss something very important. After all, you're fourteen today... things are going to start changing..."

Behind her, the silver eyes of Hagane flashed in the dim light.

xXx

A/N: Hooray, chapter 9 is out! My goodness readers, words cannot express how sorry I am for the extreme lateness of this chapter! *bows on knees* Oh please forgive me, I will reward your patience with muffins! ^-^ Well, I really don't feel like coming up with excuses, so let's just blame my sudden urge to write an Otogakure Fan Fiction which had been taking up my writing mind since... let's see... February! I think you might like it, even if you're not an Oto fan. It's mainly about an Original Character named Sayomi who is Orochimaru's daughter. It also involves Kimimaro (cuz I'm in love with him, he's so amazing!), and is (of course) a romance. That one is a bit darker though, and I went ahead and rated it M because it's not so much explicit as... well... disturbing. Okay and it's going to be explicit soon. That's how I role! .w. Anyway, enough of my rants, I just wanted to thank you for reading and sticking with me!

I love you all!

-MelloDramatic