Tausha jumped up and down when she heard she could go back to Suna with Gaara!  She bowed to Hojo’s father again for using their fastest bird.

“Thank you again!”  Tausha said as she dashed out of meeting room.

Hojo’s father smiled and waved.

~!~

“Gaara!  Guess…whoa”  Tausha said while she smiled widely at Danya’s new outfit.  Danya turned around.  Her hair in a long French braid, the tip reached below her shoulder blades.  While instead of having her head band around her neck it went to her forehead with bangs over the protector.

Then it came to her shirt.  She wore a mesh tank top with…Tausha blushed a red sports bra and what she could tell on the back it had an “X” mark.  Her pants reached below her knees, while her shoes where light weight black boots for running and stealth on enemies.  Strapped to her knees where bags, and what Tausha guessed was for her weapons and scrolls.  

Danya smirked as she brought out black gloves and started to put them on.  “What you think?”

Kankuro interrupted Tausha.  “Awesome!”

Danya smiled sweetly.  “Thank you!”

Tausha came from behind and gave her two thumbs up.  “I think it’s great on you!  It fits you!”

Danya smirked.  “So, what’s the news?”  Said Danya as she pointed at the letter.

Tausha gasped.  She competently for got about Danya.

“Well…”  Tausha started.

Danya laughed.  “Tausha, if want to go back with Gaara, I am ok with that.”  Danya smiled.  “It’s been a while right?  About a month?  I am sure Riley is missing ya!”  

Danya looked at the entrance gate.  “Well, I am going to head out!  I want everyone to check my new out fit out.”

Kankuro was about to say something when Danya interrupted.  “I will be fine.”  She covered the muscle over her arm.  “I can take care of myself!”

Danya hugged Tausha tight.  “You will be coming back soon right?  You still have a lot of training to do!”  Tausha smiled and nodded.

Danya turned to Kankuro; he opened his arms up and gave her a hug also.  “You be careful!”

Danya nodded in the hug, then Kankuro let go and so did Danya.  She nodded to Gaara and he smiled and nodded back.  Danya turned around towards the gate and dashed off.  

Tausha watched Danya disappear. She glanced at Kankuro and grinned evilly, “Wow, Danya looked so awesome, I’ll bet Neij’s gonna be all over her when she gets back.”

Kankuro glared at Tausha before socking her in the arm.

Tausha flinched, “Owe!” She rubbed her sore arm, “…what…?”

Kankuro cut her off while shaking his head, “You already know what that was for so don’t even ask.”

Tausha giggled and went to pick up her luggage for the trip home. She gave Hojo a hug good bye and thanked his father for the hospitality then headed for Suna with Gaara and Kankuro.

It took just under a week to get home and Tausha enjoyed every minute she was able to spend with Gaara.

As the three entered the gates of Suna, Tausha was shocked to be greeted by her teammates and little brother Riley.

Riley looked a little unsure at first, he just stared at her with an almost afraid expression.

“What’s wrong Rye, get over here and give me a hug.” Tausha dropped her bags and opened her arms with a sweet smile.

A smile formed on Riley’s face as he ran to his sister and gave her a tight hug, almost knocking her over. “I missed you sis.”

Tausha giggled, hugging him back. “I missed you too.” She broke the hug and knelt down to kiss his forehead.

Riley smiled and turned his attention to the ground, a little embarrassed. He looked back up when he heard her speaking to him.

“I learned how to cook a couple meals while I was in Konoha.” She grinned, “I’ll make you a special dinner tonight.”

Riley laughed, “Yeah right! No one could teach you how to cook.” He teased.

Their reunion was interrupted when Ken wrapped his arms around Tausha, hugging her tightly, he stuck his face in her hair and took in a big breath, “Oh yeah! I missed that so much! You smell so good.”

Tausha laughed, “Ok Ken….I have to admit, I kinda missed you too.” She gave him a light hug back.

Ken grinned and was making a move to grab her ass but stopped when he heard a low growl from Gaara. He looked at Gaara a little terrified and slowly backed away from her.

Makoto lightly smiled and nodded at Tausha, “It’s good to see you back.”

Tausha smiled back, “It’s good to be back.” She walked up to him and gave him a friendly hug, “And I missed you too.”

Makoto showed the slightest blush as he gently hugged her back, “…..I missed you too…” He broke the hug and took a step back, “I heard Danya was found how is she?”

Tausha smiled, “She’s doing much better now.” She figured Danya had to be back in Konoha by now, and hoped she got back safely.

~!~

Danya started to head towards Tsunade's office building after a quick lunch of Raman, she looked at the ground with sadness in her eyes.  Soon her eyes started to water up.

“Danya?”

Danya gasped as she turned around and stared at Neji.  She gasped and wiped her tear away.

“What is it?”

Danya shook her head.  “It’s nothing; I got a bug or dirt in my eye.”  She sniffed.  “It really really hurts.”  Then she perked up and smiled.  “But I will be fine!  How are you and your new girlfriend?”  Danya said as she taped Neji in the chest with her elbow with a smirk on her face.

“Alright.”  He smiled back.  Danya kept smiling and but in her heart…it was crying.

“OI!  Neji!”

Danya flinched and looked up as a girl with two brown buns on the side of her head ran up to them.  She came to a stop and hugged Neji.  After a second she let go and turned to Danya and smiled.  “Hey Danya!”

“Hi TenTen, how are you today?”

“I am doing good!”  Her smile went wide.  Soon she turned to Neji.  “Ready?”

Neji smiled and nodded.  “Yeah.”  He turned to Danya and waved.  “See ya!”

Danya nodded back and waved as the two left.  As they left her eye sight Danya brought her hand to her heart as if trying to sooth the pain.  Then she reminded her self.  ‘If he is happy…I am happy.’

Danya found out about their relationship from Naruto when she came back.  Danya ran to her room and wept almost the entire time she was back.  Now two days after she returned.  A week went by when she and Tausha got Hojo home.  “Well, I better see what Tsunade-sama needs.”  

Danya whispered as she continued towards the office.

“Yo!  Danya!”  Danya looked up and smiled.  A man around 27 with huge smile on his well tone face.  His gray-green eyes shone much excitement.  He wore a green Jounin Vest, but underneath it was black shirt with mesh on top of it.  His black pants were baggy but not enough to tip him if running.  His head protector shining on his short black really, really spiky hair.  

“Tao-sensei!”  Danya smiled as she hugged her sensei, he too hugged her back.

“How are you kiddo?”

Danya let go and smiled.  “I am doing great.”

“Well you look great, who picked out your clothes?  They are better suited to you than those other clothes you wore the last time I saw you!”

Danya fumed.  “What are you saying Sensei?”

“Just saying you don’t have any fashion sense!”

Danya gasped.  “That you soo mean!”

“No I am not, I am funny!”  Tao smiled

“TAO-SENSEI!”  Danya turned as she saw Bryan and Ryan running up to them.  “When did you get back from your mission?”

“Just now, but I heard that Tsunade-sama, needs something, but I think I already know what it is.”

The three looked up, “What is it?”

“The next Chunin Exams are coming!”

Tausha smiled brightly as she entered Gaara’s office; since he actually had to work today she decided to do some volunteer work at the hospital. She wasn’t qualified to wear the nurse’s uniform yet but she was more than capable of helping out.

“Don’t hate me, but I have some papers for you to sign.” She walked over to his desk and maneuvered around it until he was leaning over his chair. She took a quick glance at some of the papers sprawled out on his desk and noticed the words “Chunin Exams”. “Wow, it’s already time for the Chunin exams again?”

Gaara pulled his eyes away from the papers in front of him and showed her the slightest smile, “Yeah, they’ll be in Konoha this time.”

Tausha grinned, “How fun, I hope Makoto and Ken are up for it, ‘cause this time I know we’re gonna make it.”

Gaara nodded, “So you brought me more paperwork?”

“Oh yeah, here.” She placed one sheet of paper in front of him and waited for his reaction.

Gaara looked at the paper before him and a smirk grew across his lips, it wasn’t paperwork at all, it was a sweet note from Tausha. It read, “I missed you today.” He looked up at her and saw her trying not to giggle.

She leaned over and kissed the tattoo on his forehead, “It’s true, I missed you.” She smiled.

Her smile quickly twisted into a look of shock when Gaara took a hold of her wrist and pulled her into his lap. She couldn’t stop laughing when he started tickling her sides. She kept yelling “Stop it!” between deep breaths and giggles.

Kankuro walked in to see Gaara’s hands practically up Tausha’s shirt, “Yo! Am I interrupting something?” He spoke with a smirk.

Gaara and Tausha both looked at Kankuro, Tausha blushed and quickly stood up, straightening her outfit as Gaara pretty much glared at his older brother, “What is it Kankuro?”

Kankuro was still grinning, “Well I got a letter from Danya…unfortunately it’s for Tausha, not me.” He handed Tausha the letter.

“Thanks Kankuro.” Tausha happily opened the letter, she loved hearing from Danya. She looked the letter over and started reading it to herself when she felt Kankuro hovering over her shoulder; she looked up at him half confused, “What do you think you’re doing? This is a private letter sent from Danya to me.”

“Well I wanna know if she mentioned me in it.” Kankuro was still looking the letter over but Tausha pulled it away, holding it against her chest.

“Hey, if she wanted you to read it, she would have sent you one.” Tausha sat on the desk and looked the letter over, “Your not mentioned in it anyways….but oh my gosh!” Tausha looked a little upset, “Neji’s dating TenTen? What the heck!?” She was glaring at the letter now.

Kankuro’s ears seemed to perk at that, “Are you serious? You‘re not just messing around are you?” He looked at her curiously.

Tausha shook her head, still in disbelief herself, “I can’t believe it…”

Kankuro smiled huge, “I can! That Neji’s an idiot!” He could have been jumping up and down he seemed so excited, “I have to write her! Do you think she likes jewelry? It doesn’t matter; I’m sending her a bracelet anyways.” He headed for the door, “Oh yeah! Now she’s all mine!”

Tausha jumped up, “Hey! You can’t do that Kan…” He shut the door behind him before Tausha could even finish, “That baka, now Danya’s gonna know I told him.” She turned to Gaara, “This is so sad.”

Gaara stared at her blankly, “…Well, it seems to have made Kankuro happy.”

Tausha let out a sigh of regret before finishing the letter, Danya wrote, “Hey girlie, how’s everything going? Everything’s great here, I took a little break from training but I’m going to start up again ASAP. Oh yeah, guess what…Neji’s dating TenTen now. I found out a little while after our last mission, Naruto told me. But don’t worry about it, I’m totally fine, as long as he’s happy….that’s all that matters, right? Let me know how everyone is, I’ll talk to you later.”

Tausha folded the letter in half and put it away, even though the letter said Danya was fine, Tausha knew better, “I’m so sorry Danya, you must be hurting so much.”

~!~

Naruto sat on top of the roof of his and Danya’s apartment looking at the stars that night.  

The events of the day ran through his head.

Danya and Naruto were sitting at their favorite Ramen both slurping down their noodles and broth.  Soon both stopped and sighed from the goodness.

They both burped at the same time, Ayame laughed but her father sighed.  “You two act soo much a like it’s not funny.”

Naruto did he regular chuckle.  He looked over at Danya and noticed she wasn’t acting her normal self sense he told her about Neji.  ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have told her…’

Danya sighed and turned to Naruto and smiled.  “Thank you for the lunch Naruto.”

Naruto smiled and nodded.  Danya got up.  “Training?”

Danya nodded.  “Yep, Tao-sensei is going to push us hard now because none of us made it last time!”

Naruto nodded.  He watched her leave.  He noticed she stopped short.  He got up and looked through the hanging cloths.  Naruto eyed Neji and TenTen holding hands and kissing every five seconds.  

The two walked by without noticing, and he guessed it was a good thing.  Danya’s head started to hang.

Naruto looked at Danya.  “You know Danya.”  

Danya didn’t move.  

“Neji must be an idiot because he is missing a chance with a great girl.”  Naruto put his hand on Danya’s head.  “How I know is…I had to live with you.”

Danya looked up at Naruto.  She smiled.  “I am alright Naruto, don’t worry about it.”  

Naruto watched Danya walk off.  He sighed and followed after Neji and TenTen.  

“Yo!  Neji!”

Neji and TenTen turned around.

“Hey, can I talk to ya for a sec?”

Neji nodded and looked at TenTen.  “Be right back.”  TenTen smiled and gave him a quick peck on his lips.  Then she walked away.

“What’s wrong Naruto?”

“It’s Danya.”

Neji glared at Naruto.  “Don’t go there.”  Neji started to walk away, but Naruto chased after him.

“Oh, but I have to.”  Naruto caught up with Neji.  “I thought you liked Danya?”

“I did, but things change.”  Neji kept walking to catch up to TenTen; he stopped and stared at Naruto.  “Danya is immature for me.”

Naruto growled as Neji walked away.”

Naruto stared up at the full moon.  “There is something else…”

~!~

Tausha had everything packed, she was ready for the long trip back to Konoha. She attached her two small katanas at her lower back and swung her back pack over her shoulder. Last time she went to Konoha it was for her medical training, this time she would be fighting for sure. She was determined to become a chunin and she couldn’t wait to see Danya.

Tausha watched her little brother run down the stairs to say his goodbye, she giggled and hugged him while looking him over and noticed his blonde hair was getting pretty long, “Riley I needed to cut your hair.”

Riley shook his head, “Don’t worry about it sis, you can when you get back.”

“You do know it’s gonna be more than a month this time?”

Riley nodded, “I know, I’m going to come with Gaara-sama for the final matches though. That way I can be there for you.”

Tausha smiled and told her brother farewell before heading out the door. She walked down the street with an even bigger smile as she headed for Suna’s main entrance, remembering the conversation she had with Gaara the night before.

Tausha sat on Gaara’s desk, staring down at him in his chair. “So tomorrow you’ll be leaving for Konoha with the other teams?” He asked.

Tausha nodded, “Yeah… I figure after the first couple of tests, I’ll have that whole month before the finals to train with Tsunade-sama. I think I’m skilled enough to pass this time.” She smiled.

Gaara stared at her impassive for a few moments but his expression started to show the slightest hint of sadness, “I’ll be there to observe the finals.”

Tausha hopped off the desk, “So when the exams are over, I’ll get to come home with you again.” She took a seat in his lap and wrapped her arms around his chest in a sweet hug, “I’m going to miss you so much Gaara-kun.”

Gaara’s arms wrapped around her and he hugged her close, “I’ll miss your company too.”

Tausha’s heart was pounding in her chest as she approached the huge group of people at the gate. She noticed Ken and Makoto right off and waved to them. She was about to start her search for Gaara when a whirlwind of sand kicked up next to her and kissed her face.

She closed her eyes for a second and felt a hand gently grasp hers. He glanced down at her, “You weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye?”

Tausha shook her head, “Of course not” She stepped in front of him and stood on her toes to kiss him tenderly. Pressing her lips softly against his, “I’ll see you later Gaara and I promise to write, so…don’t forget to write back.”

Gaara nodded, “I won’t forget.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her close.

Kankuro walked up ready to head out, “Alright! Let’s go.” He grinned.

Temari was ready to head out too, she glanced at her younger brother Gaara, “Are you sure you want both of us to go? Will you be ok?”

Gaara nodded, “I’ll be fine.” He released Tausha and she made sure to give him one more kiss before turning to head out with the others.

The sand teams headed for Konoha. There were two other teams besides Tausha’s, one she wasn’t familiar with, but the other came from the same class as her.

This team was filled with three skilled ninja’s, Tsurento, Saya and Kame. Tsurento was the only male on their team, he had dark hair pulled back in a braided ponytail and wore glasses, he also had a scar on his left cheek. Saya was the hot tempered female of their team, she had short, dark blue hair and carried a huge sword. While Kame was the sweetheart, she had long blonde hair but liked to tuck it under her bandana, she also wore a huge turtle shell on her back.

Makoto glared at Ken when he saw him eyeing Kame, “….We just left Suna, don’t even think about it Ken.”

Ken pouted, “But she’s so cute.” Ken looked forward and grinned wide, “Then again, my goddess Temari is here.”

Makoto just shook his head and sighed.

Tausha stayed in the back with Kankuro, he was digging in his pocket for something, “Heh! Here it is!” He pulled out a little charm bracelet. “Hey, do you think Danya will like it?” He handed it to Tausha.

“I thought you were sending this to her?” She looked the bracelet over, it was one of those one’s you could add charms too, he had added a cute little kitten to it.

“I was, but then I thought it would be more fun to hand it to her. I wanna see her face when she gets it.”

Tausha chuckled, “And you put a cat on it?”

Kankuro seemed to be blushing a little, “Well she always calls me “kitty-cat” I figured it’d be something she’d always remember me by.” He took the bracelet as Tausha handed it back to him.

“That’s sweet Kankuro, you’re going to be the perfect guy to help me cheer her up.”

Kankuro smirked, “I know.”

~!~

The sand teams traveled for three whole days, enduring Ken’s groping and lame pick-up lines, then also Kankuro’s non-stop boasting about how he was going to win over Danya’s heart.

The teams stuck together as they entered Konoha, Tausha saw some familiar faces but there were tons of shinobi’s from other villages she’d never met before. She looked straight ahead when something caught her eye, it was a familiar ninja that she was pretty ticked off at.

Her eyes narrowed when she saw Neji holding hands with Tenten, “That bastard! Hope he doesn‘t mind a dead leg.” Tausha rose her hand and aimed, ready to shoot a needle right through the pressure point in Neji’s thigh.

“Oi sand slut!”

Tausha was shoved to the side as a bitchy, purple haired, Mist kunoichi passed her. She glared, “….Good to see you too Chifufuni.”

“Whatever.” Chi turned to look at her, “Guess I’ll get to kick your ass in the exams, my days better already.”

Tausha opened her mouth to speak but Ken stepped between her and Chifufuni, “Hello hottie!”

Tausha shook her head and walked away as she heard screams of pain coming for Ken. She wanted to find Neji to yell at him and she wanted to find Danya to make sure she was alright.