As Temari walked towards the Kazekage's office, her mind was somewhat distracted. The sand ninja had been promoted to the rank of jonin just recently and, though she maintained her usual cool composure, inside she was feeling quite nervous and uncertain. As a jonin, she would be charged with new responsibilities; responsibilities she wasn't quite sure she was ready for. But, despite her concerns, she would have to stay strong. And, whatever this mission was, she would give it her all.
Temari entered the office and she was greeted by her own younger brother Gaara, who himself had recently been appointed as the Kazekage.
"Hello Temari," Gaara said.
"Hello brother-uh...Lord Kazekage," Temari said, correcting herself.
Gaara paid her slip-up no mind and continued. "We've just received word from the Leaf Village that they have received an urgent mission fro a neighboring village," he said. "They're short-staffed at the moment, so they've requested that we send a jonin to assist them."
"I...take it that will be me?" Temari asked.
"Correct," Gaara replied. "And, what's more, you'll be leading the team."
Temari was quite perturbed by the suggestion. Of all her newfound responsibilities, leadership was the one she was perhaps most anxious about. She had led teams in missions before and, while the missions were not outright failures, they, frankly, could have been handled better. And now she was expected to lead a team composed of a group of Leaf ninja she was unfamiliar with.
"Lord," Temari said. "I implore you, there must be someone more experienced and more equipped to handle this mission."
"No," Gaara replied. "We're...actually quite short-staffed ourselves, so it must be you."
Realizing it was pointless to protest any further, Temari reluctantly accepted her assignment.
"Very well," Temari said. "What is the mission?"
"It appears that a rogue ninja has absconded with a valuable and powerful artifact from the village that submitted the request," Gaara said. "You must track down this rogue ninja, apprehend them, and, if possible, return the stolen artifact."
"Understood, sir," Temari said.
"Very good," Gaara said. "You will head straight to the Leaf village and meet up the other shinobi assigned to the mission. After that, you will head for the Village Hidden Amongst the-"
---
“FOOD?!” Ino cried. “What kind of a name is that for a village?”
“Now, Ino,” Tenten said. “Tsunade said they’re a very respected village. Some of the world’s best cuisine has come from them.”
Ino sighed. “Yeah, I guess,” she said. “So how much longer till we get there?”
“It shouldn’t be too much longer now,” Temari said, growing a bit impatient. “Hinata?”
Hinata nodded and activated her Byakugan. Though the village was impossible to see to normal eyes, Hinata could see it clear as day and, as Temari had said, they weren’t too far from it.
“We’re coming up on it soon,” Hinata said. “It shouldn’t be more than another 10 or 15 minutes.”
The group had been traveling for close to three hours and, understandably, they were all getting a little anxious. Temari tried to keep her mind focused, but her patience was wearing a bit thin with her squad mates' bickering. She didn't really know Sakura, Hinata, Ino, or Tenten all that well, but she would have to try to keep herself composed, adapt to their personalities and abilities, while also maintaining a firm command. A tricky balancing act to be sure.
As they continued, the volume from Ino and Sakura began to escalate as their conversation became heated, though Temari wasn't really paying attention to it. Something about the village and medicine and a buffet.
“Ino!” Sakura cried indignantly. “You-”
“Enough!” Temari yelled. “The mission is our top priority.
We’ll be at the village in a few minutes and we will all be respectful. Understood?”
A bit startled by her outburst, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten all nodded.
“Good,” Temari said.
Not another word was spoken until they arrived at the village
