Months passed after the parting day... The Hidden Villages worked hard together to strengthen their peaceful relations.

As a wife of Shikamaru, the Hokage's assistant, Temari was the main ambassador of the Hidden Sand and the Hidden Leaf. She had departed in Hidden Leaf on her affairs few weeks ago, and now she had come back.

Kankuro greeted her when she stepped into the village, and after warm welcome they went into Kazekage's department together.

"Well, how are things over there in Hidden Leaf?" Kankuro asked.

"Everything's fine so far. They've accepted our proposal to collaborate in Chunin exams again".

"Wow, that's wonderful news!" Kankuro brightened.

"By the way, where's Gaara?" Temari wondered.

Hearing this, Kankuro sighed.

"He's in his room. He has been too quiet these last days, even for him. He seems sad and, sort of... indecisive about something..." Kankuro fell in his thoughts, "Though he never told me what..."

"Oh, I see..." Temari looked down, and then decided: "I will go check on him".

She moved on.

Soon she came up to the little brother's door, and wanted to knock, but hesitated.

She fell in her thoughts. Then she puckered, clenched her fist and softly knocked.

No one answered.

She got surprised, and gently pushed the door a little, opening it and peeking in.

She spotted Gaara, standing at the mirror, looking into it, and combing his hair with the fir-tree comb he had gotten some months ago.

He seemed too fixed on his hair and couldn't decide what style to put on. She had never seen him so strongly keen on fashion before that day...

She also noticed a deep red rose in a vase put on the table near the mirror. That strange rose never dried out, and he had gotten it months ago, just like the comb.

However, he never liked to talk about these two items of his, and constantly looked after them, keeping them tenderly. He had never been fixated on any item like this before, except his cacti...

She sighed, and walked in.

"Sorry to disturb you, Gaara, but..." she started.

Gaara cocked up and turned to her.

"Oh, Temari, you're back..." he looked at the mirror again, "How are you? How are things in Hidden Leaf?" he continued combing his hair.

Temari watched him, and the funny vision of him changing the styles of his hair made her giggle. She walked up to him.

"Everything's fine. They accepted our proposal for the Chunin exams. And how about you? How have you been? Kankuro told me you're all gloomy these last days," she smirkingly crossed her arms.

"Oh, really?" Gaara stopped and put down his hand, staring at his comb, "I see..." and then he turned around, "Well, how do I look?" and he touched his hair.

Temari raised eyebrow, chuckling.

"Why are you so fixated on your hair lately?"

Gaara startled, and then looked down at his comb.

"She asked me to do it for her... with this..." he touched the comb softly.

Temari guessed, and sighed.

"Gaara, you need to cheer up a little..." she put hand on his shoulder, "Try to move forward..."

Gaara squeezed the comb.

"I will never forget her. I will always cherish her gifts, because they let me connect with her..."

"But what will you do about your successor?" Temari asked, being concerned, "Kankuro's still indecisive... He is fixed on his puppets more than anything".

"I know. I've already decided," Gaara looked up at her, being determined.

Temari widened eyes.

"Really? What's your plan?"

"Once, when we were alone, and I asked her what she would do when we parted, I mean, who she would choose as a successor in her village since we would probably never meet again... she told me that in her village there was always a tradition - the leader, if they had no children or considered them unworthy, gave their titles to their adopted kids. That idea stuck in my mind since then..." he looked at Temari, "I may adopt a child as well, and name him my successor".

Temari saddened.

"So... You decided never to marry?" she asked.

"I gave her a promise," Gaara firmly stated. "I will never break it. My heart belongs to her," he looked at the red rose with loving eyes.

Temari smiled.

"Alright. Kankuro and I will cherish whatever decision you make, Gaara".

"Thank you, Temari," Gaara beamed back.

---

Meanwhile, there was a big fuss on the eastern continent, in the newly built prosperous village in the snowy mountains of fir forests - the Hidden Fir Village.

The people were gathered in the yard of the Head Department and were impatiently waiting for a grand event. The guards weren't letting them in, but they still struggled to move a little forward and hear the news that would emerge out of the palace soon.

In the wooden mansion itself, on the third floor, there were the lords and ladies of the Hidden Fir - the Shin-Lin clan members - sitting in the corridor, all worriedly waiting for something. Some of them, like the black-robed tall guy with long black bushy hair and five tresses - was even walking up and down in nervousness. They all stayed silent and looked up at the door of the big room time to time, near which they were waiting.

in that big room, on a cozy white bed, the Lady of the Hidden Fir, now pregnant, was bearing a child. She was all in sweat, winching from pain, stretching and straining, yelling at the same time. She was holding the midwife's hand, and the other midwives were gathered around her, holding tissues, towels, basins full of water, and were worriedly watching the struggling lady.

"Now, don't be scared, my lady, everything's going to be fine! Strain once more!" the main midwife ordered, being bold.

The lady, this beautiful twenty-five years old woman with fire-coloured long hair and pitch black eye, was sweating and breathing heavily. The bang of her hair was covering her right eye, so that it couldn't be seen. Her left eye was full of worry and pain.

She strained, and yelled, feeling extreme pain in belly!

And suddenly... a baby's cry mixed with the yell!

The lady widened eyes, guessing what it meant.

"Oh, look, it's here!" the midwives happily cried.

"Aww, it's a girl!"

"Look how cute she is!"

"Oh, she's so tiny!"

"What a lovely child!"

The lady sighed in vast relief, and beamed happily... It was over - she was finally a mother...

"Oh my, look at this, she has red hair!"

Hearing this, the lady widened eyes in shock, and murmured as loudly as she could:

"Please... show her to me..."

The midwives heard her, and fussed up. The main midwife took the little baby wrapped in a towel and gave it to the mother.

"There you go, Lady Lao," the midwife smilingly added, "Congratulations!"

Lao Shin looked at the little baby, and beamed in happiness, tears appearing in her eye...

It was a girl, just like the midwives said... and it was incredibly tiny... with beautiful red hair, and black rings around her eyes, reminding her of someone... someone precious...

She looked aside, at the windows, and particularly, at the beautiful white orchid in a vase put on the window-sill...

She beamed.

There she is, my desert rose... Your child... Yours and mine... she thought, beaming. She was on seventh heaven.

"Go now and inform the lords and ladies!" the main midwife told her colleagues.

Instantly the midwives moved and ran out of the door, calling all of the worried lords and ladies in, who curiously and joyfully rushed in and gathered around their eldest sister, staring at the baby, and bursting up with emotions.

"Aww, so cute!" green-robed and red-robed ladies, Tao and Gao, exclaimed.

"She's so lovely!" Lord Kokujin cried out, smiling.

"What a beautiful little princess!" the black-robed young man, Shao Lin, grinned, "Haha, I'm finally an uncle!"

"She is truly special... What a wonderful child..." grey-robed, samurai-hatted and grey-voiled sworded lord, Nao, murmured.

"Congratulations," dark blue-robed lord, Chao, beamed.

"Congratulations sis!" light blue-robed pregnant lady, Dao, and orange-robed lady, Mao, happily cried. Dao felt warm emotions in her heart and softly touched her own big belly, being truly happy... It was so wonderful to have a child... to be a mother...

"Thank you all so much!" Lao smiled to them tenderly, holding her baby and caressing her on red hair.

"So, how will you name her?" Shao asked.

The others curiously stared at her.

Lao fell in her thoughts, and then bright smile covered her face.

"Shamo..." she finally spoke, "'The Desert'... In honour of him... her father..."

"Oh, haha," Shao chuckled kindly, "Nice name. I'm sure he would be happy".

"Yeah. Beautiful name," Chao agreed, "He would love it".

"I'm sure if he saw this he would be the happiest man in the world," Nao noted.

"Why wouldn't you inform him, sis?" Mao smilingly asked.

Lao sighed.

"You saw how situations are here Mao, since our absence..." she quietly said, "War is about to break out... I don't want anyone to know who Shamo's father is... If they find it out, he will be in great danger, as our enemies will know who my guardian is..."

"Yeah, that's a good point," Shao remarked.

Mao sighed.

"Yes, you're right... I understand..."

Lao saddenedly looked at the white orchid.

"But I'm sure, someday, he will find out... I will make sure to inform him the day I have a chance..." she frowned, being determined.

And so, little Shamo was born on the eastern continent... She took the surname of Shin, according to her mother's clan, and became official member of the prosperous Shin-Lin clan...

However, nobody knew who her father was...

But soon the rumours spread in the east, that her father was the mysterious man nobody had ever seen - the almighty Lord of the Desert...