"Ok, seriously guys, you're starting to creep me out. What's up with my eyes?" Hitomi asked.

"You mean, you don't know?" Neji asked.

"If I knew, would I be asking?"

Neji was silent.

"Come on guys, seriously, what's up with my eyes?"

"Hitomi . . . you have...the sharingan," Naruto said.

Hitomi's eyes widened. She was shocked. "What do you mean I have the sharingan?"

"I mean I am looking at your eyes and they are red with a black pattern in them!" Naruto exclaimed.

"More specifically, you have the Mangekyou Sharingan," Kakashi said.

"WHAAT?" Hitomi was even more shocked now.

"Must've activated when you saw Gaara. I know you guys were really close ever since you were kids," Kakashi said.

"Yeah...OH MY GOSH GAARA!"

Jeez, with all this excitement/confusion she got distracted and almost forgot. Hitomi ran over to Gaara, closely followed by the others.

"Gaara . . . . . .?" Hitomi whispered.

She heard a rumbling/crackling noise. She looked up . . .

"Everyone out! The hideout's collapsing!" Kakashi yelled.

"HAI!" they all exclaimed.

They all escaped safely, and ended up in a grass field. Hitomi laid Gaara in the grass. Sakura checked Gaara's vitals (out of sheer hope), but it was no use, he was dead. She just shook her head sadly. Hitomi and Naruto both burst into tears.

Gaara . . . no, you can't . . . you can't be dead, you can't leave me, I . . . love you . . . Hitomi thought.

(note: I took this excerpt from the Naruto manga volume 31 pgs 137-141, so all this belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and is not mine! I just really like Naruto's dialog here.)

". . . Why . . . Gaara . . . ? Why always Gaara . . .? If he dies like this . . . ! He's Kazekage . . . he's just become Kazekage . . ." Naruto choked out.

"Calm down . . . Uzumaki Naruto . . ." Chiyo said.

"SHUT UP!"

". . ."

"IF YOU SAND NINJA . . . HADN'T PUT THAT MONSTER IN GAARA . . . NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED! DID YOU EVER EVEN CONSIDER WHAT GAARA THOUGHT? DID YOU EVER EVEN ASK? . . . YOU CALL HIM A JINCHURIKI HOST? WHO ARE YOU TO DECIDE THAT FATE FOR SOMEONE ELSE?"

. . .

*sob . . . sob . . . sob*

". . . Naruto . . ." Sakura whispered.

". . . I couldn't save Sasuke . . . I can't save Gaara . . . for three years . . . I trained like crazy . . . but nothing has changed . . ."

(end excerpt)

Chiyo got a real serious look on her face and went over to where Gaara's body laid. Then, she began to perform the life-transfer jutsu on Gaara, using some of Naruto's chakra. Hitomi sat nearby, hoping, praying that it would work. Suddenly, Chiyo collapsed and Gaara's eyes slowly opened. Everyone was obviously excited and Hitomi practically tackled him with a hug, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. A few minutes later, Hitomi were able to calm herself and as she wiped the tears from her eyes she said in a sarcastically loving tone:

"Jeez, Gaara, I go to all that trouble to make a better seal for Shukaku and you just end up having him removed. Glad to know my work is appreciated."

Gaara just smiled.