Disclaimer. . . kind of: The world is round--or is it?

Kaiya held the pen steady in her chilled hand as she began to write. She mostly stayed off the cold by reminding herself that she would not have to deal with it much longer.

To the future owner of this home,

She began to write:

I was only able to last for three months in this frozen wonderland. Indeed, I had believed that the people would compensate the coldness by having warm hearts. On the contrary they have hearts of ice. I have tried to join them while they were at market, while they work even to the point of going to their homes and asking to come in. Each time I approached they would turn away from me or look right through me to the point that I was confident that I could do a jig in front of the town and no one would say a word, or even look at me. (I have even started talking to my snowman. Yes, after three months it still stands strong in the front yard of this abandoned house.)

I have learned nothing except this: I cannot force someone to open their heart to me. Perhaps they do not like my hair dyed red, or the fact that I am a stranger to this area, but every time I approached a door and watched my knuckles turn light-red as I tried to communicate with these people I was saddened. surviving alone is difficult, but this has lead me to understand Haku's feeling better. His birth place was unrelenting.

Sorry, I got off topic. All I meant to write was a wish of good luck for you! I could not get through, but perhaps you may.

-Kaiya

After a large inhale of the cold lifeless air Kaiya placed the metal pendent that gave her being strength to move and survive so far away from her real form, in a hallowed out space in the wall, covered it up, then quickly made herself disappear in a puff of smoke.

)))

"I don't know," Gaara mumbled, "it makes the clouds look cool."

Hearing this Kaiya started to look at the small mass of puff in the sky, but an unrelenting chill consumed her and she stumbled to her knees.

"Kaiya-san!" Gaara exclaimed as he rush to her side. He placed a hand on her elbow to help her up and gasped. "You are deathly cold."

All Kaiya could do was hold tight to the broach that she always kept with her. The shock of receiving the memories from a clone that has been apart for so long was most devastating. On top of the shock Kaiya found that these memories were depressing and hopeless. They were all of a town of snow and they had suddenly flooded into her very essence. She was not just shaking from the cold, no, she was shaking from fear and rage.

What kind of future did that town hope for if they shut out any and all kinds of change? Why had she (at least a version of herself) try so hard?

"Because we were made to learn the limits of our existence." came the answer in her own voice, but she felt so removed.

"Kaiya you are mumbling strange things, maybe you should go get some sleep." Gaara said.

Looking into Gaara's sleepless eyes Kaiya said, "Gaara, I have a favor to ask you," she bowed her head until her forehead was touching the sand covered roof. "will you help me convince your brother to teach me how to make puppets."

Gaara seemed surprised at first, but he laughed lightly and replied, "Sure."

Sasuke found himself in a sewer. A strange greenish light filled the area, but he was defiantly in a sewer.

Sasuke was not very advanced when it came to controlling the place that an illusion took him. Usually he would find himself in the other person's worst nightmare. Then again, he had never imagined that a person's worst nightmare could be a sewer. Just imaging the goop coming to life to "ooohh" at him made Sasuke want to bust out laughing.

I suppose being in a sewer would be the more horrible place for a girl who really cares about her looks. Sasuke thought.

She was not too far away from him crouching against the wall covering her ears and keeping her eyes closed. She was truly frightened. She was even humming to herself.

Okay, so maybe she not afraid of the grime, since she is hugging that wall like it is her only life line. Sasuke noted.

Suddenly, a growl tore the air, then a voice the seeped into Sasuke's ears and filled his entire body with a . . . soft comfort?

"Come to me child. You will be safe with my help." the voice cooed and with it came a light breezing wind. The girl had her back facing towards the sound and she shook when the breeze came.

"No!" the blond yelled while her eye snapped open with dread. That was when she finally noticed Sasuke. Flying to her feet she reached out to him crying, "You are here too!?"

Looking around Sasuke said, "Why are we here? From what I can see you are more scared of that voice than this tunnel."

The girl looked at the ground for a moment before she softly said, "I'm not sure . . . but thank goodness we aren't closer." she wrapped her arms around herself to quell her shakings.

In other words, Sasuke reasoned, she is more scared of getting closer to the voice than the actually voice itself. With a smirk Sasuke dashed past her.

"No!" she screamed.

Sasuke was almost at the turn, moments way from seeing this girls worst nightmare, but before he could take the last step he was stopped. Arms wrapped around him from behind and pulled him down towards the dank floor.

If Sakura had been shocked when Sasuke had pretty much hugged Kaiya, then she didn't understand what shock was because when Kaiya wrapped her arms around Sasuke, Sakura's heart stopped.

Of course Kaiya hadn't been conscience of her actions in the real world, she had just been trying to stop Sasuke from taking anymore steps towards the monster who haunted the nightmares of Konoha.

As Kaiya felled backwards towards the dank floor of the Kyuubi's prison, pulling Sasuke with her, the body she seemed to have left behind also fell.

Sasuke came to on top of her. He was being held so tightly that his cheek was pressed to hers and he heard her faint whisper next to his ear, "Did you forget what I taught you?" she whispered then took a shuttering breath as liquid seeped through her mask and onto Sasuke's face. "Are you happy?"

Her voice held no sarcasm. Sasuke could sense no spite. Instead, those words took him away from his hate, away from his ideals and placed him in a place where fish could become beacons of hope and people were more than things to learn from or despise. A girl with brown hair from the land of the wind had, for a few hours, shone him what life was from the other side of the dark wall he had built.

Sasuke quickly moved away and stared at the girl. "Who are you!" he demanded, there was no question in his mind this was the girl from the festival, but if that was true then why was she wearing a head band from Konoha? What was she doing there at that moment when she had abandoned him all those years ago.

Like a fool he had gone to the hotel and asked for her, but they hadn't even had guests from Sunagakure for a good year. She soon became something of a spirit to Sasuke. He had never told anyone about her, not even Naruto or Sakura yet here was a girl reciting lines from that night.

She slowly rose to her feet and bowed to him as she answered, "I am Maitsuki, Kaiya."

Sasuke gave her an incredulous look before he said, "Kai-ya? Like that fish?"

Turning away she coughed and Sasuke noticed that her mask was wet, but not with tears or water. Reaching up Sasuke wiped of his cheek to find blood. When had she been hurt?

No he had to clear his head, if he lost focus now his dreams would never come true. Sure, he wanted to know why this girl, whose name was most likely not Kaiya, had left after that night. He wanted to know who she was and what she had done with her life and why she had ended up on the team that was trying to tie him to Konoha again, but that could wait.

Orochimaru appeared behind Sasuke and said softly. "Everything has been cleared out. You did well at distracting them, Sasuke."

Kabuto coughed.

"Yes, you as well. They might have ran right into the hideout if you hadn't shone them the long way."

"I knew--!" Sakura exclaimed, but she was interrupted.

Kaiya hadn't been listening to the newcomer. She was just focusing on Sasuke the pain of traveling added with the pain of almost meeting the kyuubi was making her head throb. She focused her tunneled vision on the arrogant dweeb that had made her suffer all this and asked, with all the strength she had left, "Are you happy?"

All Sasuke did in reply was move his head down like he was bowing to a person that was hardly worth his time, then he disappeared in a whirl of wind and Kaiya found herself face to face with the ground.

Wow, I thought that I had already posted this. . . well, hope you enjoyed.

Oh, and about the disclaimer, I tend to say that when I'm in awkward situations, like when I haven't posted for a while.