A/N: Sorry, this chapter is a little short. I'm also really sorry it took so long for me to get it to you. I've been busy, and writer's block wasn't helping... ;.;

OMG it's Gaara!

Chapter Ten: Riia's Back!

Gretchen awoke, covers tangled around her limbs. She opened one eye sleepily, and slowly unwound herself. The girl slid out of bed, and, still half asleep, walked towards the wall where the hallway leading to her bathroom would have been, had she still been in her dimension. A sharp bruise woke her up completely, and realized she hadn't had a shower since she'd gotten here. The thought of asking Gaara entered, and just as quickly, exited, her mind.

She decided to simply wander until she found a bathroom. By the time this task had been completed, Sam, Amy, and Cathryn had woken up, and were looking for her.

"Gretchen?" Amy called. "Where could we get some food?"

"Hold on," came a muffled voice from two rooms over. Gretchen emerged, dressed, but wet. One eye was closed. "Food? Come on." She beckoned for the others to follow, and they did.

Ichiraku Ramen had just opened. "This is the only place I can give you for food," Gretchen said, motioning at the ramen stand. "Anything else you want and you'll have to find it yourself." She took a seat, and braced herself.

Pretty soon, Naruto came bounding up, and landed neatly in his seat. He glanced at Gretchen, then went about ordering his breakfast. Gretchen stayed silent, slumped on the counter. The shower hadn't woken her up completely, and Riia's situation refused to leave her mind. Naruto tilted his head and watched her, forking ramen into his mouth as he did so. "Run out of ramen again?" Gretchen's voice, so sudden and depressed, surprised him.

"Um... Maybe?" The girl sighed, and said nothing more.

Suddenly a rough hand placed itself on Gretchen's shoulder, and she whirled around. It was Kakashi. Her startled face turned to a disgruntled one, and she turned back to the counter. Kakashi sighed.

"Just came to tell you, Riia's doing better. You can go talk to her, if you want."

"Hmf." Gretchen had no intention of speaking to Kakashi just now. He shrugged, and leapt off, having delivered his message and nothing to do.

"Hey!" Naruto's voice pierced her thoughts, and she looked up sharply.

"What?"

"Riia, that's the girl you were with yesterday, right?"

"Mm-hm." Gretchen nodded.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing," Gretchen snapped, and slid off the stool, heading towards the hospital. Naruto was left quite confused, staring at her.

Gretchen plodded into the hospital. "Can I see Riia? I'm her friend."

"Of course. Dow-" The woman at the front desk cut off. Gretchen had already gone down to Riia's room. She knew where it was. Gretchen opened the door, and cautiously entered. She was surprised to see Riia lying awake on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling. She looked over and Gretchen, and her expression brightened. Riia sat up hurriedly.

"Gretchen! Hi!"

"You're sounding pretty cheery for someone who just almost got killed." Gretchen walked to her side, smiling.

"Almost!" she echoed. "Thanks for picking up my headband." She had it in her hands, fingers wound around it lovingly.

"You're welcome. Glad to see you're doing better."

"Yup. I should get out of here pretty soon. They've already cleaned me up and bandaged me, so I'm pretty much good to go." Riia's face turned serious. "How's Gaara?"

"I dunno. He seemed normal... for himself... the last time I saw him. And besides, why'd you go running off like that, you idiot? You had me worried sick and I had to get Kakashi to help and then he got Ibiki and we all got stabbed in the arm..."

"I don't want Gaara to start changing yet! That has to wait until after his fight with Naruto! And I'm sorry about the whole Ibiki thing... I got off worse than you anyway!"

There was silence for a while, and Riia went back to staring at her headband.

"Yeah... I'm gonna go back to the apartments. You get some rest." Gretchen left the room, and Riia sighed, falling back on her bed into reclining position.

Gretchen wandered around Konoha for a while, Riia's predicament still on her mind. Riia was right, Gaara couldn't change until after his fight with Naruto, otherwise that would mess up the whole storyline. But Riia was infatuated with Gaara... Gretchen pursed her lips. Well, Riia would just have to be patient and wait.

The next day, Gretchen woke to be poked sharply on the shoulder. "Mmf. Go 'way." She slowly opened her eyes, then sat straight up when she saw it had been Riia who'd poked her. "Riia? That was fast."

"I know, right?" She was wearing her red kimono and gourd again, and Gretchen wasn't too surprised to see the Sand headband on her head. "There wasn't anything stuck in me, or infected, just a huge cut. So I got to go!"

"When did they let you out?"

"This morning. You overslept, nya." She stuck her tongue out at Gretchen, and walked to the door.

"Hey, Riia." She stopped.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Gaara yet?" There was an awkward silence, and Riia pulled at a loose thread on her outfit.

"No... not really."

"Why?" Riia didn't answer. "Well?"

"... Because I don't want him to change until his fight with Naruto."

"Riia, he's changed already just by meeting you. Avoiding him is gonna make things worse."

"But I thought you didn't want to change the plot either." Riia turned around and looked at Gretchen suspiciously.

"I don't, but... If Gaara's already changed, you can't change him back!" Riia's suspicious look vanished.

"Oh, fine. Can't change the past, hm? I'm not gonna go running after him, though. If he wants to talk to me, he can come find me. ... You wanna go find some other place to have breakfast besides Ichiraku?" Gretchen nodded and slid off her bed, stretching briefly before following Riia out the door.

The pair wandered around Konoha for a while, before finding a suitable place to eat. They sat down and ordered breakfast. The meal was ate in silence, for the most part, and then Riia noticed Gaara walking towards the hospital. She tilted her head and stared. What's he want at the hospital? ... Gretchen noticed Riia's stare and turned to look.

"Why's Gaara going to the hospital?" Gretchen asked. Riia thought for a bit, then her eyes lit up.

"He's going to get Lee, remember? Oh... He's probably not going to be as ruthless as he usually is..." Riia got up from her seat, hastily placed some money on the table, and followed Gaara. Gretchen stared for a bit more, then followed Riia, an exasperated look on her face.