Alrighty. Now, if you haven't read the latest chapter of She Brings Out The Best yet, you might want to. Possibly before you even read this here chapter. Why? Because they overlap. That's why.

Otulia: And we don't own Naruto. Just Chiocho.

Orochimaru's Plan

Gaara raced through the countryside with his teammates. They were headed to the Hidden Leaf Village under the pretense of delivering a message from the Kazekage.

He touched the headband on his arm, thinking of Chiocho. He hadn't wanted to leave her so soon, before she had recovered, but there was no choice when working with Orochimaru. You did as you were instructed, or you were killed.

He thought back to what the Sanin had told them about the mission.

"There is a girl who worked for Arashi Mushin in Konoha. I'm afraid that I've scared her away before I was finished with her."

Gaara remembered that girl; she had always sat quietly in the shadows when Mushin visited with the Kazekage.

"You will assist me in retrieving her. You will infiltrate the village, while I remain outside."

He had always considered Orochimaru cowardly, and each time they worked with him, he became even more convinced.

"I can lure her from the village. Your job is to create a disturbance so that no one knows she is missing until it's too late."

He doubted if they'd be able to get out of this alive. It was suicide, to cause trouble in Konoha without reinforcement.

"You must be weary from your journey," the leaf ninja said to them. "You can rest here for the night. The Hokage will see you in the morning."

They retired into the rooms allotted to them. As soon as their escort had left, they gathered in Baki's room.

"You know the signal," the Jonin said. "Split up until it comes. I'll join you once you've begun. Until then, I'll stay here, to draw off suspicion."

The three nodded. One by one, they left the building to wander around the village until it was time to do their part.

Gaara took to the rooftops, avoiding the crowded streets. Evening was fast approaching, and the signal would come soon.

He chose a quieter area to wait. He made his way to the center of the roof of a large building, probably a hospital. He sat down, staring blankly at nothing in particular.

A moment later, something caught his vision. Someone was climbing up onto the roof. She appeared to be off-balance, and as he watched, she started to fall. Without thinking, he leapt forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her back up.

"Oh wow…thanks," she said, breathing heavily. She looked up, and a shock of recognition shot through him. He'd seen this girl before.

"Gaara? What are you doing here?" So she knew him, too. That almost proved his suspicion.

"You're that girl who always came with Arashi Mushin to talk to the Kazekage," he stated. She nodded. He had been right. This girl was Rienne Bascott, the one Orochimaru was after. Sighing inwardly, he returned to his seat.

She sat beside him. "You're so unhappy," she said quietly. He glanced at her; how could she know? "Why do you let them use you?"

He looked at her sharply. "What do you mean?" he asked. She knew more than she was letting on. Maybe that was the real reason Orochimaru wanted her. She could know something he would prefer to keep secret.

"You know that they only want your strength, Gaara. I could see that every time I visited Suna." Then, after a pause, she added, "You shouldn't let them force you to do something you don't believe in." Gaara thought about this. He had been forced to do things he didn't believe in. And he'd never had the courage to say no.

She sighed sadly. "That's why I ran away from Mushin-sama. He wanted me to fight my friends. I wouldn't do it."

He looked at her for a moment, processing her words. Orochimaru had said he'd scared her away. Did that mean he'd been disguised as Mushin? And if so, did that mean that Mushin was…dead? He didn't like that possibility. Arashi Mushin had been one of the few people to treat him respect.

A flock of birds suddenly burst from the trees just outside the village, scattering. Rienne was staring at them, eyes wide. Gaara knew what it was; the signal. If Orochimaru was right, Rienne would go right to him.

She stood, hesitating. "I've got to go," she said, before leaping off the roof. Gaara watched her for a moment. Orochimaru might just kill her. And…he couldn't let that happen.

He ran in the other direction, to the place where he was to meet Kankuro and Temari. They would stop Orochimaru. It was time they stopped cowering in fear.

His teammates were already there. "Gaara, you're late! We have to hurry!" Temari said frantically.

"We're not helping that snake," Gaara replied angrily.

"What are you talking about?" Kankuro asked, stepping in.

"We're not Orochimaru's dogs," he growled. "And it's time we stopped acting like it."

A ninja who had been standing nearby came over to them. "Is something the matter?" he asked pleasantly, smiling through the mask that covered the lower half of his face.

"Orochimaru is outside the village," Gaara said without hesitation. "He's come for a girl named Rienne, and he'll probably kill her." Temari and Kankuro looked at him in shock, but said nothing. The damage was done, and they could only wait out the storm.

"Orochimaru! This isn't good. Gai, gather up as many shinobi as you can, quickly!"

Another ninja nodded, and vanished. "Can you lead me to him?"

Gaara nodded. "We have to hurry; he'll have her by now."

By the time they'd reached the gates, a dozen ninja had joined them. They raced out into the forest, Gaara leading the way. Temari, just behind him, asked, "Gaara, why do you want to save this girl?"

Why? Because…because of her own sadness, hidden so deeply, and the truth in her words. Because of her kindness toward him, even though she knows what he is. And because…because she's like Chiocho. And he could never stand by if his best friend was in danger.

He didn't answer. He couldn't.

"How do you know Orochimaru is here?" a ninja about Gaara's age asked. He looked at him with pale, piercing eyes.

"He ordered us to create a disturbance, so he could escape."

"And you betrayed him? Why?"

"I won't be his dog anymore." The fierceness with which Gaara spoke those words started the other ninja. But he didn't leave.

"I'm glad. I don't want anything to happen to Rienne. She's been through too much."

"It's just ahead," Gaara said. The word was passed to the others, and they fell silent.

They came to a stop, greeted by a frightening sight. Orochimaru had Rienne pinned to a tree with his tongue in snake form. "What a pretty trick," he was saying. "It will be of great use to me."

There was no time to think what he meant. They had to act. A young kunoichi stepped forward, and threw a large shuriken. It sliced straight through Orochimaru's tongue, and he backed away, afraid.

"Nice shot, TenTen," the pale eyed ninja told the girl. An instant later, everyone but the sand ninja were rushing at Orochimaru. He vanished into the earth, and escaped.

A grief-stricken cry drew Gaara's attention. "He killed my uncle!" Rienne was clinging to the pale eyes ninja, sobbing. It made him hate Orochimaru even more. The cruelty he showed was sickening.

Not as good as the chap for She Brings Out The Best, but it sure gives Gaara's reasons for the betrayal! Go Gaara!!! Well, what do you think? Tell me please!!!!