Author's Note: About the chapter: Orochimaru let's his anger at Kabuto go quickly because let's think about this logically, does he want to admit Kabuto is right? and does he want to lose Kabuto who takes care of everything? Merry belated Christmas to all! I got the PS2 I wanted! Yay! The last couple chapters are short and too the point. Please don't kill the writer for the length! I just don't like filler shit! See all of ya soon!

"KABUTO!" Orochimaru stormed into Kabuto's room, his face a picture of fury. "Where the hell is Gaara?"

"He's on his way to Konoha." Kabuto replied calmly, as he continued to write.

"And why exactly is he out there and not in here?"

Kabuto sighed and turned around, putting down his quill. Kabuto ignored the look of rage on his master's face and spoke the truth. "Because you were getting far to attached to the boy for your own good. He was a tool, nothing more. If you kept on getting so emotionally involved your plan would never have worked. You know Suna views Gaara as their weapon. If they were to ever find out where he was you would be dead. And if you did not let go of your feelings for him, it would kill you in the end."

Orochimaru gazed down at him. "And why the hell do you say that?"

Kabuto stared him straight in the face. "Because you wouldn't have had the will power to kill him."

"If he needs to die then why'd you let him go?"

"If we kept him here with us, he would have either needed to be turned to your side (which would never happen) or disposed of. By releasing him, we have given him the false security that we never wanted him for any particular reason in the first place."

Orochimaru smirked at Kabuto, his anger slowly ebbing away. "I remember now why I hired you."

Kabuto bowed his head before turning back to his desk. "Now sir, about what we were speaking of earlier…"

"Of course Kabuto, let's talk about that shall we?"

Break-

Gaara's feet dragged along the ground. How long had he been out here again? Two weeks? Three weeks? Gaara didn't really notice anymore. The red-head was exhausted, mentally and physically. He had probably gone the distance a normal person would have walked in four days as compared to his two and a half weeks. Walking in and of itself was a tiring feat. His back ached constantly and he was always tired. Sleeping on the ground without anything but a pillow wasn't helping much. As a result of his sleeping habits, his body was sorer then before, protesting at the slightest strain of muscles.

Gaara was currently walking alongside a river he figured must lead towards Konoha. He recalled a time when he had looked at a map of the world and noticed a long river that ran nearly the length of the chart. It started up near the northern borders of Grass Country and led all the way into Fire Country. It didn't quite reach Konoha, but it was pretty damn close. Gaara presumed this must be the river, seeing as he was in Grass Country the last time he'd checked. As long as he kept to the river, Gaara figured he'd be fine for the remainder of the journey. No need to look for water and if his food didn't last…well, fishing was an option, and there was always a first time for everything. Hell, if he was lucky enough, he might be able to find some Konoha ninja on the trip. That was what Gaara was hoping for anyways.

With an exhausted sigh, Gaara sat down, ready for another nap. Gaara took a pause as he was about to lie down. He could have sworn he heard something in the brush. 'Shukaku?'

'Yes Gaara?'

'Do you want to kill something?'

Gaara could feel the smirk in his head. 'When would I ever answer that question no?'

'Then when I go to sleep, kill whoever it is that's out there. You can do it without using chakra. Besides, if it was a friend they'd have come out by now.'

'As you wish…Gaara.'

Gaara flopped back into the grass, uncaring that a demon was about to use his body to kill. He was just too damn tired to care anymore. Without another thought, Sabaku no Gaara was dead asleep. And the man, who'd thought he was free, was completely unaware of the fate that lay in store for him…

Break-

Gaara awoke abruptly, turning over just in time to puke everywhere. The babies were kicking frantically in his belly, rejecting the metallic smell of fresh blood. Gaara immediately stripped, crawling to the water to bathe. When he was done, clean and changed, Gaara scrubbed his old set of clothes, trying desperately to get the blood out. Although he got most of the stains out, the smell still remained. Well, there went his last spare set of clothes. Now the only clothes he had were the ones on his back.

Gaara stared at the ruined clothes in irritation. He shoved them in his pack, not wanting anyone to find the dirty garments. With a wobble, Gaara stood and looked around him. A trail of blood led from his resting place to a large tree. An unidentifiable corpse lay in bloody ruins. His facial features were incomprehensible and bile soon ran up Gaara's throat.

Gaara stumbled off, trying to fight back the nasty taste in his mouth. He started on his journey again, surprised that he wasn't more remorseful about killing the other man. But then again, Gaara was fed up with people trying to catch him and use him. –cough- Orochimaru –cough-

His pace was ridiculously slow as he walked on. His swollen ankles were protesting, the tight skin on his protruding belly itched, and his back was constantly reminding him of what he was carrying. To top it off, his stomach, just recently, had decided to randomly spasm, making Gaara even more uncomfortable then he was before. Gaara hoped this would all be over soon. After all, he was getting extremely annoyed with this damn wilderness. The bugs, the dirt, the hard ground…etc, etc…the vein on his forehead popped out and he almost wished he was back in his bed at Orochimaru's. Almost.