Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Yeah, it's probably a real shocker to you, seeing as I'm SOOO awesome. But uh. It's true.

Sachi could feel excitement welling up in her chest as they approached Konoha. She had no real reason for this happiness, at least not that she could name, but it was definitely a nice feeling. Pure bliss was an emotion Sachi hadn't felt in so long without it being tainted by her hate that she felt almost awkward. It was like a brand new feeling that she was a bit unsure she should be having. Should she try this feeling out for a change? Or would it change her into something she wasn't? – Maybe who she was right now wasn't who she really was inside or MAYBE… It was too confusing to think about, so Sachi pushed the thought to the back of her mind. Meanwhile, Orochimaru was pushing on ahead. He turned around, saw her lagging behind, and disappeared from view for a moment.

Sachi stopped running for a moment. Where had he gone?

"Meet me in the stadium. It's straight ahead- and, remember," Came a whisper in her ear, letting out a breath that sounded a bit like a scoff "Don't screw this up." Sachi turned around to see Orochimaru disappear in a cloud of smoke. A clone? A CLONE? Sachi was almost furious. She had been lead all this way by a clone of Orochimaru- and he still went faster then her! It frustrated her, though she wasn't quite sure why. But she kept going. She was already too far in to stop, and she really had nothing to lose- right?

As Sachi continued running, the gates of Konoha came into view. She knew exactly how to get past them, of course. At least, she hoped she did. As the gates neared, Sachi began to devise a plan. She thought of many ways to get past the guards- acting innocent, distracting them, or just killing them. She was about to settle for the last one when she realized there were no guards! The only thing visible from Sachi's point of view besides the gates were the giant snakes terrorizing the citizens of Konoha. Wait- what? Giant snakes? Sachi took another look and verified that yes, there were giant snakes. Then she decided (Quite quickly, might I add) the snakes belonged to Orochimaru. He DID look a lot like a snake, so he probably owned some as well. Could anyone OWN a snake? Well, he's Orochimaru- anything's possible thought Sachi, rolling her eyes.

The top of the gates passed by as Sachi soared over them, tucking her legs under herself so she wouldn't hit anything (Ouch!) Sachi found the snakes glaring at her intently, but looking away and continuing their rampage. Did they know she was with them? Maybe Orochimaru had told them? It might make sense- Orochimaru seemed to need her, even though he was so much better at… well- everything- then Sachi was. It wouldn't be very helpful, him putting all that time into training her, and then one of his snakes devouring her on her way to help him. Sachi would've laughed, had she not have known her life might be at stake.

Now Sachi was looking down on the stadium. She was aware there were a few people underneath her, so she silently clung to the top of the wall.

"Where has Sasuke gone?" She heard someone moan. It sounded sort of like that girl in the woods- Sasuke! That name, she had heard it before, in the forest of death. He was missing? Was he part of Orochimaru's plan? No, that's stupid Sachi laughed at herself Why would he want a leaf ninja? But then again, why had they "visited" Sasuke and… Sakura…? (Sachi couldn't quite remember her name, seeing as she hadn't said to much) in the woods that day? Sachi was pretty sure that was right, but was prevented from correcting herself by a voice Sachi hadn't heard before. It was deep, and calm, but friendly at the same time.

"Where else could he have gone? Really Sakura, isn't it obvious?" He said this in a cool tone, not like he was teasing the girl "After Gaara." Sachi heart skipped a beat. There was no longer thinking involved in her actions. She jumped down to where the voices were, her heart thumping in her ears. She saw the girl, Sakura, look up surprised. A scream tore from her throat and she backed away.

"Wh- What do you want?" She whispered in a hushed tone. Sound ninja and leaf ninja were clashing overhead, and Sachi was becoming impatient.

"GAARA. Where is he?" She picked the girl up by her short pink hair and looked her in the eye. "Where. Is. Gaara?" She growled. Sakura pointed a shaking finger to a hole in the wall of the stadium. Sachi threw the girl to the side and ran to the hole. Gaara was being pursued, Gaara was in danger, Gaara was…. Here. In this very place. She would find him. It would cost her her life when Orochimaru found out, but she had to see him again. She, who promised herself to protect him for the rest of their lives, who had left him for a stupid offer from a man who could quite possibly be the devil- wanted to see him.

If only for a moment, she wanted to know he was all right. She knew if she just saw him alive and well- it would be okay to die. She wasn't afraid of death. She knew that death would be the punishment for what she was doing- avoiding Orochimaru/ They had been training for this for so long- and she wasn't going to be there to help Orochimaru. She had been so quick to kill before; so eager to destroy a life, but now she wanted nothing to do with all that.

What she had wanted since the beginning of her existence was a family. She had one, once, and they loved her, so much. But she had thrown that away to see them. That's not what her mother would have wanted. She didn't live such a painful life and die such a horrible death so Sachi could throw her own life away. She had always wanted Sachi to find love- true love. Sachi had had that and much more with Gaara. But would he accept her now?

Sachi did not care to think about what she would do if Gaara no longer loved her. He had every right too, seeing as she had left him all alone, but she hoped, with all her heart, that he would still love her. She would never forget how they used to be so happy together; how they thought it would last forever. Would it? Sachi wondered as she made her way through the shrubbery. Should she turn back? Would he be better off without her? Sachi stopped for a brief moment. He was better off without her, that was for sure. Nobody needed her in their life. She was nothing but a nuisance, and she knew that, deep down. But selfishness and love kept Sachi going, so she continued on the path.

She saw some broken branches ahead, showing someone had been through here. Quite careless, and in a hurry as well- Sasuke? That meant Sasuke really was pursuing Gaara. And maybe Gaara was injured, even? It was horrible to think about. The very thought made Sachi push her limits and speed on through the trees. No one was going to hurt Gaara- never. Not as long as she was alive, which wouldn't be that much longer now.

Sachi knew a clearing was coming up ahead, and heard voices. She silently approached the clearing, using her best efforts to camouflage herself. She had become very good at this, thanks to Orochimaru. Looking down she saw two people immediately- Sasuke, and another person Sachi had never seen before. They weren't discussing anything; they were actually in the middle of battling. The person Sasuke was battling right now wasn't Gaara… what was he doing, then? Sachi didn't want to turn back now that she had come so far, but if Gaara wasn't here, it was no use. She decided to wait until the battle between Sasuke, and who ever the other guy was, to end. Maybe this guy had been a distraction or something to Sasuke. She really hoped so.

Sachi had no interest in the fight for some reason- her heart was beating too fast. So she decided to rest a bit- stupid, in the middle of a battle, but she had to clear her thoughts, and she wasn't quite sure what else to do. Thoughts of Gaara still began to flash through her head, but nothing could prevent her from drifting off to sleep- she was far too tired.

Sachi woke up shortly afterwards- she had a feeling it hadn't been too long. She didn't know exactly how she knew this- it was just a guess, and she was pretty confident in her abilities. She knew though, not hearing anyone below, that the battle had ended. She didn't bother even viewing the clearing- Sasuke had been victor, as he always is.

As Sachi continued on, she saw the path of destruction Sasuke was leaving behind him. Temari, Gaara's older sister, who Sachi had only seen once, lay on the ground, and Sachi only caught a glimpse of Temari- she had no clue what she was injured from. The only reason Sachi recognized or even remembered Temari was that huge fan. She had it with her everywhere she went, and Sachi remembered being fascinated. But not as fascinated as she had been with Kankuro, who was borderline obsessed with puppets. She had thought it was so cool, that he actually controlled a puppet in battle, but tried her hardest not to show it. She didn't want to seem overexcited. She was sure Kankuro would win the next battle, but when she saw him, defeated, Sachi began to worry. Gaara had no one left to protect him, except her.

She heard more voices up ahead, and saw that Sasuke had just reached Gaara… Gaara! She didn't quite know how to show him she was there. She had an idea though, and anything was worth trying. She put a little bit of love in the palm of her hand, mixed with a memory- yes, she could do those now- of looking at Gaara for the first time. He was caring for her, because she couldn't care for herself. Now it was Sachi's turn to pay back to favor. She took the ball and shot it at Gaara.

It hit him, but it made no sound. It just sunk in, almost slowly, almost painfully, and Gaara's eyes changed for a moment. He was engulfed in hatred, she could tell, and that little bit of love, changed him. Then his eyes went cold again, but it was a show. Sachi saw happiness radiating off of him.

"Whoever is up there, please come down." Sasuke said agitatedly "This is not your battle." Sachi came out from the cover of the trees and landed next to Gaara.

"Oh, but it is." She spoke softly. She nodded to Gaara, tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry." And she did a new move she had not yet shown anyone. Orochimaru had taught it to her- a bonus of her Gekitsuugon. She took Gaara's love and her own love and made it into a shield. Gaara couldn't interfere with the fight, until Sachi was either killed, or removed the barrier manually. His eyes flickered between Sachi and Sasuke. It didn't matter to him much what was going on, the only important thing was that Sachi was back, back for him. He wasn't going to lose her again.