Please remember Chapter 29: The Finale, a naruto fanfic

Reviews:

Itsumo Neko: You make me laugh in times I don't think I would. Thank you for your review, although you haven't given me your opinion about the chapter.

Kirri Kitty: Yeah, it might end like what everyone is thinking. Thanks for your review, Hun.

Saka Salrin: I have to make you wait, I'm glad you liked this chapter.

AngelFoxtail: It's supposedly something you could eat, when it's not made of sand of course, he-he. I'm glad you liked this story and thank you for your advice; I'll make sure I double-check my chapters before updating. Thank you for your support. God bless.

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Thanks to everyone who read this story. I can't believe we're finally here, the finale! I'm at the verge of tears. This story had made me meet so many great people who share the same interest which is bringing Gaara and Ino together. Some people might say, "Oh, 67 reviews are not too many" well, everyone has their goal of reaching a certain number. But, for my first Naruto story, I believe that's quiet great. I sincerely thank EVERYONE who had read this story or even visited the link. The number -itself- is amazing. 8447! Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to everyone who stood with me and encouraged me. Kirri Kitty, Kilulu, Itsumo Neko, Bananamike(Saka Salrin), Kikyouhater118, snickerz71 and the rest of the guys and girls reading this story. I wouldn't have been here if it wasn't for you guys!!

I know I'm blabbering a lot, but I'm just getting too emotional! I'd like to thank 'Ho-sama' who has given me the inspiration to start this fiction. So thank you very much and God bless you all.

Now, the long awaited Chapter…

I hope you like the ending.

UPDATE, August 2nd, 2007: added a couple of missing stuff to the end of this chapter.

UPDATE, JULY 11th, 2009: Fixed most typos, punctuation and grammar mistakes throughout the whole story.

Please remember, Chapter 29 [Finale]

"It's a good thing knowing that she'll survive." a faint voice said. Familiar voices talked to each other. "Do you think she'll stay like this? It's been too long" the voices continued, she could make out the voice. 'Shikamaru.' she thought, trying to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy.

"Even when she wakes, she must not know about―"

"―Wait, I think she's waking up" Sakura cut Shikamaru's sentence as she noticed that Ino was starting to come to consciousness. She took a couple of steps closer to the bed, leaning over Ino's head.

"Ino, can you hear me?" she said, causing the young blonde to slowly open her eyes. Everything was blurry to her. When she opened her eyes, she was met with wide green eyes, staring right back at her baby blue pools.

"She's awake!" she exclaimed, looking at Shikamaru who stood on the other side of the bed. "Ino, how do you feel?" he asked, reaching for her right hand. Ino blinked a couple of times, clearing the blur from her eyes. She licked her lips and gulped.

"W-Wa…" she mumbled, looking at Shikamaru who wasn't quite getting it. "What is it? What do you want?" he asked, looking worriedly at her. Ino swallowed and attempted to clear her throat.

"Water. I'm…" she mumbled, closing her eyes. Shikamaru nodded and poured a cup of water from the bed stand. Sakura moved her right hand behind Ino's head, lifting it up a bit while Shikamaru put the tip of the cup on her lips.

"Here" he softly said as he raised the cup to an appropriate angle for the water to pour down Ino's throat. She raised her right hand to move the cup so she can drink it properly. She finished it in one gulp, "Do you need more?" he asked, receiving a small 'no' from her. Sakura helped her lay comfortably down on the bed while Shikamaru put the cup back on the bed stand.

Ino blinked a couple of times, completely regaining her composure. "W-Where am I?" she asked, looking around; white walls, small couch, monitors, white sheets, all gave her a hint that she was in a hospital.

"You're in the hospital, Ino" Shikamaru said, reaching for the chair next to her and sitting down, "Tsunade-sama healed all your wounds" she said, nodding reassuringly. Ino looked down at her arms; the left arm which was broken by Gaara and the right arm which was imploded by Deidara and his clay toys, both were healed completely. She moved her fingers, her wrists then her arms, checking if they were functioning properly. Ino narrowed her eyes at the thought of the two.

"You've been out for a while. You got us all worried" Sakura said, chuckling. Ino looked up at Sakura who used her arms to sit up.

"No, you need to rest for―"

"I'm fine!" she interrupted, getting the help from Sakura to raise the angle of the bed's top part, helping Ino to sit up straight. She moved the pillows behind her back so she could sit up comfortably.

"What happened?" she asked, looking at Shikamaru who was smiling. He held her right hand and patted on it. "It's over, Ino" he simply said, chuckling. Sakura smiled and nodded. Ino blinked a couple of times, not comprehending the whole Idea.

She narrowed her eyes, "Itachi?" she mumbled, waiting for a response from her teammate.

"He was caught" he said, nodding. Ino looked quizzically at him, so he continued, "Sasuke managed to stop him in time after Naruto and Lee managed to get out of his illusions somehow" he continued, glancing at Sakura who nodded in agreement.

Ino looked at Sakura before asking, "What about Deidara?" she asked, causing the pink haired Kunoichi to look at their lazy friend.

"He's dead" Shikamaru exclaimed, causing Ino to widen her eyes. "D-Dead?!" she said, surprisingly. She sure wanted him to stop doing what he did, maybe she'd hated him and didn't wish him well, but, she never believed he would be killed.

She looked down at her trembling hands, blinking a couple of times, fighting back the tears. She had no idea why she was crying, perhaps because he spent more time with her than any relative did. Although he wasn't one, she sure enjoyed treating him like a little brother, teasing and picking on him.

"The last thing I remember," she said, looking at her right arm, "Deidara…" she mumbled, touching her right shoulder.

Shikamaru looked at Sakura and sighed, "Deidara was an intriguer along with Itachi the whole time, plotting to take over Konoha and to take what remained of Shukaku within Gaara" he said, taking a deep breath. "Deidara took your body, planning on dropping you from a distance to the ground. But you were miraculously saved." he said, blinking a couple of times, smiling at her. "It was Gaara who saved you and killed Deidara" he continued, looking at Ino who was in a complete shock.

"Gaara?" she mumbled, looking at her now balled fists before raising her head to look at the two.

"Where is he now?" she asked, causing Sakura and Shikamaru to exchange looks. Ino looked back and forth between the two, wondering what they were thinking about. She repeated her question more firmly.

"Where is Gaara?" she asked, breathing heavily. Shikamaru looked at the ground while Sakura shifted her vision towards the white sheets of the bed. Ino understood one thing from those looks.

"N-No," she mumbled, tears filling up in her eyes. "he didn't!" she said, clasping her hand on her mouth, preventing herself from breaking down in tears.

Tsunade crossed her arms, looking through the glass at the operation table, looking at the medics trying to save the Kazekage's life. She moved her vision to the side before walking out the room.

Temari was sitting anxiously outside the operation room with Kankurou, waiting to hear any news about their brother. The last thing they've heard from the medics was that he wasn't breathing, and that his heart had stopped forty-five minutes prior to their arrival which was something not so reassuring to the Suna shinobi.

Temari clasped her hands together, intertwining her fingers and resting them in front of her mouth, hoping her brother would be alright while Kankurou was pacing back and forth in front of her. He stopped for a minute, groaned then continued pacing, causing Temari to look up at him with angry eyes.

"Would you just stop that? You've driving me crazy!"

"I'm worried, ok?"

"So am I!" she exclaimed, looking at the ground. "I don't want to lose him. After all," she said, biting her bottom lip. "he's our baby brother." she said, chuckling. Temari never dared to nickname her brother, or let him hear what she said about him, but from time to time, she referred to him as baby brother whenever she talked with Kankurou.

They both turned their head towards the OR's door, seeing that Tsunade was walking out. The look on her face didn't reassure the two worried ninjas.

"Kankurou, Temari," she started, causing Temari to get up and look at her brother who looked back with the same worried expression. The start of the conversation wasn't that good. 'Please, be ok, Gaara' Temari thought, breathing slowly.

"we did our best," she continued, causing Kankurou to gape while Temari sat down, her face going pale. "he's alive, that's for sure," she continued, causing the two to slightly heave a sigh and give a small smile to each other.

"but,"

That's the word that worried the siblings. When someone says a good statement followed by the word but, one should know that it's not a good thing.

"he used more Chakura than his body could take. He damaged his body cells and muscles. We restored most of them, but the rest is up to him now." She said, taking a deep breath, "In order to do so, we must remove the last part of Shukaku" Tsunade said, causing the siblings to exchange looks.

"What are the odds?" Kankurou asked while Temari waited for Hokage's answer.

"There's a thirty percent chance that he'll survive" she replied, looking firmly at the siblings. Kankurou looked at the ground while Temari held back her tears.

"Do it!" Kankurou said, causing Temari to look at him. "What are you doing?"

"Shukaku is the one causing trouble for him, thus, they have to get rid of him" he said, looking firmly at his sister. Temari noticed that Kankurou was hiding his emotions; she knew he was suffering inside, even more than her. He's gotten closer to Gaara than she would ever be to him.

"But that would..." Temari stopped herself. She didn't want to be pessimistic.

"I know, but that's the best for him. Knowing Gaara, he'd probably ask for the same thing." Kankurou interrupted, causing her to look at the ground, nodding slowly. Tsunade was watching the two arguing before the puppet master turned to face her, nodding.

"Alright" she said, nodding before turning around.

"Tsunade-sama." she heard Temari call her, forcing her to turn around. "Yes?" she calmly said, noticing that the blonde Suna Kunoichi was at the verge of tears.

"Please, help him" she said, holding back the tears. Tsunade narrowed her eyes. Seeing the young woman worry about her young brother reminded her of someone she never thought about in a while.

'Nawaki-kun' Tsunade thought, remembering her younger brother, dying in her arms. She smiled at Temari and nodded. "I will do my best." she said, turning around and walking away.

As she walked towards her office, she started thinking about her younger brother. Back then, she was an inexperienced med-nin, yet she tried her best to save her brother. How devastated she felt when they told her that there was nothing she could do, how it broke her down to pieces when she looked down at her bloody hands, knowing that there was nothing to be done. She hated that feeling; she lived with it, still living with it until now. She stopped in front of her office door, looking at the ground.

The look in Temari's eyes and the worried expression on Kankurou's face made her think about the whole situation. Gaara was a threat to Konoha, yet now she's been asked to help him. After all, he's the Kazekage, the head of Sunagakure, Konoha's ally. Tsunade took a deep breath and diverted her destination, going to the library in the next room.

"I won't let them feel the way I felt" she said, looking through the scrolls and old books about extracting the Demon beasts.

Shizune was walking towards Tsunade's office when she stopped outside the library, looking at her leader and mentor, watching how she flipped through the pages, moved her fingers across the scrolls, reading and encrypting its content.

She knocked on the door, "Yes?" Tsunade replied, not moving her head up from what she was doing. "Do you need any help, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked, making Tsunade look up at her subordinate.

"No, thank you" she said, nodding. Shizune smiled and nodded back. "Alright" she said, bowing before walking out the door.

"Shizune!" Tsunade said, making the young brunette turn around and face her. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?" she asked, as she watched Tsunade stand straight, looking firmly at her.

"I want you to check Gaara's condition and keep an eye on him at all times" she ordered, receiving a nod from Shizune.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" she replied, bowing again before going out the room and towards the OR.

Tsunade took a deep breath and exhaled it, looking at the book in her hands before turning her head towards the window and towards the Hokage Mountain, looking at the faces of the previous Hokages.

"Lend me your wisdom and faith. Support me in helping him" she said, narrowing her eyes sadly. She sighed heavily before turning her head towards the book. Then suddenly, a book fell from the top shelves with a loud thump, causing Tsunade to jump backwards a bit.

"What is this?" she said, looking at the dusty book lying on the ground. She walked from where she stood and towards the book, picking it up.

"No way" she said, flipping through the pages of the book, smiling once she found what she wanted.

"That's it!" she said, closing the book and walking out of the room, towards her office.

Temari and Kankurou have asked Shizune if they could see their brother. In a matter of seconds, they were inside the room, looking at the almost lifeless body of their brother. Temari gulped, holding back her tears, her breath and her screams while Kankurou put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Temari, Pull yourself together!" he said, glaring at his sister who simply nodded. They both looked at Gaara, his body attached to several monitors and machines, making it hard for them to look at him. Temari walked to one side of the bed, looking at her brother.

"He looks so peaceful when he's asleep, doesn't he?" she asked, chuckling yet sadly. Kankurou nodded. "Yeah, you're right about that" he said, smiling sadly as well. Temari sighed, causing Kankurou to look up at her.

"He'll pull through, I know him. Gaara never gives up." He said, looking at the peaceful face of his brother. "After all, he's got a whole village to lead" he said, putting his hopes in his brother. Temari nodded and looked at her brother, before holding his hand in hers.

"Stay with us, Gaara" she whispered, in hopes he could hear her.

"He's got a whole village to lead"

"Stay with us, Gaara"

He heard familiar voices. "Kankurou, Temari." he mumbled, opening his eyes. He was in a white area, surrounded by light everywhere. Wherever he turned, he found that he was in the middle of a very wide and vast area of whiteness.

"Is it over?" he asked himself, looking at the ground.

"Yes, it is." he heard a deep dreadful voice say, making him grimace. "Why won't you leave me the hell alone?" he quietly said.

"I'm part of you as you are a part of me" the voice of Shukaku continued, "You killed that young man. You're a murderer by blood, a monster." He said, making Gaara look at his hands. He looked in front of him to see Deidara's body, lying on the ground in front of him.

"You're a murder, a monster!"

"A monster!"

The words repeated over and over again in Gaara's head, pulling him closer into believing that statement. Ever since he was a child, he was called a monster. Growing up, he'd been called a monster because he was; he loved killing people or plainly hurt them. His goal of existence was to kill everyone other than himself, protect and love himself more than anyone else. Now, when he finally found peace and love with his siblings, his village and with the love of his life, Ino, everything was messed up.

It just had to go wrong.

It was like he was meant to live miserably, destined to live a life full of sadness, sorrow and suffering forevermore. He looked at his hands, balling them into fists. He was taking in the fact that he was a monster, that he is a monster. He narrowed his eyes as the scenery around him changed into darkness, pure darkness.

"That's better now, isn't it?" he heard Shukaku say those words in his head as his voice started to grow louder and closer. Gaara looked up to see himself face to face with the Ichibi, the sand colored, black-eyed with yellow pupils, one tailed Shukaku.

"Then, let's bring havoc to the world, shall we?" he said, his voice echoing the place. Gaara looked at the ground with a lost expression on his face before looking up at the monster, smirking.

His eyes shot open, looking right and left at his surroundings. Temari and Kankurou looked at him and smiled, "Gaara!" Temari said, smiling as she squeezed harder on his hand. Gaara glared at her before turning his head to his brother.

"Glad you could make it, buddy. I knew you could do it!" Kankurou said, laughing. "Didn't I tell ya? You just had to cry about it" Kankurou said, receiving a punch from his older sister. Gaara looked back and forth between the two.

'Cry about it?' he thought, looking at his sister and noticing the hint of tears starting to form in her eyes. 'Why would she cry? Did she really care about me?' He looked at his brother who was telling him something encouraging, but he wasn't clearly hearing him. It was different words he was hearing.

"You're a monster"

Gaara snatched his hand away from his sister's grip and clutched the sides of his head. "No!" he yelled, shaking his head. Kankurou and Temari looked at each other before holding Gaara's shoulders.

"Gaara, what's wro―"

"Get it out of me! Get it out of my head!" he yelled, squirming in his bed. Kankurou turned to the monitor to see Gaara's heartbeats going up, escalating at an unbelievable rate.

"Temari!" he yelled, receiving a nod from his sister before she disappeared out of the room. His vision moved towards Gaara who was obviously in pain, beads of sweat started forming on his face and arms. Kankurou cursed when he noticed Small grains of sand starting to appear from the cracks between each tile of the floor.

"Shit!" he said, leaning lower to his brother's level. "Gaara, control yourself, man. We'll help you through this. Everyone's here for you!" he said, trying to reassure his brother.

"Everyone is worried about you. Ino's worried about you as well" he had to say that, knowing that it might be a lie, but it also might be the truth as well.

Gaara stopped squirming, breathing shallowly, moving his vision to his brother, still shaking. "I-Ino?" he mumbled, receiving a frantic nod from his older brother.

"Yeah, Yeah, Ino, your girlfriend, remember?" he said, smiling and holding his brother's shoulders. Kankurou moved his vision towards the heart beats monitor to see that his heart beats were still escalating.

'What's taking so long, Temari?!' he thought, glaring at the door. It seemed as if his prayers were answered once Temari walked in with Tsunade.

"What's going on?" She asked, looking at Kankurou who was holding Gaara down. "We don't know. He was slowly waking up when suddenly he started complaining about something, telling us to get it out of his head" Temari explained while Tsunade walked towards Gaara who was glaring at her. She got closer to his bed and stood next to him.

"How do you feel?" she asked, looking at him straight in the eye. He kept glaring at her, shaking his head.

"Get her away from you. You don't need her help" he heard him say, causing him to sit up straight, fighting off Kankurou's grip.

"Stay away from me!" he yelled, clutching the sides of his head, digging his nails into it. Temari looked back and forth between all three of them, concentrating more on her youngest brother. Tsunade looked at Temari, noticing her anxiety, before turning her attention fully at Gaara.

"Your brother is lying; she's not going to be there for you. She's not even thinking about you, that Ino"

"Ino!" Gaara yelled, clutching his head harder that it bled, his heart beats racing up. Kankurou looked at Temari before looking at Tsunade who nodded, knowing what the two were thinking.

"Get her here as fast as you can!"

"N-No," she mumbled, tears filling up in her eyes. "he didn't!" she said, clasping her hand on her mouth, preventing herself from breaking down in tears.

Shikamaru looked at Ino, taking her hand in his, "Look, we don't know yet. Don't worry about him" he said, trying to reassure her as hard as he could. Ino looked at the white sheet of her bed, clutching it with her left hand.

Sakura looked at Ino and sat on the bed, resting her hand on Ino's leg, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Don't worry, girl, you and I know he'll pull through" she said, smiling. Ino looked at Sakura with tearful eyes, nodding and looking at her legs.

She was mentally having a fight with herself. First, she dated him, realizing that she'd fallen completely in love with him, and then he got into a fight with her, resulting in breaking her arm and him telling her that she was a liar and that she betrayed his trust. Every time she looked back at that moment, she believed his words. She did hurt him. She was kissing another guy when she was supposed to be loyal to him. He had all the right to do what he'd done, that's from her point of view. She thought he hated her, and would never think of her the same again. Even if she worried about him now and apologized later, he wouldn't accept her apology, not in a million years.

She kept believing that until the point when Shikamaru told her that Gaara was the one saving her. He was the one who killed Deidara, probably because of what the latter did to her. That's when the thoughts ran through her head.

'Did you forgive me, Gaara? Or you just did that because you hated him for what he's done to you?'

Her thoughts confused her, forcing her to close her eyes to clear her thoughts for a while. Shikamaru and Sakura were both quiet, knowing that their friend needed some quiet time.

Ino's quiet time was over as soon as the door was kicked open.

"Shikamaru!" a frantic Temari said, panting. He got up, looking at his girlfriend worriedly. "What's going on?!" he questioned, noticing the look on her face. Temari moved her vision from her boyfriend towards Ino who was looking as if she'd seen a ghost, realizing why Temari had come there for.

At that particular second, millions of thoughts ran through her head. 'He's dead. She came here to tell us that Gaara died and there's nothing they can do', Ino thought, tears slowly making their way down her cheek. Temari looked at Ino for a second before gulping, opening her mouth to speak up.

"Ino," she started, all eyes turned towards the blonde girl lying on the bed. "it's Gaara," she said, blinking a couple of times, causing Ino to almost break in tears.

"Ino, Slow Down" Shikamaru said, running as fast as he could to follow up with his friend. She ran towards Gaara's room like there was no tomorrow, replaying Temari's words in her head:

'He called out your name. He needs you, Ino!'

Ino cried on her way to his room, cried because she felt she wouldn't be able to reach out for him, wouldn't get there in time. She was getting closer to his room, almost hearing Tsunade's voice say:

"Gaara, Stay with me, Damn it!"

Ino jerked the door open, looked in front of her, panting heavily. Gaara was lying lifelessly on the bed while Tsunade was trying to resuscitate him. Ino's breaths shortened as she walked slowly into the room. Her tears were clinging in before they raced out of her eyes. She moved her vision to the side to see the heart monitor, the flat green line and the annoying high-pitched noise that came with it. She looked back at Gaara, her lips quivering. She continued on her way, walking slowly to his side.

"Ino, get out of here!" Tsunade ordered, but she realized that Ino wasn't able to hear her. Her mind was somewhere else.

"Gaara." she mumbled, looking at his very pale skin, his pale lips, his closed eyes, and his lifeless body as the truth ran in her mind.

She was losing him.

Five minutes later, Tsunade stopped her attempts, looking at Gaara body and the flat line on the monitor. She looked at Ino who was still frozen in her place, eyes glued at Gaara. She looked at the doorway to see Kankurou, holding Temari who was crying her heart out in his arms as he was trying to get a grip on himself, before breaking down in tears as well. Shikamaru was outside the room, looking sadly at the ground.

Tsunade moved her eyes back at Temari, narrowing her eyes. She was crying, crying because she lost her little brother. Tsunade knew that the vow she made wasn't kept.

"I failed" she mumbled to herself, looking at Gaara's body before turning the machines off. She looked at the clock to check the time of death, not wanting to announce it for it would be inappropriate in the presence of his loved ones. The room was suddenly dead silent, as Temari held back her cries and walked towards her brother's body, Kankurou walking along.

"Gaara." she mumbled, "Baby brother" she said, touching his hand. "Don't leave, please" she continued, falling to her knees, crying. Kankurou went to her side and held her in his arms.

"Temari, please, stop." He pleaded; realizing that he was at the verge of tears himself. He pulled his sister up to her feet and carried her out of the room. Shikamaru moved his eyes to his girlfriend, meeting hers. He sadly narrowed his eyes as she took a couple of steps towards him, falling into his arms.

"He's gone. My baby brother is gone." she said, crying into his chest. Shikamaru rubbed her back, unable to say anything to comfort her in a situation like this. He looked up to see that Kankurou was walking away; Shikamaru was able to sense that he was crying, hurt inside, all that just by looking at his retreating back. Shikamaru held her in his arms, whispering his apologies to her before taking her away from the room.

Tsunade was looking at Ino who was sorely and dead silent. Her eyes, empty and painful, were glued at Gaara's body. Tsunade looked at the ground before retreating out of the room, leaving Ino alone with him.

She couldn't believe it, a couple of weeks have passed since she met him, hung out with him and fell in love with him. It was all surreal to her; now that she was standing silently, looking at his lifeless body. She sat down next to him, her hand moving slowly towards his, holding it in her hands.

"Temari said you needed me." she mumbled, sobbing lightly, "I couldn't be here for you." she continued, squeezing on his hand. "I wish you could hear me, Gaara, I really do" she continued, her other hand reaching for his cheek, caressing it softly.

"It's been a while." she said, leaning forward and giving him a peck on the lips, wishing he would kiss her back and wake up. That thought made her cry, moving her head to his chest and sobbing into it.

"Gaara!" she yelled, clutching his hospital wear, "Don't leave me!" she yelled, crying her heart out in his chest. "Just when I realized that I love you more than anything in my life, just when I knew that I w-want you to be w-with m-me forever, just when I thought you could forgive me for what I've done, you do this and l-leave me behind!" she said, crying with much pain and sorrow, burning in her heart.

"I won't let you die, Gaara, I won't!" she said, raising her head to look at him. "Open your eyes, talk to me!" she said, sobbing and sniffing. "Please, honey." she said, wishing he would comply with her words.

"I love you, Gaara!" she exclaimed, looking at his pale face, "I love everything about you; your smile, your voice, your eyes, your face, your lips, everything about you. I love the way you make me feel whenever we're together, the way you hold my hand, the way we kiss, the way we reassure each other that everything will be just fine" she continued, sobbing. Ino moved her left hand behind his head while her other caressed his cheek.

"I know you can hear me, Gaara, everyone knows you can't die now. You just can't!" she exclaimed, knowing that she could bring him back, she just didn't know how. "I can't live without you" she mumbled, breathing sharply as her tears were pouring out.

"Gaara, please remember. Remember how you've been there for me when I got into the hospital because of my injury. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been here. Remember our times together, when we laughed at the park, making out between the flowers, carefree and happy. I know you can remember that, Gaara, I know!" she yelled, crying. "Please remember," she said, resting her head on his chest, closing her eyes.

"remember that I need you"

"Wake up!" the voice demanded, ordering Gaara to open his eyes. He opened them slowly, looking at his surroundings. He felt like he was cramped in a small box, unable to move outside its barrier.

"You won't die just yet. You live, I live, remember the deal?" he said, standing in front of Gaara. The latter looked up at him, barely able to do so.

"You're the reason behind everything" Gaara said, narrowing his eyes, "So why don't you leave me the hell alone!" he said, more of a statement than a question.

"You're dying, or better yet, you're already dead. No one is around you, no one can bring you back" he continued, narrowing his big black, yellow-pupil eyes at him. Gaara looked down and hugged his legs.

'No one is around? That's a lie' he thought, remembering how when he first woke up, he found himself face to face with his siblings:

"They believed in me. They knew I would pull through it. They were by my side and I wasn't alone." he mumbled, looking up at Ichibi (one-tailed).

"They were all there for me. It's all my fault that they're in vain" he continued, "It's entirely your fault!" he said, making Ichibi laugh,

"Oh, please, when you can't be responsible for your mistake, you blame others? How pathetic!" he said, laughing, causing Gaara to glare at him, breathing heavily.

"If you hadn't shown up, I wouldn't have hurt Ino; things wouldn't have been screwed up like that" he said. His words made the barrier around him weaker.

"You couldn't have lived if it wasn't for me―"

"―It's because of their love that I managed to pass through my childhood. My sibling's support is what has gotten me to where I am" Gaara said, narrowing his eyes at the one tailed beast, remembering his brother's words a couple of years ago:

"If there's anyone who deserves to be our father's successor and Sunagakure's leader, it's you, Gaara"

He remembered Temari's words:

"You'll make a great Kazekage, and we're behind you all the way, Kazekage-sama" she said, winking at him

"I won't let my past stand in the way of my life" he said, breaking through the barrier, Ichibi took a huge step backwards. "You're only a small part within me. You're nothing but a mere bump in the road, a parasite that needs to be removed." Gaara said, glaring at him.

He narrowed his eyes at the Ichibi as a huge hole opened behind him, sucking him towards its center, almost sucking Gaara in the process. Wind started to hit him from every side, thunder started appearing from the center of the hole.

"What are you doing? You're where you are because of me! My abilities have helped you through everything. I protected you from harm; I took care of you when you hurt yourself, when everyone hurt you."

Gaara narrowed his eyes, looking angrily at Ichibi. "Go to hell" he said, forcing ichibi into the black hole that appeared behind him.

"You'll pay for this, Gaara!" Shukaku yelled, as he disappeared into the darkness, that black hole closing behind him. Gaara sighed and looked at the ground, "He's gone" he mumbled, looking at the space in front of him.

"What is that?" he said, looking closely at the scene in front of him. He felt as he was floating outside his own body. He saw it, his own body lying at the hospital bed. He saw her, next to him.

"Ino," he mumbled, his lips slowly curving into a smile, "you came for me." he said, hearing her faint words.

"…I love you, Gaara!"

"I-I…I can't live without you"

"…. you've been there for me…"

"…If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been here…"

"...I need you"

Suddenly, he felt his chest ache. Gaara moved both his hands to his chest and screamed.

Thump, thump…

Her eyes shot open, 'What?' she thought, knowing what she'd heard. 'Could I be imagining it?' she thought. That's when it happened again…

Thump, thump…

She looked up at his face, "G-Gaara?" she mumbled, resting her hand on his chest. "Gaara, can you hear me?" she mumbled, her tears slowly making their way out of her eyes once she felt it against her hand.

Thump, thump…

Ino got up and ran towards the door, "TSUNADE-SAMA!" she yelled, looking at the long corridor, before running back to his side, sitting on the bed, resting her head on his chest.

Thump, thump…

Thump…………. thump…….

'No!' Ino thought as his heart beats started dying down. She looked at his face before looking at the door again, moving her vision back to his body.

'I don't know what to do!' she thought, almost crying. "Somebody, please help!" She yelled, looking back at Gaara. At that moment, she remembered a scene from a documentary movie she watched with Sakura where a doctor gave his patient a CPR.

She nodded, deciding to go on with it. She remembered what the doctor did and copied it. Ino adjusted Gaara's head before taking a deep breath. 'It's now or never' she thought as she placed her lips on his, breathing into him.

"C'mon, Gaara!" She said, placing her palms on his chest and started pumping, five times, before breathing into him again.

"Don't you die on me, please!" she said, pumping his chest with both hands. She didn't know what she was doing, but she was trying her best, she wasn't going to let him die.

"I won't let you die, Gaara, I'm not giving up on you" she said, giving him one last breath before he jerked up, gasping for breath. Ino gasped, taking a couple of steps backwards, pausing for a couple of seconds, watching him take his breath then exhaling it, repeating the process over and over again. Ino wasn't fully aware of what just happened.

"G-G…Gaara!" she screamed, throwing her arms around him, holding him closer to her before bursting into tears. Gaara, not fully aware of his surroundings, remained silent and still, not moving a single muscle.

Ino could hear a couple of footsteps running closer to the room. "Ino, what's the matter?" Tsunade asked, before her breath was caught in her throat. Temari and Shikamaru were there as well.

"Gaara!" Temari yelled, running inside the room and stood next to her younger brother, caressing his hair. "How did you?" she asked, looking at Ino who was crying, now crying the tears of joy. Ino shook her head, not knowing what she exactly did. All she knew that she did it.

She saved Gaara's life.

A couple of weeks have passed and everyone returned to their normal lives. Ino's parents weren't dead as Deidara said. They were found in the attic of their house that same day, safe and unharmed. Lee was taken to the hospital to treat his wounds, luckily for him; it was none other than Kagome that treated him. The treatment ended up with Lee asking her out on a date; a real date this time.

Shikamaru took his relationship with Temari to a whole new level, announcing that he was fully committed to her. Knowing that Shikamaru was too lazy to commit to anything, people started thinking she might be pregnant; their friends were part of those people.

Kakashi kept on visiting the memorial of the Konoha martyrs, until that day he was surprised by someone he didn't expect to see, presumed to be dead. He was reunited with his childhood friend, Rin, who told him she wanted to stay away from him ever since they lost their Uchiha friend that day. She told him that she wasn't able to face the memories, yet she realized she had to do that one day. In a matter of weeks, the whole village knew the two were dating. Naruto was the one spreading the rumor even before Kakashi and Rin started their relationship.

Sasuke and Sakura were committed to each other, being called love birds by their teammate and friends. Naruto had the courage to confront Hinata's father to ask her out on a date, which ended up with Naruto having a mental shock while the Hyuuga's were laughing their head off, including the Hyuuga prodigy, Neji.

Itachi was sent to the correctional facility in the village of Rocks where he'll be spending the rest of his life mopping floors and being picked on by others.

Kankurou found a girl named Ayumi that shared a very interesting hobby with him. They met at a puppets maker's shop which was owned by her grandfather in Konoha. The two hit it off pretty well. Temari never thought her brother would actually have a girlfriend in a short period of time.

Lee and Gai sensei kept their youthful attitude, which was overused whenever they were around Neji and Tenten, who have –finally- got together after a long argument resulted in the two disappearing suddenly away from the others.

Jiraiya published a new volume of his Icha-Icha series which was named 'Icha-Icha world: Naruto edition'. Of course, Jiraiya didn't know that the book was A) published with that name and B) was even published. Turned out, it was all Naruto's doings.

However; the book had made top sales during the first two days, making Naruto the number one writer and assistant to Jiraiya, despite his young age.

Speaking of Naruto, he was forced to pay Shikamaru for his little 'trick' on his and Temari's date in the restaurant earlier that year, making Naruto's little Gama-money-purse go flat, resulting in Naruto's depression.

He was also forced to train with Neji instead of Tenten for the problems he caused for the two. Unfortunately for Naruto, he had no idea how the Hyuuga trained, resulting in giving him a black eye, bloodied nose and a couple of broken ribs.

Then there was Gaara and Ino.

Well, let's say that those two have gotten closer than before. They spent all the time together, talking about different things, sometimes practicing together or having dinner which would often end up with both of them making sweet love to each other.

You're wondering what happened to that last part of Shukaku? Well, Gaara said that he was gone all of the sudden. After a few tests and experiments done by Tsunade, they found no sign of the demon beast inside its host. They figured that Gaara managed to fight him off by himself.

And then there was this day, the day none of them wanted it to come.

Gaara was in his bedroom, checking himself one last time in the mirror.

"If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you're getting more into fashion" a voice said, causing him to turn his head towards the door way.

"You'll never learn to knock the door, will you?" Gaara said, smirking at his older brother who was laughing.

"C'mon, you're holding us back. Everyone's waiting" Kankurou said, leaving the room. Gaara smiled and shook his head, sighing heavily.

"Alright" he said, following his brother.

"I can't believe you guys are leaving!" Lee exclaimed, standing next to his girlfriend, Kagome. "Can't you stay a bit longer?" he said, a hint of tears in his eyes. Gaara shook his head.

"We've caused enough trouble here. It's time for us to leave" he said, nodding at him. Lee couldn't contain himself and tears strolled down his cheek.

Neji rolled his eyes, "God, here he goes again―"

"―I hate goodbyes. It's very un-youthful!" Lee exclaimed, wiping his tears away, causing everyone to laugh.

Gaara, for a first, laughed along, looking at everyone standing in front of him. They were all here and willing to say their goodbyes, except for her.

Shikamaru noticed the look in Gaara's eyes and turned to Chouji, "Where is she?" he whispered, receiving a shoulder shrug from his friend. "I don't know. She said she'd be here" he replied, looking around.

"Well, it's time to go" Kankurou said, receiving a nod from his siblings. Temari ran to Shikamaru and hugged him, causing everyone to laugh.

"Don't you cheat on me!" she said, hugging him tightly. "Why would I do that? What you gave me last night was enough to last for two friggin years" he joked, causing him to be punched hard in the head.

"Idiot!" she said, holding her fist up. "You don't have to let everyone know about that!" she exclaimed out loud, causing everyone to break into fit of laughter. Gaara looked around one last time for any sign of his girlfriend, but there was none.

"Temari" he firmly said, causing the blonde to turn to her brother and nod, before turning back to her Nara lover.

"Don't forget to write" she said, kissing his lips. Words like "Get a room", "Super Kawaii" and "this is youthful" were heard around, causing another fit of giggles and laughter and an eyes-roll from a certain purple-eyed prodigy.

Shikamaru broke the kiss and laughed, "And miss telling you my adventures around here? Hell no!" he said, laughing. Temari raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms

"What kind of adventures would you have? You spend all day lying down with nothing to do" she said, smirking before walking to her brothers' side. Kankurou looked at his girlfriend, dark-haired, green-eyed Ayumi who was smiling sadly at him. He chuckled and pulled her into a hug.

"I'll see you soon, ok?" he said, kissing the top of her head. She nodded and looked up at him. "You bet!" she exclaimed, laughing. He gave her a long, innocent kiss before parting.

"Don't forget everything I told you about" he said, winking at her. She blushed and chuckled. "I'll follow your advices" she said, nodding. Kankurou gave her one last hug and a peck on the lips before walking towards his siblings.

"We'll see you guys soon" Kankurou said, as the three of them walked away towards the main gate.

Kankurou looked at his brother, walking between him and his sister, noticing the disappointed look on his face.

"It's not too late, I'm sure she'll show up" he said, receiving a low nod from his younger brother. As soon as they stepped out of the gate, Gaara realized that it was too late for her to show up.

'I'm sure she was busy with something' he said, trying to convince himself that she didn't bail on him. A couple of seconds later, he heard a set of footsteps running towards him. He stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around.

"Gaara!" she yelled, tears strolling down her cheeks, running as fast as she could towards him. He smiled as she jumped at him, throwing her arms around him. He spun a couple of times, holding her in his arms.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so sorry. My alarm clock didn't go off and I drifted in sleep. I'm so sorry" she kept blabbering on and on why she was late, leaving a very amused Gaara, smiling at her.

"Ino…"

"…If I didn't show up I wouldn't…"

"…Ino…"

"…have forgiven myself, and I know you…"

"…Ino!"

"…you wouldn't have forgiven me also and―" her sentence was cut when Gaara brought his lips down to hers.

"Finally, someone to shut blondie up!" Kankurou exclaimed as he and Temari turned around and started walking away as slow as they can, giving them some privacy as Gaara and Ino lip locked for a couple of seconds, before breaking apart for breath.

Ino opened her eyes a couple of seconds later, looking at Gaara who had a big smile on his face. "Stop apologizing. You're here after all" he said, chuckling. Ino smiled, before she started crying.

"I'm going to miss you" she said, burying her head in his chest. Gaara narrowed his eyes, draping his arms around her, pulling her deeper into his embrace.

He wasn't the type of guys to get emotional, but the past couple of months have been full of a lot of things; things he didn't imagine would happen to him. The most important one of them is that he met her, that he fell in love with her from the moment he laid eyes on her.

Gaara swore that he could feel something funny in his chest and stomach, the feeling of inability to breathe, something he never experienced before.

That's when he felt something go down his cheeks, causing him to move one of his hands towards his cheek, wiping away whatever was on his face.

Ino looked up at him, her cries turned into chuckles. "You're crying," she exclaimed, wiping the tears off of his face. "why?" she asked, draping her arms around his neck. He looked down, before looking up into the baby blue pools they called her eyes.

"I'm going to miss being with you, Ino" he said, smiling sadly. "Promise me we'll stay in contact" he said, moving the famous strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I promise, Gaara-kun," she said, smiling. "I promise" she said, tiptoeing and claiming his lips with hers. Both were kissing passionately, hungrily, lovingly for each other. Ino cupped his face and deepened the kiss, allowing him the entrance to her mouth. He moved his hands up and down her sides before resting on her hips. She was able to feel his tears fall down on her hands, making her cry as well.

He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. "You'll always be here, Ino" he said, taking her hand and resting it on his chest; where his heart was. "I promise" he said, smiling at her. She cried, nodding. "You're a part of me." she said, sobbing. Gaara hugged her one last time, kissing her forehead.

"I love you, Ino" he mumbled, breathing in her scent one last time, her beautiful floral scent which was one of the things he loved about her.

She wept, literally wept in his chest, before looking up at him. Gaara shook his head, "Ino, don't cry, please." He pleaded, with a sad smile on his face. Ino nodded and chuckled, her tears still flowing down her cheeks. She wiped his tears away from his pale cheeks.

"It's not good looking for a man to cry" she said, chuckling, causing him to laugh. He nodded, "I'll take your word" he said, kissing her lips one last time, one innocent, very long kiss. Ino realized it might be the last time she would be with him, kiss him and hold him in a long, very long time. He reached up for her hands which were on his cheeks and held them in his.

He pulled back, taking a couple of steps backwards, still holding her hands in his. "I'll see you soon, Ino" he said, letting go of her left hand. Ino nodded with a sad smile on her face. "Yes, soon" she mumbled, tears strolled down her cheek once he let go of her other hand. He nodded and turned around, following his siblings who were a couple of meters ahead of him.

Ino stood there, holding her hand against her chest.

Times, sometimes the time just slips away
And we're left with this today
Left with the memories
I, I'll always think of you and smile
And be happy for the times
I had you with me

"Gaara!"

He stopped his steps, taking a deep breath and turning his head to the side. "I love you too." She said, the hint of yearn was already in her voice. He smiled and nodded, continuing his journey.

Though we go our separate ways
I won't forget
So don't forget
The memories we made.
Please remember

"Hey," Ino turned her head to the side to see her best friend, Shikamaru, standing next to her. "you'll be alright" he said, looking at his friend who was in tears. Shikamaru draped his arm around his friend as they both looked at the retreating backs of the ones they loved.

Please remember
I was there for you
When you were there for me
Please remember
Our times together
When time was yours and mine
And we were wild and free
Please remember…

"Gaara, Please," Ino mumbled, "please remember me" she said, leaning on her friend as they both waved at the Suna no Shinobi as they walked back to their village.

AH!! Gaara left! WAAAH! What an ending!

But…I didn't write THE END, now, did I? That means…

There's an epilogue!!

Wait for it, people!

Ja na and please review