oOXOo

"Hold onto to me, hold on always, never let me go." -Madi

oOXOo

I stuffed my clothes into a black backpack, with food and a water bottle that would last me for a week. It was late. The moon gleamed into my room to illuminate it just enough for me to be able to see.

When I finished packing, I slung my bag over my shoulder and crawled onto the window ledge. This was it.

This was either the worst mistake I've ever made, or the best solution I've come up with.

I was running away.

I had a map and supplies that would eventually get me to Konoha in around…. Five days journey give or take.

This was a brash decision, I know, but… I had to get to first, I had to go see Gaara.

Once I jumped out of the window, I used chakra to let myself silently land on the ground. I turned, looking one last time at the place I grew up in. I smiled, turning my back and using chakra to run silently away into the night.

I'm sorry mom, dad, everyone.

There are things that are above you.

As I ran towards the Kazekage household, I noticed Gaara's light still on. Good. Using the chakra pushed into the soles of my feet, I used all of my concentration skills to begin to walk up the side of the house.

I had to plan a week in advance. Well. Not "plan" but train for a whole week of non-stop chakra control. If I was going to survive, as a seven year old girl, on an open road to Konoha, I had to get stronger.

What was I going to do about Gaara though?

I didn't realize it, but I did impact his life. He was happier. And… I couldn't stay with him. Hopefully, I made enough of an impact in his life that he would be happy until I meet him again. I would meet him again. No matter what.

I grabbed onto the ledge of his window, holding on and pulling myself into the room silently.

Standing from my spot, I scanned the room.

Gaara stared at me in shock, but a small smile began to form on his face. "Kaida-chan? What are you doing here?"

I smiled back. "I have to talk to you. Will you listen?"

Gaara nodded his head.

I moved to sit down onto his bed, letting him sit down next to me. After a few moments of silence, I began to speak.

"I'm leaving Suna."

Gaara's eyes widened, his small hand reaching out and taking mine. "N-No! You can't go Kaida-chan!"

My heart began to ache, watching him beg me to stay. This must have been what Sasuke felt when Sakura begged him to stay.

"...I have to Gaara. I have to do something." I reached up, cupping his cheek and wiping his tears away with my thumb. "Please don't cry Panda-kun… You'll see me again."

"W-why? Why are you leaving me? I-I thought… I thought we were friends…"

My eyes widened.

"We are friends Gaara! Of course we are! I care about you so much! But.. I have to do this. I have to do this for the better of everyone." I hugged him close to my chest, feeling him shake against my hold.

"I don't want you to leave… Please don't leave me…." My heart hurts.

"I don't want to… but I have to…"

"Then… let me come with you!" Gaara looked up to me, his sea green eyes filled with tears. "Please! I promise… I promise you-" "You can't… I'm sorry Gaara. It's too dangerous, and Suna needs you here."

"No they don't!" Gaara bowed his head to hide his tears. "Suna hates me! Suna would rather me dead! My dad does too! Everyone… even Temari… Kankuro… everyone despises me… I killed my mother… I killed those men… I keep killing and I can't stop it…"

He wrapped his hands around my waist, holding me. I shouldn't have come. This was near impossible to do now.

"Please! Let me come with you! You're the only one… the only precious person…" Tears dripped down my cheek, landing on the bed sheets. I began to cry, hugging him tighter and burying my face into his shoulder.

So this was what emotion felt like.

The feeling of genuine, extreme care for another person.

It feels like having your heart wrenched out of your chest for anyone to throw rocks at.

"... I don't expect you to understand why I'm doing this now… One day, when I see you again, I'll tell you. Everything. I'll tell you, and we can go out for Dango. If… I don't see you or if you don't find me when the time comes, I'll find you. I promise." I could feel him shake even more now.

"K-Kaida-"

"Please Gaara… I have to do this."

He froze in my arms, his head tilting a bit to rest his cheek on my shoulder.

After a moment of silence, I felt him nod.

"...Alright." He whispered.

I let out a sigh, pulling away to look at his face. His eyes were red and puffy, his nose stuffed up, his cheeks bright red.

"...I'm going to give you something." I said, taking my bag off and opening it. I took out a small panda bear stuffed animal with a white bow wrapped around it. Gaara's eyes widened.

I handed it to him, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. "I saw it… and thought of you. So… don't forget about me alright?"

Gaara began to cry again, hugging the bear. "I-I'd never forget about you… I promise… I'll find you one day…"

I smiled, leaning forwards and kissing his forehead. Once I pulled away, I stood. Slinging the backpack over my shoulder, I jumped onto the window ledge and turned.

Gaara stared at me, watching my movements.

"You are not hated. You are loved by many even though it may not seem so. You're strong Gaara. You're strong and brave. Please… stay strong for me. No matter how much people will break you down."

He nodded. "I promise." He squeezed the bear.

I grinned one last time, wiping my tears away before jumping out the window.

oOo

I had to stop by day two.

My legs were exhausted and I was hungry. According to the map I was three days off of Konoha. So… a while to go.

I groaned, falling back onto the ground. I was taking the road by the forest, setting up camp by the river.

As I scanned the map, marking the places I've been to and passed by, I noticed Konoha wouldn't be that far away. I would probably get there by tomorrow.

I looked down at my hand. Dirt and gravel covered the pale skin.

As a seven year old, I was much more… fragile. I disliked it.

My bones were easily broken, my skin easily bruised.

I felt so vulnerable.

I sighed, taking off my clothes one by one and stepping into the water. It was cold, but nothing I couldn't handle. My skin shivered from the sensation.

I began to wipe off the dirt and gravel on my small body, my hand hesitating from passing by my newfound black mark over my heart.

When I bonded with the dragon spirit, this strange mark formed over my heart. It was kanji for something. I didn't really know how to read it, but... I would find out sooner or later. I didn't really bother myself with the whole "Dragon-war-spirit-bonding" thing. I had other things on my mind.

Besides, no spirit had contacted me yet. Not like Kurama contacted Naruto. Nothing happened to me. So I kind of assumed my spirit was inactive.

I was so out of it, I didn't notice the two men appearing out of the bushes.

Shit. I really needed to start paying attention.

I looked up, staring into the eyes of a man with red, tousled hair and light brown eyes. He looked at me for a moment, and I looked at him.

My cheeks began to inflame as I opened my mouth to scream. In an instant, he vanished from my sight. A shadow loomed over me, a hand covered my mouth. All I could think of was, 'Again?!'

I narrowed my eyes, focusing all of my chakra to my elbows and attempted to elbow him in the gut.

My attack hit, but the man didn't move. Something was really off about this guy.

I felt his other arm move up towards my neck. Was he… going to kill me?!

"Sasori, stop." Another voice said in front of me. I felt him freeze up, his hand an inch from my neck. I looked up to where the voice came from and stared into the eyes of….

Orochimaru.

Oh shit.

xXx

"Sasori, stop."

Sasori froze, looking up at his partner with a stoic expression. Orochimaru was in front of the girl, walking on water with chakra in his feet. He kneeled to her level and reached towards the chest area.

He touched the kanji on her chest with his index finger. She flinched.

"What is it?" Sasori asked impatiently.

"...The kanji on her stomach."

"Yes, what about it?"

"It's unique. Do you know what this means? Who this girl is?"

"No. Nor do I care."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "You are careless Sasori-san."

Sasori looked down at the girl. She didn't seem special. Her hair was white, wet, and below her shoulder blades. Her skin was pale. Her eyes were deep blue.

"What? Who is she then?" He scowled, not liking how his partner was talking to him.

"She's a dragon." He said, taking hold of the girl's chin. He made her look at him, the fear in her eyes was undeniable.

Sasori raised an eyebrow. "A dragon? Never heard of them."

Orochimaru sighed. "Of course not. Most shinobi don't. I thought they were all extinct."

Sasori snorted. "She doesn't look like a dragon." He noted.

"Of course not. She, herself, is not a dragon, but she has a dragon within her. This mark on her chest shows that. It's the kanji for dragon, which means she has already bonded."

The girl began to thrash against Sasori's hold. He narrowed his eyes and held her tighter. "Stop struggling." He ordered.

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Let me go so I can put my clothes on." She said in a mock tone.

Sasori scowled before letting her go. She covered her body with her hands, moving towards the very visible camp set up on the shore. Quickly, she began to put on black leggings and a black, short sleeved shirt.

"If you try to run, we'll kill you." Orochimaru said.

The girl didn't even glance at them. "I'm aware of it." She answered.

Once she was all dressed, she walked over to the open fire that was roasting fish. She just… acted like they weren't there.

Sasori narrowed his eyes. "Oi brat-" "Do you want some?" She interrupted, holding out a stick with a fish on it.

Sasori was about to complain, but Orochimaru cut in.

"Sure." He said, taking the stick and sitting next to the girl.

She took a bite out of hers, looking up at him and holding out another stick.

Sasori sighed, taking the stick from her and joining them.

"So what is a young girl like you doing here?" Orochimaru asked. Sasori looked at him. What was he doing?

His eyes widened.

Oh.

He was assessing her. He was determining whether or not to take her with them.

The girl shrugged. "I'm just… travelling I guess. What are two Akatsuki members doing out here?"

Both males stiffened.

She noticed.

She looked up in terror, her deep blue eyes wide. Sasori made a move, but Orochimaru stopped him.

"...How do you know about the Akatsuki?" Orochimaru asked calmly.

She stayed silent, her breathing getting more and more irregular. She was panicking. Sasori narrowed his eyes.

"We should kill her." He declared.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "If we kill her the dragons would truly be extinct. We should bring her to base so I can… examine her."

The girl backed away from them, dropping her fish.

"I won't let you dissect me!" She yelled at Orochimaru, her eyes filled with more fear. Orochimaru's eyes widened. How did she know about what he did?

The girl turned, grabbing her black backpack and beginning to run away. Sasori and Orochimaru moved into action, running behind her and grabbing her hand. Orochimaru lifted the girl up, his tongue slithering out of his mouth and towards her neck.

The girl's eyes widened, realizing she had been caught when…

All of a sudden, the girl being held in Orochimaru's hand dispersed into smoke.

Both men's eyes widened. When did she…

oOo

Kaida ran as fast as she could away from the camp. She concealed her chakra signature, making sure she wasn't being followed.

Well… that was not how she wanted her first meeting with Sasori to go.

She continued running, hoping she wouldn't be spotted or caught.

She bit her bottom lip. Shit. Shit. Orochimaru knew about her now.

This was really setting her up for destruction.

By sheer luck, she managed to evade the two Akatsuki men. She assumed they lost interest in her, or couldn't trace her. Hopefully both.

She was exhausted. Her seven year old legs were aching.

But she finally made it to the next town, finding a small inn on the outskirts of the city. Thankfully, she managed to grab her bag before she abandoned camp. In it, was her money and some food.

She paid for her room, finally being able to feel like she was on some level, safe. She collapsed onto the bed, her head sinking into the soft pillow. She should put up a genjutsu. Or something to change her appearance.

She didn't know how to though.

She brought a couple scrolls on "How-to-ninjutsu", "How-to-genjutsu", and "How-to-control-chakra". So she took out the genjutsu scroll and scanned through it.

"Push chakra around your body, imagine what you want to change into, and exert chakra." She read, standing up. She put the scroll down, took a deep breath, and concentrated.

Nothing happened.

Kaida squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push chakra out of her body.

Nothing happened.

She growled in frustration, falling back onto the bed.

"... I have to.. Become a better ninja. For this world. I will." She said to herself, promising to no one.

Without a care in the world, she shut her eyes and dreamed of nothing.

oOXOo

Chapter End.

Author's note: Hey how was it?

I was trying to think, "How are you going to introduce the Akatsuki into this? Why would they not kill Kaida?"

Then I realized, she could use the whole, "Dragon-spirit" thing as a defense. The Akatsuki wouldn't kill her if she could be of use to them. Right? That's like killing the jinchuriki without extracting them.

There's virtually no point in killing her because they don't know how she could be of use to them.

I know Kaida is young. She is seven years old physically, but mentally she is around… 24. So she's clever.

She is below genin level. Like she explained before, she was in the bottom of her class. But she is a quick learner due to her being mentally aged. She chakra control would be easy for her to understand and use to her advantage.

I know Orochimaru seems OOC now. I tried to think of how he would act in the Akatsuki, how he would react to seeing a little girl with something he wants, and how Sasori would act to the whole situation. This is what I came up with and I hope it's not terrible.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Reviews are great!