A/N: Inner turmoil! I'm really liking these chapters, does that make me some kind of sadist or something?

Sooooo, my writing drive seems to be feigning. Not seriously, I'm still writing the story! Just, ever since I thought of a new story my brain has been all about that. So once that leaves my brain space, things will pick up again. But, until then they might slow down a bit. I'm doing my best but I don't want to force anything because then it just won't be any good.

Enjoy!

The next morning Setsuko opened her eyes groggily, feeling her eyes strain to adjust to the light. With a soft groan, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, looking around. How had she gotten on the floor? With a deep inhale, she ran her hands over her face a few times to try and wake herself up, feeling a sharp pain. Touching the spot gently, she winced and pulled her hand away. Taking a moment to allow the pain to lessen, she touched the spot on her cheek again. Running her fingertips over the wound, she felt the crystallization of blood and dried smears just below it. Getting up gracefully, she walked to her bathroom and looked at her face in the mirror. When she finally saw the wound and cut in her shirt, she gasped as the memories of the night before came rushing back to her as if she had been punched square in the face.

Washing away the dried blood, Setsuko threw off the over sized shirt that covered her tank top. She was already going to get questions from Temari when she saw her face; she didn't need anymore unwanted attention. The closer you get…The closer I get as well. The words echoed in her ears like drums playing in the night. Her body stiffened as she was about to leave her room. If she got any closer then they might be hurt; he might be hurt. She remembered telling Naruto that she would never do anything to hurt him. What was she to do? Should she return home, a most certain death sentence, or remain in Suna's protective custody until things had cleared up, causing the death of thousands of innocent people?

Her confused eyes looked down, her hand barely at the knob to the door; it was trembling. Was she scared? Was she nervous? She wanted nothing more than to know the answer, but she knew that no one had the answers but herself. It was something she would have to figure out on her own. She had to keep her distance from them, all of them. There was no way she would allow them to be hurt because of her! Her hand gripped the knob and she walked out, greeted by Temari stuffing her face in the kitchen.

"You're up kinda early huh?" she said through bites.

Setsuko didn't say a word as she sat down at the island and placed her chin in her hands. There was a far off look in her eyes, like she was thinking about something, but Temari wasn't sure.

"Hey." She waved a hand in front of her face. "You alright in there?"

Setsuko blinked and looked over at her. There was something definitely bothering her. "Do you mind if I spend some time alone today?"

She was a little surprised by the question. Setsuko wasn't the loner type; she liked the company of people, it seemed to always make her happiest. "Mmm, well Gaara said that we need to head home today. That our vacation is over but…since he already went on ahead of us, I guess it couldn't hurt." It was then that she finally noticed the cut on Setsuko's face. She nearly choked on her food. "Setsuko! What happened to your face?"

"Oh…" she brought her fingers to the cut; it was still tender. "I guess I fell out of bed last night and hit the night table."

Her voice was unusually calm and quiet when she was normally happy and loud. "Hm, alright."

"Don't worry, I'll try and be quick." Setsuko dismissed herself from the kitchen without even bothering to eat anything and walked back into her room.

Hearing the click of the door closing, Setsuko pushed off it and began getting ready for her day. Gaara had already left the village and soon, she and Temari would be leaving as well. She had made up negotiations with the Hokage about their alliance to her final liking and everything was in place. Well, not everything. As she stood in the shower, her hand touched her cheek as if causing the night to replay in her mind on repeat. The pain she felt was more centered on her chest than her face. She worried for Gaara and herself; that woman was dangerous. Getting out of the shower she didn't bother grabbing a towel, walking through the tiled bathroom naked.

Reaching the fogged over mirror she wiped away the condensation to look at her reflection. Her normally vibrant eyes were clouded over in thought, watching every drop of water that rolled off her ivory skin as if they were the only things that mattered. Down each contour of her hourglass shape, falling from her chest that looked too large for her small body and dripping from the ends of her hair onto the floor; she watched them all. Her hands touched the counter as if to brace herself, she felt so lost right now. She had promised she would never hurt Gaara but how could she keep a promise like that when her very presence put him in danger?

Her clothes were simple and light; practical. She left her hair down, not caring that it flowed endlessly down her back. In fact, she didn't care about much today. Wordlessly she left Temari behind, still lost in her haze of thoughts, wondering just what she was left with. If she stayed with Gaara, it was possible that he, and the rest of his people would die and it would be her fault. However, if she left, if she did as the assassin wanted, she would be the only one to die; the only one hurt. She could spare Gaara anymore pain from her hell storm of how to express her feelings for him. Her feet stopped, looking up from her whirlwind of thoughts at the castle to her right. A hand came to her chest as the memories from last night flooded her mind. Her heart beat wildly against her chest, filling her ears with nothing but the noise of her own pulse. There lips had been so close; her fingers smoothed over her lips. She desperately wanted to feel the sting of him against her. No! She could never allow that to happen. If she did…

Turning away from the castle, her feet continued to walk in an unknown direction to her. It didn't really matter, Setsuko wasn't all at home anyways. Her person seemed to have drifted off to a far off place to try and get some answers. She needed to know what to do! The smirk that woman had given her from under that mask, it spoke volumes. She was someone who enjoyed the pain of others; she enjoyed watching them squirm before snuffing them out. Wasn't that how most assassins were? And the way she spoke about personal things like her mother's necklace. Her hand went up to the cameo necklace that now sat in its place. This woman, this assassin, was very good. She made sure to know her targets that way she could play with her food; if Setsuko was to use the same play on words she had.

Her blue irises watched the dirt road beneath her feet, never looking up. People naturally avoided bumping into her, but she never saw or heard them. The only things on her mind were the choices she had to make and how they would impact the people involved. Most would think that a Princess wouldn't care, that she only cared about herself and her title. Setsuko was not like that, never had been. She had always been grounded and tried her hardest to connect to people even when she wasn't allowed. She wanted, no needed, to not feel so alone. All her life, all she had wanted was someone to love and love her back; she had finally found that in Maki. It was almost too perfect, which must have been why it was ripped away from her. Now, now she was finding that in Gaara; well most of that. She wasn't trying to replace Maki, or psychotically fill some strange void in her heart, she was merely lonely. She had been an orphan, an outcast, all her life; she didn't want to be that anymore.

Her eyes flickered up from the ground finally. She found herself standing before a large stone, looking to be made of some kind of granite. It looked to be in the shape similar to a kunai, with many, many names engraved on it. Reaching out, her hand ran smoothly over the engravings, reading each letter with her fingers. Her eyes softened a bit, empathy and pain welling up in them. The tears wanted to fall but she refused them. Withdrawing, she wiped her eyes and let her arms drop to her sides limply. She read every single name etched into the rock, feeling as if a semblance of who they were appeared before her. Back home, they didn't have a memorial like this. They honored those that passed, but not in such a way; maybe things should start changing.

"Oh…I didn't expect anyone to be here." The voice startled her, her body visibly jumping a little before turning around to see its owner. He was a tall man, taller than Gaara and most definitely taller than her. His hair was white and all seemed to be brushed to the side. He seemed to wear a common attire for many ninja here in the Leaf Village; a dark green flack jacket, black pants and matching shirt, armor plated, fingerless gloves, his village headband around his forehead but pulled down over his left eye and a face mask which covered all of the lower half of his face.

She looked away from him as he walked up beside her. "I didn't except to either."

His exposed eye glanced down at her a bored curiosity forming from her words. "Lost in thought perhaps?" he shoved his hands lazily into his pockets, tilting his head back to look up at the clouds.

"This is…this is a memorial for your dead correct?" She completely ignored his question, or possibly hadn't even heard it as she asked her own.

Again his eye shifted back to her. "This is where the ones who are never found are put to rest." She could hear the detachment in his voice as if he were trying to forget a painful memory. "It's for the shinobi who died as heroes."

He watched as her amazing posture faltered, her shoulders slumping a bit. The closer you get…The closer I get as well. Her words echoed loudly, taunting her. "Heroes. How could they be heroes when they're dead? Their deaths mean nothing in the eyes of their people when they cannot be commended for their heroics." Her hands clenched into fists, she needed to make the right choice. She was still lost on which choice that was though.

He sighed, wondering just how this girl had become so depressed. "Their heroism is never forgotten because they live on through the people they saved. Do you know why shinobi sacrifice themselves so readily, other than the fact it's our job?" He paused, turning his gaze to the memorial stone. "It's because they want to protect their home, the people they love, the things they love. We shinobi jump in the way of danger so that no one we care about has to. We're their shield. We do what we do so we can protect the bonds we've created."

Setsuko looked up at him, her eyes widened a little and her lips parted, gasping lightly in amazement. Looking away from him and back towards the monument, she smiled sadly as she walked closer to it. "I guess…I never thought of it that way." Stopping, she dropped to her knees while weaving a hand sign.

He watched with hidden curiosity as her arms moved in such a way that he only knew to be the creation of a jutsu.

"Ya know, I've been wrestling with a very big choice lately. One that will change my life forever and I was having such a hard time figuring out what to do because either way, people are going to be hurt." She paused as her hands hovered over a spot in front of the monument. "I don't want people to be hurt because of me, but my life has changed so drastically lately that I think I can make decisions like this with a clearer head."

Intently he listened to her speak while also watching what she was doing. His eye grew wide for a fraction of a second when he noticed the ice made flower laying on the stone.

Looking up from the icy creation she just made, her eyes seemed to have lost their clouded over look. "I know I can protect my people and my friends." She stood, her hands once again balling into fists and a look of pure determination on her face. "I'm not just a Princess. I'm a ninja."

"Princess…?" his words were lost as she turned to him and bowed graciously.

"I thank you for this talk, it has truly opened my eyes." She smiled up at him and began walking away from him with pure drive in her steps.

He couldn't help but smile and wave goodbye to her. In some ways, she reminded him of Naruto; they had the same look in their eyes.

My decision is made. I know what I must do.