A/N: SPRING BREAK! Finally! Whoo! Still have tons of homework to do...how does that happen? College, why must you try to kill me?! But, since I have a whole week off, I'll be able to write a ton, while still doing all my other stuff.

Kinda short chapter, but I never intended this part to be very long anyways. I think the next chapter is pretty long though, or at least I'm hoping it is. I haven't written it yet so I dunno.

Enjoy!

"Gaara," Setsuko's voice trailed off softly as the two walked through the long tunnel covered in ice.

He didn't say anything, just casted his glance over his shoulder at her which she couldn't notice since she was staring at the ground.

"Don't you think this is all a little to convenient? I mean, following after the assassin that has been giving us the most trouble over the last few months." There was a moment of silence until it was filled with Setsuko coughing.

Gaara stopped to see if she was okay, but almost immediately she waved him off. The two walked in silence with only the sound of Setsuko's heels tapping against the ice. Her blue eyes wandered around the tunnel they were in, admiring the beautiful glow of the ice that covered the walls from top to bottom. Their mystical blue glow reminded her of home. Running her fingers along its smooth surface, she smiled to herself. This ice reminded her of the True Ice back home; its color was exactly the same. It was a deep blue color, not dark but most obviously blue. Taking her eyes away from the nostalgia, she glanced at the back of Gaara's head. He was bathed in the sweet glow of ice causing him to glow as well. It was funny, but when he wasn't looking at you, he looked almost kind. She knew that he was in actuality, but his demeanor spoke many different stories.

Feeling eyes boring into him, he looked back. His green met her blue and actually felt uncomfortable under her gaze. She was looking at him weird. Turning away from her, wondered what she was thinking. Quickly his mind shifted back to the task at hand when they entered a clearing. The entire cave was covered in ice. How had none of them noticed someone tunneling into the canyon? At the far end of the clearing was another tunnel but Gaara felt something stir in the pit of his stomach. Something didn't feel right here. Setsuko was right after all, they were walking into a trap and he knew it. So then it only makes sense that something wouldn't feel right. Wrong. There was a different wrong kind of feeling eating him. He hated it when women were right.

They were crossing the clearing when Setsuko felt something slam against her back. Still learning to walk properly on her feet, she stumbled to her knees as she was pushed into the tunnel in front of them. She looked back in time to see Gaara getting devoured by a dragon made of ice. Trying to scramble to her feet, she was suddenly hit with white hot pain shooting through her leg.

"Gaara!" she screamed, desperately praying that he was alright.

Meroko jumped down from her perch, right in front of the entrance to the tunnel, her back facing Setsuko. "This is just between you and I Ginger," she purred as she placed a hand against the icy wall.

Setsuko's eyes frantically darted around as the entrance was slowly covered by ice, separating the two teens. "No," she whispered, crawling over to the ice. Her hands touched the ice, trying to search for a weak spot but having no luck.

Luckily, he had sensed the approach of the conjured dragon in time to push Setsuko out of the way. It was even luckier that his sand reacted just as quickly to his defense as it encased him, protecting him from the sharpened points of ice shards that dug into his sand. They had been sharpened by chakra to the point that they could dig into his sandy defense, but not penetrate it. He was forced back into the wall by the dragon for a good two minutes before it finally dispersed. He lowered just a fraction of his sand to look at the woman he had come to hate since their first meeting. Thinking back on it, his shoulder gave a tingle from where she pierced his skin. He would most definitely have to repay her for that.

Meroko looked upon the young man that hid away behind his sand. How cute, she thought in amusement. Ever so slowly, as she walked away from the tunnel entrance, she unsheathed her twin daggers, the blue blades glinting under the glow of the ice. Crossing her arms at the wrists right below her eyes, she readied her body for an attack while allowing the playfulness she was known for show in her eyes. She had been waiting for this day almost as soon as she had begun working to kill the Princess. Well, maybe not this day specifically, but the day where she died in general. It was just sad that she didn't get to do it herself.

"Oh, how did I get so lucky?" she murmured as she stared into the death glare he was giving her.

He said nothing as his sand sprung out at her. It snaked its way towards her with such speed that this time she couldn't dodge it in time.

She coughed as she was thrust against the wall. "Someone's a little angry today," she taunted through gritted teeth.

His glared only narrowed, "You're attacking my village. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You mean," her voice was a little strained from the force behind his sand, "The village that once persecuted you? That's laughable." The sand tightened around her causing her to grunt in pain. "By the way…" she paused, slowly looking up at him with her powder blue eyes. "How's that shoulder of yours?"

Gaara felt a tingle in his shoulder when she mentioned it. His head snapped to the side just in time to see an icy dragon barreling its way towards him.

Even though it was more than likely a stupid idea, he released the Ice Dragon to allow his sand to cover the hole made within his defenses. He felt the moment it slammed against his sand shield. The force was almost enough to push him back as the temperature within the sphere dropped. In the darkness of the sand, he could see his breath in small white puffs. This was not a desired battlefield; she clearly had the advantage. That was probably her strategy the entire time, and there was no way he could lure her outside. He was stuck. Gaara heard the roar of another conjured dragon before it slammed against his shield again. It was no use; she was just wasting chakra.

"Sand Drizzle." His voice was barely audible from the confinement of his shield and the hissing of the ice dragons Meroko was creating.

Above the excited assassin a cloud of sand began to form, going unnoticed. "Summoning Jutsu!" her bloody hand slapped the ground, the ice cracking, as a cloud of smoke engulfed her.

As the smoke cleared, a massive white wolf stood beside her, its teeth bearing and drool dripping to the ground. The wolf's fur was as white and the first, purest snow, its teeth seeming to match the white. Although pure looking, it was gruff and tuffs of fur sticking out on each of its joints; a long black scarf wrapped around its neck. Its eyes were as red as blood, almost glowing with the joyful thoughts of hunting and killing. The giant three tails twitched in anticipation as it waited for its master to give them the go ahead. There was a low snarl from the beast as its claws dug into the ice, cracking it further.

"Hazuki," there was a pause as a deviously evil smirk crossed her lips under her mask, "Kill."

The beast howled so loudly that it sounded like a roar. Its body lowered momentarily and then it pounced, jaws wide open and ready to tear its prey to shreds.

Gaara felt his shield shudder as the beast made contact with it. He knew his shield would protect him, but he couldn't keep this up all day.

"What the-" he heard her muffled voice question. She must have finally seen the cloud of sand hanging overhead.

"Sand Bullet." A tiny chunk of his sand broke apart from his shield, compressing itself and hardening. It shot out at blinding speed.

Meroko snapped her head back, just in time to feel something pierce her shoulder and with such force, throw her to the ground. "Ah!" she yelped in pain, clutching her bleeding shoulder.

Looking down at her shoulder, she saw the newly formed hole in her cat suit, blood pouring from it. That little bastard! He was able to actually get a good shot in. Normally she was as alert as a hawk, aware of all her surroundings, but she was just getting so into the idea of slaughtering the red head that it was clouding her judgment. Whipping her head around, she glared at the sphere of sand that her summon was still trying to break through. Fingers curled under the hem of her mask, ripping it off to fully reveal the scowl on her unblemished face. Her long platinum hair fell around her shoulders as her jaw tightened angrily. Ignoring her pain, she jumped back to her feet and ordered her summon to return. There had to be a way for him to lower his shield!

Her eyes glanced around their surroundings. Of course! She was after all surrounded on all sides by ice, as was he. Sheathing her daggers, she sequenced her hand signs before slamming her fists into the cracked ice, "Scars of the King!"

The cave began to rumble causing Gaara's eyes to narrow suspiciously. What was she doing? "What?!" his sand dropped instantly as he jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being impaled. Another jagged ice fragment came jetting for him; he managed to dodge that one.

"Good luck dodging them all," she muttered with a venomous hiss.

His green eyes glanced at the blonde haired assassin and was nearly floored. His feet touched the ground as he stared at her and nearly had a spike slice through his arm. She looks exactly like Setsuko, he thought in shock.

He needed to focus! Ice sliced through his pants, ripping the fabric and barely nicking his thigh. He knew very well that he needed to keep his focus on dodging the alarming amount of icy spikes that hurled themselves towards him, but his mind was on the distraction of the Ice Dragon looking just like the Princess that she was hunting. No, that wasn't entirely true. He stopped momentarily only to have ice bore through the back of his skull. Meroko grinned with disgusting delight seeing the horror etched on his face. The ever shifting terrain stopped and she giddily hoped over to the now dead Kazekage.

"I tried to warn you," she teased and she let her hand play through his red hair. The shock on her own face was sudden when she realized it. "Sand!" she spat vehemently.

In a flurry of sand, Gaara appeared dangerously close behind her. Her body tensed at the impending danger, "Successive Shots: Sand Drizzle." His voice was so calm, so smooth that for a split second she actually thought he wouldn't hurt her.

She screamed as she was flung back by the sheer numbers of the sand volley. The grainy sand ripped at her cat suit and skin, blemishing her once unblemished body. She slid up against the opposite wall in a ragged heap.

Without missing a beat, Gaara walked over to her crumpled form towering over her with arms crossed across his chest. It was then, looking down at her, that he noticed something strange.

"What are you waiting for?" she breathed shakily as she pushed herself onto her arms. On her chest, directly above her heart was a glowing purple symbol for the word 'Slave'.

"What is that?" he stared at the kanji intently, wondering what in the world it meant.

Meroko looked down at her chest. With a tired grin, she ripped the cat suit further, exposing her chest and laughing when she saw Gaara blush. "It's how you kill me."

"Yes, but what is it?" he asked again, emphasizing the wanting of his curiosity.

Pushing herself up a little to sit against the wall, she sighed heavily. "It's a Possession Jutsu." Gaara's brow quirked. "But, why don't you ask what's really on your mind. I saw it in your eyes when you finally saw my face."

He was silent for a moment, mulling over which question he wanted answered more. "Why do you look exactly…No, why does Setsuko look just like you?"

"Because," she sputtered out a chuckle. "I gave birth to her."

Gaara didn't even bother hiding his utter shock at her confession. His arms even uncrossed themselves to fall to his sides. "Then…why?"

A trembling finger came up to the symbol above her heart and tapped on it. "This. Like I said, it's a Possession Jutsu. It allows the caster to embed some of their chakra into the spirit to allow them total control; kind of like a very long range puppet master. It's a very tricky and very old jutsu. It was banned years ago."

"Who's controlling you?" She shook her finger at him, causing him to blink curiously.

"Tut tut, I can't tell you things like that. I'm bound by loyal servitude after all. I've been dead for far too long to care about the living world anymore, so as a soul forced to wander around I do as I please under the specific restrictions set by my master." She sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping a little. She felt tired all over again but knew she wouldn't die. "Pierce right here," she pointed to the symbol, "Sever the kanji and I will die; for good."

"And what about Setsuko?" he asked not bothering to make a move just yet.

She pursed her lips and shrugged. "What about her? She thinks I'm dead, has all her life. Why tell her something that will just break her heart? I mean, you like her enough to at least not do that much right?" Meroko glanced into his green orbs with a sly smile.

Wordlessly, a bullet of sand shot through the kanji, breaking the patterned and breaking the seal. There was a bright flash of light before her body finally slumped over lifeless. Somehow, he felt bad about killing her.