A/N: Okay, so I lied. Not as long as I had hoped it would be but you can't force these things. Especially when they're getting interesting.

Love ya guys! Enjoy!

Setsuko's fingers ran along the ice that separated her from Gaara, feeling the slick watery surface. There was nothing she could do. The ice was far too thick, even if she tried to drill through it with her chakra. Her head hung low for a moment, wishing and praying that Gaara would be alright. Bringing her head up, she shook the thought of him losing from her mind. What was she thinking? His sand made it impossible for people to touch him. Looking at the ice, the images of him and his opponent were too blurry for her to make out either body except for faint outlines. He wouldn't want her help anyways. There was too much pride for him to want her help. Using the ice as leverage, she forced herself to her feet.

Taking on last look over her shoulder, she wished him luck and turned back to the path set ahead of her. Tobari still needed her help. Using nothing but sheer willpower, she pushed through her pain and began walking down the long tunnel. If it hadn't been for the glowing ice, the path would have been too dark for her to even see her hand in front of her face. She wondered just what was waiting for her at the next clearing she found. What assassins would she face this time? The images of thousands upon thousands of paper bombs igniting in her face raced through her mind. Would she meet the one who set all those in place? Setsuko stumbled a little from her leg suddenly buckling; she would have to remind herself to pay them back for the damages.

The echo of a shrill scream snapped Setsuko to attention. Ignoring the throbbing pain that threatened to cripple her she ran down the tunnel; stumbling every few steps. She could see the light ahead of her, blinding her eyes momentarily as they fought to readjust. Stopping quickly, she drew in a sharp breath as she saw a large broad sword with many curved smaller ones at the girl's throat. The smaller curved blades were right at her neck, threatening to behead her if she dare make a move. Setsuko looked upon the one holding the smaller girl captive. There wasn't much she could make out about them other than they were most obviously a woman from the curves she could see.

"Let her go," Setsuko ordered, glaring at the woman.

The hood over her head swayed as she shook her head silently, holding the blade closer to Tobari's throat causing her to whimper in fear.

The man standing beside her looked to his partner and seemed to jerk his head in Setsuko's direction. Was he mentally asking her something? There was a court nod from the woman and he suddenly disappeared.

Quickly Setsuko scanned the area trying to find him, amazed at his speed. She shrieked in surprise and jumped out of the way just in time to doge being sliced in half by a sword. As she slid along the ice, she looked down to notice a clean cut in her shirt. He had still managed to hit her. It wasn't at all surprising really; she still wasn't very good at fighting having only just started going out on mission. Even then, she hadn't gone on many. Now, she didn't even have her weapon anymore. It had been lost in the explosion and still hadn't been found. Again she shrieked as she scrambled out of the way of another sweep of his blade.

She tried to get up from the ground. To try and defend herself with anything that was nearby, but it was useless. She had nothing and there was nothing. Putting weight on her right leg, she winced in pain and flopped back to the ground clutching the bandaged leg as a burning sensation pulsed through it. Her eyes shot up when she noticed the man disappear and charge towards her. He was so fast that she didn't even have time to bring her arms up to try and stop him. Glassy blue eyes shot wide open as they stared at the sharpened edge of the blade that hung mere inches from her face. She could hear nothing but her pulse in her ears and feel her heart trying to jump out of her chest. Trying to look into his eyes, she found it impossible because of the hood obscuring most of his face; but he could see her clearly.

"Ah hell!" he sighed as he dropped the sword to his side.

Her big eyes blinked quizzically at his sudden relaxation.

He rubbed the back of his head with the hand that held his sword, "I can't hurt you Princess. I love those shimmering blue eyes too much."

Whatever color she had seemed to drain away from her face as her eyes strained the elasticity of her skin. Impossible! "…Wh-who…" She couldn't even finish her sentence.

With a heavy sigh, he pulled the hood away from his face. Messy black hair sprang free and deep sapphire blue eyes stared back at her. He gave her a goofy grin, "Yeah, it's me," he said as if reading her mind.

Her body trembled so violently that she thought she might make herself dizzy. It was impossible! He was supposed to be dead! However, as her eyes stared at him unable to break way, she knew it was most definitely him. From that unruly black hair that ran every direction, to those sapphire eyes that always seemed to be so full of radiant confidence, and to that dumb smile he always flashed everyone he knew. Somehow, her body got up from the ground and made its way over to him. She had no idea how it happened, her mind was too stunned to bother with working out the mechanics of her body right now. Her hands shakily reached up to touch his face. He was so cold.

Setsuko's mouth opened and closed many times, trying to find the words to speak. Nothing came out.

He chuckled at her touch and shock, "Glad to see you haven't changed since leaving home."

"M-Ma-Maki…?" was all her voice could gasp out.

"Yeah," he nodded sheepishly, dropping his sword and gripping her hand within his. "I missed you Setsuko." His features softened, gazing lovingly into the eyes of the woman he had wanted to hold since the moment she left Aisugakure.

Her face contorted into one of sadness and relief at the same time. Tears sprang from her eyes instantly and she embraced him without a second thought. The kiss they shared was long and full of unsaid passion, longing and love. Her nimble fingers tangled themselves in his hair as his arms snaked themselves around her waist. He was so cold. It was as if all thoughts of everything else faded from her mind as she was left dangling in his embrace once again. Purely at his mercy, she was okay with never leaving his side if it meant them being together forever. She had missed him so much! There was so much she wanted to say to him, but all words left her. The only thing she could do to express her joy at him being here in front of her, alive, was to kiss him. He was so cold though.

They parted and she rested her head against his chest, smiling softly. "I'm so happy you're alright."

He was quiet as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, petting the back of her head.

"Why would you claim to have died?" she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Hui and I were being targeted. If we let them think we were gone then we could come warn you," he said stilling petting her head.

Her eyes shifted as she processed his words. Something, didn't make sense. "But then…why are you working with them?" Her body gave a sudden jerk, her eyes as wide as they could go.

Maki released her enough to be at arms length from her, staring into her shocked eyes. "Don't worry Setsuko. You can be with me soon enough."

She could feel the muscles in her jaw twitching as it felt open. Slowly she looked down to see a dagger embedded into her abdomen. Right between the cut her made in her shirt only moments ago she could see crimson spilling over his hand and mudding her shirt. Searing pain coursed through her and she cried out as her face contorted to match the feeling paralyzing her body. A cough sputtered from her mouth, drizzling her lips in blood. She cried out again as her body jerked when he tore the dagger from her body. Wrapping her hands around the gaping wound, Setsuko crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap, her blood pooling around her.

Setsuko

That damnable voice again! She was starting to feel so heavy. So cold. Her half lidded eyes blinked rapidly, desperately trying to stay open. What did that voice want from her now?

You're going to die

She knew that much. It was painfully obvious that death was about to take her. It was so close she could see the faintest of lights. Her body shivered. She was never affected by cold so why was she suddenly feeling so much of it? No! She didn't want to die! Her eyes shut tight. She wanted to grow old, have a family, protect people, be the best ninja she could be, make lasting friends. She wanted to have that happy, normal life that always eluded her.

Let me take over

Her bloody lips were unable to form words. It wanted control? Could she trust it? What choice did she have at this point? It was either agree or die. Painstakingly she gave a single nod. Almost instantly her eyes shot back open, full of new life. Placing a bloodied hand on the ice beneath her, she began to slowly twist her body to get up. The red plasma seeping from her wound suddenly stopped, solidifying into beautifully cold ice in the shape of the wound. Its garnet color contrasted the topaz around them. With tired grace she got to her feet, head hung at such an angle that allowed her hair to cover her face. At her feet an icy fog began to roll through the clearing as if her low body heat was fighting with the desert air.

Maki looked at her, still clutching the stained weapon in his hand. This wasn't the same woman he knew. She was a drastic change from the formal, stubborn girl he knew. The mere aura around her screamed death and anger. Her hand slowly stretched out to her side and he watched as a sickle formed from ice, one that was far larger than her own body. Only once it was fully formed did she finally look up, causing him to take a step back in fear. He had never seen such a demonic look from her before. In fact, he didn't even know she knew how to make such a look.

She pointed the icy sickle at him, silently telling him that he was her target. That she would strike him down. Picking up his sword, he waited for the attack he knew would come. Throwing the weapon back, she leapt forward with such speed that he almost didn't have enough time to recover from his surprise before the sparks from their weapons clashing filled the room. Looking into her eyes whenever they came together, he could see nothing behind the glow they held. They were narrowed and focused on nothing but the idea of her slaying him. As the two pushed away from each other, a crack of lightning struck Setsuko.

When the smoke cleared from it striking the ice around her, her head was snapped to the side with ice covering the side of her face where it had hit. Slowly the ice faded away in the shape of small hexagonal patterns and her eyes glanced over angrily at the woman holding a spear pointed towards her. Her long white hair was exposed in that haphazard ponytail. The sight of purple and gold made Setsuko smirk deviously. Her grip on the sickle tightened as she turned to face the two, all three of them holding their weapons at the ready. Setsuko was the first to make a move. Her arms rose above her head and the fog that surrounded them began to swirling violently at their feet.

Opening her jaw, an otherworldly screech erupted from the depths of her throat as the barely noticeable wind within the cave raged in a gust of ice. Shards of ice formed into such thin points that they shot cleanly through the deep walls of the cavern. Just how far they went was unknown though. Both Maki and Hui covered their faces from the onslaught of icy needles ripping through their bodies. As her arms dropped the wind continued to rage and she brought the weapon back. She didn't have the time to fight both of them and thus had to end it quickly. Her time was already almost up.

With one single, clean sweep of her sickle she would free them from their burdens. Yet, as she was launching herself at them, she took notice of glowing kanji. Maki had one above his heart, but she couldn't see Hui's. Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits; she knew the jutsu being used on them. Vanishing from their sight, she saw the one on the back of Hui's neck. Although she knew Setsuko would grieve for many days to come, she had no choice. Heaving the weapon back, she severed the kanji that was bound to Hui and she heard Setsuko scream within her mind. It caused her to falter for but a moment before she directed an ice needle into Maki's heart. There were two flashes of light before their bodies dropped.

Setsuko would never forgive her. The storm ebbed into nothing and the ice made sickle shattered as she dropped to her knees. Tears hit the ice beneath her, her body trembling. The ice that had frozen her wound shut began to melt away, opening once again. Her face twisted in pain. Soon her eyes were staring at the necklace she had given Tobari. Glassy blue eyes looked up, puffy and red, to the little girl that was now standing before her. She smiled down at Setsuko, scratches and bruises on her face.

"I think, you need this more than I do," she said as she looked into the broken eyes of the Princess.

Her eyes fluttered down to the jewelry in her hand and shook her head. A pale hand curled around Tobari's, pushing the necklace towards her, "No. It's yours." Clutching her stomach, she stumbled to her feet, "Come on, let's go find Lord Kazekage."

Setsuko gripped Tobari's hand and the two made their way back to the tunnel she had come from. Hopefully, Gaara was finished with his fight and the giant block of ice had been shattered so they could get out. Her hand pressed against the bloody wound in her stomach. She had high doubts she would survive looking for an alternate exit. In the longest silence of her life, Setsuko stumbled through the tunnel, pushing herself onward just so she could save the little girl clutching her hand as if it were a life line. The echo of footsteps caused both girls to freeze where they stood.

"Lord Kazekage!" Tobari called frantically as she let go of Setsuko's hand and ran for the young man. "Hurry!" she shouted, grabbing his hand. "She's hurt."

Gaara was a little surprised when he saw that little girl from the playground running up to him. He was even more surprised when she grabbed his hand and began dragging him down the tunnel. When he saw the dripping wound from her abdomen, he no longer needed Tobari to drag him; he was running at full speed to her side. She was still walking towards them as if on autopilot. Her eyes were nearly closed, clouded over and dull. Her steps were slow and wavering with each new one she took. Gaara managed to catch her just before she toppled over.

"Setsuko…" his spicy breath hit her death cold skin and she looked up at him.

She barely had the strength to wave her hand at him. "No…No, I-I'm fine…" she coughed, blood splattering beside him. She tried to push away from him but instantly fell against him when crippling pain coursed through her. "Gaara…" her voice strained, "I don't want to die."

With that simple sentence he was whisking her away from the cavern and back out into the daylight with Tobari hot on his heels. He would not let her die but even he knew that something major must have been hit if she were bleeding this much. When the three stepped into the light they were met with a shocking scene. Much of the village had been decimated. Buildings crumbled to rubble, civilians lay in the streets, shinobi flickered in and out of view as they fought and rushed to save innocent people. His village. His people! Setsuko looked out at the war torn scene from the corner of her half lidded eyes and felt shame and guilt for bringing this upon Gaara and his village. She felt his grip tighten around her before they were on the move again. Even though she was responsible for so many innocent lives being lost, he was still determined to help her?

Gaara kicked down a hospital door and set her in a bed, grabbing the nearest medic and ordering him to save her. He turned and asked Tobari to keep an eye on her while he went out to save their village. The little girl nodded with serious eyes. Neither of them noticed the gray eyes watching them.