Sabaku no Momo

(7. Deepening Friendships)

By Anke-chan

Pairing: Gaara x OC

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only the plot and OC

Warning: There may be lots of OOCness~ If there are [ ] after a certain word or phrase, it is the definition or translation of the word or phrase :D

A/N: Sorry for the wait! Please R&R! :D

Two weeks had passed by. Momoko and Gaara had set up a routine where they would meet up somewhere every couple of days to talk about things. Momoko did not press the matter about time, since she knew that Gaara had his own things to complete due to the death of his father, the Fourth Kazekage, not long before the events of "Operation: Destroy Konoha!" as did she when she was assigned missions. The girl also knew that he was trying to work things out with his older siblings as well.

Today, the pair had planned to meet up at the place where they had first met: the swing set. Momoko had asked if Gaara would mind meeting her cell but he had told her that he wasn't yet comfortable so she did not pursue the inquiry. Instead, they decided they would try training together, since Momoko was to be sent on a mission the next day and Gaara had requested to see her skills. It was already late in the morning when the girl arrived at the swings, her brown eyes quickly finding the green-eyed boy.

"Hello, Gaara-sama," the ravenette greeted as she came to a stop a few steps away from him. She tucked a strand of her hair back, a soft smile on her face. "How are you today? Have things been going well?" In all honesty, they had rarely been able to meet the past two weeks, despite their prior plans. In total, they had only been able to meet four times.

The redhead gave a small inclination of his head at her before he spoke. "It has been well, I suppose," he said in a soft voice. He still felt awkward every now and then and sometimes struggled for something to say, which ended in silence most of the time. Yet he had begun to notice that the girl rarely questioned it, giving him time to think over whatever he was trying to say. Which he found was something he both liked and appreciated.

Momoko nodded at that. "I'm glad to hear that, Gaara-sama. I'm sure it must be tough?" She tilted her head questioningly at him.

Gaara was quiet for a few moments before answering with, "A bit… It's difficult trying to figure out where I go from here… Though I guess that…" He trailed off for a few moments. "The road will continue to be difficult with the goal I am going for."

"That's true…" the girl murmured in a low voice, lowering her eyes to the ground. It felt almost unreal that he had even told her his dreams and ambitions for the future merely two weeks ago… She looked back up at him. "Shall we head out to the training grounds?" When the other nodded, the girl turned on her heel and headed to their destination. As they walked, neither said a word, each lost in their own thoughts.

A few minutes later, both paused as they emerged onto the training fields. Momoko turned to look at Gaara. "How do you want to go about this?" She wasn't sure how he trained, as he had been trained by the previous Kazekage in seclusion.

The boy held his hand up momentarily to catch the cork to his gourd before crossing his arms across his chest. "Come at me with everything you've got," he said simply. "Don't be afraid to hurt me. The sand will protect me."

Momoko was a little surprised at that, but gave one nod and got into a battle position. After a brief moment of silence, the raven-haired girl lunged at the boy, launching her shuriken at him in rapid succession as she charged towards him. She thrust her arm out, a kunai bared in her hand, aiming for his chest, although she hesitated at the last second. This resulted with her being knocked back by a tendril of sand. She rolled a few times before she skidded to a stop in a crouch.

"Don't hesitate," he said in a quiet voice as he waited for her to come at him again.

The girl gritted her teeth before she jumped at him, weaving hand signs. "Slice of wind!" Momoko held her right hand just below her waist before slashing it upwards in a diagonal direction at the redheaded boy. The blade of wind whistled towards Gaara, who quickly encased himself in his sand just as the strike landed. The sand shield slowly fell away and was up again as Momoko came down on him, a sword-like wind shape covering her right hand as she cut downward. Her attack struck at the hardened sand shield before the sand shot outward in peg-like shapes to knock her back once more. Skidding back a few feet, the ravenette looked up in time to meet the redhead's eyes. Without uttering a word, the girl wove another set of hand signs and whipped her hands out and upwards in an "X" shape, sending a flurry of wind needles hurling at the other.

With no effort at all, the boy blocked the needles. Then he counter-attacked, sending several chunks of his sand flying at the girl, shaping them into sphere-like shapes that could fit into one's palm. He held his hand out, controlling the movement of the spheres, moving his hand in a way that sent the orbs hurtling at the ravenette. She gracefully dodged almost all of them, although she was grazed by two or three of them. Cart-wheeling right between two on-coming balls, Momoko landed in a low crouch and pulled out a kunai, which she chucked at the boy, fusing her wind chakra with the weapon. The boy blocked in time as the girl noted that the small weapon had only lightly penetrated the shield, estimating that merely a centimeter had been breached.

With a huff and figuring she could try out that technique, the girl quickly got to her feet and created a clone of herself before dashing at him head-on. Momoko's clone generated a small sphere of fast-spinning wind in her hand before she passed it to the girl herself, who added a gentler wind to it and threw it at Gaara. His defenses were up and ready as the sphere landed against his shield. What he didn't expect was for the wind to suddenly rip a whole in his shield and the girl to thrust her arm through that breach, another sphere already formed in her palm. Gaara quickly closed his sand around her arm, trapping her before the sphere exploded. Again, to his surprise, it nothing but a gentle wind that swirled around him.

Gaara released the sand shield and Momoko's arm before he looked at her curiously, tilting his head at her. "What was that…?" He had not seen something like that before…

The girl shyly rubbed the back of her head. "Something I've been working on… It's actually not complete yet… I was merely trying it out… It doesn't have a name either…" She trailed off, unsure whether to explain her attack or not. It wasn't like a shinobi to reveal how their techniques worked. But then again, she trusted the other boy. "I just kind of push together faster-spinning winds, then cover it with a gentle wind shell to contain it… Like a bomb, pretty much. I just throw it then and whatever it hits, it explodes. I think it works well against defenses…" To be honest, that was all she had managed to do… It would definitely be beneficial in that way, but it was yet unable to deal a huge amount of damage, which was what she was working towards in cases of danger.

"…." Gaara stared at her in silence. "That's a very interesting technique, Momoko." He took a few steps closer to her, his arms still crossed. "I'm going to guess you're working on making it more damaging?" When the girl nodded, he said in a quiet voice, "Make sure it's not just for chaotic purposes, alright…?"

Momoko's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Ehh…?" She had not been expecting that kind of response.

"You shouldn't get yourself hurt, Momoko… Especially trying to make a technique like that," the redhead said, looking at her with some concern in his eyes. Then he changed the subject. "Do you want to continue sparring?"

The girl took a moment to answer, but nodded. "S-sure," she replied. She had really not expected that… She took another battle stance once more.

-An Hour Later-

Gaara stared down at the breathless girl crouching on the ground. "Shall we call it a day for now?" He figured it had been at least an hour or so since they had been sparring and that she must be exhausted at this point.

Momoko looked up, still trying to catch her breath, though she gave a smile. "Sure!" Another few moments and she was on her feet again. Despite being covered in dirt and sporting a few developing bruises, the girl was all smiles. "Would you like to go and get some lunch together…?" When he nodded, she dusted herself off and headed off the training grounds, the boy following close behind her. "You're a very good sparring partner," she commented, glancing at him.

"Am I…?" Gaara asked, returning her gaze. He had never been told such a thing before, particularly since he almost always seriously injured or had killed the few sparring partners he had had in the past. "I don't think so," he added in a quiet voice as he turned his eyes away from her. If she had sparred with him in the past, he most surely would have killed her…

Unsure of what to think of his attitude, Momoko took a few moments to think her response through before she spoke. "A-are you thinking about the past…?" she ventured to guess, worry over her inquiry etched on her features.

His gaze returned to her once more, his face expressionless as always. "You could say that," he murmured after a few seconds of silence. Then he averted his eyes again. "If you had sparred with me in the past, I'm sure you can guess what might have happened," he said.

Nodding, the girl looked away momentarily before her eyes were back on his face. "But it's not the past, is it?"

The boy turned his sea green eyes to look at her once more. "I guess not," he then replied, a hint of a smile in his voice as he spoke. "…Where do you want to go for lunch…?" he asked, looking straight ahead at their path.

Momoko looked away as well, turning her eyes skyward in thought. "I don't know… Why don't we look around and see what they have?" she suggested. She honestly didn't know what they could get to eat in the village… There was quite a selection to choose from.

"That sounds like a plan," Gaara replied.

The pair then wandered around the village, poking in on the restaurants around the village and trying to figure out what they wanted to eat for lunch. As they walked around, Momoko then noticed that he had been speaking more with her than usual… She then wondered how she had missed that in the first place, looking at him curiously before averting her gaze when he looked at her to ask if she wanted to try stopping in a certain place.

After wandering around for some time, the two finally decided to keep it simple and dine at a small restaurant. After being seated and ordering what they each wanted, they looked at one another. A silence lapsed between them, but neither of them seemed willing to speak. Momoko gave a small smile before she finally broke the silence between them. "Have you been training by yourself lately?"

"I have," Gaara replied. "Have you…?" To himself, he had also noticed he was speaking more… But so far, it was only towards his siblings and the girl seated across from him. It surprised him somewhat that he was opening up to her more and more, despite the short time they had been able to meet.

Momoko shrugged a shoulder. "Not really," she responded, running a hand through her dark hair. "I suppose you could consider going out on missions my 'training'," she mused with a small smile. She then rested her elbows on the tabletop before propping her chin up against the backs of her hands.

"…." Gaara looked at her curiously before he asked in a low voice, "What do you imagine your parents would have been like…?" He was honestly curious about what her response might be.

Dark eyes widening slightly, the girl swallowed, a part out of nervousness, another out of uncertainty. "Well," she began, "Whenever I imagined them… I always saw my mother as a kind person… A typical view, you could say," she said with a small laugh. "And my father… I always thought he would be the kind of man dedicated to his life as a shinobi, yet also a loving father who did what he could to take care of his family. I suppose it would be considered a typical kind of family…" She lowered her eyes to look at the table's faded surface. "I know my mother loved me a lot… Since she died to give birth to me…" Or so she had been told. In all honesty, she did not have much left from her parents… Save an old faded photograph of her parents that had been taken before she was even born.

Gaara lowered his own eyes as well. "My mother died giving birth to me as well… And my father hated me for having killed her… As did…" An image of the blonde haired man flashed by in his mind and he cringed just the slightest at the pain that was now clenching his heart. He could never forget that day…

Noticing the slight cringe he had given, Momoko placed her forearms down on the table and leaned forward slightly. "Gaara-sama…" Her voice was soft as she spoke. "We can't always dwell on the past, right…?" Even though she said this, she felt that he did not have the closure he wanted with his family… It seemed like a matter that would not ever be settled. Even so, she wouldn't let that hold her back from trying to cheer him up. She gave a faint smile as she said, "Besides… You still have your brother and sister, right? And Uzumaki Naruto who helped you. And all of the people that you'll meet in the future!"

Gaara tilted his head slightly at that, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Yeah," he replied. How could he not have met this person before…? "I'm…glad, I met you," he said. He was unsure that was the right word to use, but decided to try it. It felt right though.

The girl's smile widened at that. Before she could respond though, the waitress came by with their orders. After placing their orders in front of them, she walked off, leaving the two by themselves again. "I'm happy to hear that," the girl finally replied, keeping her voice low enough that only he heard her.

Gaara looked into her eyes. He wasn't sure if he was seeing it correctly or if it was even the right feeling at all, but he sensed a pain she was hiding from him. Although he wanted to ask her about it, his gut told him not to say anything, as if telling him it was not yet time to ask her about it… He lowered his gaze and took a bite of his food. After chewing and swallowing, he looked back up at her. He had heard this question asked several times and was curious as to how the girl would respond. "What's your favorite color…Momoko?"

Momoko stared at him in silence for a few moments before giggling, trying not to burst out laughing. "S-sorry," she mumbled apologetically. "I-I just think that was very cute of you to ask," she said, smiling softly at him. "My favorite color is pink. I'm sure it might be a bit weird, but I just find it a fulfilling color." The only other person she had ever told this to was Haru and although it was a bit weird, she felt comfortable telling Gaara about it.

"Ahh, I see," the redhead simply said. He seemed deep in thought before he looked back at her. "Do you have a favorite food?" He had asked before the girl could ask him in return what his favorite color was.

Stifling another amused laugh, the girl said simply, "I like red-bean mocha. It's a good treat to have every now and then." She tilted her head inquiringly at him. "What's your favorite color, Gaara-sama?"

"I guess you could say red or black," he said in a quiet voice. He was suddenly wondering to himself why the girl felt pink to be a 'fulfilling' color and decided to ask her about it. "What makes pink 'fulfilling' to you?"

Momoko thought it over for a few moments before she replied with, "I'm not sure… Maybe because it soothes me in a way… Gives me hope for things I didn't have when I was growing up. I just find myself very drawn to that color." She wasn't sure how else to explain herself or why she liked pink. "And your favorite food is…?"

"Salted tongue and gizzard," the green-eyed male replied, a small hint of amusement lacing his voice. "Are you going to ask me why I like red and black now?" He never thought he could talk like that to anyone…

Momoko chuckled and lightly shrugged a shoulder. "If you want to try explaining about your favorite color, I certainly don't mind."

Gaara hesitated, thinking it over before he then shook his head. "I don't think I'll try explaining it after all."

The girl tried not to burst out laughing as she swallowed the bite of food she had just taken into her mouth. After a little difficulty swallowing, she asked, "Why did you suddenly ask about my favorite color?" She usually didn't have these kinds of conversations with people.

"I was curious to know," the boy said simply. "I just… I hear people ask about that all the time so I wanted to try and see what you would think…"

The girl smiled at that. "Well, thanks for asking," she said. "It's nice to just talk about little things like this every now and then." She sighed as she sat back and took another bite of her food. It was so nice to just spend a day like this… She turned her brown orbs to look up at the other curiously. "Do you get missions often?"

The Jinchiriki host nodded. "I still get requests every now and then. You get a lot of them, don't you?"

"Yeah… I actually never really have an idea about when I'll next get a mission," Momoko replied. "Like the one I was supposed to go on tomorrow… I don't even know when I'll be getting back…" She ate more of her food, slowly chewing before she swallowed. If only she could spend more of her days like this with Gaara…

"That's true," Gaara murmured. He had finished half his plate, but he suddenly didn't feel like finishing… He wanted to talk with her more, since he found this form of casual conversation both refreshing and a kind of salve to the loneliness he had once gone through not too long ago. "How long do you think it would take you?"

"Maybe three days at least?" she guessed. She honestly had no idea whatsoever about how long it would take.

"…." The boy said no more and made himself finish his food. With that, neither of them spoke again as they finished up.

The silence continued even after the pair had paid their bill and left the little restaurant, continuing their wandering around town. Eventually, they found themselves back at the swing set and they decided to just sit there on the swings in silence. Gently swaying back and forth on the swing, Momoko peeked at Gaara's profile through her veil of hair before lowering her eyes to the ground again. She was unsure of what to say, just as he was unsure of what to say on his end. The silence continued to drag between them…

After some time, Momoko finally looked up at him. "Did your father…teach you all the jutsu you know now…?" she inquired, her voice low as she spoke.

Gaara also turned to look at her. "Yes, he did… It was tough, but I handled it fairly easily… The only thing…" He averted his eyes, though he didn't turn his face away from her. "Was that I was trained alone… I didn't have anyone to talk with… But at the time, it didn't matter to me because I had only cared about myself…" He gave a small exhale. "And even before that… I had grown to hate and despise the man I had to call 'father'…" He trailed off momentarily before he continued speaking. "The attempts he made on my life when I was a child… It made me grow frightened of him…and fueled my hatred for him…" He turned his suddenly sad eyes to look back at her. "Does this mean I'm a bad person for hating my own father…?" He felt like his hatred towards his father made him a bad person to her since it was different compared to her view.

Momoko raised an eyebrow at him before she shook her head. "Not at all. I'm sure it's different for everyone…" She trailed off, unsure of what else to say. "I…don't really know the feeling of having a father figure so I can't say I understand…"

Gaara nodded his head at that and looked away. A brief silence lapsed between them again before the redhead turned to look at Momoko. "Would you…like to meet my brother and sister one of these days…?"

The girl's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the sudden offer. "W-what? A-are you sure that's okay…?" She didn't know either of the two older Sand siblings so well and wasn't sure how they would react to meeting with her…

"I'm sure they won't mind," Gaara began. He himself was unsure how his siblings would take it that he had made a friend… Maybe he should have asked them first before suggesting it so suddenly.

Momoko felt a bit conflicted about meeting his siblings… "Maybe not yet…?" she suggested, not wanting to upset the boy.

He looked up at her and gave a simple nod of agreement. "I suppose that will have to be so," he said.

The girl hesitated, noticing how late it had gotten already. The sky was drenched in a dark orange with the setting of the sun. She looked at him and ventured to ask, "A-are you… Um, well…" She trailed off, unsure how to ask. He was her friend so it should be okay, right…? She tried again to get what she wanted to say out. "Would it be okay… For you to come see me off tomorrow morning…?"

Gaara whipped his head to look at her, traces of incredulity etched on his face. He had never been asked this either… "Is that…okay with you?" He actually wouldn't mind going and seeing her off.

"Of course," Momoko replied. "It's fine with me! That's why I was asking if you wanted to…" She averted her eyes, rubbing the back of her head shyly. She had never asked anyone this either. It wasn't like she knew a lot of people yet, though she was working towards getting to know more people.

"Alright then. I'll come and see you off tomorrow," Gaara said.

Momoko lit up at that, smiling brightly. "I-I'm glad!" She stood up from the swing, still looking at the other. "I should get going though… I don't want to wake up late tomorrow," she joked, laughing slightly.

Gaara nodded. "Alright then. I'll walk you back to your place," he offered, standing up himself. He remembered he had been a teeny bit careless during the sparring and had accidentally dealt attacks that left her with some minor bruising. "And about the sparring earlier…" His eyes were focused on the darkening areas on her upper arms.

Waving her hands in front of her dismissively, she exclaimed, "No, no! It's okay!" She smiled at him. "Amaya-sensei always said that being a little tough in your training can be good sometimes. So it's perfectly fine, Gaara-sama."

"If you say so," he said in a quiet voice. As they began walking in the direction of the girl's house, the boy wished that she wouldn't call his name so formally as she always did… He wanted her to just call him by his name without the use of honorifics… But he couldn't bring himself to say anything about it.

The pair soon arrived and Momoko turned to look at Gaara. "Thanks for walking me back, Gaara-sama," she said. "I'm sorry if I was a trouble for you." She tucked a strand of her hair back behind her ear.

Shaking his head, he replied, "No, you aren't a trouble, Momoko." He watched as she unlocked her door and pulled it open before his eyes met hers again. "So… The front gates tomorrow?"

"Yes," she replied, smiling. "I don't want to keep you, so take care going home, alright?" She took a step into the entryway.

The boy nodded before he slowly turned and walked away. He glanced back to see she was still watching him go before he jumped onto a rooftop and headed back home.

Seeing that he had gone, Momoko closed the door and locked it, giving a small sigh before she took her sandals off and stepped up into her home, heading straight to her bedroom. She wished she had the luxury of time to just sit with Gaara and talk… Picking up her towel, she headed into the bathroom and ran the shower, deciding a bath would take a bit too long tonight. She had to get up earlier the next morning anyway and she would need the sleep for the journey tomorrow.

After her shower, Momoko switched the lights in the bathroom off and sauntered back into her room, slowly patting her hair dry with her towel. Once she deemed her hair dry enough, she tossed it onto the top of her bedpost. Turning the lights off, she slipped under the covers of her bed and let herself drift off to sleep while holding off thoughts on the mission, her cell, her family and Gaara all at once…

"Where have you been, Gaara?" a voice asked as the redheaded boy landed outside the door to his house. He looked up into the eyes of his older sister.

-Meanwhile-

"Temari," he greeted simply as he straightened himself. "I was just… Wandering around," he murmured.

Temari raised an eyebrow at him, one hand still placed firmly on her hip. After a few moments of silence, she sighed. "Fine," she relented, ushering for him to go inside. "Have you eaten anything yet, Gaara?"

He nodded, but did not move from where he had been standing. "Say, Temari…"

"Yes?" she asked.

"I was wondering…"

-The Next Morning-

Momoko tapped the toe of her sandal against the ground as she waited patiently for the rest of her cell to arrive, just as she was waiting for Gaara to come. She looked up and around her, wondering if anyone had come yet. She turned when a voice greeted her.

"Good morning, Momoko," Hiashi greeted, waving at her.

"Ah, Hiashi-kun," Momoko said, smiling. "Good morning. I thought you said you would beat me here today?" she mused.

Hiashi chuckled before he said in response, "I did… But I guess you still got here before me today. Another day, I promise."

Momoko laughed heartily. "Sure, you will," she teased, playfully elbowing him in his side.

"Hey!" he exclaimed before ruffling her hair. "Take that!"

Momoko gave her own exclamation, pulling away from his reach and quickly fixing her hair, laughing slightly. "Don't do that," she chided lightly. Straightening herself, she looked at the other boy curiously. "What did you do yesterday?"

"Nothing much," he replied, shrugging a shoulder. "I just trained a bit and spent most of the day walking around the village. Which reminds me…" He looked at her curiously. "You were walking with Sabaku no Gaara yesterday right?"

The ravenette nodded. "Guilty as charged," she laughed. "It was nice to finally be able to talk with him… Since we've been so busy with missions and stuff."

Hiashi nodded. "I'm guessing he still hasn't given the okay for us to meet him yet? Haru and I really want to meet him, you know?"

Momoko smiled apologetically at the boy. "I know, but it might a little while before he's comfortable with it… So be patient for a while longer, alright?"

"Alright then," the green-haired boy relented, chuckling.

"Momoko-chan!" Haru exclaimed as she ran up to the pair, Amaya close behind her. "Hello, Hiashi-kun," she said, greeting the boy. She then turned her eyes to look at Momoko. "A-are you excited about today's mission?"

"I suppose so," Momoko replied, smiling at the girl. She then looked up at Amaya and greeted her. "Good morning, Amaya-sensei. How was your day yesterday?"

"It was good. And look's like we're all here. Shall we head out?" Amaya replied, smiling in return.

"Yes!" Haru chirped.

Before Momoko could respond, Hiashi nudged her and gestured with a slight thrust of his chin. She turned and found herself looking into the eyes of Gaara. "Ah, Gaara-sama!" She took a few steps closer to him. "Good morning."

"Good morning," he greeted in response. He looked over the ravenette's shoulder at Amaya and inclined his head to her. "Amaya," he said simply in greeting. His eyes then turned to look at Momoko's teammates. "Are they your cellmates?" he asked Momoko, finally turning his eyes back to her.

Momoko nodded. "Yeah, they are." She gestured to Hiashi, "That's Hiashi." Then she gestured to Haru, "And that is Haru." She in turn, introduced her cellmates to Gaara. "And I'm sure the both of you already know Gaara-sama?"

Hiashi approached and held out his hand to the redhead. "It's a pleasure to finally be able to meet you, Gaara," he said, grinning.

Gaara hesitated then took the other's hand. "Yes," he said. "Momoko has told me a lot about you and Haru…" He trailed off, unsure of what to say next.

"H-hello," Haru murmured shyly. Though she wanted to go closer, she couldn't bring herself to move.

Amaya was quite surprised at the fact that Sabaku no Gaara had come out here himself to send them off, at least that was what she assumed. She had to wonder if this was Momoko's doing and looked inquiringly at the younger girl. When the girl guiltily averted her eyes, it was made obvious to the woman that the girl had been responsible. But she did not comment, merely crossed her arms across her midsection and let the youngsters greet one another.

"I thought you wanted to wait a while longer before meeting Hiashi and Haru?" Momoko commented, looking at Gaara curiously.

"You trust them a lot and I…trust you… So why shouldn't I meet the people you trust, too?" Gaara countered, although his voice was passive as he spoke.

Momoko tried not to laugh at Gaara's response, saying instead, "If you put it that way, why not?" She felt content that he would consider her someone he trusted. "Well, we should be off, right?" She finally looked at their cell leader, whom she had been trying to avoid eye contact with.

The older woman nodded. "We should be. We can't start off late now." She turned her head and looked at Gaara. "Excuse us, Gaara-sama," she said, smiling.

"Of course. I don't want to keep you all waiting," Gaara replied, before he looked back at Momoko. "…." He looked as if he wanted to say something, but hesitated. Then he finally muttered, "Take care, Momoko…"

The girl smiled and nodded her head. "I will. You take care of yourself, too, alright?" She turned and followed her departing cellmates, waving.

Gaara watched as they walked into the distance before he sighed. He had been unable to tell her about what he wanted to give her before she left… He turned and walked back to the village, the item clenched in his hand.

As they four walked along, Amaya looked at Momoko. There was definitely something about that girl that drew people to her… The fact that she had managed to befriend the one person everyone in the village kept their distance from said enough. Yet, despite the joyful mood surrounding her former students, the woman could not help but feel a foreboding chill run down her spine… She tried to ignore it as she watched her laughing companions, but the feeling continued to press itself against the barrier blocking it off in her mind… The one thing the woman was sure of was that something was going to happen in the near future…and it was obviously not something pleasant. Amaya smiled, hiding her unease behind a mask as more laughter filled the air.

Unbeknown to her, Momoko laughed at something Hiashi said, feeling more content and fulfilled than ever. Her deepening friendship with Gaara filled her with a sense of accomplishment and she was happy he had met her friends. She hoped they could all get along eventually…

From a distance, two figures watched the cell walk along their path… It was now only a matter of time before they would get what they wanted. Without a sound, they slipped away.

-TBC-

A/N: I'm sure you're wondering who the two strangers are, but of course, everything in its own time! I shall get to working on the next chapter and hopefully update soon! Thanks for sticking with me! Again, please R&R!