Chapter 39: Final Distance

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!

A/N: Here is the final chapter of my story. I hope you adore it. Its short but I really like it. I hope you do too!

Sachiko found herself taking a familiar path down the alleyways of Suna. She was running away again, running from her fears. Gaara was as good as dead now that he was in the clutches of the Akatsuki and there was nothing she could do about it. She had regained her memory suddenly when Deidara had knocked her unconscious and then she had found her Cloud headband in the drawer of her husband's nightstand. The massive flow of memories and the abrupt loss of her husband had led her to once again run away from fears that would never stop chasing her. She gasped as a certain candy store came into view.

"Midouri," Sachiko breathed as she opened the door to the candy shop, ignoring the delicious aroma of treats and confectionaries. Now was not the time to eat delectable sweets.

"Yes?" asked the angelic voice of the mysterious girl. She stood behind the main counter, smiling gently at Sachiko.

"Help me," Sachiko cried miserably as she fell to the floor, tears unable to stop scurrying down Sachiko's cheeks. "My husband… is… dead… he's as good as dead…"

Midouri took pity on the estranged girl that was sobbing in front of her. She could see in Sachiko's eyes that she was very much in love with her husband. "You didn't tell him you loved him," Midouri stated and though her voice was sweeter than honey, the words stung Sachiko like all the bees in that hive.

"I… He's going to die without knowing," Sachiko wailed loudly, "That I love him!"

"Shh," Midouri hushed her tenderly, "Its okay. Things will be fine." Midouri knew Gaara would survive in the end but she couldn't reveal to Sachiko that he would, she could only assure her that things would turn out well.

"No… they won't! Help me?" The look on Sachiko's face was like the look of a child's when both of that child's parents had just gotten ripped away from her right in front of her very eyes. There was no one left to love.

Midouri nodded as she placed a closed fist on the counter and slowly extended her arm outward to Sachiko. Sachiko picked herself up from Midouri's floor, walking toward her hand. The hand gradually began to open. Resting on the palm of Midouri's hand was a small star-shaped candy. It appeared to be butterscotch flavor, but Sachiko could be wrong.

"The Wishing Star," Midouri explained. "The Instructions of Consumption guarantees to make one of your wishes come true. You must say the wish out loud after consuming the candy." Sachiko received the candy, wasted no time in unwrapping it, and tossed it into her mouth. She thanked Midouri and was about to head out but the mysterious candy shop owner had more to say. "Be careful what you wish for Sachiko, you might just get it," whispered Midouri as Sachiko exited the candy store for the last and final time.

NARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARD

Sachiko sat at the wall that was Suna's border. Her tanned legs dangled over the edge of the wall freely. She was carefully contemplating what her wish was as she swirled the candy around in her mouth with her tongue. Gaara's well-being was her current worry but even if she did wish for his safety… things wouldn't be the same between him and her now that her memory was restored.

Guilt wrenched at her heart mercilessly. She felt more tears fall from her eyes; her heart now an open wound. "These wounds are self-inflicted," she thought bitterly to herself. All Gaara had wanted from her that morning was what he had been wanting from Sachiko perhaps even before she ever met him; her love. Sachiko had denied him that morning by not telling him what he needed to hear most. She loved him. That was perhaps her greatest mistake; not telling him the truth.

She was now floating on a cloud, having had remembered what hand seals she needed to make it. As the cloud lifted her into the sky, making Sunagakure smaller and smaller, she knew her heart's desire. She dove from the cloud like a professional Wave Country diver, aiming for Suna like a speeding kunai, and made her wish.

NARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARD

Sachiko established that she was standing in the desert, on her way to follow wherever the wind was blowing. It wasn't the place she expected to be as she looked down to see herself back in her twelve year old body. She stopped in her tracks when she realized that she wouldn't be embarking to the place she intended. Midouri's candy had sent her back in time to the point when Sachiko had made the biggest mistake and that had been her wish. "I wish I could go back and fix the biggest mistake of my life." Only then she thought the mistake she had made was that she hadn't told her husband that she loved him. Her eyes peered out, absorbing the premises. Judging by where she was standing, Sachiko knew she was just outside of Sunagakure. "My biggest mistake was leaving Suna," she murmured as she turned around. She could just make out a redheaded boy walking back to his home and that's when it hit her, heavy as a sandstorm; everything. If she went to Konoha then the Akatsuki would find her again, once more extract Chihoko, and then she'd be lost in the forest with amnesia until Naruto, Jiraiya, and Tsunade found her. She'd eventually have the best friends, father, and mother she never had but at that moment none of those things or people mattered to her…If she traded it all for just one thing.

The wishing star had guaranteed to make her wish come true. With that wish, she had lost everything. There were some important events that would be left out of her life forever. There was a chance that her loved ones would no longer recognize her as a loved one. She wished she could consult one of her best friends on what to do. She loved each of them; Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Kakashi, Tsunade, Kiba, and the rest. She knew her friends would plead for her to stay. Sometimes beginnings weren't so simple. Sometimes goodbye was the only way.

"My mistake was leaving Gaara."

The redheaded boy paused a moment. He had heard her say his name. She had already said goodbye to him and so he wondered what else it could possibly be she wanted to say to him other than fact that she was leaving him to carry out his days alone and without her. Gaara turned gradually to face her direction. She was smiling at him for some reason and began to walk over. She walked over slowly at first, anxiety building up within her chest as her heart pounded furiously. She started to jog a bit until the jog turned into a full sprint toward Gaara.

The redhead gazed at her in awe, unsure of why she was sprinting towards him with such vigor. "What's she doing?" he thought to himself as she closed the gap between them. He let out a small gasp as soon as she had made contact with him. She had thrown her arms around him, hugging him fiercely as they both fell to the sand. Gaara couldn't understand why his sand shield hadn't risen to protect him and he couldn't understand what she was doing by tackling him. His arms hesitantly wrapped themselves around her until his hands were positioned slightly awkward at the small of her back.

"Gaara-kun," she cried out happily as she pressed her lips firmly against his. He felt himself kissing her back as if he couldn't stop himself. Thoughts were only but a vague blur, worries disintegrating and melting along with his heart as the kiss deepened. She pulled her lips away after being satisfied with the length of the kiss and murmured in his ear with tickling warm breath, "I'm really anxious. I can barely speak…" She grew quiet for a brief moment but then continued when she felt her voice was regained. "Let's shorten the distance between us. We can start over… I want to be with you." She switched to a sitting position and he did the same. She gazed longingly into his eyes, feeling a blush spread across her cheeks as her heart fluttered in the loveliest of ways. For a long time he said nothing and this worried her. "If you don't feel the same, then tell me."

His lips parted to speak slightly and her heart was pounding with impatient apprehension, waiting for his answer; the answer that would fill her heart with joy or the answer that would silence her on the topic forever. "I do feel the same," he finally said, easing her pain. The two stood up simultaneously, a silent understanding passing through them. Sachiko would stay in Sunagakure, forget her dreams of Konoha, and remain with Gaara. Gaara would take care of her, watch over her, and love her in his own way. Sachiko slipped a tiny hand into Gaara's. The action was awkward for him at first but he adjusted himself accordingly as Sachiko placed a small kiss on his cheek.

The shadow of the day no longer embraced the world in grey. Instead of setting, the sun would rise for them. The two bobbed along the dunes that led to Sunagakure, moving together like blue and red gems against a russet desert field. Both were taking fervent strides, eager to reach their final distance.

A/N: I was actually considering writing a separate kind of story that includes little side stories of what happens with Gaara and Sachiko after this… but that seems like I'm dragging it on… So, I could perhaps add an extra chapter with small excerpts and whatnot… But only if you guys want me to! Let me know!

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