Please be kind, the last time I wrote any sort of fiction was in 2004. This new system's very strange, it's taken several goes to get this the way I want it.

Constructive criticism is welcome :)

I also apologise if the characters seem OOC o.o"

Gaara couldn't move. He was completely frozen, constricted in the enemy's technique. He couldn't move a single part of his body and was finding it hard to breathe now as the pressure around his chest grew. The tips of his fingers twitched as he tried to direct the sand, but it remained motionless within the gourd.

"It's pointless," a low feminine voice murmured somewhere to his right, "you're bound and I've isolated your chakra. There's no way out of this technique. Your sand won't respond unless I attack you directly, which, of course, I will not do. I can simply crush you from here."

Gaara felt a slight twinge of panic as a few ribs began to creak, his body straining for air. The room they were in was cast in a dim glow, though Gaara's senses were honed to perfection so it made up for the lack of light. At the moment however they where blocked, no doubt an effect of the jutsu he was trapped in. The attack had come so quickly the sand didn't even have a chance to leave the gourd. Gaara hadn't seen the woman thus far.

"How does it feel, Gaara of the Desert, to be crushed to death?" The voice spat venomously, "think of this as being like you Desert Coffin. When I think about it you were kind to your enemies, they only had a moment for feel every bone in their body break. I, however, am not so generous and will draw out that pain."

A groan of pain pushed through Gaara's clenched teeth, coughing up blood as a rib snapped. What could he do? The sand was swirling violently within the gourd, but without knowing who to attack, it simply stayed there.

Panic wasn't a thing Gaara was used to. Surprise came every so often, as did confusion. Happiness was a rare thing indeed and fear hardly registered. With only anger, indifference and sadness as his major emotions, he had a hard time dealing with and identifying others. He didn't know how to react to this small taste of fear.

"You are a monster; you do not belong in this world!" The voice was closer now but still out of reach of the sand. "Today you will die-!"

"Now, now, no need to get so violent, Kinu-chan."

Gaara started, his eyes flickered to the left. A new voice. How long had they been there? He couldn't sense their chakra.

"H-Hebi-sama! What are you doing here?!"

"I should be asking you the same thing," came the amused chuckle. "What business do you have with the Kazekage?"

Gaara tried to turn and face his attackers but it was impossible.

"Hebi-sama, I… I was just… just avenging those he's killed…" She sounded frightened, even though 'Hebi-sama' was speaking quite calmly.

"Oh? Enlighten me."

Gaara frowned as the woman stumbled incoherently over her words. Who was she avenging? And who was this man that caused her to quail in fear?

"Why kill him, Kinu-chan, when I can just dispose of him entirely? It wouldn't do for Suna and their allies to find the Kazekage's corpse with traces of your chakra laced through it. That would be a most troublesome situation."

That didn't sound good. Gaara coughed up more blood, not realising that the crushing had ceased as soon as Hebi appeared.

There were footsteps and a shape appeared in the corner of the Kazekage's vision. Slowly a man came into view, a handsome smile gracing his aristocratic features.

"Forgive my subordinate, Kazekage-sama-" this was said with a drawl that made Gaara's eyes narrow "-but Kinu-chan is most uncouth in her ways. This is no way to show respect for Suna's Ultimate Weapon. How thoughtless of her. Rest assured she will be punished."

Gaara said nothing. If looks could kill this man would be more than dead by now.

"And to show you the respect you deserve you won't die today." There was a protest from Kinu behind Gaara but it was completely ignored by the man in front of him. "As a gesture of goodwill I will show you something amazing!"

The sand scraped against the gourd angrily for escape, sensing the imminent danger Gaara was in.

"Satsu-chan, if you could assist please."

An ordinary and plain looking girl seemed to appear out of nowhere. She had a very unthreatening aura about her but Gaara knew better than to let his guard down. She looked no older than 17 and there was something familiar about her that he just couldn't put his finger on.

Seals formed from both Hebi and Satsu's hands in perfect unison. Suddenly every fibre in Gaara's body screamed in agony and it was all he could do not to cry out. The pain blinded him, his eyes rolling up into his head. Darkness rushed up to meet him and he was falling, spiralling down into nothingness.

"War?!"

Tsunade stared in shock at Temari as the sand nin broke the news. The Earth and Wind countries were at war. Not only that but Suna's Kazekage, Gaara of the Desert, mysteriously disappeared without so much as a trace shortly afterwards. Needless to say the elders and councillors were in quite a state, especially with war declared. The Ultimate Weapon was no longer at their disposal and this new vulnerability terrified them. The Earth Country was a force to be reckoned with and had nins in far superior numbers to that of Suna. However, a vast desert offered natural protection and those not accustomed to such an environment quickly found themselves either dead making a hasty retreat. Unless need be, Suna wouldn't leave the safety of the desert.

It stemmed from a diplomatic visit gone wrong. Ironically it was in the name of proposing a peace treaty between the two countries, which weren't on the best of terms anyway. Said treaty would have, amongst many other things, increased import and export of local and foreign goods as well as opened up more employment opportunities for their ninja.

What had gone so wrong during the negotiations? No one was entirely sure of the details but it was generally understood that a split drink and some name calling were involved. Petty but ultimately blown out of proportion, thus resulting in war.

"As you can understand, Hokage-sama," Temari was explaining, "we are stretched to our limits in terms of man power. We can't afford to send our best ninja to look for the Kazekage with nothing but a sketchy lead to go by. With the ever increasing threat from the Earth Country, we are forced to put our village and the lives of its inhabitants first…"

Tsunade glanced up as Temari trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

"I… he's the Kazekage and… and my little brother but I can't search for him alone…"

"So you would like Konoha to provide you with nins?"

"Ah, that's correct."

"To help you in this war or find the Kazekage?"

Temari was silent for a moment. "I… my priority is the safety of the village, but… but I believe finding Gaara will insure that, even if the council wishes for me to stay and defend the village…"

"So you simply wish to find the Kazekage?"

"…Yes."

Tsunade leant back in her chair, turning to gaze out the window. She was reluctant to send nins to Suna, even though the two countries did have a treaty. Konoha and the Earth Country were on rocky relations as it was and to aggravate the already delicate balance would cause a lot of problems. Konoha was perfectly capable of defending itself against the Earth Country but with Suna thrown into the equation, it would just create an unnecessary loss of life, as well as paperwork.

But it seemed all they wanted was help in finding Gaara, or all Temari wanted at least. That was still a valid reason in her eyes.

"Very well, I will provide with the assistant you require."

Temari's face lit up. "Thank you, Hokage-sama! May I ask who will be assigned to me?"

"Let me see…" Tsunade brought out a file containing the details of all ninja currently on or off missions. It listed a brief overview of the person in question, as well of their rank and any specialities including bloodline limits. After a quick flick through, Tsunade set the folder down again and fixed her eyes on Temari. "Unfortunately I can only afford to give you two."

"That would be perfect," Temari said with a bow. "Um… who are they?"

Tsunade placed her elbows and the desk, linked her hands together and peered at the young sand nin over the top of them. "Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji."

Temari's eyes widened slightly but nodded. "I see. When can I expect them to be ready to go?"

"Neji returned from a mission moments before your arrival and Naruto has been been in the village for a week. I will have them ready by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Temari said gratefully, bowing before turning to the door to leave.

"You're welcome to stay in the guest rooms here until tomorrow."

With another bow and word of thanks, Temari left the office, shutting the door quietly behind her. Tsunade sighed and leant back in her chair, her gaze drawn to the view outside the window yet again. It really was a beautiful day with blue skies and fluffy little clouds dotted here and there. A bird would flitter past every now and then and the sounds of life below were a bit muffled thanks to the newly fitted double glazing. It was a god sent; now Tsunade could sleep quite peacefully without being dragged awake by an unidentified shout or the like from outside.

Naruto was going to be happy with a new mission, Tsunade mused, turning back to the pile of paperwork on her desk. There was a lot of paperwork. Maybe if she had a little doze the headache that had suddenly appeared would go away…

Ok, how was that? Please R&R :)