BAM! We're speeding through the calm and going right into the fight scenes, which I suck at, so please don't kill me. ////waves white flag\\\\ and I am making this story before Deidara, Hidan and Kakuzu fight and lose. Because I said so.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…except this story…and my insane fantasies…

Kimiko waited for three nights, just building up her courage. Then on the fourth, she joined Gaara in stargazing, clothed properly this time. When she arrived, the Kazekage didn't look surprised or angry or happy…which she told herself was silly to even consider. Of course he wasn't showing emotion.

But she had wondered, after her chuunin 'party,' and it tortured her to think about him. It took her so long, and then she decided it was time to return to the moonlit balcony. She sat next to him, as before, and said nothing. Why had she come tonight? What had made her think it was right?

Gaara was quiet. Kimiko tried to memorise this moment of silence, of what felt like happiness because he was next to her. She wanted to know this tranquility for the next time she was breaking down. The hourglass shape tucked under her shirt burned into her collarbone, the ring cool and expectant besides.

"Why are you here?" Gaara suddenly said. Kimiko, startled by the sound, glanced at him and then away. She didn't want to make eye contact; it was too direct and intimidating.

"I don't know…I've been asking myself the same thing. Why am I here on this earth? Do I serve a purpose?" she answered with another question, her voice more defeated and hollow than she wanted it. Gaara just sat there, and he seemed to be listening, so for the first time in eight or nine years, Kimiko talked to someone about her family. She hadn't meant to. She certainly hadn't planned it. But there she was, spilling her guts.

Gaara listened, just the way she wanted him to, and when she was done and biting back tears, he told her his story. Because it seemed the right thing to do. And now, she really was crying. For him. For his family.

And it felt better now that he knew and she knew.

…

The day had been nice, until he received that letter. An urgent note from Konoha - Akatsuki had been spotted, ten miles from Suna, travelling in a suspiciously large group of four, and moving fast. They had just passed through the edges of the Land of Fire and seemed to be heading east, towards Suna.

As Kazekage, it was his duty to keep his village - and entire land, safe. If they wanted control, they'd have to fight him for it. If they had his demon, what else could they possibly want? He wondered, and resolved to have a party go out to meet them. Only the best jounin, in case things turned ugly.

It pained him to have to send his siblings on such a dangerous mission, as it always did, but he showed nothing and so did they. Along with them went Baki, and against his better judgement, Kimiko. She was now jounin, but still fresh to the rank, and he always felt there was something off with her.

Gaara set specific instructions to go, converse only, and if more violent measures were essential, to send the fastest post - Kimiko - for him. Her speed was perhaps the weight that tipped the balance on his decision. He saw them fade into the hot haze of the desert, massaged his temples, and turned back to his paperwork.

…

Waiting for them, as if expecting their appearance, were four members of Akatsuki. Deidara, the man who had almost killed the Kazekage, stood looking smug and confident as ever. The next two there was little information on, only that the one with the triple-sickle was apparently immortal and the masked man beside him had ability in all elements. The last one, orange-masked with one hole for an eye, was completely unknown…therefore, making him the most dangerous.

It seemed all eyes were on Deidara, the most hated by the Suna citizens. But Kimiko, who hadn't seen his power and was untouched by the experience, kept her eyes on the others, daring them to make a move. It was a bad situation if one or two of the other three suddenly attacked - the others weren't being careful at all.

"It's been awhile," Deidara said loudly. "I heard your Kage's still alive - lucky bastard."

"It seems you didn't complete your task," the sickle-wielding man said mockingly. "Allowing your charge to live - there is no excuse. Jashin would have your head for not begging forgiveness."

"Shut up, Hidan!" Deidara snarled.

"What business do you have in the Land of Wind?" Baki asked through clenched teeth. The four men assumed looks of fake innocence.

"We're simply passing through. Can we not do that in peace?" Hidan said, smirking as though enjoying a private joke.

"Tobi is a good boy, he won't do anything wrong," the orange-masked man added, and Kimiko wondered if he was referring to the other masked man, until he jabbed a thumb at himself and she realized it was he who was 'Tobi.'

Just then, she noticed a small white spider crawling towards her, and as she raised her foot slightly to crush it (she detested spiders) her body stopped moving. The only person she knew who could do this was…

Questioningly, she turned to Kankurou, who had his chakra strings on her. His eyes were hard.

"I got you just in time," he muttered, and suddenly all four of the Suna shinobi jumped back, Kimiko yanked along on strings. She found out why as the little spider set off a giant explosion. The Akatsuki had also leapt to safety, and as the eight shinobi stared each other down, further from each other now, Kankurou hissed at the brunette kunoichi.

"What are you waiting for? Get Gaara!" Remembering in a flash, she turned on her heel and ran, the sounds fading as wind rushed past her ears. The only way she could tell what was happening was by the tremors of the earth, replaying the explosions for her.

…

"Kazekage-sama!" she yelled, bursting into his office. Thankfully, he'd left his window open and she swung right in. Gaara swivelled on his chair, saw her, and followed without a word, a note fluttering from his hand to the desk.

Gaara might've been the Kazekage, but he was slowing her down, and her anxiety to get back and help her comrades was so strong she found her feet flying, ignoring Gaara's cries to stop. In retrospect, this was already a bad idea, as she was disobeying a direct command from the Kazekage.

Racing towards the clearing created by explosions and wind blades, Kimiko saw Kakuzu and Temari fighting, both shinobi worn down by incessant attacks. She noticed Hidan's outward appearance had changed, taking a skeletal form. His sickle dripped with crimson and Kankurou was coughing up blood on the ground, his puppets lying forgotten.

As she searched for the remaining two Akatsuki, she noticed something white and large forming near Deidara, who was in the sky on a strange white bird. Baki seemed to be taking on the residual men, sparring with Tobi and defending Deidara's clay bombs. But how could he escape…that?

A giant clay model, wings unfolding, fell to the ground, and dread filled Kimiko like no emotion she knew, as she ran to help Kankurou retreat before the thing detonated. She was so afraid, for her and her comrades, and in that horrible moment of such lunacy, she was happy that she felt anything at all.

As Akatsuki looked sharply at Deidara, who was laughing maniacally as his creation grew closer to destroying everyone in a mile-wide radius. Well, sure. He was flying out of range. His comrades finished their attacks and retreated, leaving the Suna shinobi.

As the giant bird neared, Kimiko wondered why her life wasn't flashing before her eyes. Maybe it had all been so pointless she didn't need to relive it. She felt Kankurou's limp body slip from her grasp and something encircled her waist as light and heat claimed her.

She was reliving her past, alright. The explosion took her like the lightning had, fire racing through her veins and light blinding her through closed eyes. She felt herself fade away. She was taken to somewhere new.

The light faded and she looked around. Her body was charred and throbbing, her head in so much pain she thought of slicing it open. She was in a cave of some sort, earth crumbling from the walls and the floor cold rock.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness after such infinite white, she saw where she lay. Hundreds of thousands of things littered the floor - but not carelessly. They had been spaced, shifted so each was equal distance from the next.

They were hourglasses, hourglasses with no lids. Some sand was trickling slowly, some was rushing forth. Kimiko had no idea how this was happening, but as her eyes further adjusted, she peered into the gloom and saw two eyes staring back.

With a mangled scream rising and dying in her throat, the kunoichi tried to jump up, but she could barely struggle to her knees. It was then she saw that it was a mere statue, a gold statue with winking diamond eyes. It sat in the dim cave and watched her. She knew it was inanimate, but she couldn't avoid the inexplicable way it stared her down.

"Where am I, oh God, what happened?" she whispered desperately. Her voice echoed around the cave. She pulled herself to her hands and knees, pain shooting down her body with every breath.

"Where indeed?" A voice came from nowhere, shocking the kunoichi into screaming. "Calm down, girl. I can tell you what happened." Kimiko raised her head to the statue, and it was still looking at her. Its golden mouth never moved, but the sound reverberated around it. "You must have been caught in a sonic boom before the cause of it destroyed your body," the statue mused. Kimiko wondered if she had gone crazy, or was dead, because there was no way a statue mused, or talked, or glared at her with such life.

"I was in an explosion," she answered the unasked question. "I thought I had died!"

"You have," the statue replied darkly. "And yet here you are, in my Dimension of Time. And yet you've escaped from fate itself. Look here, child, at these hourglasses by my feet." Kimiko bent to obey. "Each glass is one person's life. I am the god of time who presides over everyone's lifespan." Kimiko observed the simple devices that were really so much more. Was this real?

And then she saw something that shocked her even more than all the new information she was receiving. It was an hourglass. With Gaara's name on it. And it was almost run out.

Temari and Baki supported Kankurou and they stood, staring at the body lying on the ground. Gaara had come at the last second, and thrown his sand protection around the three of them - but he had been too late for Kimiko, who had disappeared without a trace. And by diverting his protection to save the ones he cared most about, he had so sacrificed his own safety - as any Kazekage would do.

But what would Suna do without their Kazekage, and Akatsuki presumably heading towards them, armed and dangerous?

Where had Kimiko gone? Was her body obliterated by the explosion? Or had she run - she certainly was fast enough to escape. But Kankurou held firm that she was by his side until the end.

There wasn't time to mourn right now. Taking the limp, scarred body of their beloved Kazekage, the three jounin headed back to their village, panicked and apprehensive of the fate of their people.

"Why is Gaara's hourglass so empty?" Kimiko demanded of the so-called god of time. "How can I fix it?" What was this feeling, below the panic and worry and fear? What was this emotion that coloured her heart with such wild frenzy?

"You can do nothing. If you flip the glass over, trying to restart his time, the sand will fall out the open top. There is a chance he may gain time if you put more sand in his glass, but can you bring yourself to shorten someone else's remaining time? He is going to die, and soon." The god seemed to be taunting her. He lay dying, and what could she do? She could only sit here crying, was that it?

"I'll use my own sand, then," she decided, the words striking fear in her, and yet she knew it was for the best.

"Didn't you listen to me? You have died, or at least you should've. Eight years ago, you were struck by lightning. Do you recall your life flashing before your eyes? You were supposed to die. That was your fate. And yet, you escaped, and survived. I must assume it was your chakra, strengthening you, which kept you alive. But your time has run out. You have no options. You have no sand." Kimiko, tears running down her pallid face, looked up, calm and expressionless. Gaara's sand was so close to gone…if she let that happen, there was no bringing him back.

"You're wrong," she stated. "I do have sand." And then she pulled out the hourglass charm that Gaara had given her. She tugged on the cord and it fell from her neck. She held the charm and the ring in one hand…her dead family and her new comrades in one hand. The only thing that mattered now was her new comrades - the hourglass. There was only a little sand in it, but it was enough. Carefully, she broke the glass, sand flowing out - more than she hoped for, enough to give Gaara time…enough time for her to see him again.

Then again… "Will I ever be released from this dimension?" she begged of the statue. "What must I do?" The god was silent, and she feared for a moment she had imagined the whole conversation.

In the few seconds that seemed like a lifetime, Kimiko felt it, the emotion without description, that which had fuelled her to react so violently to Gaara's destiny. Was it that feeling, then? She hadn't experienced such a reaction in nine years. Was it love?

And then it spoke.

"You defy every rule of time and fate…Who knows if that inferior sand will sustain him? You defy me, the god of time itself. And who is to say that you won't defy the rules of dimension? However, you must know…without an hourglass of your own, you will never die of old age. If you survive to the point that you are wearied by life and you wish to die…" Kimiko swallowed a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding. "…you must ask someone to kill you."

"Thank you," the kunoichi half-whispered, half-cried. "For telling me. Everything." The ring fell from her cold fingers, and she felt a terrible pressure on her core, as though something was exploding on the inside. Her time in this dimension, it seemed, had run out.

A gasp of air - fresh, clean air, not the stale air of a dank cave. Did she dare open her eyes to the light? Was she alive? More importantly, was he?

Struggling to move, she cracked her eyelid open a tiny bit. The light that flooded her vision was so awesome and painful she moaned a bit and turned away. Staring at the shaded ground, she took a deep breath and sat up, biting her tongue hard to keep from screaming as the light filled her.

She had landed back at the clearing, the earth carved out from the explosion and debris scattered everywhere. Stumbling to her feet, she ignored the sting in her legs and arms, and ran.

After chasing faint noises and tracking almost invisible marks of passing, Kimiko found the three jounin and Gaara, Kankurou leaning on Temari and Baki carrying a limp Gaara on his back.

"Te-Temari! Kankurou!" the kunoichi yelled, her voice dying on the last syllable. The jounin turned around, and her heart fell to see the droop of Gaara's shoulders, the way his body moved, wilted.

"Kimiko? What…you're okay!" Temari. "This must be a miracle!" There was no miracle, just insanity.

"He…Is he okay?" she whispered in a voice torn and hoarse. No one spoke, but she felt their anguish and hopelessness. They were heading back to Suna. Akatsuki! What would happen without the Kazekage?

Her heart beat faster and faster as she silently willed his eyes to flutter, his chest to rise with breath, anything. She hadn't done it, then. She had failed him. She was crying again, seemingly not dry after her trip to another dimension.

Then he coughed. Blood sprayed onto the ground, but he was alive, gloriously alive. Baki set him down, and he stood on weak legs, looking up at Kimiko. Their eyes met, and she was stunned by the clarity of his gaze.

"We have to get back to Suna," he reminded his comrades softly, and they were off.

…

Akatsuki had arrived by the time the five shinobi returned, and already engaged in battle with the border patrol. Scarlet swirls painted the walls of Suna, blood lost. Medic nin were everywhere, the few that Suna had.

Gaara was already working, his sand taking Akatsuki by surprise. This slight advantage tipped the scales, as Temari and Baki shot into the heart of the battle, Kimiko following after glancing at Gaara and his brother. Severely outnumbered and now unsure of their position in the battle, Akatsuki retreated.

Kimiko watched them go, wondering distantly whether her mother's sand had fallen, or if she'd jumped too early into death. Was suicide someone's fate, or did they choose for themselves? She would never know.

And sometimes it was better leaving things to the unknown.

The ring she had left behind had fallen into his hourglass. Now it blocked the sand from falling. Unwittingly, she had given him time to grow older, to live a regular lifespan. The god of time would've shaken his head, if his stone body allowed it. She really was defying everything he knew of fate and chance. And it worked to that man's advantage, intuitively.

O.o

Ummm…strange randomness…this story is nearing an end :( and its sand is running out. Please review!