Emi was unconscious for four days in total. She had learned that in that time, Kankuro had been poisoned and on his death bed until Sakura managed to save him and Gaara had been located by a group of Leaf ninken and a rag tag rescue team consisting of Suna Elder Lady Chiyo and Leaf ninja had been thrown together to pursue the Akatsuki. Emi burned to go with them until both Baki and Kankuro had forced her to stay within Suna walls to assist in keeping up a strong appearance to the world. They would not be seen as weak in the light of Gaara's absence. It was because of that decision that Emi found herself standing behind Kankuro as the jonin council met to discuss the state of Suna. The treasurer of Suna was currently droning on in a monotonous voice about bills and repairs.

"The progress on cleaning the gates of Suna after the attack has almost been completed. I estimate another day of clean up and fortification and the walls will stay strong."

"That's good news," another councilman named Ira said, his hands clasped against his mouth which currently hid his smirk. "Everything is going according to plan. Now, on to the matter of leadership."

Emi tensed as Kankuro leapt to his feet, his chair scraping back a little. "What the hell are you talking about? There's nothing to discuss! Gaara is the Kazekage. End of discussion."

Ira glared at the puppeteer, his hands now resting on the table top. There was a mixture of shock and agreement flitting across the other councilman's faces.

"The fact remains that Suna is without leader. If we leave it too long, we will be seen as weak by our enemies and they will attack," Ira said calmly.

Emi saw Baki clench his jaw from his seat at the table. It seemed he didn't know what to think on this matter either.

"We wait for Gaara to return. You are speaking as if he was already dead!" Kankuro roared, emotion making his voice slightly cracked. Emi's knuckles turned white as she saw Ira smirk at Kankuro.

"The possibility that he is deceased is high. The Akatsuki do not take prisoners," he said in that frustratingly calm voice. Kankuro growled low.

"He is your Kazekage, the one who saved the village from attack and you are speaking as if it were for nothing!"

"He did his duty. We shouldn't waste time discussing something of this high importance. A new leadership must be formed. Kazekage Gaara died to protect his village and its people. His death will not be in v-"

Emi's fist slammed onto the boardroom table, a burst of pure white light making every occupant in the room shrink back and shield their eyes. Once the light died down, all eyes turned to a fuming Emi who was visibly shaking with rage. She pinned each of the councilmen with a steely glare, Kankuro and Baki looking at her in surprise. She had always had a feisty streak but she rarely ever lost her temper to such a degree.

"Our Kazekage is a great man who sacrificed everything to keep you pitiful fools safe. He is alive, and he will return," Emi stood up straight, her eyes now fixed on the table. "He has to come back," she muttered painfully to herself, but Kankuro heard. He thankfully said nothing.

"How dare you speak to the council that way!" Ira shrieked once he regained his composure. Emi kept her gaze averted.

"For the sake of the village, this matter must be discussed. We are all loyal to the Kazekage, but we are also loyal to the village and the people. He did his duty, and he did it with honour. Who is he to you but a sensei?" Ira sneered.

Emi felt hot tears burn in her eyes as she let her hair curtain her face, determined not to cry in front of the council. She would be seen as weak again.

Emi turned on her heel and strode towards the door, every councilman's eyes burning into her back. Her hand grasped the handle but she paused, tilting her head to project her voice but not enough for them to see her unshed tears.

"He is more than just a sensei. He is… he is precious to me."
Emi left the room full of stunned council members, making sure to slam the door as hard as she could before sprinting home.

Gaara blinked to clear the white haze, but it didn't leave. He felt weightless and numb.

"Where… where am I?" he asked aloud, his voice echoing into the expanse of white. The fog began to clear and he could make out his own body. He raised a hand to his face, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Whose hand is this? Who… who am I?"

A smudge appeared on the horizon of blank, details emerging slowly until it morphed into a copy of himself. Gaara blinked owlishly, the figure mirroring his movements perfectly.

"Am I… am I dead?" he rasped. He looked around but all he saw was white.

White. Brightness. Light. A memory, of someone important. Someone he should remember. The air quivered and he looked back at his mirror image, seeing a part of it split off and mould into a new form.

A girl covered head to toe in black, her eyes looking at him through black goggles, standing calmly beside his mirror image. If Gaara wasn't mistaken, his clone looked… happy as she stood beside him. Something tugged at his mind. He should know her. Who was she to him?

"Who are you?" he asked quietly. The girl didn't answer, instead lifting up a single hand, something slithering between her gloved fingers.

Gaara squinted, trying to make out the shimmer of movement. It was light. Small tendrils of light wrapping themselves around her fingers.

A memory rushed to the fore; howling wind, the cool darkness of a cave, an admission of care, of love. For him. A vow to try.

Gaara gasped. "Emi?"

As fast as he had remembered it, the memory was gone again, slipping from his mind like water. His mirror image drifted away until it was just him and the covered girl.

Before his eyes, the girl's clothes began to shed of their own accord. He watched on in curiosity. Her gloves and sandals slid off smoothly, the light tendrils now wisping around her body. Her goggles were removed and Gaara could see her eyes were closed. For some reason, this upset him. He knew that when she opened them, he would be lost in them. Her hooded coat drifted down her shoulders, her high collared mask shirt tugged upwards. Silky chocolate tresses tumbled over her shoulders, her pants sliding down her long, curvaceous legs.

He took a moment to look at her in nothing but her bindings, her arms coming up to hug her middle. A crescent moon tattoo framed her left eye, a dusky brown birthmark curving around her right side from knee to neck and down her arm towards her hand. She was beautiful.

The moment that thought entered his mind, her eyes flashed open to bore into his. His black rimmed azure gaze met glistening swirls of emerald. His previous assumption was correct; he was lost in those eyes.

Something unfamiliar bloomed in his chest as he looked at her. It was unfamiliar yet… good. "What is this feeling?" he mused out loud. "Where am I? Who am I? Who are you to me?" he asked the girl. She said nothing, continuing to hold his gaze. The feeling in his chest grew until he felt like he would burst. He clutched at his chest, an ingrained instinct inside of him telling him this was pain.

He frowned. "It's too warm and good to be pain. What is this?"

The girl mirrored his actions, clutching a hand to her own heart as she looked at him.

"Are you the reason for this?" he asked her. And still she said nothing.

The white around him began to pulse, waved of light washing over him. He felt panic as he looked at her. For some reason, he knew that the light would take her away from him. That feeling was painful; nothing like the warmth he felt spread through him when she looked at him so openly, so accepting and caring.

So loving.

The light pulsed and blazed brightly, erasing her from view as Gaara was sucked into limbo once again.