Of course, stepping outside of the house meant breaking at least one if not more rules her children put into place for her, yet as she looked up at the sky, she found herself not regretting her decision in one bit. Not regretting didn't mean her stomach wasn't churning from the sight above her. The nightmare which plagued her mind – it was the worst nightmare she'd ever had, bearing down on her from above.
How she knew when to step out of the home, she didn't know. The gut feeling – it wasn't one she could easily explain, yet said feeling started her stomach-churning before she saw what was going on above her. Karura's throat caught, tightening while she looked up at the sky, seeing the sight of her own son up so high battling against an unknown threat to the village, although, in the back of her mind something told her the person above was using the village against the boy.
Taking a deep breath, she headed towards the entrance, walking quickly. Very few paid her any mind as she walked toward the interest, their focus instead on the battle above, but one person did call out. "Should you be out right now, Lady Karura? I was under the impression you weren't allowed out if you were not escorted by Lady Temari or Lord Kankuro."
"I'm worried about Gaara."
"The Lord Kazekage?" The person glanced up, letting her slip away as they said, "Well that makes sense I guess. Be careful."
She took a deep breath, noting how he talked down to her as if she couldn't take care of herself, yet she wondered if she should blame him for that, given the fact she was locked in the mental ward for so long. "I'm a medical-nin. I should know having a mental disorder doesn't mean a person can't live a functional life. But..." Another thought crossed her mind. "He likely isn't."
She continued walking, slowly getting closer to the entrance. Her eyes widened upon seeing two shinobi standing there, staring at the sky when she arrived. In all honesty, she couldn't describe what it looked like beyond the fact it was large and would definitely cause damage in the village, although she knew what would happen as the shield formed above her. She swallowed, a shiver running down her spine as an image of what would come next – a memory from her dreams – her nightmares.
The second explosion – one involving the protective shell around Gaara came next.
"Gaara!" Karura's head turned towards where she heard the sound of her oldest son, yet she didn't yet see him. "We've got to go back and help him Baki!"
"Kankuro! We've already given orders to the men regarding what they need to do."
"I don't know what's more important than saving my..." There came a slight pause. "Baki! Don't walk away from me." They appeared then and she saw Kankuro freeze upon seeing her, then his eyes narrowed. "What is she doing here?" His eyes then drifted to the two shinobi who stood there looking horrified. "What..."
"Lord Baki. We came and inspected the entrance as you asked, but went no farther."
"They're all dead and were going to inform you when the attack started."
Karura looked at Baki realizing he'd tried to do something to prevent what went down even though this would end up being an impossibility. "I see."
"Baki. How..."
"Apparently your mother isn't insane, or at least not as insane as we've thought."
"Wh..." Kankuro's voice went lower, turning into a grumble. "We need to save Gaara."
"He's taking Gaara that way." Karura pointed to the entrance. "Can we please hurry?" She turned. "And be careful regarding traps."
She walked through, her nose picking up on the scent of blood and death, her heart going out to the families of the shinobi who lost loved ones. She at first didn't hear Kankuro but heard Baki tell the two to wait for him and not let anyone else through until he gave the order. She saw a rather familiar puppet which in turn made her eyes narrow. She felt someone grab her elbow. "What do you think..."
"Ah..." A rather gravelly voice said, interrupting whatever Kankuro was trying to say. "I was under the impression you were dead, Karura."
"Sasori."
She felt the person who held her elbow – Kankuro – turn so he might look at the person. "Wait. As in Sasori of the Red Sand?"
"Oh, you know me."
"Since you know about Sasori, I shouldn't have to tell you that you need to avoid letting any of his weapons touch you, but to also be prepared for traps? Also..." Sasori always used traps in his fighting style, filled with poison. She'd not see the puppet, not realized it was Sasori when she saw her dream, making her mentally curse her luck. However, she also knew the younger shinobi well. A well-trained medical-nin did, in fact, have a chance, given the history of Lady Chiyo and Lady Tsunade. "Stay out of my way Kankuro. Be ready for the other person – Baki as well."
Her surmise proved rather true – she did have a good handle on what was going on, following Tsunade's rules of protecting oneself, though in the back of her mind there was this inkling regarding the fact she was fighting Sasori of all people. She heard Kankuro's sound of surprise as she smashed something, finding herself glad for the months-long training at Chiyo's place, yet also found herself pleased with the level of damage enacted on Sasori's puppet which shielded him while listening to him complain about things taking to long.
"You always were impatient, so childish."
Her knuckles – a few splinters were stuck in the knuckles as she moved, yet she'd not yet been cut when she heard the sound of someone else – the person's voice she did not recognize, let out a yelp of displeasure just as she felt a slight nick in her shoulder. "Sasori, my man..."
"We're retreating Deidara."
"Without..."
"Without the Jinchuriki. Hiruko's sustained to much damage to not leave a trail if you're focused on carrying away."
"After I..."
"Yeah, well, I have my brother and your chakra was definitely spent on your battle with him."
Karura breathed a sigh of relief while her vision grew cloudy, hearing Sasori say something about not expecting Karura as a part of the equation. She knew they left, but soon found herself collapsed on the ground while Kankuro called out to her, the sound of his voice – he wasn't happy with the outcome.
Note - For those familiar with the series, they may be wondering why Sasori didn't use some of the attacks he used on his grandmother and Chiyo. The answer is - there wasn't time, nor was that the best place. At the entrance they could easily be joined, but Karura managed damage which would mean that they could easily be tracked, as such ruining their plans.