Karura remembered holding her young son in her hands... Rasa shouting... Doctors panicking... before she passed out. Yes. Passed out. Not die. Her heartbeat has descended to impossibly slow. Slow and weak enough that it would be impossible for anyone to notice. However, she was still alive. How? No one knows. The only thing that matters is that she is.

Karura woke up in total darkness. Is this...? Am I...? She thought. Was she alive or dead. It was something she questioned. If she was alive... well, she needed to take care of her family. Whereas if she died, she would still watch over them. She was the kind to care very much about her family. Especially the new one. Suddenly Karura realized she can't die. She needed to protect her small new child, Gaara. She tried to sit up but her head bumped into something. Is this my grave? She thought shakily. If it was, then she was still alive. But she knew she could easily suffocate.

Half of her chakra was sealed away in... sand. She couldn't break through the stone above her with half her chakra. There has to be a way to open it! I remember them saying they put a way to open the coffin from the inside if the person buried was still alive! She thought. How did she know that? By being the Kazekage's wife.

Her heart tightened and she started to panic. She remembered what they said.

Step One: DON'T PANIC!
You'll use up all your oxygen if you do that!

She tried to calm her breaths down and stopped panicking. After a few minutes she was successful. She racked her brain about what they said to do next. She wished it all didn't happen and doing well instead of being stuck in this mess.

Step Two: Break yourself out
Its most likely you got a safety coffin if you can't dig yourself out. There's a switch somewhere that you can pull and BoOm! You're out! It'd be funny to see the faces of the people near you when you get out though. Wish I was there.

Karura slowly inched her hand across the walls and ceiling until she found a lever kind of thing. She pulled on it, the ceiling opened. Blinding light interrupted her vision. She had to narrow her eyes until she got used to it. She slowly stood up. Everywhere hurts. Half of her chakra was permanently gone. What was she going to do? The coldness of nighttime in the desert struck her and she shivered. She was buried in a building, meaning she wasn't wearing much. The cold wind blew around her dress, she sighed and watched. She almost considered just dying. But she needed to get to her young one.

Maybe she should try to call someone? It would scare them and it would be pretty funny but she needed to get to her family. One of her legs were broken from being in that coffin so she traveled incredibly slow. She sighed. Suddenly, a kunai shot out of nowhere and straight at her other leg. Even though Karura was a shinobi, being buried alive for too long didn't allow her to escape fast. She screamed and collapsed. No... I can't die again! I have to- before she fell to the ground unconscious.

The next day

Karura woke up with a face staring at her. "Wh-wh-who are you?" She asked, her voice strained. The woman only handed her a cup of some kind of medicine. Karura shook her head, "I'm not going to take it until you tell me who you are, you might just poison me," The woman let of a sigh and shook her head.

"Stubborn," the woman muttered, "Alright, my name is Niko. I used to be a medical ninja in Suna. Welcome to my hut."

Karura frowned, "Why "used to"?" She asked, suspicious, "Wait... are you the one who attacked me yesterday?" Niko shook her head at this. Karura thought it must be true, she didn't look like she would attack her, or anyone for that matter.

"Lady Karura right? Well, I used to be a medical ninja until I quit the job. It was rather tiring, I needed a break. So I ventured out of Suna, helping those who needed help. Without me, they're living fine," Niko smiled, "so will they for you. You're not needed, you can stay with me." Karura frowned again, why wouldn't they need her, her child needed her. Her whole family did. Without her, who would take care of baby Gaara? Niko seemed to read her mind and said, "You can watch, although showing yourself, may show its wrongs."

Karura sighed, "Alright, you've convinced me. However, I will watch. I promise not to interfere." Niko nodded and walked out the door, signaling that she was going to get more supplies from Suna.

Sometime later, she met up with a hooded figure. "Did you stop her?" The hooded figure asked, his voice was commanding and sly. Niko nodded, and smirked. The kindness before had only been a mask. "Good, soon... the Karudo will rise...

Well? How was that? I don't think that was too bad! That was only the prologue, I'm excited to write this don't you think? Its my first chapter eeeeeeeeeee.
Niko = two lakes
Karudo = cold

Chapter 2 link here if you somehow cannot get there: s/13702818/1/Still-Alive

- Author