Shikamaru would call himself a calm individual. He was never easily excited or rash. As an information specialist, he liked to wait until he got all the information before making his decisions. So the turn of events happening in Beppu was less than ideal, forcing him to make quick and ill-prepared decisions and assumptions in order to respond appropriately. Closing the school and alerting all hunters to stop what they were doing and prepare for battle was one of them.

Tsunade was quickly crafting excuses for the staff of the school before appearing for the meeting that was called. A large scale and blatant attack had not happened since 1919 during Seth's infamous escape. A quick response for them was considered half a day. Time to collect information, distribute the right people and resources, and get to their destination. They had no protocol for something like this.

Since the attack started, 10 minutes had passed. A lot of time for a lot of damage to happen and enough time for public news and internet uploads and streaming to appear. Shikamaru has been scurrying to suppress the medium but that still took time and things will still slip through the cracks. It will be another 5-10 minutes for the meeting to take place and issue the situation and instruction, and 10-15 minutes for the helicopter to transport the appropriate responders. Shikamaru had already recommended 10 hunters to head out immediately to watch and respond once the order was given, but Tsunade could only give the order for a response to the attack once the elders agreed and all three elders had blocked her saying they needed this meeting first.

Perhaps it said something about the corruption of the elders. Shikamaru could predict why they would block the decision. They planned to make this a political attack and undermine the godaime's authority. He would just have to wait to see how, even if he did have some guesses on what they might pull.

As he thought this, entering the hall that the meeting would take place, he could see Elder Danzo already at work.

Elder Danzo was sitting in his assigned seat to the left side of Tsunade's chair, clan leaders surrounding him. The elder had a look of sorrow in his eyes and he gripped the handle of his cane. "To see this type of tragedy happen so close to our territory saddens me. For generations, we have managed to keep Japan safe from such an attack and to see it happen in my lifetime…" he closed his eyes as if it pained him to continue. "I am not sure how to face my ancestors."

"It is not your fault, Elder. Surely, the ancestors know that," the clan leader of the Aomine clan, a middle-aged woman, kneeled to him in fealty.

Other clans murmured their agreement, and some were more vocal than others in their support.

Danzo raised a hand to silence them and the room instantly quieted. "No, as an elder, I should take responsibility. I should have pressed my concerns about the Uchiha and that Uzumaki child. Perhaps then we wouldn't be suffering such uncertainty. Because of my hesitation, every loss is on my hands."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the elder, noting how he had carefully implied the attack on Beppu being Uchiha's fault and subtly making everyone think of the disappearance of the assassination team last night, insinuating their deaths. While everyone assumed they had failed and therefore died, there was still no evidence of it.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Shikamaru's place to contradict an elder, so he stayed silent. Taking his assigned seat as the Nara clan's head, watching the display play out.

"You mustn't blame these things on yourself, Elder," the old woman from the Kwan clan, one of three Chinese immigrant clans that had moved here after World War II, spoke up. She held her head high and spoke as if on the same level as him, addressing the elder formally, but not underneath him. "Us old ones can only give our advice and opinions on the matter. It is the leader's job to make the decisions and give instructions. You cannot be blamed if your advice is ignored."

More clans spoke up in support which Elder Danzo shook off. "Being a leader is a difficult task. I cannot claim to know what is on the godaime's mind. I can only trust that she took my considerations seriously and used her best judgment to exercise her orders. I can only conclude that I was not urgent enough with my warnings. I'm afraid that this incident will force us to go public."

There was an uproar of conversation, and Shikamaru made sure to note who was hanging onto Danzo's words, who only mildly agreed, and who was skeptical. Kakashi was standing nearby, only because his chair was blocked by the group, but he had a dark look on his face as he listened.

"She couldn't possibly even consider something so ludicrous," another clan leader spoke out with incredulity. Conversation followed, arguing the point loudly as the elder tried to mitigate it.

Tsunade came barging in through the doors and everyone quickly took their seats as she announced quickly, "I hereby call this meeting to order." Her voice boomed in the hall, silencing every person who had been speaking as they waited.

Her eyes quickly scanned the room, noting who was and wasn't present for the meeting or was unable to make it on such short notice. "I want to make this as quick as possible. I am sure all of you the news know why you were summoned. In Beppu, Yukina-hime had attacked a known vampire led institution in public view and is now killing indiscriminately."

"This is an outrage," the only female elder, Koharu, did not bother to hide the anger in her voice. "You have allowed these low-lives to attack us in our own territory. How much more mockery do you expect us to tolerate? We should remove Uchiha from this island immediately."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she addressed the elder. "Koharu-san, I understand your frustration, but a thorough investigation should be done on the attack. We have no guarantee if Uchiha is related to these incidents."

"Does it matter?" Kakashi asked. For once his eyes were sharp and there was no sign of the carefree teacher, having been successfully suppressed and buried. "Bloodsuckers can't be trusted, and Iruka has not returned from his mission. Wouldn't that imply he has failed? That Uchiha has killed him? Isn't that grounds to remove him?"

Tsunade's lips thinned as did her patience. Kakashi's question was troubling even to Shikamaru. After being asked about his loyalties the night before only to question her now in front of all the clans, the implication was troubling. "That matter is hardly relevant to this matter, but as it was on his property, Uchiha is within his right to do as he wants. Unfortunately, Uzumaki did not leave the premises and left us no choice but to take the risk."

She then addressed the group. "While I'm sure all of you would like to keep blaming Uchiha for these incidences, I would like to inform you that there have been three other attacks. One in Fukuoka, one in Hokkaido, and one on the mountainside of Kyoto. Each attacker is also reported to be a previous master who had passed and is attacking both known vampire and civilian locations. We believe it may be Orochimaru's work; however, we do not know if it is just his work being used or Orochimaru himself. Either way, the country's in a state of panic and we must decide how to handle it as quickly as possible. Even if it means massive deployment."

"Are you asking for us to consider showing ourselves? In broad daylight?" the final elder, Homura asked infuriated, his face turning red in anger. "We have spent 600 years keeping our presence a secret from the world, and you wish to ruin our ancestors' struggles?"

"I believe our predecessors would choose the safety of the people over the safety of mind," Tsunade replied darkly. "At least at this stage, we might be able to contain the situation to a degree. Call it a terrorist attack if we must, but if we allow them to wander unchecked, even that will be out of our reach."

"And who exactly do you plan on sending to stop them, if I may ask, Tsunade-sama?" Elder Homura asked. He was a small man, shriveled from age, but his sharp eyes made everyone think twice in crossing him. His voice, in contrast, was strong and loud, making his presence known even if he could not be physically imposing. "Four masters are no simple matter. If these are not imitators but the true masters- their bodies being brought back from the afterlife- who do you plan to sacrifice to stop them? There are only two masters within the borders of Japan. Do you plan to lower your head and beg for help from one of the other leaders or are you expecting sacrifices from each clan?"

Elder Homura may have been had an imposing presence, but he was not a strategist. Shikamaru looked at Elder Danzo, sitting quietly beside him, waiting for Tsunade to make one of the two poor political decisions.

Tsunade inhaled deeply before speaking. "I will send Gaara to confront Yukina-hime in Beppu. That will allow Kinoshita-sama to take on the master in Fukuoka with support from the clans of Konoha. I will give the order for the others to mobilize the other shinobi around the country as well and coordinate additional attacks for the masters in Hokkaido and Kyoto."

Gaara's name acted as a catalyst, throwing the room into an uproar of protests even from the quieter clan leaders. Tsunade's fist connected with the thick wooden table, effectively silencing everyone as well as splintering the wood. In a leveled voice, she continued. "Like it or not, Gaara is the most powerful fighter in our control here and better suited to fight Yukina-hime than Kinoshita-sama. He can also take much more damage than any hunter here. If he dies, there is no loss to our side. It is the safest bet."

"And if he loses control?" Elder Danzo spoke up. He didn't seem to have ill intent, just posing the question as a possibility that needed to be addressed. "He may pose a greater risk than Yukina-hime."

Tsunade hesitated just briefly, and the people around them picked up on it instantly, growing uncomfortable with the idea. "Gaara has been under our protection for the past 6 years. Should he not repay our kindness?"

Her hesitation brought down the effectiveness of her words, and Elder Danzo smiled sadly as he said, "That does not answer my question, Godaime-sama."

"Gaara-san will not lose control," Hyuuga Hiashi spoke up. Unlike everyone around him, who had hurriedly dressed and looked a bit unkempt, Hyuuga did not have a hair out of place and kept his noble appearance. "If he does, my clan will take responsibility."

Shikamaru found himself chuckling under his breath. That was a huge gamble from Hyuuga from the small tidbit of information Shikamaru had fed him yesterday, and a lot of pressure to put on Neji without him knowing it.

Murmurs popped up here and there around the room about Hyuuga's bout of confidence in the situation, but Homura standing quieted them once more. "I will not give my approval on this matter." His haggard and scar-covered face was the embodiment of disapproval. "I will be pulling my support on this matter."

Homura would give any reason to pull his support, Shikamaru thought dryly.

Tsunade did not waver as she addressed the room. "My decision still stands. If anyone wishes to leave with him. Do so now."

Elder Homura looked to his fellow elders. Smiling, Elder Danzo said, "My service is to the civilians. For better or worse. Whether I agree with Godaime-sama or not."

Frowning, Homura left with a few of the clan leaders leaving with him.

In the end, four clan leaders had left. They were prominent clan leaders, and their loss could be felt, but it could have been worse. More stayed than Shikamaru had predicted. If more had left, the damage could have been severe and the crisis they were in would be difficult to handle.

"Everyone, prepare for battle," Tsunade said, ignoring the tension in the room that had appeared with the elder's departure. "The orders of who will be going will be announced in 5 minutes. Departure will be 10 minutes after that."

Shikamaru stood, going over the meeting quickly in his head and reviewing what had happened. The meeting played out heavily in Elder Danzo's favor. This was going to damage Tsunade in the long run. No matter how quickly and efficiently Tsunade addressed this problem, Elder Danzo's words would still linger in their mind and make him look good compared to Tsunade because nothing Tsunade could do or say could help her recover without looking weak one way or another.

He scratched the back of his neck. He already had his order from Tsunade. He should get to them and think of dealing with the backlash after everything was settled. As he was preparing to go see to his duties, his cell buzzed, alerting him to a message. His eyebrows shot to his forehead at the information on the screen. Things had just become a lot more complicated.


To say Neji was confused was an understatement. His morning had been filled with the usual routine. Well, his usual routine from before he met Gaara. It was dull and tiring and he had to keep reminding himself as to why he had to muddle through the pleasantries and model student behavior. He caught up on his class rep duties and organized archery practice for that afternoon and even fired off a few shots to brush up on his skills.

An underclassman had asked to speak to him as he was packing up his bow and putting away the equipment, so he told her to wait in the courtyard. She was a sweet second year and quite active in school activities. It was obvious she had a crush on him, but she never brought it up. Instead, she gave him an envelope for an invitation to an event in town being hosted by the gardening club to beautify an area on the beach. The invitation was a sample of the newly developed recycled paper and was promoting it with the invitations.

The next thing Neji knew, Gaara was charging at him in what seemed like a jealous rage and before he could even process that situation and all that can of worms entailed, school was canceled, everyone was on alert, and Gaara was rushing off after he answered his phone. A car to Gaara's embassy was waiting for him and Matsuri to take them back.

Speaking of Matsuri, she was sitting beside him, busy on her phone, trying to distract herself from her worry over Gaara.

Neji couldn't say he wasn't worried either. The driver was speeding towards their destination, making Neji concerned that the car would fly off the mountain road more than once. It was enough to actually distract him from the day's earlier events.

"Onii-san, look at this," Matsuri, scooted as close as her seatbelt would let her, showing him her phone. It was news coverage of a terrorist attack in Beppu. That explained why the school was closed. It wasn't too far away from them and a decent chunk of the city was destroyed. Did hunters take care of terrorists too?

It wasn't until Matsuri pointed out the ice hidden in the debris that Neji understood what she was trying to point out. "Do you think it's a demon?" she asked him. She had large eyes that showed her fear that it was someone like her causing the destruction.

"It's probably not that simple," Neji consoled her, but he didn't know for certain. Although Matsuri was part yuki-onna, Neji had yet to hear about the hunters talk about anything other than vampires as a threat. "Does your family live in Beppu?"

She shook her head, her eyes glued to the screen. "He lives in Oita though…"

"You should try calling him."

She had a look of a child who wanted to tell their parent they were in trouble but couldn't bring themselves to. She had run away from home and her father was probably worried sick. As much as she wanted to reach out, she just couldn't do it.

He patted her head and her eyes watered, finally giving in and calling.

The sight made Neji quite happy. Children could be just as stubborn and prideful as an adult, but they were more honest when it came to admitting when they wanted something or missed someone. Matsuri was no exception. He listened long enough to know the conversation was going well then let her have her privacy, looking up the coverage of the terrorist attack on his own phone.

As they pulled in front of the embassy, Neji caught a glimpse of Uchiha Sasuke before the feed temporarily cut. So it was a vampire problem after all. His worry for Gaara intensified again as the driver ushered Neji and Matsuri from the car and into the embassy.

"The young master has instructed us to take you and the young miss to his apartment," the driver explained, escorting them to the elevators. "The basement apartment is the safest spot in the embassy."

Neji nodded, his eyes wandering as they waited for the elevator to open. The staff seemed busy, talking on phones, running in and out of the building, and relaying information in Arabic. There was only one person going through security, a black duffle being put onto the conveyer belt. Outside another car pulled up.

The elevator door opened and Neji hesitated going inside, seeing Kankuro step out of the car. What was he doing here? The feeling Gaara might be in some real danger this time came back, and he watched Kankuro walk towards the building through the glass doors.

The driver was pulling his arm to get onto the elevator, but they never had a chance to enter.

An explosion went off from the center of the lobby.

It happened so fast. He saw light long before the deafening sound of the explosion ruptured his eardrums. He felt the heat and a force push against his body before it was enshrouded by cold with the exception of a small warm body against his.

He couldn't recall when he had fallen down. The blast had disoriented him, and it took a while to realize he couldn't see a thing, and he was freezing. He tried to sit up only to hit his head against something cold and hard. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was ice, and the body on top of him was Matsuri.

The girl seemed to have been knocked unconscious. He shook her lightly, seeing if she would stir, but she didn't move. Afraid she may have a head injury, he didn't shake her harder.

He wasn't claustrophobic, but it was cold, cramped, and dark. He couldn't see through the ice, insinuating that it was either so thick he couldn't see through it or they were buried. Neither scenario seemed good to him. He was alive for now, but how long until they were found under the debris especially if the entire building fell on top of them.

He focused on his breathing, trying not to hyperventilate and waste their precious oxygen. He couldn't sit up. He could barely adjust to get onto his side. It was barely bigger than a coffin.

He tried to keep himself calm, but he was scared. Until they were saved or Matsuri woke up, he was stuck.


Nara anticipated Gaara's deployment to Beppu long before the official order went out. As Gaara had more room to move than the other hunters, he was on a boat to the mainland when the other hunters who were supposed to go with him couldn't. Even now, he could hear Nara's voice, telling him that Orochimaru was attacking.

This was a chance for revenge. He spent the entire trip to Beppu concentrating on his own mental preparation. He pushed back the fear of the confrontation and brought forth his anger. He couldn't hesitate when he met Orochimaru. He needed to think clearly and use his rage to keep him moving forward. He used Uzumaki as his reason. If he failed to stop Orochimaru, Uzumaki would be targeted. He had to protect Uzumaki from that monster.

When he docked, he was sent a message to go after the attacker, an old master who had died over a century ago, Yukina-hime. He was disappointed at the direction but realized that Orochimaru could still be close by. He followed the destruction, throughout the city, starting with the Twilight studio that had been stationed in Beppu.

The building was in ruins and the smell of stale blood filled the air. The vampires inside had been killed and buried within the rubble. The sounds of gunshots reverberated through the city. From the sound of it, they were shots from a pistol. The police were engaging with Yukina-hime.

Gaara knew little about the Japanese masters. He received a brief explanation of who Yukina-hime was, but he cared little about it. She was an ice user, that was all he needed to know.

Rather than go towards Yukina-hime, he scoured the tops of the buildings, searching. Orochimaru liked to watch his experiments firsthand. Since Yukina-hime was reported first to attack, chances were Orochimaru was here, watching.

His eyes scanned the rooftops, looking for any lone figure. He saw a few. Vampires who had escaped the carnage, observing Yukina-hime briefly before fleeing for their lives, but none interested him. Which view had the best vantage point, he asked himself.

Beppu tower came into view, and the feeling in his chest tightened. Craning his neck, he looked up.

There he was. That pale skin that stood out against the dark black hair. The familiar lab coat that he always wore, billowing in the wind. A clipboard in his hands, documenting data. It was Orochimaru. After all these years, he had finally come face to face with him again.

The child in him wanted to turn back. Just the thought of getting in Orochimaru's grasp again made him want to slit his own throat to prevent it. Old wounds ached horribly, and phantom pains racked his body. Once he made his presence known, he would have to fight and follow all the way through.

This was for Uzumaki and for himself. If he could make sure Orochimaru was dead with his own hands, he would no longer need to fear. No longer need to worry of every falling into Orochimaru's hands again. His phone buzzed, and he knew it was someone calling to ask why he wasn't engaging Yukina-hime. She was on the news, so the hunters would know he hadn't engaged with her as planned, but he did not dare take his eyes off Orochimaru. If need be, he'd tell them that he went for the puppet master rather than the puppet.

Crushing the glass jar in his hands and breaking it, he released the sand inside. This fight would be to Orochimaru's advantage since he wasn't in his own territory. He drew his sword and jumped up the side of the tower.

"I think we can call this experiment a success, don't you think so Kabuto?" he heard Orochimaru say gleefully.

Gaara got closer, slowing his approach so he could remain undetected and get closer. His steps were soft, and he jumped high and higher, gaining ground and getting closer to striking range.

Orochimaru must have gotten a response because he responded. "Good. Very good. I couldn't have predicted it would turn out so well. Wouldn't you say so Gaara-chan?" Orochimaru turned slightly to his left, looking straight at Gaara, still perched on one of the rungs of the tower. The spread of the creepy smile on Orochimaru's lips felt like slime crawling over Gaara's skin. "My how you've grown. You must be very popular with women now."

His voice was as sickly sweet as he remembered, with the tone one would use to talk to a small child. Gaara felt disgust upon hearing it and fueled his rage.

"Orochimaru," he growled. "Finally crawled out of your hole I see."

"Of course, Gaara-chan," Orochimaru spoke with such familiarity Gaara wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face. Using the sand he had released earlier, he made a very thin needle, hard to see with the naked eye, and sent it flying at Orochimaru's head. Orochimaru dodged it easily with a slight tilt of his head but it left a deep graze on his cheek, drawing blood "A little impatient, aren't we?" he said like a mildly amused parent. "I'm sure the shinobi leader didn't dispatch you to fight me."

Gaara didn't answer him. Instead, he turned the sand needle around, coming back towards Orochimaru aiming for his center mass. It forced Orochimaru to move, falling backward off the tip of the tower to avoid it. Rather than looking like he had lost his balance, Orochimaru kept his back straight, feet together like a gymnast doing a dismount, flipping once in the air and landing on his left foot on the roof of the observation deck, slightly below Gaara.

"Is that how you treat someone who has taken care of you for so many years?" Orochimaru gently scolded. "I took you in when no one else would. I taught you many things and made you into what you are."

"Death would not be enough to compensate for what you did to me," Gaara snapped, his anger grabbing a stronger hold. He felt Seth knocking at the door, offering his power, and Gaara was tempted to take it.

Orochimaru touched his face, wiping off the small remnant of sand that had been left behind in the wound. "So that's what you're doing. Your skills have definitely improved. Better control as well," he analyzed, making mental notes as he talked to himself. "Does that mean you weren't a failure after all?" Orochimaru had a look of intrigue on his face, a look Gaara greatly feared. When Orochimaru was interested in something, he wanted to dissect it until there was nothing left. "If only I had the other one too, I could compare. Perhaps you might know where he is, Gaara-chan. You seem so much more talkative now."

As Gaara feared, Orochimaru was still interested in Uzumaki. He couldn't let Orochimaru know Uzumaki was here. He had to stop him here and now.

At Gaara's silence, Orochimaru sighed, pulling out several talismans from his lab coat. "Very well, I'll play with you first." With a twisted smile, he added, "Try not to disappoint me this time."

Orochimaru held up a talisman, the word "firestorm" written on it. Inserting chakra into it, the paper became hardened a brief second before a cyclone of fire emerged from the piece of paper. Gaara felt the heat of the fire long before it reached him. He didn't have much time to dodge. Gaara began to move the moment he caught the words with his superior speed. Even using his speed and moving immediately, he was slightly singed from the heat. He had just gotten out of the way when the cyclone of fire reached where Gaara had once stood, melting the metal rungs of the tower.

Gaara's foot barely touched the top of the observation deck when he pushed forward, charging Orochimaru with his sword in hand.

Orochimaru smiled, pulling out another talisman, this one with the words "bone sword". The talisman turned into a sword. It was an unusual sword. The handle resembled a femur with the end extending into a blade. The blade had the same color and feel as the bone like handle and lacked a guard. He used his sword to accept and parry Gaara's attack.

Orochimaru's blade seemed to be made out of bone, but it was just as sturdy as metal. Only Orochimaru would have a disturbing ability in his hands. Gaara couldn't think much about it. Being parried, Gaara went on the defensive, having to block Orochimaru's counterattack. Gaara used that moment to have his sand needle attack again from behind while Orochimaru had his back open.

The first attack was successful, piercing Orochimaru's shoulder. Even so, the needle was thin and could only do small damage over time, and Orochimaru wasn't normal. A normal person would flinch in pain leaving space for Gaara to attack with his sword in that moment of distraction. Orochimaru didn't give Gaara the chance nor did he let Gaara perform the same trick twice. Dodging when Gaara tried to repeat the tactic.

So Orochimaru played with him.

He was a thin man. Not physically strong or fast, but he was smart, predicting Gaara's movements. He didn't use any more talismans against Gaara. Sometimes, he would take the initiative to attack, but mostly, he just accepted Gaara's attacks. To an onlooker, it had the look of a master swordsman instructing a young child in swordplay.

Gaara was proficient with a sword, but he was no master. Against a specialist, he would lose. Orochimaru relied on swordsmanship in absence of his talismans being readily available. He was a scientist, but he was a hunter first and foremost and his survival depended on his abilities.

He repeated his tactics over and over, the battle slowly moving from the tower and onto the hotel next door, but Orochimaru was growing bored, his amused face growing more and more dissatisfied as the fight continued. "Is this all you have, Gaara-chan?" He frowned and his eyes viewed Gaara as an insect as he said, "How disappointing."

Gaara ignored him, eying the small park that included a small beach bordering the Beppu Bay. He broke the needle in half, creating two short needles. He attacked with his word again which Orochimaru accepted once more, dodging the first needle, but not the second, piercing his kneecap.

"The same trick over and over. Do you really have nothing better?" Again, there was no hint of pain on Orochimaru's face, but Gaara had worn out his welcome as he pulled out another talisman. Gaara ran, gaining distance between them, stopping at the ledge of the building, before a hail of ice spears shot out at him, knocking him off the building onto the ground below. He hit the pavement before rolling off the edge onto the sand, his blood seeping into the pale-yellow grains. As he suspected, the bond was too weak with just this amount.

He struggled to his feet as his bones mended and his wounds healed. Orochimaru didn't appear to be in much of a rush, jumping off the building at his own pace and walking casually over to Gaara. "It's a pity. If this was your homeland or even desert sand, you may have been saved."

He could tell this was the moment that Orochimaru stopped playing around. Orochimaru held up two talismans. Gaara didn't even have time to read the writing or move. A stalagmite appeared below Gaara, impaling him through the center of his gut before retracting, leaving Gaara to bleed out.

The pain was blinding, but Gaara didn't have time to address it, forcing his body to roll and avoid Orochimaru suddenly appearing out of thin air with his blade where Gaara would have been.

From that moment on, Gaara was on the defensive.

Orochimaru became liberal with using those damn talismans. A lot of the attacks were ice-based. No surprise since he had Yukina-hime under his control. If he had not been fully rested and fully fed, he would not have been able to last long. His wounds had healed quickly because of it. Within seconds, the large gaping wound in his stomach had healed. He ran up and down the beach trying to avoid taking major damage. He couldn't get close. Orochimaru wouldn't let him.

Slowly, Gaara was taking more and more damage, and his healing slowed from blood loss. His hybrid body allowed him to produce blood faster than a normal human, but if he bled out long enough, he would still die. The amount of damage he was taking was slowly accumulating.

The sand was turning red with his blood, but Gaara made sure he did not suffer a fatal wound no matter what. The bond was getting stronger. He just needed a little more.

"You're wasting my time, Gaara-chan. All the time I've spent on you and this is all you amounted to. You never once exceeded my expectations. Not like Naruto-chan did. You got my hopes up for nothing. How do you plan to take responsibility?"

Orochimaru lifted two more talismans executing both of them. The first was another ice attack, a slab that shoved Gaara back into the range of a pair of shackles that shot out of the ground. Each shackle restrained one of Gaara's limbs then forced him to the ground, bringing him to his knees.

"You could still be of use I suppose." Orochimaru carelessly walked towards Gaara. "I don't have any hosts with me these days. I have always received the best results from your kind. If you're a good boy, I'll give you a nice room. I even promise to let you out every now and then."

Gaara's eyes looked up with unyielding hatred. If now wasn't the time, there would be no other. "Over my dead body."

A shadow was cast over Orochimaru. He barely turned around to see the giant sand tsunami come crashing towards him. His eyes widened with surprise, grabbing and activating a talisman, milliseconds before the tsunami hit. He flew up onto the air, only to find a hail of sand spikes rain down from above, piercing Orochimaru's hand and body.

The control was lacking. The bond between the sand and Gaara was not perfect. The control felt unnatural and clunky and his accuracy took a huge blow because of it. It did distract Orochimaru's concentration enough to allow Gaara to break the chains that held him down.

Gaara used the opportunity to move. Orochimaru, covered in blood, took a slice at him with his sword, appearing before his eyes, his skin crackling with electricity. The slice nearly took off his arm at the shoulder, digging into the tendons and temporarily making his left arm limp. His wounds were healing at a snail's pace now. He had taken so much damage to allow his blood to be absorbed by the sand to even the playing field. However, no matter the damage he inflicted on Orochimaru, though it didn't heal, it didn't bleed much either, as if it was clotting immediately.

Gaara abandoned his sword, using his hand movements to assist in directing the sand as he desired, erecting a wall to stop the blade aimed at his throat. The sand absorbed the impact and wrapped around the blade, keeping Orochimaru from taking it back. Abandoning the sword, Orochimaru wrapped a talisman around his hands. He punched with one fist, heat exploding from it from the impact, fire consuming the sand wall and heating the sand to the melting point, then punching with his other hand with an explosion of cold and ice. The sudden temperature change exploded the sand wall.

Gaara had already moved back, three rotating sand blades aimed at Orochimaru. Orochimaru dodged them, seemingly disappearing in a blink of an eye, moving from one place to another. A talisman was stuck to his arm with the words "lightening step" written onto it.

He needed to get Orochimaru to stay put or stall until the talisman's power was used up. The sand was too slow to keep up with Orochimaru and the beach was small. Only the blood he had spilled and had been absorbed would move to his will and even then, it was weak.

Orochimaru had obviously done something to his body. From the smell of Orochimaru's blood, the little there seemed to be, it was no longer completely human. It wasn't a smell Gaara was familiar with. Whether the lack of ability to feel pain was a drug, a talisman, or some body alteration, it hardly mattered. Orochimaru still did not seem to be flustered, watching with a scientific curiosity that made Gaara shiver in fear.

Just as Gaara was thinking this, he was hit with a blast from behind, scorching his back. He fell forward from the pressure, rolling in the sand. He just managed to get to his feet, when he felt another slash against his abdomen.

It was bad.

Gaara's guts began to spill out from the wound, and he hurried to use his hand to hold them in until the wound could heal. He didn't have a chance. Even with the adrenaline pumping through his veins, he still felt pain. There was still that moment where the pain puts a hole in his defense. A slight hesitation or a brief blind spot that may open or weakness in the body part that had been injured. And Orochimaru used that against him over and over again.

He was stabbed from behind multiple times. Gaara kept moving as his training taught him; little good that did him. There was never time to recover. The reason, there were two Orochimaru's before him now. A cloning technique it seemed and a solid clone at that.

He was losing too much blood. His body was weakening, and he could no longer raise his arms. A kick to the head later and Gaara was lying face down in the sand. Not moving.

He could see Orochimaru approach, cautiously this time. The clone dissipated, erased from existence until a piece of paper was in its place, falling to the ground.

"That was quite the gamble you took Gaara-chan. Too bad it didn't pay off."

Gaara struggled to lift his head, but he could only look up as far as Orochimaru's knees.

"If you beg me, I could save you."

Gaara's lips twitched up. Save? He was beyond saving. Always had been.

Orochimaru stopped in front of him. "So, what is your decision?"

There was no accounting for hubris. Gaara thought. The sand where Orochimaru stood, wrapped around his legs quickly before Orochimaru could do anything, and with the strength left in Gaara's body, he clutched his fist, crushing Orochimaru's legs.

Orochimaru gritted his teeth, lashing out in anger, and activating his final talisman. It was Gaara's own attack. The sand tsunami earlier. Orochimaru must have brought blank talismans and absorbed some of the attack into it when Gaara was still tied down. It was smaller than the one Gaara used, but it was enough to toss Gaara's body away like a rag doll, landing on the stairs on the opposite end of the beach and rolling back down to the sand.

Gaara laid face down. His body had nothing left. He was cold, and he was sweating. The sand clung to his skin for the first time in his life, and the blood beneath him seeped into the grains. Each beat of his heart poured more and more blood into the sand. He could feel the strength of his bond to the sand grow stronger, but it no longer mattered. His wounds were no longer healing. He was out of chakra to draw on. His consciousness was fading, and he could no longer feel the pain from his wounds.

Orochimaru didn't even seem to be in pain, despite the crushed bones in his legs. He was sitting on the stone steps on the beach, talking to his subordinate on his phone in a mildly annoyed manner. He wiped the blood that kept falling into his eyes every few seconds as he demanded, "Kabuto, prepare a new body for me. Gaara-chan ruined this one." It was almost a whine.

Dying wasn't so bad. There were worse ways to go. At least this way, he was able to choose how he died. If he got to change one thing….

An image of Hyuuga at his side appeared in his mind.

That would have been nice.

"Yes. Then retrieve the results from the others afterward. I'm curious about how the rest of them were dealt with…It's a shame, but his dead body is of no use to me. He's a failure after all. It's too late to start from scratch. Let it feed the crows at least."

A failure. An adequate description of him. After all these years, he wasn't strong enough to get revenge. It came up to nothing.

It was dark. He was sure his eyes were open, yet all he saw was vague shapes, turning darker with every passing second. He knew he would die alone, he just wished…. he didn't.

You should have fucked that Hyuuga kid when you had the chance.

Gaara's eyelids became too heavy to keep open. Yeah, perhaps he should have.


How long can someone survive in a coffin? That thought rolled around in Hyuuga's head. It was hard not to think about it in his predicament. He thought about trying to sleep. That way he could conserve on oxygen, but he ran into two problems.

The first being he was too panicked to fall asleep. His heart was beating quickly due to the stress and panic that was setting that he was desperately fighting against. He knew it couldn't have been too long since the explosion, yet it felt like he had been buried for an eternity. His limbs ached to move, and Eri's body on top of his was adding to the discomfort.

Even if he could fall asleep, it wasn't advisable. The cold from the ice seeped into his body, making him shiver. If he fell asleep, he would surely get hypothermia. He could at least be happy the ice wasn't in contact with his skin, but the air was cold. Matsuri's body heat could only do so much to keep him warm.

So he laid awake as he waited. Sometimes he would hear noises, and he hoped it was someone coming to save him, but his hopes were constantly dashed.

He heard and felt Matsuri stir before she fully gained consciousness. He also heard her start to panic when she took in their situation. "Onii-san?" she called out, panicking Her breathing was getting faster.

"Shh," Neji silenced her. "Calm down. Save oxygen."

She nodded frantically, going so far as to hold her breath. Honestly, her freak out wasn't helping Neji from panicking himself. "Breathe. Slowly." He told her.

Matsuri tried to listen. Breathing out too hard, and sucking air back in. He rubbed her back to give her some comfort and to help himself stay calm. Her breathing slowed to a degree, but it was still heavy. It really would have been better if she hadn't awoken. "Can you get us out?"

She shook her head no, and some of Neji's hope died with it. They would have to wait to be saved, and the air was already starting to thin.

He felt Matsuri shake in his arms. He couldn't tell her everything would be fine. He didn't have the confidence to when he was just barely keeping calm, not to mention he didn't want to waste air to tell her something like that.

He thought about Gaara. He was probably fighting the terrorist by now. At least he didn't get caught up in the explosion. They still had a lot they needed to talk about when he returned. He prayed that he would make it through to have that conversation.

He was getting lightheaded and starting to struggle with how he got into this mess when he heard movement from outside. The ground would shake and the sound of metal and rocks scraping against each other was getting closer. Then there was a slight change. It wasn't pitch black anymore. There was some light coming through the ice. Minutes later, the ice cracked.

Matsuri buried her face in Neji's chest to avoid the breaking ice from hitting her face, and Neji covered his eyes with his arm.

"We found them," he heard someone shout in Arabic.

Neji carefully removed his arm, seeing one of the guards who usually stood at the entrance appear through the hole in the ice. Neji let out a sigh of relief. "It's okay," he told Matsuri.

The guard helped Matsuri through the hole. Neji didn't wait to be helped, getting out himself once Matsuri had been picked up. For the first time, he could survey the damage that had occurred.

The entire building had indeed come down. All that was left was a pile of debris and numerous people, digging through it looking for survivors. There also appeared to be a line of corpses put off to the side, bodies mangled and hardly recognizable. If Matsuri hadn't protected him, he would be among them.

"How long have we been buried?" he asked the guard.

The guard sized him up, not answering immediately. "Almost an hour," he finally answered.

An hour being buried alive. That was definitely not an experience he wanted to repeat.

They were directed to the side to receive medical attention, but Neji's mind was on other things. If Gaara's home was attacked, could this attack have been aimed at Gaara, and was Gaara okay? A bad feeling crawled up his spine.

He checked his phone to see if he could get any coverage. It seemed like the terrorist had been stopped, and footage from the fight between Uchiha and that woman was playing, but he did not see anything about Gaara. If Gaara wasn't there, where was he?

"Orders just came in," another guard, one that typically worked the front desk came up to the man who had saved them. He couldn't understand it perfectly, but he did catch a few critical ones: young master, hospital, and the one that made Neji's heart stop, critical.