Chapter 52
From the Ashes

Lunging forward, the wolf leapt upon them.

Claws marking the white earth of the tundra, the wolf exchanged blows with the unknown enemy in ferocity, while the foe danced in the snow wielding his katana in attempt to slash the beast. From their blind-spot, they suddenly entered into the path of sand – Gaara's jutsu from a distance away – his arm gesturing towards the foe as a narrowed glare was locked onto his target. Firing towards the foe as if bullets of impenetrable force, they struck the land near the armored foe but failed to make a direct hit. With a bark and a leap with fangs and claws ready, the wolf found an opening. Latching onto the foe's dominant arm, she sank her jaws onto him – ripping the sword out from his hand. As the foe struggled, he formed a hand-sign with his other palm – alerting the beast. Releasing him from its grip, the wolf retreated as a lightning-release jutsu was ready to strike her down.

Evading the lightning blast, Nomasaki emerged from the snowy debris of the impact human and holding the enemy's katana in her blood-soaked palm, gripping it tightly. While she watched the foe form another hand-sign as his blood dotted the white tundra at his feet, she narrowed her eyes in preparation for a counter. Dashing towards him in the snow, she saw the stream of lightning headed her way. By a hair, she dodged the brunt of the attack, flipping her body as if in a cartwheel while she continued her advances.

Jolting her, she saw a path of flame headed directly towards her. Striking her heart with the fear she hid behind her eyes, she evaded the fire as it was shot across the tundra, melting the layers of earthen ice in its wake. Even years later, the sight of fire still unnerved her. She hated fire. Gritting her teeth, she dashed from the oncoming flames in a haze of powdered white. Forcefully, a large wall of sand suddenly appeared between them, the orange flames halted by the grains that blocked its pathway to destruction. Whipping her head towards him, she saw Gaara keeping a watchful eye on their foe, countering his flames with his sand as effortlessly as he was skilled.

Growing frustrated, their armor-clad foe shot forth another lightning-release attack.

"Damn you!"

Forcefully, a large wave of sand crept behind the foe, striking the oncoming lightning blasts – halting the onslaught of approaching threats. Skidding to a stop in the snow, she arched her arm into position – throwing the katana towards the enemy as he was preoccupied by Gaara's attacks. Forming hand-signs quickly, she slammed her palms together – taking in a deep breath.

"Secret Art! Howling Wind!"

As she opened her fanged jaws, a powerful gust of wind erupted from her, a loud piercing howl echoing across the tundra as the wind struck the blade and spiraled around it – propelling the katana tenfold towards its intended target with a mighty thrust. Striking through his abdomen with the gnash of his bloodied teeth, the foe was thrown across the tundra a great distance – his body crashing into the snow at his back.

Gaara saw his chance.

Quickly, he formed the hand-sign's for his sealing jutsu, moving his palms towards the impaled foe – directing his small resource of sand to finish the battle. As his sand surrounded the armored enemy and covered all evidence of his presence, he formed the final hand-sign. Within moments, sealing tags and inscriptions appeared over his sand's tomb. The movement from their mysterious enemy had stopped. Cautiously, Nomasaki looked on with a furrow – unable to detect the foe's presence any longer. Walking towards Gaara, she paused as she stood close to him, her feet crunching on the harsh lands of the tundra beneath her. At last, their invaders were defeated.

"Can you sense him?" Gaara asked, watching her cautious gaze towards the sand.

"No," She answered, turning to him. "His chakra disappeared all of the sudden." Meeting his gaze in the wind and flurries, she gave a light smile. "We make a pretty good team."

Smiling back, he nodded once towards her. In less than an hour of combat, they took care of the approaching threat to the quiet mountain village in the north. Luckily for the foe, his life was not yet ended as the sealing of the sand entraps the foe beneath the sand-ridden tomb within an air pocket that can be sustained for days – although his limbs are constricted and near to the point of breakage from the immense pressure exerted. Within half a days' journey, their captive would reach Zenken of Ishigakure for questioning – and they could get to the bottom of the invasion once and for all.

Suddenly, her senses rang through her with an alarming force. Alerting them, they directed their attention back to the mound of sand across from them on the tundra. Slowly, the foe emerged from his prison, the blade still visibly impaled through his stomach as he pulled himself out from the sands. To their shock, the exhausted foe emerged from the sand and glared towards them. Swallowed by the sands was his dominant arm she struck earlier, his armor plating absent as the fabric of his bleeding arm lay swaying in the snowy winds. Upon his exposed and bloodied chest was an eerie inscription written on his red tunic – 'Tenbu'.

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, she prepared to once again face the enemy as his dwindling chakra entered her senses. "Gaara, I have a bad feeling about this enemy."

"What do you mean?" He asked, turning to her with narrowed eyes. "What do you sense?"

As she narrowed her glare towards the panting foe, her mouth formed a small snarl as her canines began to grow within her jaws. By examining the state of their opponent, the sight of him to her was truly disturbing – her instincts agreeing. "He's still standing. And his chakra feels strange, like it's resilient in some way." Her glare stiffened. And our chakra shares a similar ferocity.

"Seal him, now!" Gaara turned, as sand prepared itself from the gourd under his cloak. "I'll use my sand to restrain him."

With a nod, she took out a scroll from the belt under her cloak of furs and unraveled it onto the snow. Sand swam from Gaara's command to their adversary, pulling down upon their limbs and bounding them while Nomasaki formed the seals with her hands. Looking on in urgency, she bit her thumb and rubbed a steak of blood onto her open palm. Feeling her blood boil, she slammed her hands onto the snow as the jutsu unfolded.

"Sealing Jutsu! Blood Bound!"

A glowing red light filled the kanji inscriptions of the open scroll. Like whips, the kanji twisted and formed into long red vines, bounding the target to their wills as sealing tags peppered their mortal form. With a watchful eye of caution, Nomasaki saw her foe become engulfed in both sand and blood. For a moment, silence echoed upon the winds - until a crack came forth.

In a burst of power and fury, the foe burst from his prison.

Shock painted her expression. "It didn't work -?! How is this possible?"

"His chakra is strong." Gaara surmised. "We have to finish this quickly."

"Nomasaki-sama!"

Before their eyes, large white beasts stood before them and their armoured foe. Three snarling wolves eyed the adversary and were poised to lunge out, while Ehakshiba and his blade stood ready at the head of the formation. "Ekashiba!" She shouted. "Stand back, this foe is dangerous!"

"We're well aware of that," He answered. "We sensed a disturbance in chakra and came as soon as we were able. The village fended off the others who strayed towards the gates... and there was no casualties."

Relief swept over her. "Thank heavens..."

"So… It's come to this…"

The foe's chilling voice laced with iron drew them back.

Missing an arm, and heavily bleeding, the enemy glared upon them, alerting them to his attention. "I'm not allowing you to capture me alive! Tenbu will rise from the ashes!" Suddenly, the man ripped open his remaining chest armor, revealing many paper bombs attached to his body. Upon seeing the enemy's motive, Gaara paused his forming jutsu, his expression wide-eyed and shocked. The foe's dark eyes glaring at them, a sinister grin painted his expression under his cracked mask. "May the Kazekage clan disappear into the sands of time! The Kumatsume will rise again!"

"Fall back!" Nomasaki shouted, quelling the wolves' snarls. "Take cover!"

As the enemy formed the detonation hand-sign, Gaara appeared before Nomasaki and the others within an instant – his hands directing his remaining sand towards them. In a matter of seconds, a massive sand shield cocooned them from the oncoming blast of fire and death. "Stay close to me," Gaara murmured to her. Clutching his arms close, she knelt down with him as he shielded her with his sand and body – acting as if subconsciously to protect one another. With a loud and rumbling thunder, the blast erupted onto the ice-covered grounds – scorching the frozen earth.

When the debris settled, the sand slowly returned into the containment of Gaara's gourd at his side as the two stood up. Letting go, she took a few steps in the snow towards the smoking crater, her lilac eyes full of shock, confusion, and uncertainty. While he stood before the charred remains of their hostage, Gaara looked on with a suspicious glare to the enemy's parting words.

'May the Kazekage clan disappear into the sands of time'.

Haunted by his words, the two exchanged a glance of concern – unaware of what 'Tenbu' would mean in their future. "The enemy," She said, her voice in shock. "He just… committed suicide."

Not answering back to her voice, he stood in silence with a narrowed glare towards the black earth upon the icy lands.

"Kumatsume clan?" Ekashiba stepped forward, withdrawing his blade back to his scabbard. "They're been rumoured to be extinct."

"Extinct?" Nomasaki turned. "Who are they? I've only heard of them in passing as a rival clan to ours."

Looking back to the debris of their foe, Ekashiba narrowed his eyes. "They were the bear-men, as we called them. And you're correct - they were the lifelong rivals of the Yamamori, hired by rival daimyo back in the Warring States Era to fight our people over our lands. They also had the gift of nature-energy and had a Kekkei Genkai called Kumatoko, but the last ones were rumoured to have disappeared long ago."

"I see." She replied, following his gaze. Her violet eyes pained with guilt, thinking of her people. "In that case, I think it's due time I leave. The ones who pursued me that time may have been connected to the ones who attacked today, so I don't want to take any chances."

"My lady?" Ekashiba raised a brow. "Is that necessary?"

She nodded, her eyes firm. "Yes. Please tell the clansmen to begin training in fūinjutsu, the barrier-type to be exact. We need to be prepared in case any of these foes dare to attack us again."

Ekashiba nodded. "Yes, my lady."

Standing in silence, Gaara narrowed his eyes towards where their enemy lay as ashes. The cold winds rose, whipping his red hair against his face. The final words of the armoured man irked him. Tenbu, most of all.

"Gaara?"

Turning, he saw Nomasaki's concerned expression. Averting his eyes, he looked back to the pile of snow and ash. "Tenbu... that's what he said. If my intuition is correct, than it appears the peace we fought for won't last for much longer." He turned back to her, his face cleansed of sternness. "But you're right. We should leave, in case they come back."

With a nod, she followed him with Ekashiba at their backs. Thoughts troubled him as they ascended the mountain path of snow and ice, reminding him that the fate of a Kage was not one to take lightly. Strings pulled their enemies to him it seemed, and so they did for those possessing a bloodline as rare and as notorious as the Yamamori. Glancing to her beside him, he wanted to curse out the fate that burdened them.

He was their target.

But so was she.

Thankfully, Yama was fortunate enough to avoid another invasion.

During the midday sun, the citizens of Yama began to slowly emerge from their homes and bunker – realizing their threat had not arrived in the village that day. As the snow softly fell, the Yama ninja soon reported to their chieftain of the events on the tundra while the Suna shinobi regrouped with another – the voices of the villagers dancing upon the frigid winds as panic soon dissipated. Fortunately, there was no use of combat from Suna – aside from the Kazekage's sealing jutsu. Once more, Yamagakure survived to live another day.

"Seems like you were right."

Catching his attention, Gaara turned. Standing by the worn village gates, Kankurō stood beside his younger brother, his warm dark cloak upon his shoulders in the cold – watching the state of Yama return to normal. Merchants soon returned to their stalls and the civilians hum once again emerged into the open snowy streets. It was a cautious hum, but a hum nonetheless.

"We didn't need help from Suna after all," He said. "That was handled pretty fast, if I don't say so myself." Glancing at his younger brother, a smirk appeared on his painted face. "It must've been easy for you... child's play, even."

Closing his eyes, Gaara gave a small smile in response – their breath visible on the icy winds. "Actually, I didn't do anything. It was Nomasaki that protected Yamagakure, not me."

Surprised, Kankurō turned to him. "What? Really?"

Nodding, Gaara directed his gaze towards the village road before them, watching Nomasaki reunite the boy with his mother in the distance. "She had everything handled herself," He spoke, a tinge of pride on his tone. "I cornered the leader with her, but nothing more. What's more, the man named Ekashiba and some clansmen arrived before the foe was dealt with."

"You don't say!" Kankurō gasped, surprised yet in a joking manner. "That's a first for you, anyways."

His eyes narrowing as he looked at the snow below, he remembered the encounter with their mysterious foe – his actions, his words, and his death. "However, the leader committed suicide before we could seal him… so we can't interrogate him on his motives. Also –,"

Curiously, Kankurō turned to his younger brother, catching wind of his change in tone. "What is it?"

Meeting his glance, Gaara looked at him stern-eyed. "The enemy… he said something along the lines of 'Tenbu'… as if he belonged to a group of that name."

"'Tenbu'? Never heard of them. Do you think they could be terrorists?"

"The enemy said 'May the Kazekage clan disappear into the sands of time'... I think we may have been the targets… not Yama." His glance trailing towards the snow, his eyes narrowed in thought. "'Kumatsume'... what did that mean?"

"Kumatsume?" Kankurō repeated. "Is that a clan name?"

"Not sure, and I'm not looking forward to finding that out." Gaara said. "Yamagakure is a village again, there's no surprise they already have enemies... but we should avoid war if all possible. I'll send word to Zenken-sama about this and see what intel he can provide... and claim his fealty to the peace treaty we signed years past."

"Understood." Kankurō nodded. "And of the Yamamori? Were they after them – those invaders?"

"It's hard to say... they seemed to be after me, judging by their attacks. Nomasaki was targeted by those pursuers before, and said they wanted her 'blood'... whatever that entails. We won't know for sure until further investigation... so it's in our best interest to keep this quiet until we hear from Ishigakure. The council doesn't know I'm gone, and I've already had my fill of them from that betrothal nonsense..."

"Kazekage-sama," Turning towards the voice, they saw Kyō standing before them with his cane in tow. "Thank you for your help," He spoke, bowing his head to them. "Without you here, who knows what would have transpired. Which reminds me," Stepping closer to the young Kazekage, his hazel eyes narrowed. "If Suna would be open to an alliance with Yama, we would honor that highly. Yamagakure has always been independent from the Five Nations. Due to isolation, we're often overlooked. Being that our borders are close, we would honor an alliance treaty in case our peace is once again threatened."

"I can bring this up to the council when we return to Suna," Gaara nodded, his expression stoic and stern. "Rest assured, Yama can always trust in Suna."

Warmly, Kyō smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

"Kyō-sama," Gaara began. "Those invaders... have you heard anything about the Kumatsume? They included that name in their spiel before detonating a suicide blast."

"Kumatsume clan, you mean?" Kyō said, his hazel eyes narrowing from the name. "They were once a clan bound to the Land of Claws, and often fought against the Yamamori clan in the past. But they have since been banished by their daimyo following a coup in Ishigakure quite a few years back, I heard. Some even say they are extinct."

"Banished?"

Kyō nodded. "Since the last seven years, it seems. The previous chieftain of Ishi was of that clan, and when he was exiled, his clansmen were as well. But no one has heard of the clan's existence since then, I'm afraid. They may be lost to time, unfortunately."

"I see..." His suspicions were not eased from the news. Seven years – that was how long ago it was since the day Yamagakure was burned where it stood. When he found Nomasaki collapsed and near death in the desert. Something did not settle right within his thoughts. "Well, in that case – send me any information your village can gather on this issue - and that clan. That will be our first act as allies, between Suna and Yama."

With a subtle nod, Kyō gave him the glance of a leader. His face was unbroken, firm as iron. "As you say, Kazekage-sama. I will send an owl when the deed is done."

"Are you sure about this?" Kankurō asked, watching cautiously as the chieftain walked off. "We can't be planning to fight another war on their behalf."

"We're not," Gaara answered, meeting his eyes. "But if we're their targets as well, having all the information we can on Tenbu and that clan would be beneficial."

"Damn it..." Kankurō muttered under his icy breath. "Just when things seemed fairly peaceful... but this is how things go in the shinobi world, after all." Jolting his thoughts, he turned back to his brother. "Would it be worth asking Nomasaki about them? She was here when they first attacked."

"She was a child when that happened," Gaara reminded. "All she can remember was their armor, and everything else she can't recall. It had a beast engraved on it."

"A beast?" Kankurō repeated, smirking lightly. "Having one clan of beasts is bad enough already... I don't even want to think of there being a second –?"

Following his brother's gaze, they saw the silhouette of a large wolf stepping through the frosted trees behind the child. Its ghost-like figure moved calmly under the brush, its purple eyes gleaming from the cold sun. With tears of joy, the boy beamed towards his mother while a white wolf followed close behind him. Its paws crunching into the snow as it came to a stop, the wolf released a subtle wince from its muzzle as a mountain wind blew past. From the movement of the winds, the wolf rescinded into the human form it knew best. With a light smile upon her soft face while comforted by the warmth of her cloak, Nomasaki stood before them in the village street that was blanketed in white and silver.

"Mommy!"

Shocked by the voice, the bandaged woman turned around. Overcome with emotion, she wailed with tears as her child leapt into her warm arms. Holding him close, her tears flowed down her bandaged cheeks as she fell to her knees in the snow.

"Oh, Yuki!" She cried, her eyes filled with tears as she closed them. "Thank heavens!"

Gently, Nomasaki smiled at them as she knelt before them, observing the touching moment between mother and child. In a way, she was reminded of her mother's love for her – the tenderness of the parental bond moving her. After wiping her tears away with her sleeve, the woman looked up to face her.

"Thank you, for rescuing my son. I'm forever grateful!"

"No need to thank me." She smiled warmly. "I was just doing my part as a Yamamori. We guard the mountains, and protect them."

Remembering their previous encounter, the woman looked down in shame, her expression guilty and saddened. Unlike her misconceptions, the wolf who helped her was visibly kind and no threat to her or the village. Fear for the wolves was motivated only by superstition and hatred of the past – Yama was in a new age of rebirth, and her thoughts on the clan were indeed incorrect. It was not a monster who stood before her, and her guilt swelled from meeting her kind eyes.

"R-Right…" The woman nodded, averting her glance. "I'm sorry… for being scared earlier…" Meeting her lilac eyes, she could not see any evidence of a ferocious beast but a human just like her. "I was wrong to judge… forgive me."

"Mom, you should've seen her!" The boy beamed with a wide grin. "She fought the bad-guy like it was nothing! Wolves are so cool!"

Softly, Nomasaki smiled at the child's words and his mother, humbled by their gratitude. Sensing the two Suna brothers behind her waiting, she stood up and turned towards them, meeting the friendly and gesturing glance of Kankurō who visibly wanted to return home at long last. Silently, Gaara stood beside him with a stoic expression – alerting her to say her goodbyes. Looking back to the mother and child, she bowed her head in a slight and gratuitous gesture.

"I'll come visit soon," She assured, softly. "Take care."

As she turned around and started on her way, the boy jumped up and waved his hand – smiling widely at her as he sat upon his nurturing mother's lap. "Bye!"

Her footsteps crunching upon the snow beneath, she met up with the two brothers at the exit, pausing before them within the subtle snowfall. Meeting their glances, she smiled in her friendly nature. From arriving in a fit of upset, to requiting her love for the Kazekage, to meeting the Uchiha, to fending off the attackers – her stay in the reborn Yamagakure had certainly been an unpredictable one. Strangely enough, she found herself missing her tiny apartment back in the sand-ridden alleyway.

It warmed her.

"Shall we get going?" She asked. "I've been away from home for too long."

Gaara smiled at her, proud and in admiration. From their battle earlier, it was clear that the woman he confessed his love to was indeed a force to be reckoned with - and was unbelievably kind. The more he thought of it, the more the knowledge warmed him in the bitter frost of the mountains. He knew he made the right decision. Putting aside the suspicion he held for the invaders who met them on the tundra, he started down the mountain path.

"Let's be on our way," He said. "Before I have to pardon you a second time."

With a blushing smile, she nodded, following behind him as Kankurō walked beside her. As the snow continued to fall upon the mountainside, the three Suna shinobi embarked on their journey to their village.

Home.