Author's note (2020/04/22):

Hey everyone! I hope you are all well during these times. The writing process has been becoming easier as of late being that i hopped over my writer's block, so there will be a chapter posted every Wednesday until the story is completed. I'm very thankful for every favourite/follow and review for this work as it's a small fish in a big sea of a fandom, it brightens my day to see that some like what i wrote.

If you want to leave a comment/review to share your thoughts, or even rec this to others, by all means - feel free!

Thanks for reading xx

Chapter 69
To Be Kazekage

Smoke sweltered into the dead skies, the cries of the innocent ringing high as the chaos ensued.

Gathering themselves, the council members slowly opened their eyes to meet the back of their Kazekage standing with arms outstretched while the winds beat against him through the open cavity of the building. Surrounding the bulk of the massive estate and all of its structures was a cocoon of hardened sands, swirling around them, encasing it from the outside. Containing the brunt of the blast, the majority of the manse remained untouched, but many rooms now hung without walls and stood without floors. The blue blast of nature energy burst forth from the bowels and caverns, ravaging everything in its path. Below, the streets were pelted with the falling stone and destruction. The sand was impervious and shielded many from harm – but there were many casualties. Death rang through the still air with cries high on their ears.

They stood within a skeleton of the chamber's former self.

Panting heavily from the toll on his strength, the sands slowly receded back into the lands from where they came. It was nothing less from the Kazekage. Just as when the Akatsuki attacked near four years earlier, the sands he wielded protected his villagers – and he was determined to do them no harm. Collapsing to one knee and panting, he felt the sweat bead his forehead, his Sand Armor ready to crack underneath. "Damn it all…" He breathed, his eyes glaring towards the broken view of his village.

"Kazekage-sama–!" Zarō realized, panicked. "What on earth was that?!"

"A warning…" He answered, his panting easing. "Tenbu got us… the bastards…!"

A creak erupted as the mound of shattered stone moved, and Kankurō emerged from his puppet Salamander with two unconscious councillors in tow. Unscathed by the falling rubble, Kankurō was fortunate. Examining the scene around themselves as he laid the advisors onto stable ground, the entire wall was shattered. Even the four grand statues of the previous Kazekage were disgraced. The shape of the First was destroyed, his arms broken – the second was nearly entirely reduced to rubble, while the third lost its head and the Fourth no longer had a nose upon his marble visage. The only holy place for the higher-ups was reduced to a holy pile of rock and clay, all essence of spirit and power breathing no longer, their watchful eyes observing the chambers no more.

"We're lucky the building is even still intact…" Kankurō marveled, shocked. Turning behind him, he took note of all the faces looking towards them. Every one of them was accounted for, except Michi – the advisor who left shortly before the blast. "Where is Michi-sama?"

"It was… him… That… councillor… He betrayed us…"

The gurgling cough of the near-slain ANBU caught their attention. Laying on his back, Shinto writhed faintly as crimson leaked from his lips, oozing slowly as his failing lungs clutched to his native desert air in desperation. Approaching him hastily, Gaara sat on his knees, examining the wound that pulsed through his flak jacket. He was at death's door, both feet plunging into the grave with each rasping breath. Still, Shinto remained persistent, gritting his teeth to quell his suffering.

"Shinto," Gaara began, his eyes stunned. "Are you certain? Was it him?"

Nodding once weakly, Shinto coughed as he tried to muster the strength to speak. "No doubt about it… I sensed something odd… about his chakra… It felt… disturbed, somehow – I don't know… so I… followed him… into the lower chambers…"

"Damn it all!" Kankurō spat through his gnashed teeth in anger, his fists clenching at his sides. "That sounds like the forbidden jutsu of the puppet corps… the Sleeper Agent jutsu."

"How can you be certain?" Baki stepped closer, his brow furrowed. "Who could've cast such a technique? It was only known to Sasori of the Red Sands before it was classified as forbidden, with those retaining its knowledge sealed. We screened all those who are the higher-ups–,"

"It was just like that time when the Akatsuki came for Gaara. There were spies planted within those we thought we could trust, amongst all our ranks. For years, I thought it was Sasori himself who planted them… but I think there's someone else who has been planting their own sleeper agents, being that Sasori has been dead for quite some time. Sasori wasn't the only one with knowledge of the technique, I'm certain of it."

Zarō suddenly realized, scowling. "You can't mean–?!"

Turning to him with a subtle glare of suspicion, Kankurō's dark eyes narrowed. "If Michi-sama served us for years unquestioningly until suddenly he switched into a man of treachery… it had to be him – Kenzō." Averting his troubled glance, he shut his eyes in held fury. "He must've been planting his own using the jutsu since he was on the council… right under our noses until he was imprisoned. That's probably how he escaped the Suna Prison, there was no way the guards would've let that slip by... no way."

"Are you suggesting that Kenzō and those mercenaries are connected?"

"I'm not suggesting," Kankurō said back. "I know."

Taking in the words exchanged between them, Gaara held their weight upon his shoulders. Kenzō's trial was a swift one, justice serving him to life in prison within the deep caverns of the treacherous Demon Desert. A merciful fate too kind for a man as vile and repugnant as him, the man who conspired to murder the Fifth Kazekage. If only he were sentenced to death those years ago, Gaara thought to himself regretfully. If only.

"I cornered them, but... they saw me coming... but I managed to kill that one, the possessed... but the other got away... the dissident who gave Nomasaki that seal on her tongue..."

Gaara froze.

"Kenzō - it was him?" He pressed, his eyes wide in urgency. "Are you certain of this?"

Weakly, Shinto nodded and a smirk smug with pride crept upon his bloody lips. "Yes... it was him... The bastard almost killed me... before I had the chance to... warn you all..." Shinto's dulled dark eyes narrowed, meeting the glance of the Kazekage, all previous rage and hatred vanished. "It was them… Tenbu – the black-clad men in armor – with that emblem… They were down there, and… attacked me… an ANBU… I don't know how they seen through my jutsu, but…–," Blood spurted from his mouth as he twitched upon the reddened and broken floor. "Damn it…–!"

"Stop talking!" Kankurō shouted. Whipping his head towards the lone ANBU at the door, his expression grew urgent. "We need a medic, now! Hurry!"

As the remaining ANBU vanished past the rising guards, a councillor sent for a nearby shinobi to relay the village guards sound the alarm of invasion. The cries below of the concerned civilians erupted as seas of people clashed with another to reach the refuge of their homes, shinobi bounding through the streets on high alert searching for the black-clad invaders. Breathing faintly, Shinto closed his eyes. His body was near numb, all feeling soon disappearing from his limbs and core.

"I'm… going to die soon… I can… feel it…"

"Let me through!"

Darting towards him from the shattered doorway between the scarce guards who remained, Meiyumi rushed to his side. Seeing his injuries, her heart stopped in her chest, her brown eyes widened in grief as her trembling fingers grazed his wound. Clad in her medic-nin attire, the green aura of healing formed over her palms as she sorrowfully tried to ease his pain. She could feel his creeping death from her touch, her eyes shutting tightly as the sobs crept up within her.

"Damn it, Shinto…" She choked back. "Damn you… How could you…?"

He mustered a weakened smile at his friend. "Meiyumi, don't cry… I know… I'm sorry…"

Glancing back towards the stricken Kazekage, his expression faded to a frown. Guilt marked its way into his dulled dark eyes, billowing over the weakened glaze that painted them. "I was wrong about you… I was… all this time… You're a great Kazekage, it was an honor… to… serve you…" Gazing up to the cracked ceiling above, his eyes appeared saddened. "I should've listened to her… back then… Nomasaki… She was right… about you… this whole time…"

Gaara hung his head low, shutting his ringed-eyes tightly in sorrowful understanding.

He had known Shinto since childhood, the beaming dark-haired boy who would yap first before striking – his energy in youth turning into aggression towards him after that night of the Shukaku rampage. In his murderous days, Gaara did not bother to turn a blind eye towards him, believing that his strength was far much under his own – inferior. Even as the jinchuriki changed into a more caring person who tried to form relations with his hesitant and fearful comrades, Shinto only met his attempts with vengeful glares and uttered threats under his breath. Only Nomasaki could deter Shinto away from trying to attack in their genin and chunin days.

She did it for the sake of both of them, he remembered, as the kind-hearted comrade she was.

"I loved her, you know… I always have…" Shinto confessed, Gaara looking at the dying man in bewilderment. Shinto smiled faintly to himself from his wordless answer, noticing the pure surprise in his tanuki-like eyes. "She chose you, in the end… I knew she would… She always was… fond of you…" He coughed blood once more. "All I held for you was… hatred… even as your bodyguard for that short amount of time... I could hardly bear to look you in the eyes while I served under you... I see now how foolish that was of me… Shukaku killed my parents... not you... You're our Kazekage… and you've done so much for our village… I'm sorry for everything… and... I forgive you..."

"Don't apologize, Shinto." Gaara said, his eyes sad but expression stern. "You had every right. I was not the same person I am today when Shukaku rampaged… For that, I'm sorry."

Shinto chuckled weakly under Meiyumi's healing. "Look at us… striking up a friendship as I'm at death's doorstep… Nomasaki would get a kick out of this, for sure… Tell her… for me…" His glazed eyes turning desperate, he gave the Kazekage a pleading glance. "She's in danger… Tenbu… they found her… You have to… hurry… before they use her for that jutsu they're planning…" He coughed blood again, biting his tongue in retaliation. "Kazekage-sama… you know this as… well as I do… Only you can… save her…" Wincing, his wound pulsed with a failing heartbeat. Blood trickled from his lips as he uttered a curse, smiling at the very end. "Meiyumi, enough… I'm… not going to make it… save your chakra… Go with him… save Nomasaki... you two are all that's left of Team Hashira...!"

Shocked, her eyes widened with tears as she averted away her held sobs. "Shinto…"

"I'll be with my parents soon, don't worry... and Hashira-sensei, too..."

Silently, Meiyumi choked back sobs and focused on her healing in desperation. Fading slowly, the green energy that covered her careful palms disappeared as the wound pulsed and oozed a final time. Her back trembled, her cheeks running with silent tears. Watching her weep before her dying teammate, Gaara found his eyes growing heavy as well. Turning back to Shinto, he saw a faint smile mark its presence on his bloodied lips.

"At least I can die knowing that my death wasn't in vain… I followed my duty… until the end… as a member of… Team Hashira… and a shinobi… of Suna…"

"Shinto!"

And he was gone.

His dulled eyes closed while the cavity of his chest fell for a final time, his last breaths leaving him as all the life faded from his body. Departing from the world of the living, he vanished to the realm of the Pure Land to be reunited with his parents once more – and his belated sensei who gave his life nobly in the great war. Shaking from her sobs, Meiyumi pushed herself to look up to the Kazekage knelt across from her. Her brown eyes were wet with tears, her cheeks tearstained. Fending off her emotions, her glance grew serious and strong as she saw his saddened ringed-eyes swept under strands of red.

"Shinto… wasn't so easily swayed, Kazekage-sama." She spoke, drawing his eyes towards her. "Whatever he may have said of you in the past, that doesn't matter anymore… He believed in you, at the very end." Her brown eyes narrowed, her shinobi oath masking her sorrow. "He died doing his duty, for you – for all of us! He died with courage clinging to his final breath... and entrusted us the future."

Closing his eyes with his head hung low, he gave a subtle nod. Shinto's departure from the living was certainly unexpected in his eyes. He was a shinobi – a villager – he sworn to protect.

And now he was dead.

He would breath no longer, only his name remained.

Weighing heavy in his heart, he stood and eyed the open cavity of the wind-ridden council chambers with duty marking his eyes – his will. "I'm going to stop them myself, once and for all." He spoke, his voice crisp on the winds. "I have to as my duty as Kazekage."

"Kazekage-sama!" Zarō gasped. "Surely you can't stop them entirely unprotected?! We near lost you to the Akatsuki – the Shukaku was lost and you paid with your very life!"

"He's right, Gaara," Kankurō stepped closer, watching his back. "I'll put a rush on assembling a team, and then we'll go together–,"

"No," Drawing his shock, Gaara's glance towards the desert sands remained unmoved as if he were made of stone. "I'm going alone. Send the reinforcements when you can and relay the news to Konoha as a precaution."

"Gaara – I know you're worried about Nomasaki, but you must remember – your duty–,"

"To be Kazekage, you make an oath to protect the village as its central pillar. You protect the lives of your villagers, those precious to you – and put your life on the line." He answered, his red hair swayed by the ominous winds. "I did for the war, and I will continue to follow my oath until the day I die." He turned to face his brother, his eyes determined and stern. "By going after them, I'm protecting Suna and its future… and I'll bring her back."

Sharing a gaze, Kankurō understood the weight of his words.

Remembering the day where Gaara confided to him of his dream to become the Kazekage, his heart wrenched at the strong young man he had become. He followed his dream, achieved it, and lived it. He felt honored to have seen him grow as his older brother. Dire times were all around him, from the blast that quaked and ravaged the village center to the slain ANBU who lay unmasked and grieved upon by a young medic who covered his body with a black tarp. The times of peace had come to pass, fate lurking beyond the sands that his young brother turned his attention towards.

Putting aside his feelings, Kankurō gave a stern nod. "I'll gather a pursuit squad to follow you – and send that hawk to Konoha."

Within the rising brisk winds, the young Kazekage vanished with his sands alone while the cries of chaos were settled by the arriving aid of the shinobi and medics. Standing behind Kankurō, Meiyumi approached closer, her tearstained brown eyes pleading.

"Kankurō-sama," She said, her voice strong. "Let me go with you – I'm a medical-nin."

"You've seen what just happened," He turned to her, sternly. "We might need you down there with the others to heal the injured."

She stepped closer. "I know, it's just… Nomasaki was my teammate. She's my friend, I have to help retrieve her." Sorrow entering her eyes, she glanced back to where Shinto's lifeless body lay. "Shinto wanted me to go, he said before he died… so please," Meeting his stern eyes, she bowed her head slightly. "Allow me to be the squad medic for this mission, so I can be of use to you and Kazekage-sama… and fulfill Shinto's dying wish."

Empathy found its way into his guarded dark eyes. He could feel the hurt inside her glance, the loss of her friend finding its way into his hardened heart. Reluctantly, he averted his gaze from her, nodding once to her request.

"We will meet at the gates in an hour… then we depart."

She bowed her head, sobs creeping into her throat again. "Thank you, Kankurō-sama…"

As shinobi poured into the shattered chamber amongst the broken statues of old, the dust slowly settled while the councillors talked amongst themselves in urgency. Rushing off towards the intel division, Baki departed – followed by Kankurō who left to assemble his new squadron with the brown-haired medic at his side. In a matter of moments, the hawk bearing his message leapt from his arm towards the easterly winds. They sent their fastest bird from the aviary, but if Konoha were to receive the message timely was a question left unanswered on the eerie winds.

They had only hope left.

Rain and howls echoed into her thoughts, tormenting her in a never-ending sea.

Slowly, Nomasaki felt the sting of the wound in her thigh shudder through her. Her eyes opened, finding only darkness and the dim ripple of light from a far-off flame. An ache pounded behind her dulled violet eyes, stiffened from the glimmer of the candle in the thick dark before her. Where her eyes lay, she saw jagged points of deformed oily black rock twisted and unsheathed towards her. Stalactites, glistening faintly of the minerals held within, sparkling in a way that chilled her.

She was in a cave.

Regaining awareness of her limbs, she quickly realized her arms and legs were free. Her core was weakened, still shaken by the wounds and energy that failed her as she remembered her back hitting the muddy forest floor. The cave was cool and dark, the moist texture seeping into the back of her black shirt. Her forehead felt strangely cold. Faintly, she rose her fingertips and touched her cold and moist skin. Her forehead protector was gone. Blood colored the tips of her fingers, the injury suddenly reminding her of its existence. I must have hit my head when I fainted, she thought. Touching her matted gold hair, she sensed the outline of a cut on her brow, the crimson dried and running down to her chin.

She could still taste the iron on her lips.

Was it the wolves? – No, she shook the thought away, it felt like a blade done it – a kunai.

Hearing the echo of footsteps dance upon the cave walls, she turned her head towards the noise. A small woman dressed in ragged and mismatched clothes appeared by the candlelight, changing out the empty sake bottles and removing the plates of eaten and rotting food from its table. She looked disheveled, her face gaunt and eyes full of fear.

"You there…" Nomasaki forced herself to speak, her voice husky. "Where… am I?"

The woman jolted.

Freezing from the sight of the purple-eyed shinobi laying on the cave floor, she set the tray of dishware aside and fled back into the cavern out of sight. Seeing her depart into the darkness did not ease her, reigniting her gut to twist in unease. She suddenly realized that she was in a dangerous place. The sinister gleam of the black stone around her would have deterred anyone. It was a realm devoid of sanctity and comfort – only fear and death crept within. Turning her head back to her view of the stalactites above her, she felt the faint drip of water fall onto her face. The scattered and scarce droplets felt cold against her skin, dulling the pain of the scratches and wounds that were etched into her skin. Without her flak jacket, she felt cold and naked, her black shinobi attire acting as her only defense from the elements of darkness that gripped her as she lay. Luckily, Gaara's flask of sand remaining unscathed, swirling against the fabric of her pants within the shuriken holster on her thigh.

It felt as if begging for release – and she could hardly muster the strength to do so.

Footsteps echoed in along the cave walls again, only louder and thundering.

"At last, you awaken… 'Wolf of the Desert'…"

Jolting from her voice, she turned towards the shadows before her. Approaching her from the darkness was a massive bull of a man, towering near seven feet and built like a bear. Short dark hair with a wild and untamed beard, he paused before her with his arms folded behind his back as the woman from earlier shakenly bowed and took her leave. Clothed in black garbs, the man's scarce armored plating was visible in the flickering candlelight, its snarling beast clearly visible to her widened eyes. Death was staring her directly in the face, their vile dark eyes boring into her.

"Who… are you?" She breathed, her chest heaving. "Why am I… here?

"Struggling only makes your pain worse." He answered, coldly, circling before her. "Snaring you alive was quite the task, if I do say so myself. By chance it seems – I laid a trap for Kage… and instead I get his pet."

Meeting his icy expression, she felt a wave of fear consume her. Just from his eyes alone, she felt her insides lurch and twist in retaliation. Something about his presence unnerved her, evoking feelings of seeing her mountain home perish in the flames. She swore in her heart that she never saw his face before, but her instincts were screaming to her otherwise.

Never had she felt so afraid.

Wolves do not fear, wolves devour fear.

But she was a wolf no longer, she had to remind herself.

If only Hanone were alive to devour the man who stood before me, she let her thoughts say to her, The beast would swallow him whole.

"Tell me… what business does a Yamamori wolf have in Suna?" He knelt before her, grinning at her stunned expression and violet eyes. Her strange eyes – the eyes that made him fester in hatred. "Oh, that's right…I burned your village to the ground many years ago. I let my men lay waste to it and its people, such a worthless pile of rubble it was… and with no wolves to protect it." Her heart felt as if it stopped beating. "Tell me... do you remember me, wolf?"

Memories came rushing back as she fearfully met his eyes again, the dark tint reflected amongst the fluttering candlelight.

She was a child in her thoughts.

Stumbling out her door, her knees fell onto the snow as she lost her footing in panic.

All around her, houses were ablaze with fire, the flames licking the night skies while villagers ran and screamed for their loved ones. Blades echoed within the night, slicing through the few shinobi who decided to fight back to protect their secluded home. The armored men dressed in black cut Yama's numbers as if it were nothing, blood staining the white snow red. The bodies of the dead mounted, some slain within their homes while others were chased and hunted by arrows or kunai by the few invaders who arrived on horseback. Yelling for reinforcements, the elderly chieftain lunged towards the leader of the mysterious men with his gleaming spear of forged steel. The enemy's blade pierced through his heart and his rallying yells silenced, the katana removed from his lifeless body as he was tossed aside into the red snow.

Then, the hulking man in the armor saw her.

Frozen in her fear, Nomasaki trembled as the man with the snarling beast upon his armored chest stepped forward with his bloodied blade. Her violet eyes were locked upon the gleam of his armor, her fragile heart pounding with the wish that her clan's dormant blood would awaken to save her. Appearing within a flash of white, the great white wolf she called her guardian stood between them. His lips curled into a snarl as his back arched in preparation to strike. The coarse fur of his back prickled while the distraught air of chaos and fire was broken by his monstrous growls for blood.

"Nomasaki!" Hanone barked. "On your feet, you must flee this place – now!"

"But Hanone–!" She began to cry, her arms shaking as she gripped the snow. "What about you? I can't leave you! You'll die if I go – please don't–! Mother asked you to protect me!"

"And that's what I intend to do… I made a promise to Mikomi to protect you – as your guardian and as your mother's will." Shocked, her frightened eyes grew heavy with the tears that swelled within. A sharp growl escaped his jaws and hazed into the cold air while his claws dug into the snow, facing the enemy with daggers in his beastly yellow eyes. "You have to leave Yamagakure, leave the Land of Mountains – go anywhere! This land is no longer safe!"

"Hanone–,"

Before she could plea any longer, the beast whipped its snarling muzzle towards her in all its held fury. "Get out of here, now!"

The snarl struck her sharply, piercing her heart as if a dagger made from ice. Startling her, her mother's final words suddenly echoed within her mind. "When he speaks… listen to him…" – and she knew she had no other choice.

Gripping the snow tighter in her palms until it began to melt at her fingertips, she gathered herself and bolted towards the thicket behind her ancient clan's empty homestead on the mountain hillside. The rest was a blur, shadowed by the unrelenting blizzard that soon arrived as she descended the peak. Only the sight of fire remained, her final glance back at her home mired in orange flames.

Fire and blood…

She felt as if the very air was being choked out from her lungs.

Stunned and shaking on the cave floor, her tear-stricken eyes met those of the terrifyingly calm man who knelt before her, her mind tortured by the memory of his eyes. A demon in human flesh, his cold dark eyes and unfazed smirk revealing his true nature. She wanted to lash out and strike him if her body could muster the strength, or lunge with her unforgiving jaws that were ripped apart from her being. The rage boiled inside her, her brow furrowing as she could not take her eyes off his.

"No… it can't be–!" She spat, her teeth gritting as she heaved. "You monster–!"

"It seems you remember me, after all…" He mused. "That beast of yours near killed me. And I'm not the monster, remember – you are." He smirked back. "You're the wolf, the one we've been searching for all these years – the last one… or so we thought." He glared at her, examining the purple of her eyes. The eyes he remembered belonging to a child many years ago, a child protected by a ferocious beast that killed nearly all of his men that night – and nearly himself. She could feel the rage fester in her blood, her feral instincts stirring for the first time in days. "It appears your people were smarter than we thought. We were wrong. You're not the last one – there were others scattered across the continent, hiding their bloodline. It also seems as though the legendary 'direwolves' of the Land of Frost were actually your people, or so our sources say. Your people – your filthy beast-blooded people… the wolves of Yama… Seven long years it took me to capture you… and here you are – a wolf in a cage."

His dark glance towards her sent a chill down her spine. Her heart pounded in her chest, wanting to break free from the weight her body gave her to escape or fight for her life. "What are you -?!" She barked, glaring back. "Who the hell… are you?! What do you want from me?!"

He grinned calmly as he stood over her, an eerie calm. "You can call me Koga… of the Kumatsume. I was once the chieftain of Ishigakure… before being exiled into these wastes where my people are doomed to starve." Stepping closer, his glare iced. "I was the one who ordered my men to destroy Yamagakure and crush it into dust. I ordered your capture, but those Suna bastards ruined those plans. Yes… it was the Fifth Kazekage then, when he was nothing more than a jinchuriki brat. I should've waited until my injuries healed from your ravenous pet… then I could've snared you myself instead of relying on worthless chunin-fodder to follow my orders. That fatal misstep cost me my leadership and I was banished with my clan to the wastes… replaced by that old buffoon who preaches peace while he has one foot in the grave."

Hanone, she remembered, That was why he took so long to return back then. The kunai she pulled from the beast's chest left their bloodied gleam in her thoughts. Her heart swelled, wishing he were there in that instant. Wishing that someone was there for her sake – anyone. Watching him cautiously as she breathed weakly to sit up, he drew his gaze towards the jagged black points coming from the cave ceiling.

"Tenbu are all who remain loyal to me, my noble defectors who followed… carrying out my whim on my command until we reach our end goal. My people work the mines to fetch ginkō and my mercenaries are trained in the art of assassination just as any other shinobi… Those who cross us, bear our spears thrust through their backs." Glancing back to her, his eyes narrowed. "You asked what we wanted with you… do you wish for me to tell you?"

Sitting weakly, she grasped the stinging wound on her leg with her eyes locked upon him, watching him take another step in her direction. He stopped, his lips curling into a subtle grin of satisfaction. He liked to see her suffer – and it was only the beginning.

"Your blood. It's your Kekkei Genkai I want." He said. "You see, your beast-loving people have a 'gift' that mine do not… and I intend on taking it for my own."

Shocked, her eyes widened. Fear swelled within her, coursing through every vein in her body. His words were sinister, unlike any she had ever feared. "…Why? Why me?"

He sighed. "Our once-proud people were exiled from the Land of Wind many years ago by the First Kazekage – Reto, the founder of Sunagakure. We were called the bear-people, taking what was ours and what we deserved, ruling the forested lands north of the desert as our own nation. He sealed our bloodline by the power of the sand priests and forced us to live in the Land of Claws, a wasteland with no food or water – we were a broken people, living as outsiders to the very lands that took us in. When the Second Shinobi War arrived, it came right to our doorstep – the Shukaku of Suna was unleashed by its jinchuriki and ravaged what little home we had left. Many died, many starved, many vanished… but we never forgot." Eyeing her maliciously, he saw the fear painted within her eyes. "Then our chance came at last… Sunagakure lost their Fourth Kazekage in a great betrayal, and we received word of a 'girl who rode upon a great wolf' living in the mountains. The bait was too good to ignore… so I assembled my men and burnt Yama to ash – looking for you." He held up his hand towards her, pulling down his sleeve from his wrist. "You see… your Kekkei Genkai is an ancient power, one that uses nature energy – nature energy that is intertwined with the blood of the living… Our clan needs it to give back what is rightfully ours… before we claim Suna as our own!"

"Don't tell me…–," She stammered, her words breaking in her mouth. "Your plan–!?"

Upon the front of his palm, an inscription appeared and began to glow eerily. A forbidden jutsu, she thought to herself. She recognized the markings from her training as a tracker-nin. An extraction formula of dark ages past. Her gut wrenched and heaved while her instincts stirred and screamed inside.

"On this day, the Kumatsume will have their bloodline awakened… and you're going to be our sacrifice!"

Around her on the cold cave floor, a circle of eerie red light surrounded her.

Slithering along the faint drawn lines beneath her, the red reached the center where she sat – and burst forth with its power. Screaming in agony, Nomasaki felt as if her entire body were lit on fire. Writhing against the ground, her body twitched as she choked back the urge to cry out, her energy siphoned from every wound, every pore, every breath. It was unlike any pain she ever experienced, the pain from the ginkō scar on her forearm suddenly awakening. She wanted it to stop. Desperately, she forced herself up on her knees, clutching her arm so tight she thought she would puncture the skin. Another cry escaped her lips, her body falling on its side against the pooling red light.

"Koga, enough! Our sacrifice is to be kept alive – for now. The Reverse Sealing isn't completed yet, you know we can't afford to rush things."

In an instant, the pain and glowing suddenly stopped. Heaving her breaths, Nomasaki's eyes quickly fled to the shadows.

That voice – that vile voice.

It was him.

Stepping out to join Koga was the disgraced councillor who near took her life – Kenzō. He appeared gaunt, haggard, and was missing a hand. The hand Gaara severed, she remembered – the hand that would strike her if she did not comply to his every plea. If only the rest of him was severed and rotting. Unlike the last time she saw him, the man she saw within the cave appeared different. His hair was long and white, a beard sprouting from his pointed chin, and he was clothed in the same manner as Koga except no armor plated him – just the long black garbs of death and deceit.

"Brother," Koga turned, retracting his hand back into his sleeve. "I assumed things were already underway?"

"The strike in Suna went out as planned… they received our message. Now we wait for the call to answer our bait." Kenzō sneered through his thick greying beard, his dark eyes the same as she remembered. Turning towards her, he narrowed his eyes in spite. "Soon enough, the Kazekage clan will fade into the desert sands they hold so dear… same with this caged wolf in our midst." Before taking his leave, he looked back to his brother with a stern glint to his eyes. "Leave her… for now."

Alone, Koga scoffed under his breath as he approached her, catching her frightened and guarded eyes. Her face was still bloodied from her capture, her violet eyes peering through the straying strands of gold that fell over her face. Kneeling close in front of her, he grabbed her chin with his large fingers. Holding her face close to his, she tried desperately to escape his grasp, her eyes averting from his intruding glance.

"The 'Wolf of the Desert'… is that what they call you?" He sneered. "You may be a wolf… but you are a pretty one." He leaned closer and grasped her hair in his meaty fingers, sniffing it. She felt his harsh breath on her bloodied neck and she tensed in disgust. "I could have my way with you before the ritual, but I'd have to behead you first." Standing up, he released her hold, glaring down at her in amused distaste. "'Even in death, a wolf's head still has the power to bite', or so the legends say."

"You know the superstitions of my people…" She glared, trying to repress her rage within. As her blood boiled, her fangs poked out of her mouth, her voice growling at him. "…It's best to follow your own advice unless you want to be ripped to pieces…!"

"Is that a threat?"

Not complying, she held her glare to him, piercing him like ice. A loud crack echoed within the cavern, his strong closed fist striking the side of her face. Knocking the wind out of her, she coughed up blood. Reddened, bruised, and bleeding, she turned away as she caught up with her fleeting breathing.

"You can bare your fangs all you want. That's not going to save you." He spat. "Only death can save you now… that will come at daybreak soon enough."

Forming a hand-sign, the four large ginkō ores that formed the outside of the seal she sat upon became activated. Glowing with a faint hum, she felt the air become thin between them and her strength leave her. Pained, she winced as her face hugged the cold black stone beneath her. A barrier jutsu, she realized – and one that exploited her very weakness. When she was alone with her thoughts, she felt the scar on her forearm pulse under her skin.

She was going to die in that cave.

Her heart plunged at the thought.

Notes: Koga of the Kumatsume clan holds meaning to his name. Koga (古賀) in Japanese means "old river". The name is also related to the Koga Castle of Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan, which was built in feudal Japan but has since been demolished in the 19th century.