Author's Note (2020/05/04):

Hey everyone! I hope everyone is doing well during these difficult times. I am nearing completion of this story after nearly 1.5 years of posting and rewriting the original fic that was uploaded to Quizilla back in 2009 (and it's such a drastically written story, 12 year old me was definitely no fanfiction author lol WayBack Machine luckily has it in the archive so I had a good laugh). I hope you are enjoying reading through this story of mine on here and AO3 - and I've recently made a WattPad account so the story is now available there as well. I made the WP account because a chunk of my story's beginning was copied/pasted/plagiarized and uploaded to Web Novel - and I got nervous so this story is now being posted to WattPad to discourage any potential copy/pasting of it there. My account goes by the same name as on here (Namikaze Okami) and all my works will be now posted there as well.

About this chapter... this is where things get rough. This was a very divisive segment while I was writing it, as I had to decide what I wanted the outcome to be for the next incoming chapter as it would ultimately decide the fic's ending. We're getting close to the end, so things are starting to wrap up. I am currently projecting a few more chapters, so the story will most likely end by June.

I hope you enjoy!

Content Advisory: graphic violence

Chapter 71
The Blood of A Wolf

The passages grew narrower as she danced amongst the shadows in swift silence.

Her eyes strained from the dark, Nomasaki clung to the stalactites above as she evaded the watchful guards clothed in their gleaming bear armor and black garbs. Their disgruntled voices reached her ear along the cave wall, echoing sentiments and grunts as they gathered in numbers and left in a large wave of shouts. The slaves were absent from the winding caverns, the large reserve of gleaming jade crystal unattended and their pickaxes, shovels, chisels, hammers, and pans discarded upon the oily black stone. All was taken except for their lanterns and torches to light their way out, leaving darkness for any guards who sought to find and stop them from their hasty escape. Sana did have the courage, after all – that was a relief. Nomasaki's goal now was to survive long enough in the caverns to meet them outside.

The lands of snow and frost would be more than welcome to the bear-people if they wished to join, the land was sparse as it was sheltered. The tundra was plentiful of snow and hardship, but great-horned elk and mammoths still walked the steppes to be hunted. Sunagakure would be wise to not give in to trusting the Kumatsume so eagerly. The clan was banished from two worlds, the desert and the wastes. She could already hear the yells of the council upon the unspoken terms. Her father could help them if Gaara could not – Yama was a land born again, free from the previous hardships and bitter blood that plagued it.

Gaara.

Remembering his name struck her with guilt.

She felt her heart wrench as she remembered his sweet face, the brilliant red of his hair and the gleam to his calm eyes. Unlike the familiar face of warmth that greeted her every morning upon waking, the face she saw the night before she departed was fraught with sorrow and hurt. She had to make it up to him somehow. Returning to Suna alive would be a sure-fire way, she reminded herself. Bounding against the dark, the flecks of sparkling ginkō glimmered as she ran past. The ore was an enemy to her, but it was truly a beautiful mineral. At least its light within the cave was showing her a path against the shadows. Running through the dimly lit darkness was not what scared her, but the absence of the chakra she once felt. Her blood was boiling warmly under her skin, each slap of wind against her blood-stained cheeks reminding her of it. No wolf had come. Scaling up the walls with a leap, she bounded down a passage shrouded in complete darkness.

The surface had to be near, it just had to.

Stepping into the darkened chamber cautiously, she heard no noise other than the sounds of her faint footsteps echoing off the twisted walls. Holding the katana in both hands, she stepped backward and kept her wits about her. Only shadow greeted her, but the feeling that she was being watched crept over her like a hand to her throat, squeezing the life out of her. Breathing steadily, she scanned the darkness around her.

"I knew that makeshift prison wouldn't hold you… If only Koga has sense to listen."

Alarmed, she whipped her head towards the vile voice, her spine shivering from its haunting memory. Readying the blade towards it, she prepared her defensive stance with hands tight against its hilt. "I was wondering how long it would take you to slither your way up here." The voice mused, grimly. "It must be a strange thing for you – unable to use those senses of yours you hold so dearly."

"Kenzō…" She barked, her muscles tensing. "So it's true, you did escape that night."

The voice echoed across the chamber, shrouded by the expanse of shadow. "It took some careful planning but yes, I did." She followed the voice with her blade, focusing her hearing on where he may be lurking. "Those Sleeper Agents of mine certainly turned out to be useful… even Sasori of the Red Sands must be spinning in his grave knowing how well I perfected his infamous technique – as I cast the jutsu for him on his behalf from time to time. Being a missing-nin made it difficult for the poor boy to return, unable to cast it himself..."

Gritting her teeth, she felt the shadow bounce again. Her blood growing restless, she stepped cautiously around the darkness, her eyes narrowed towards the voice of the snake. Fear no longer coated them as they once did in his presence, but a cold rage.

"Judging by that look in your eyes, it appears they were well-disguised. I had some as civilians, some as shinobi, some as simple-minded guards, and even some in the council, sitting by the young Kazekage for years."

She felt a gasp pass her lips.

Before she had a chance to utter words, the shadow crept closer in the dark. Pushing it back, she blocked it with her blade. Her feet skid across the cave floor as she held her stance, the shadow disappearing into the dark and bounding away.

"As an outsider who arrived at Sunagakure's doorstep some time ago, I proved myself useful to the village, yes – but knowledge is power, and power becomes tempting. To have power… that is what I sought. For years, I labored hard… pushed myself to earn the respect and trust of those fools… The Fourth Kazekage was just one of many. His son was just as much of a fool – far too trusting. He trusted you, after all… and you were my tool for a time."

Her heart pounded from what he was saying. The darkness added to it, her lack of vision creeping into her grasp of reality. The shadows danced and bounded, and she countered as swiftly as she could. If her powers returned, seeing in the dark would be as easy as counting to twenty. But all she could do was hold out for a light that would never come. Suddenly, she felt the old fear she held towards the traitor return. The unfamiliar feeling washed over her, prickling her skin as if they were crows circling a carrion.

The shadow suddenly bounded against the oily stone of black, holding her by the chin with its cruel and cold fingers. "I must say, Sasori-sama was quite pleased with the information I relayed to him on the Kazekage those many years ago… and he was especially pleased to learn of the intel I gathered from you – my precious little spy." His grip tightened onto her, the dark of his eyes meeting hers finally. "You may not have been a Sleeper Agent, but you certainly served me well despite your eventual defiance. The Akatsuki got the Shukaku – and I got all the gold I could've desired… all thanks to you."

"No!" She slashed at him, regaining her strength. The shadow leapt away from her, stalking her in the darkness. "That's a lie! That's not true–!"

"Sweet little spy," Kenzō laughed. "All the intel you gathered not only went to me – it went to my enemies. The Akatsuki were just amongst them." She heard his footsteps faintly against the stone, creeping up to her again. "To play the game of power, you must play your cards carefully… or else you'll spell your end."

"Just as you did." She spat through her fanged teeth. "You were caught!"

"And you were pardoned, may I ask why? Ah yes, that's right…" He sighed, amused by the disgruntled shinobi in his presence. "You loved him. You - the wolf-girl… you've fallen for the very one I've asked you to kill. That abomination of a failed jinchuriki, coupled with his pet… it makes me disgusted." She heard his footsteps get closer. "And what did you do? You betrayed me. You killed my right-hand, my successor... dumping his body into the river... You defied your commands, going against your sworn oath to me!" The shadow circled her as if a black-winged vulture, its presence preying over hers. "You lacked the courage. You lacked the duty. You are no shinobi – and you are certainly no tool. You are nothing but a pathetic shard of those foolish wolf-people who near howled themselves into extinction! You come from a clan of beastly fools. Your father – the honour-less halfwit - sits on that mountain a bigger fool than any, sacrificing his birthright to be with savages…–," His footsteps paused in their circling. "… as he once did with that bitch of a mother of yours–,"

She struck the shadow with the butt of the blade, knocking the shape away before it could grasp her again. "Insult me all you want – but never insult my family!" She shouted, her fangs growing. "I'm not the same frightened girl you once knew… I can promise you that!"

"Is that so?"

He lifted his sole hand and formed a seal.

A raging burn bubbled through her throat and forced her to the ground. Fire was choking her, keeping her hostage from breath, and taking the very air she hungered for out from her heaving lungs. Never before had he hexagram curse seal on her tongue caused her such pain. Writhing, her screams filled the cave as her body shook violently in every fibre of muscle from the jutsu. Gathering her strength, she desperately tried to lift herself up but all she could manage to do was tremble on her knees.

A burst of agony struck her - her mind going blank.

Memories flashed before her eyes.

Her snowy village, her mother, riding on Hanone's back through the forest, and Yama's destruction appeared as vivid as yesterday. "You don't... have any power over me... -!" When she fought back, she saw the ringed eyes of the one who rescued her from the desert, Meiyumi and Shinto, and her new life in Suna. "Not anymore... -!" A vision of her hugging her father during the war flashed before her eyes, remembering the burden of revenge flee from her soul. Before long, she saw herself holding Gaara's hand as they watched the desert sunset. And she was a free shinobi. Standing, the burn on her tongue danced like a fire, but her will of stone quelled its fury. Glaring into his eyes straight ahead, she tightened her grip on her katana. "You are the one... who is afraid... -! All you've known is fear, the fear of losing your power! Power over others... like me!" A beast stared him down, her blood boiling under her skin. "And I'll be the one to strike you down!"

The darkness stilled.

"Koga was a brutish fool back then... Invading Yamagakure so hastily… it cost him his seat of power and the respect of our clansmen. I told him to wait but he would have none of it." His voice grew haggard, rage filling the icy tone. "Since you came to Sunagakure, I was patiently waiting for the day where our paths could cross. To have your sensory skills at my disposal was a gift from the gods, it seemed. Knowing what our plans were for you and that crevice of a village, we wanted to use you for all that you were worth. But it seems that beasts can't easily be tamed… and they will eventually betray their masters."

A flame suddenly appeared at his open hand across from her, his narrowed eyes and grisly expression visible from the cover of the shadows. Her heart flinched in her chest, her violet eyes taken aback by the sight of the fire. Visions of her ravaged home of the past flashed before her eyes. Blinking them away, she faced him.

"I heard you're not fond of fire… how fitting. Does it remind you of something, I wonder?" He grinned under his frayed white beard. "Perhaps a memory of home? I can gladly make arrangements to reunite you with your she-wolf of a mother... in due time."

Her grip on her blade stiffened.

"That tanuki-eyed bastard of a leader you hold so dear severed my hand… Before you are sacrificed, I'll do the same to you!"

Flame shot out towards her in a great stream, engulfing the shadows in its wake. Tumbling, she rolled from its impact, barely missing her arm. The wild orange fires coursed from his palm as if a great whip, as long and solid as the toughest iron, crackling the black stone underneath where it struck. A whip for its beast, it seemed.

How fitting.

Forcing herself to stare at the flames, she cast her fear aside. Fire was her enemy – but so was Kenzō. She had to vanquish both of them, no matter the cost. She may have lacked the wolfish strength she once had, but she was a shinobi above all. She had to remember.

"You can't run from me forever!"

It was just like that day years ago.

Tumbling away from that hulking Kumogakure shinobi in the arena, she ran from his fire as fear swelled into her, choking at her breaths. But that was a different time – and she was now a woman grown and a genin no longer. Survival was her drive, and that was her key. She had to face her fears, stare death in the face, and never give up – for she was a shinobi.

Again, the fire was sent towards her, crackling against the still cool air like a rippling firework of death, the shadows fraying between them as she met his cold dark eyes of deceit. Shielding the strike with her blade, Nomasaki felt her body get knocked away from its stance, her feet skidding against the greasy blackened stone. The power of the fiery whip was too great, its ferocity billowing over her. Dodging its next advance, she bounded through the shadows as she tried to outrun its path of fury. Fighting fire was bad enough but fighting it in the shallow darkness was truly a different struggle to behold. She wanted to scream from the inside for her blood to boil, for her instincts to scream back, for a howl to pass her lips – anything. The canines in her jaws were all she had aside from her katana, and she was too far to bite. The whip of fire cracked the stalactites above, her frantic mind pushing her to bound further into the darkness. Crashing into the blackened cave floor, the twisted daggers of rock fell, exposing the faint glimmers of jade ginkō from its prison. The cavern sudden gained a dim light, her vision breaking through the darkness to see his strikes. Dodging its crackling beam, she felt her arm singe as she regained her footing.

Her sleeve was burnt to the skin, her flesh pink and steaming.

A minor burn, but a burn nonetheless.

"Shit–!" She grunted. Gritting her teeth, she formed hand-signs as she ran, the hilt of the blade held to her breast by her folded arms.

Pouring out from the cave's hidden stream, a great stream of water was summoned towards her black-garbed foe. Sensing the attack, he formed a single hand-sign with his only hand, his empty sleeve whipping in the winds around him. With a rumbling shout, a massive wall of fire struck the water with a loud thunder, a thick mist dissipating between them in the cavern of gleaming jade and red death. Dashing through the mists with her blade readied, she clutched the hilt with all her strength as a snarling shout escaped her curled lips. Her feral anger had awoken. Unsheathing a blade from his armed sleeve, Kenzō's weapon struck hers with a loud ear-piercing clinging, ringing in the dead air between them as they locked glares into each other's eyes.

"It's going to take more than a katana to kill me," He grinned at her glaring face.

Suddenly, her blood boiled within. Twisting and snarling, her face morphed slowly into the true creature she was. The wolf was emerging. Strength found its way into her veins, her blade pushing against his and cutting into its steel with her own.

"What the–?! You filthy beast–!"

Gnashing his teeth, Kenzō tightened his hand's grip on the hilt of his katana, pushing himself away and lunging forward with its point. He saw a weak spot in the small of her belly, her arms positioned away. Seeing his tactic, she remembered the day she fought and killed Tojiru, the unforgiving and vile companion she had in her early days as a tracker-nin. The memory of his bloodied and grinning vulpine mask haunted her. It seemed as though it were a lifetime ago. The wind of his blade's incoming strike flickered against her face in brief waves as his movements slowed within her sight. Dodging his stab by a hair, he sliced through the dead air and left no time to react. Just as Tojiru did those four years ago.

She saw her chance.

Grasping his wrist with all the feral strength she could muster, she twisted the blade from his hand, severing it clean off. The crack of his bone echoed throughout the chamber, accompanied by his wails of bloodcurdling pain. Collapsing to his knees as his wrist had become a bloodied stump, he shook as he glared up at her through the lingering long strands of grey and white. Standing over him with a cold glint to her eyes, Nomasaki held both katanas, her face eerily calm and human. The blood of a wolf was hers and hers alone.

"You bitch–! You dare rebel against me–?!" He shouted. "You'll die here, I swear it! Curse you and your horrid clan! If only Tojiru killed you as I asked – or Kōgen, that blundering oaf of a half-brother! I should have strangled the life out of you years ago, you blasted–!?"

"You were right, Kenzō-sama," Nomasaki said, her voice even and eyes cold as ice. "It's just as you said before… I am a beast – and a beast has no master."

Slowly, she rose the blades towards his neck in the shape of a cross, the cold steel grazing his aged and cracked skin. A sliver of crimson leaked from his flesh where one of the blades kissed him, dripping onto the immaculate gleaming steel. Looking up into her eyes was an expression he never saw from her before. She was as still and as silent as a ghost, a wolf with cold violet eyes. He could only see his only reflection within them, even the look of fear he held and his trembling body. He was not one to know fear, only administer it to others. He had lost all his power, his authority, all his beloved spies and tracker-nin.

And now he was nothing.

A miserable pile of flesh and bone.

Being afraid was something he thought purely alien and inhuman. His aged heart of betrayal swelled with an intense wave of pain and shock, the fear near choking him as he stood on his knees.

"You should've remembered," She spoke, her gaze unmoving. "'We don't take kindly to traitors'... Isn't that right?"

"No! You were mine!" He cried out. "You were my tool–!"

Her eyes narrowed in a calm contempt, the wolf within her snarled through the violet.

"I was never yours!"

The slash echoed through the cavern's blackened walls as if a dirge.

Bouncing onto the oily stone, Kenzō's bloodied head rolled as his corpse fluttered like a reed in the winds, collapsing with a faint thud as the blood burst into the skill air, tainting her blades that committed the loathsome deed.

Dead.

He was finally dead.

Justice arrived, with the judgement as swift as the winds would permit. To behead someone was the ultimate dishonor, and Kenzō deserved no such honors worthy of an honorable death. Seppuku would not grace him, nor the ever-merciless god of death. The Pure Land was forever out of his reach, and rightfully so. Purgatory was his destiny, as was the ground where he would rot for all time. Spiteful, Nomasaki eyed the headless body as crimson painted the cave floor. Dropping one of the blades, she kept the one in her right-hand – the one she arrived with. She would be leaving with it soon enough. Despite knowing he was dead, a part of her still tinged with the fear that he would once again wake.

Only in her nightmares was that possible now.

A strange feeling swam down her.

It were as if a burden were lifted from her very shoulders, her pain dimming and strength unchallenged. As she breathed out, a thought suddenly jolted her mind. Bringing up the bloodied blade, she stared into its gleaming steel and opened her mouth. Within the mirror of the katana, she saw the markings of her curse seal erode away into nothing.

Ash.

Startled, her breathing paused. "My curse seal... it's gone!"

Surprising her as she scanned the chamber, the glimmering pulses of the ginkō tinged her scar faintly as she felt her mind echo with the fibers of chakra. Startling herself, she caught herself breathing aloud, her senses detecting chakra clearly for the first time as if in ages. The relief soon turned to foreboding. Turning from the corpse, she started down the chamber further, fleeing from the jade lights. Dancing once more along the shadows, it felt as if the chamber had no end in sight. Only dark awaited her.

Alarming her, her senses detected a sinister presence all around her, screaming at her internally to flee. But where? All around her was shadow, her hands clinging to the twisted black rock as she fumbled for a door, a passage, a way out – anything.

Nothing.

The chakra was closer than ever, its seediness looming over her in its grip. Swallowing her pride, she turned back defensively with her blade, both hands grasping it tightly. Feeling bold, she stepped forward. She knew she had to fight – and their shadow was egging her on. Pausing on the black stone at her feet, she prepared her stance as their chakra made its inevitable entrance.

Just as she suspected…

"Good, sacrifice." Koga mused, stepping into the dark. Only the glint of his sinister dark eyes was visible, striking a brief fear into her heart that she was seeing Kenzō back from the grave. "I'm surprised you made it this far, to be truthful. I wondered why my mines suddenly fell empty and grew silent… you freed my slaves! I'll have to punish you for that, since I couldn't find one to face judgement." The darkness edged closer, her grip on the blade tightening from its encroaching presence. "It appears you've slain my brother as well… He was getting on my nerves, truth be told – but I would have greatly needed his counsel when I take that desert throne for myself."

The shadows around them quelled, their glares locked onto one another. While she stood armed with her katana in her tattered clothes and dried blood, he stood across from her a distance away with his arms at his sides. His dark eyes unmoving, unsettling.

"Your death is going to be a slow and painful one, wolf."

"I could care less about that," Nomasaki barked. "You're the one who's going to die here! I can't let you carry out your plans!" She pointed the blade towards him, her violet eyes narrowing like the beast she truly was. "I'm a shinobi – I've made my oaths, and I'm going to see them through!"

Before she could tell herself what was happening, Koga pulled down his sleeve, the menacing inscriptions along his palm throbbing and glowing as she took it in with her own eyes. It was the forbidden jutsu she remembered from earlier, her fate.

The Reverse Sealing.

He gave a dire grin. "With one foot in the grave?" He clutched his palm closed.

All she saw was red.

In a burst of bloodied light, the floor under her sudden turned blind. Moving in snake-like motions, the red traveled to the center of the encompassing seal formula where she stood. She unknowingly walked right into their trap, senses or no – it was undetectable.

Her body fell to the cave floor of red as she screamed, red bolts of electric death spiraling around her. With a clang, the katana struck the ground by her face, unnoticed by its writhing wielder. The pain was worse than she could have ever imagined. Agony overtook her, shaking her, striking her, ripping at her until there was nothing left. Her wails of pain echoed throughout the cavern, her limbs and muscles trembling as her body refused to move to her will.

Desperately, she tried to lift herself from the black stone agleam with red, but the jolts of death shot through her. Traveling from her fingertips up her arm, through her scar, into the curve of her neck, into her jaw, and down her spine – she felt her blood wretch and boil and wretch again. Her eyes were sealed shut, but her tears wet her bloodied cheeks, the suffering overcoming all her senses.

The wolf was dying.

Dying.

Watching her cling to her life filled Koga with lust, his eyes narrowed in pleasure. "The Reverse Sealing will surely kill you within the hour. What hope can you have of stopping me when you're dead?" A deep growl of a laugh escaped his lips as he watched her writhe in pure agony. "Your Kekkei Genkai and nature energy are as good as mine!"

Screaming, her throat turned raw and throbbing, her mouth unable to stop the sounds that were escaping it. Tossing and turning, her limbs trembled with each jolt and her heart pounded until it was the only sound to grace her ears. Gnashing her fanged teeth, she tried to suppress her wailing but to no avail. The pain shot through her as if a thousand knives have pierced her, twisting and twisting at every ounce of skin she had.

Her vision suddenly turned white, the pain disconnecting her from her reality…

It was snowing, she could see it clearly above her in the realm of white. Laying on her back, Nomasaki felt no pain, no suffering, no anything. It was as if it were a bad dream, a nightmare of terrifying proportions. The snow felt like cold feathers against her warm cheeks, melting into her as they made contact.

It was so peaceful…

"…My child… you've grown tired…"

Before the snow that fell, a calming silhouette appeared. Dressed in a flowing kimono, the red and gold that gathered in its seams reflected in the light as the woman's shape became clear to her. The woman's face was hidden by the light, but she could see the vibrant and lovely golden hair that was swung over her shoulder as she reached out to grasp Nomasaki's hand.

"…How I've missed you… my dear child…"

Memories came pouring back to her as her eyes grew wet with tears. That voice, the red dress, the soft long hair of woven gold. There was no questioning to who it was. Nomasaki's heart longed for it to be a lie, her tears running down her cheeks in silence.

"…Mother…?" She asked, quietly. "Is that… you…?"

Reaching out to her, the woman sweetly smiled. Her eyes were still hidden from view, the white light and the snows proving a great shroud between them. "It's time to come home… Come home…"

The more she looked at the creature before her, the more she felt her blood boil in anger. The tears turned bitter, stinging her eyes as she realized the genjutsu had its grip onto her. She wanted to scream, to cry out in fury.

It was all a lie – the snow, her mother.

She could not see her face, but she was certain it was not the mother she knew and loved those years ago. A monster, a figment of her imagination – an illusion. Death was waiting for her outside, the genjutsu acting as a gateway to her fate.

"Mother… How dare they…!" She spat through her gnashed teeth, her violet eyes wide in hurt and anger. "Curse them, the bastards…"

Looking up into the white snowy skies that hailed above her gently, she realized what must be done. Biting her lip, she cleansed herself of her rage and sorrow. Closing her eyes, she refused to meet the face of the motherly illusion any longer. Accepting it, she calmed herself into the white and the snows.

"I'm sorry… I won't be seeing you any time soon…"

A piercing ring of steel puncturing flesh echoed.

The blood leaked slowly from her mouth as she let out a pained cough. On her knees, the katana was thrust into her abdomen's left side, her trembling hands still on its hilt. "You're… not getting my chakra–!"

Gritting her teeth in held agony, the taste of iron overcame her, coating her chin in its paint. She was not sure if she stabbed a vital area or not, but she made her gamble to escape the jutsu regardless how much of a hasty fool she had been. She refused to lend him her strength, and her life. The wolf's blood within her boiled under her skin, its feral instincts snarling at the man before her. She felt the wound pulse. Her strength leaving her, Nomasaki collapsed to her side, the red oozing slowly from her wound as the blade remained in her, gleaming against the black stone painted in blood.

Stopping the Reverse Sealing, Koga gasped in disgruntled shock as he realized what happened. "You blasted fool–!"

Before he had a chance to take action against his bleeding captive, a sudden burst of sand swept through the chamber, sweeping over him in its might and fury. His yells were silenced quickly, the sands whisking him away through the darkened passages in a roaring violence. A haze of shattered blackened rock and stone swept with them, twisting and turning into the pit of darkness while his screams echoed against the oiled cave walls.

He was gone.

"Nomasaki!"

Groggily, her fading vision turned towards the chakra she sensed nearby. They moved towards her within the winds of sand, the grains whisking against her stained face and hair. The figure was in front of her knelt down with their arms under her, holding her in its warmth of maroon and urgency. Bringing herself to look up at their eyes, she saw the familiar blackened rings and turquoise she loved and the face that claimed them. Looking down at her with eyes full of concern and panicked hurt, Gaara stayed silent as he saw her dulled violet eyes. Her blood leaked onto his hands as he held her, staining his grip.

"Ga… Gaara…" She breathed, weakly, her eyes barely opening. "Is that you…?"

The way she looked up to him with her bloodied and faint smile haunted him of memories past. The death of Yashamaru suddenly entered his subconscious, his heart wrenching inside his chest as he sensed the severity of her wounds.

Death.

He could see it.

Shutting his eyes tightly to hold back his sorrows, his grip onto her strengthened. Hanging his head low near hers, his shaggy crimson hair masked his grief and dread.

"I'm sorry I took so long…"

Gingerly and with great care, he lifted her into his arms as he and his sands burst through the cave ceiling, leaving the darkness of the cavern behind.