The guards standing on duty at the opening in the cliff face stood to attention when the Kazekage materialised from sand in front of them.

"Lord Kazekage! Did something happen?" The captain of the patrol ran over to meet Gaara, a look of concern on his face.

"Yes. Please don't worry, I'm going to investigate exactly what it is and see of there's anything we can do about it." Gaara replied, blinking slowly as his gaze swept over the ninja on guard duty, most of whom were looking over at him with interest where he stood with the captain. Interest, not fear or hate. It had been nearly a year since he had been kidnapped and had the Shukaku sand spirit extracted from his body and more than two years since he had become Kazekage.

Ever since his rescue and return thanks to Naruto and the efforts of the Hidden Leaf after his abduction, the people of his village had warmed up to him substantially. Though it was something the young man had desired for a while, he struggled somewhat to adjust to the positive response he now got from his fellow villagers.

"It must be serious for you to be going yourself. Please be safe, Lord Kazekage." The captain said with a trusting smile, though the corners of his eyes tinged with worry.

"I leave the village's safety to you." Gaara nodded to him in dismissal, watching him leave before he turned to face the trio that had gathered during their conversation.

"I apologise for calling you out so late, but as I'm sure you're aware, the guard town near the Gold Mountains in the south of our country has requested the Sand's aid. I want to get there as quickly as possible to amend whatever situation is taking place. I'm counting on you."

"Yes sir!" The three replied. Nodding once again, Gaara led them into the night.

There was only darkness. In front, behind, above and below. Crouching down, she hugged herself as she tried to remain calm. Where was she? What was she to do now? Why was she alone in this place?

A small light twinkled at her closed eyelids and she opened them to see a thin rope, it's brown nearly red in colour. Blinking, she rose to her feet and began to walk beside the rope, too afraid to touch it. She walked and walked for a long time in the nothingness, but she was patient, she would by all means reach the end. What would she do if there was nothing at the end, or if this walk in itself was endless?

In her self conversation, she failed to notice that the rope was thickening and widening under her feet until she was walking on a woven red carpet. The carpet grew and hardened, turning into a sort of path, and more light filled her vision, until there was no darkness left to fear.

Lifting her head, she looked far ahead ahead and saw the faint silhouette of a person. A man, possibly. Even as she approached, and the figure grew bigger, the light from the path did not illuminate or reveal the figure. Finally standing face to face with the silhouette, she realised that it was fuzzy around the edges. A shadow? Lifting her eyes, she froze when she made contact with a pair of eyes, cold and pale in colour, not exactly blue but faintly green.

His shadow suddenly began to leak from his figure and spread around her, engulfing her, consuming her. As she fell, she looked back up at the space where the light was fading slowest, meeting his eyes again. They were...sad, so sad.

Shuddering, the young woman lifted her head sharply, waking up instantly. A dream? Who was that? Turning her head, she scanned the multitude of bodies that lay huddled, sleeping within the cavity deep in the labyrinth. The youth that had Tenrei skills were scattered across the entrance of the space, keeping the protective barrier in place as their people slept. The young woman was the only one resting because she had reacted first and used up so much energy in her panic.

~Flashback~

The explosion sounded off before anyone was able to react, causing the wall to cave in, burying several unaware people in the process.

"No!" She screamed again as she felt the life force slip out of her people. There was chaos and shouting as people ran. Some left the cave, and their cries were heard from outside as what sounded like scraping metal screeched. They were being killed. Somebody was attacking them.

Frantically looking around, she turned to face the wall which connected the cave to the labyrinth, the wall she was closest to. Breathing shakily, she wove the hand signs that directed more power to her fingertips and swept her hand in a circular motion on the face of the wall. The part of the wall she had touched broke away and landed softly on the ground in the labyrinth. Looking through, it was just as she thought. The entrance to the labyrinth had been sealed off by the explosion.

"This way!" She called, pulling her younger sister to the gap and pushing her through. The other children quickly made their way over, entering the hole. Turning back to face the curtains, she pressed her hands together in a praying motion before she ran forward, touching as many of the fallen rocks as she could, eyes prickling as they began shifting to reveal the bodies of the fallen.

Sniffing, she used her hands as a guide to direct the rocks into position at the entrance of Senkensha's cave. This would give them time to hide. If they hid then the attackers might believe that they had killed everyone that was in the sanctuary. They would leave. Keeping her hands together in the prayer sign, she planted the rocks, standing firm as she felt a wave of attacks from the outside.

"Hurry, please!" She cried, slow tears falling down her face as she kept her trembling palms pressed together. She couldn't hold on for much longer. Closing her eyes even as the tears continued to fall, she reached out her senses through the rocks, connecting to the air in all the cracks until she could properly sense the attackers.

There was a small group of people, perhaps around twenty or so, and they were all gathered in a clump some ninety or so metres away from Senkensha's cave. The air around them shifted as they wove hand signs that she was unfamiliar with. They were gearing for a large scale attack.

Opening her eyes again, she turned to look at the hole, hands still trembling with the force she used to press them together with. When she noted that only a few people had yet to escape through the hole, she began pacing backwards. The further away she moved, the less control she had over the rocks. After all, earth was not her affinity.

When the last person entered the hole, she released her hands and jumped through, just in time as two other Tenrei trainees sealed the hole she had made perfectly, and the rock blockade she had made was blasted through. Sat on the floor breathing shakily, she turned to see her people in dead silence, stunned by what had just occurred. Eventually, the Tenrei captain spoke up.

"...we must go deeper. If we stay here, they will sense us, but they will not dare follow us into the labyrinth." She said. Slowly, agonisingly, the people moved, making their way deeper, guided by those who were able to create light with their affinity for flames.

The young woman was gently pulled to her feet by the two that had sealed the hole, and she squeezed their hands when she saw the distress in their faces. Her sister ran over to her and grabbed her hand, and they too began moving deeper into the labyrinth.

~End of Flashback~

Exhaling, she swiped at the stray tear that had slipped out. By her count, around a quarter of their two hundred or so people had fallen to the attack, with at least seven being children. Several more were injured, but they had escaped with everyone. They were alive and their wounds would heal. As for their hearts...

She absently stroked her sister's hair, who was lying across her lap. Why had their peaceful people been attacked? Was there not a guard town that stood outside of the forest? As much as she was angered by the attack, an instinct told her that the guard town was not to blame. Swallowing, she closed her eyes again for a long time before drifting into a dreamless sleep.