A/N: Please note, I have nothing against Gaara. The story goes this way. He's one of my favorite characters in Naruto, so this is for fan fiction purpose only.

It had been two years since she first met Gaara, Alison, Naruto…all of them. Now Kali was a full fledged medical nin with a medical degree in case she wanted to practice out of Japan, all at seventeen years old. She was also still learning things in the ninja world that she never knew.

The once city girl was now settling down. She was now engaged to Gaara.

The sun of Suna had made Kali get a bit of a tan now, and she was a tad slimmer and muscular than she once was. She had also become best friends with Alison and Yasha, considering them sisters.

This made her help Temari as ambassador to her village as well.

Kamara was still ever faithful at her side, his body fully healed from things. His fur had become whiter as he was forever in the sunlight. He was a hit at the hospital for the children, who had never met a tamed tiger before and he was patient as much as he was calm, never raising a paw to hurt anyone despite the ice cream drops, the fur pulls, the yelling and screaming.

Like he was a wise old man underneath all that fur.

Kali was also close to Kari, considering they seemed to have been through similar tragedies. The two walked a lot together talking. It finally seemed as if things were becoming stable for the former X-Man and massacre survivor. She was finally enjoying life and felt everything was falling in place.

A year later however, everything changed.

It wasn't long after the marriage that she discovered that someone was tracking her. She frowned a moment sitting in her office at the hospital feeling a bit unnerved. She pushed her hair back a moment and resumed her work as she suddenly summoned her guard, only to find he wasn't there. "That's odd," she mumbled as she stood and looked outside the door only to hear a scream. She ran fast toward it as her eyes widened.

Sound's troops had suddenly entered the hospital. What people they didn't take hostage, they were killing.

Kali moved to her office fast and locked the door barricading it as she opened the window. She looked at Kamara. "We gotta get to Gaara," she whispered as he nodded. He jumped out landing in a tree as she joined him, the two sitting there a moment as she saw two Sound nins waiting patiently.

Her claws shot out as she lunged down and slammed them through their chests killing them instantly. She sheaved her claws and threw two kunai at two waiting in the shadows seeing them drop. She stood up and looked at Kamara. "Run to Konoha…if anyone can get there, you can! GO!"

The tiger wasted no time rushing off. She watched him making sure he was safely away before she began to run, dodging an explosive tag as she rolled away at the explosion. She looked up seeing a figure emerge from the smoke. It was female, a bit younger than her. Her wild hair was black and hung in corkscrew curls as her crystal blue eyes lifted up as she walked, holding two guns.

"The survivor of the massacre," she said speaking with a heavily German accent.

"So, it seems I ain't the only foreigner around here," Kali said as her claws shot out. "Lemme guess…Germany? No…Romania. Only fittin' for a werewolf."

"Ah, so you know what I am," the girl said. She stated it, not questioning it.

"I know who ya are," Kali corrected. "Orochimaru's lil' pet. Anya Helsing, the only daughter of the infamous Van Helsing."

Anya smirked at this as she pushed her hair back. "My name precedes me," she said. "As does yours, Kalista Logan. How about it? After all, I'm not to let you out of my sight."

"I ain't interested in bein' a dog, thank ya," Kali said.

Anya twitched at that. Aha, she hit a nerve. She moved for her gun when a hand whipped out and stopped her.

"No," a male voice said as Sasuke Uchiha appeared. "She's not who we're after." He locked eyes with Kali.

Kali's throat went dry. Brother… She was about to take the opportunity to move when she saw the tip of Sasuke's blade at her throat. She looked at this and looked at him almost daring him to stab her.

Anya looked at this. She looked at Sasuke. "Master, why not her?" she whispered.

"I'll handle her, get back to your post," Sasuke growled as Anya left. He then resumed his hold on Kali.

"Brother…why?" Kali whispered.

"I need you alive to deliver a message to Yasha," he said softly. He didn't lower his blade and she didn't sheave her claws. "Tell her…that I will return soon. That my mission is nearly complete. And that I love her."

"Kinda hard to deliver a message with your sword pointed at me," she responded. Yet her blue eyes met his charcoal black ones as they said what she couldn't: she would deliver his message. But an explosion caught them both off guard as they looked toward the Kazekage tower. "Gaara!" she gasped and ran like crazy toward it forgetting Sasuke.

When Kali ran in, she saw Orochimaru as she skidded to a stop. She now had a gun pointed at her head as Anya had made it to his side. She smirked holding her back. Orochimaru smiled at her and looked at Gaara as the two resumed their battle. Kali could see the holes blown in the floor were making the area a bit shaky as she twisted Anya's arm kicking the gun away from her as the two began to fight as well.

Another explosion caused the floor to fall beneath them sending all four down hard.

Anya grunted and looked seeing Kali unconscious nearby the desk having landed on her. She picked up her fallen gun as she walked to her. She cocked the pistol pointing it at her head. Just then, Gaara ran up and shielded her with his body. "I won't let you touch her, werewolf," he growled.

Anya frowned at this. She felt her Cursed Mark burn, meaning she knew what to do. She raised her gun at Gaara's head before the sand had a chance to gather and pulled the trigger.

The wound on Kali's head healed slowly on it's own, thanks to her genes. Within a couple hours, she found herself laying in a bed in the makeshift hospital. She shot up and winced immediately regretting that as a wave of nausea hit her. She put a hand to her head and slowly stood up as she looked around at the devastation.

Yet it didn't prepare her for what was to come.

Kali walked to the remains of the tower seeing Kankuro, Temari, and Kari there. She looked confused when Kari pulled her into a tearful hug. She returned the hug and looked at Kankuro. "What's happened?" she asked.

Kankuro sighed lowering his head as he looked at the Kazekage hat in his hands. He didn't have to speak. Kali's heart clenched tightly. "This…this is a joke, right?" she asked shakily. "I mean, a very poor played joke, but…" Her voice trailed off when she saw Kari shake her head.

"It's no joke," the mermaid whispered. And that was all Kali remembered when her knees buckled underneath her. Her life crashing down once more, but what seemed worse. She couldn't hear them calling her name, her mind blank. She couldn't feel them carry her back to the tent.

She couldn't feel her husband's touch, or his embrace. He died to protect her.

Again, she lost someone she loved.

The funeral was held once those from Konoha could arrive. Kari had dressed Kali in the traditional black kimono and added a small white flower behind her ear. Even the mermaid had let go of the bikini to wear the same. Kamara stood at his master's side as she was led out of the room with some help.

Alison looked at Kali and walked to her as she held her close. "She is still in shock?" she asked.

Temari nodded. "She hasn't come out of it," she said. "I think it stems from even losing her father too."

Itachi nodded. He took Kali's hands in his a moment feeling her lean heavily on him. He held her close as he turned and looked at Sasori a moment nodding his head.

The red headed man nodded and moved as he walked to what seemed to be a carrier. Kamara's ears perked up as he looked seeing what looked like a big brown raccoon dog in the former puppet man's hands. Sasori handed the animal to Yasha as it curled around her a bit. She walked to Kankuro with it.

As Kamara watched, it became clear what or who it was: it was Shukaku.

Yasha looked at Kankuro. "The Akatsuki wants to present Kali with Shukaku," she explained. "It took some time, but he has his animal form back so that he can no longer be a jinjuriki, but along with Kamara, one of her companions and protectors." The small dog hanyou handed him over to Gaara's older brother.

Kankuro held him nodding. "Thank you," he said. He put a hand on her head gently and watched her retreat back to Itachi. "Will you be taking Kali with you?"

Itachi looked at him. "Let her stay here a couple days," he said. "Once we get her room set up, we'll come for her. She's still too much in shock to travel." He looked down at the mourning eighteen-year-old, who's eyes were directly on her husband's gravestone. "Let her mourn." He led the others off for now to give Kali time alone at the gravesite.

It would be the action that would change history.

Kali knelt at the grave well into the night staring at it. She slowly extended a hand and touched the cool stone as tears slid down her cheeks. She bowed her head as the smell of incense filled her nose. Yet a cool wind blew as the flames in the lanterns nearby flickered as a shadow loomed over the new widow.

"You mourn for this new life passed," a male said as he approached bowing politely.

"He…was my husband," she whispered her voice as broken as her heart.

She heard the male sit behind her as he took her into his arms in a comforting embrace. He pushed back her hair a moment. "Know he's in a better place," he whispered against her skin causing her to shiver. He felt so cold. "As soon you will be," he concluded.

A searing hot pain went through Kali's body as she gasped her eyes wide. He had bitten her, being a vampire. That would explain why he was so cold! Yet she felt something inside her shatter as well, not knowing it was the seal that held her shinigami power and her true self at bay. A loud banshee type scream ripped out of her throat as she struggled within his strong grasp.

Her hands suddenly lit up with pure light, something that had never happened before as she slammed them into his chest seeing ash in his wake.

Kali gripped her neck as she clawed at it in pain as she winced struggling forward. She gave a strangled cry as she fell to the ground curled in a fetal position. Her eyes struggled to focus on Gaara's headstone as her vision became blurry and she slowly reached out.

Before darkness came and wiped her mind clean…of everything.