A/N: This chappy was kinda hard to write, but I tried to tie in the actual anime events to coincide with the story :) Enjoy!

Six months passed in a blur. Emi had been nominated and chosen to participate in the jonin exams which she had passed and Gaara had been elected as Kazekage. Apparently seeing him distraught over Emi's wellbeing after she was injured, Suna began to see him in a new light. Temari was frequenting trips to Konoha to assist in the chunin exams, Kankuro and Emi staying in Suna to help Gaara with his duties.

With Kankuro's charisma, he was chosen to help at the Academy, training the next generation of Suna nin. Emi had requested to stay assigned to Gaara, a move that made Temari and Kankuro smile softly behind their hands. She had been assigned to help organise the new defences with Baki but was more or less the jonin presence for the Kazekage. Even though he was more than capable of handling himself, the council still insisted he have a 'bodyguard.' They were a little surprise when Emi's name was put forth but after her bloodline limit was assessed, they deemed her best choice. Emi and Gaara had kept their relationship private to the degree that almost no one knew about it. Temari and Kankuro had long suspected that they were something more, but neither Emi nor Gaara would tell.

They weren't ashamed of each other, but they weren't ready to announce their relationship to the world just yet.

It was late one afternoon as Emi trudged up the stairs of the Kazekage tower, balancing a stack of papers for Gaara to sign. She was one of the only ones who stayed behind to help with paper work, enjoying the silent company since their star gazing had been put on hiatus due to his promotion. In six short months, he had displayed outstanding loyalty to Suna and the people and they had come to love him dearly. Each Suna nin would gladly lay down their lives for their Kazekage. Emi was no exception.

As she approached the door to Gaara's office, she gave a series of soft knocks and entered, closing the door behind her. He knew it was her at this time of day. Everyone else had gone home.

Plopping the stack of paper on the corner of his desk, Emi straightened, her back popping a little. As usual he was still reading and signing but Emi knew he knew she was there. Taking a seat opposite him, she began to shuffle through the stack of papers, sorting them into piles from urgent to not so urgent. She grimaced as she glanced over a few new trade route propositions with the Land of Rivers. Ever since Yumi married into Suna, it seemed that Rivers wanted nothing more than to open up a highway from their capitol to Suna.

They had been relentless, but now it was bordering on ridiculous.

Emi had been so engrossed with her sorting she hadn't realised that Gaara had finished signing his stack of papers and had risen to stand behind her, looking over her shoulder as she worked.

Emi felt a stray lock of hair being brushed off her shoulder, the slight touch making her shiver. Gaara rarely touched anyone, and rarely let anyone touch him in turn but he was learning, accepting that not everyone who wished to be near him wanted to harm him.

He, Temari and Kankuro had gotten closer as siblings, the love evident in private and affection in public although they were still trying to find their way around it after so long of being emotionally detached.

Emi slumped back in her chair and tilted her head back, a familiar tuft of red hair and azure eyes staring back at her. She gave him a small smile before rising and turning to face him, her hand stroking from elbow to forearm, stopping just short of his hand.

"Do you need any more help with the paperwork?" Emi asked as Gaara shifted his hand to clasp hers gently. One step at a time. He shook his head.

"No. I shouldn't be too much longer."

Emi nodded before reaching her free hand up to cup his cheek and leaning in to kiss him. Private moments between them were treasured and perfect, his hesitation still present but almost completely gone. She drew back and gave his hand a gentle squeeze before heading out the door, leaving him to do his duty as Kazekage.

Emi nodded at familiar faces as she let the Kazekage tower, lazily making the long trip back home. No one dared call her a freak anymore, her mother and step-father having been banished from Suna since their shady dealings were exposed a few months ago.

She was almost home when the alarm sounded, making her freeze in her tracks. It had been a casual day today so she hadn't donned any of her weapons. Cursing herself, Emi sprinted home and broke down the door, darting up the stairs to her room. Strapping on her chain sickle, rope javelin and katana, her weapons pouches tied securely to her thighs, Emi flung her balcony door open and grasped the edge of the roof, flipping herself up onto the tiles as she sped back towards the centre of Suna where the Kazekage tower was.

She mentally cursed the distance between the tower and her home.

People were exiting their homes to see what the commotion was, confusion on their faces as Emi sped by, chakra fuelling her mad dash to get back to the tower.

"Report!" Emi barked as she passed a few Suna jonin. The fell into step beside her.

"Aerial attack! The Kazekage has engaged them in the sky!"

Emi felt her heart sink but she shook herself free of emotions. Suna was under attack and she had a duty to keep the walls secure.

"I want squads guarding the assigned posts along the walls! Get every genin that you can see to keep the civilians back from the centre of the village and the chunin to assist where possible!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Emi leapt the expanse of three buildings with a well-placed chakra launch, a trail of white light following her. Small explosions drew her gaze upwards. Sure enough, there was Gaara on a platform of sand, tendrils snaking out to try and capture what looked like a giant white bird. Every now and then, small white objects would break off and explode, scattering sand towards the earth.

With an almighty leap, Emi was airborne for a few seconds before she came skidding to a halt in front if Baki and Kankuro on the Kazekage tower rooftop.

"What's happening?" she asked, turning her gaze back to the fight high above the village.

"Sentries were assassinated and Gaara has engaged the intruder. There's someone riding that thing, releasing explosives. It's the Akatsuki," Baki rushed. Emi clenched her jaw and moved to stand tensely beside the puppeteer whose gaze was following his younger brother as raptly as Emi's was.

She cursed herself. If she hadn't left, she would have been able to help Gaara. She shouldn't have left!

She managed to make out a shock of blonde hair and a red and black cloak on top of the strange white bird as it flew through the air dodging whips of sand.

A shift in the air, a strong pulse of chakra put Emi on edge. Gaara had called upon the Shukaku's chakra to help him. Sure enough, a giant sand paw was soon swiping and clenching, trying to catch what seemed like a fly in comparison to size.

Emi felt her heart leap when one of Gaara's sand tendrils managed to wrap around the intruder's arm and clench. A cry of victory went up, but Emi's smile soon faltered.

"Why isn't he leaving?" she muttered.

Kankuro shot her a quick sidelong glance. "What do you mean?"

"His arm is shredded, so why isn't he leaving? No ninja in their right mind would stay to confront Gaara and his sand with just one arm."

Kankuro frowned as Emi concluded. "This isn't over yet."

She vaguely heard Baki yelling out orders to various jonin behind her but she paid no attention, keeping her eyes on the man on the white bird currently terrorising Suna.

Her eyes widened in horror as she saw a single drop of white fall from the bird, a small puff of smoke and some chakra making it balloon exponentially in size. She paled. If the ninja specialised in explosives, then one of that size would wipe Suna off the map. As it began to drop, Emi leapt off the roof, heading towards where the epicentre would most likely be. She felt as if everything was in slow motion. Sand erupted from outside of the walls to rush and cover Suna, Emi leaping onto the tallest building she could find, tiles shattering beneath her feet as she launched herself higher.

The bomb made contact with Gaara's last minute sand shield, the explosion deafening and blinding. Calling on her bloodline limit, Emi leapt forward into the searing heat, sucking the dirty light into her body until she felt herself almost burning from it. The sheer power of the bomb was incredible, Gaara's sand shield protecting the people from the blast but not the blinding light. That's where Emi came in.

Dust whipped into a frenzy as Emi collapsed onto the roof, her body harnessing so much light she would surely burst if she didn't release it soon. Through blurred vision, she lifted her head to see Gaara in a semi-sphere of sand. She knew he would most likely be exhausted after using so much chakra. She watched with a sense of awe and pride as he used what little amount he had left to lift the tonnes of sand away from the village to sink harmlessly back into the desert. Below her, citizens shouted praise and support for their brave Kazekage. A flutter of white had Emi's heart stopping as another smaller explosion detonated just outside of Gaara's sand sphere. Sand rushed to cover up the exposed area in time and Emi let out a sigh of relief before clutching her sides. She needed to get rid of this light.

She fixed her gaze on the floating white bird, its rider perched on its back. Taking careful aim with trembling fingers, Emi let the light soar and pulse from her fingertips in a solid, burning beam lighting the area around her.

She saw the explosive nin whip his head in shock before dropping into a plummet to avoid her attack. Her beam faltered and Emi saw the nin look her way and smirk. The light gradually slowed to a trickle until Emi felt completely drained; it had only lasted seconds but it felt like a life time. Emi growled low in her throat and stood on shaky legs, ignoring the pain shooting through her body. She felt like she was on fire, her chakra reserves low after harnessing and dispelling so much light. She looked up at Gaara who was now cocooned in a sphere of sand. She let out a sigh of relief. At least he was safe.

"Emi! Are you okay?" one jonin asked as he joined her on the roof. Emi had just opened her mouth when Gaara's sphere warped, the dull boom of an explosion ringing into the night. Emi swore she stopped breathing as she watched sand slowly fall away from the sphere above them until Gaara was exposed, his body slumped and unconscious. He began to fall. A horrified cry rang out and she was almost certain it was hers. The explosives nin swooped down and wrapped Gaara's unconscious form tightly in the birds tail, giving her a cocky salute as he took off towards the front gates. They were never after the destruction of Suna, they were after Gaara.

"Oh no."

Inside his sand sphere, Gaara's lungs heaved with effort. He had expended too much chakra trying to move the large sand shield away from the village. Before the bomb made contact with the solidified sand, he saw Emi leap towards it. His heart stopped in fear for her, but he trusted her to know what she was doing. She loved Suna as much as he did and wanted to keep it safe, no matter what.

A soft rustling made him pause and look around his sphere. What was that noise?
Before him, small flecks of white crawled and burrowed through his sand, pausing only once they were inside his shield. His eyes widened as they began to shiver.

Before the explosion, Gaara closed his eyes, Emi's beautiful smiling face the last thing he focused on before everything went black.

Emi tried to pursue the Akatsuki, but she was too weak. Her legs trembled as she tried to support her own body weight, shooing off a few ninja who had come to check on her. To her shame, she fell to her knees in front of them. She watched in frustration as Kankuro leapt over their heads, a few Suna jonin joining him as he sped towards the front gate.

She should be going with them, she had to help get Gaara back.

A firm hand on her shoulder stopped her before she could take a single step. Emi grit her teeth and turned her head, trying to shake the hand free.

"Let go of me, Baki. I'm going with Kankuro," she bit out.

Baki shook his head. "You are staying here. You've wasted too much chakra. You'll be a liability."

Emi clenched and unclenched her fists, her gaze suddenly captivated by her feet. He was right, and she knew it. She would slow any pursuit down. After a few tense moments she gave a stiff nod, not meeting anyone's eyes. Satisfied, Baki released her and took off for the gates. Once he was gone, Emi felt all the adrenalin from the fight suddenly rush from her and she started to sway.

"Shit," she mumbled before her legs gave way. A pair of unknown, strong arms caught her bridal style and leapt off the building to sprint towards the hospital.

The wind caressed Emi's skin as she gazed at the world flashing by above her, the stars twinkling against inky black before she closed her eyes and slipped into unconsciousness. Gaara's face bathed in moonlight was the last thing she saw in her mind's eye.