The room was dark and prison-like, lit by a small ceiling lamp and no windows. The man in front of me was tall and dressed in a black robe, with blonde hair that covered half his face. His wide grin was slightly sadistic and he chuckled at my shocked expression.

Immediately, my body tried to pose a fighting stance, as when I practiced with Gaara back home. But my arms were bound above me, and my feet were chained to the floor. I could only move a few inches before I was pulled back by the chains against a cold wall.

Now the man laughed again, throwing his head back a bit so I could see the left side of his face. Where his eye should be, there appeared to be a mechanical device, some sort of camera. He held the key out to tap my forehead. "You're not going anywhere, girl, I've made sure of that, yeah. It took us long enough to catch you, so you stay. Got it?"

Us? "Who are you? What's going on?"

"We have no medic with us currently, so I've gotta make sure you're not injured."

I paused to stare incredulously at this man. What, did he care about my health after kidnapping me?

"I- I'm not hurt." I didn't see the point in lying.

"Wonderful." His plastered grin was starting to bother me. The man didn't say another word, but tucked the key inside his robes and turned to leave.

"Wait!" I called, "Where am I? Who are you?"

He continued walking and grabbed the door handle, pulling the wooden door behind him.

"Hey, I have I right to know where I am!"

He stopped in the doorway and looked back. "Just think of this cell as your new home. You're deep down one of the lairs of the Akatsuki, and you can plan on a long stay. Just make yourself comfortable, yeah." He laughed and slammed the door behind him, leaving the room silent and me alone to think in my chains in the dim light.

Wait. What the hell is Akatsuki?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hours later, I had not thought of a single thing to do to help my situation. My weapons had all been removed, not that I could reach them anyway. I almost anticipated someone, anyone, coming to fill me in on what was happening. I knew I had been kidnapped by more than one person, most likely some organized group called Akatsuki. I didn't know what they wanted, but at least they seemed to want me alive and healthy, so that couldn't be a bad thing. Right?

I heard voices from beyond the door that seemed to come closer. It sounded like two men.

"So why do we have to keep her alive?" A younger voice asked.

I heard a sigh from the man from earlier. "I've told you that, Tobi, if he thinks she's dead there's a chance he may not come. And that would mean what?"

"That we failed in capturing your Jinchuuri," he replied happily, "You know, Deidara, it's really too bad that you couldn't capture yours as easily as I did – ow!"

"Ihelped you catch the Sanbi, baka, so don't get cocky about it," he snapped.

The door was pushed open and two figures entered the room. One was Deidara, the man from before, and the other . . . something was wrong with his face. I couldn't really see in the dim light.

"Ah, she's cute, Deidara! I see why you didn't kill her!"

Deidara smacked him on the head. "Don't think like that, Tobi, you said you wanted to see her, so here she is, yeah." Apparently the blonde was in a worse mood when around this younger guy Tobi.

Tobi stepped near me, and in the light I could see he wore an odd orange mask with only one eye hole. Was he disfigured underneath it?

He inspected my face, and I made sure to glare back defiantly, hoping my fear didn't show through. After a minute, I looked back at Deidara in frustration.

"What do you want with me?" I shouted.

He grinned and shook his head. "There's no point in telling you, sweetie. Oh yeah, here's your dinner." He tossed a brown bag at my feet, and I stared at it helplessly. How could I be hungry at a time like this?

"Hey Deidara, let me play with her!"

"Get the hell away from me!" I freaked out. Who knows what these men were capable of? And I had a bit of experience in this sort of thing; Apparently Yura wasn't the only perverted criminal out there.

Both men laughed. "You're in no position to argue," Deidara said, "Tobi, you know Leader warns again that sort of thing, yeah. C'mon."

"Okay, Boss, but she's awfully cute to go to waste- Ow!" another smack from Deidara.

They turned to leave, and I was suddenly frantic to get more information. "Wait! Why do you have me here?" They ignored me.

Idea. "How can I eat with my arms tied?" Deidara halted and looked thoughtful.

"Well," he walked over to me and pulled the key out of his pocket. I held my breath, waiting for him to release me so I could attack. He reached above me and slowly clicked the key through one lock, freeing my arms. Stabs of pain flooded through them from being in one position too long, and before I regained control of them Deidara had backed away.

So much for that amazing plan. What did I expect to do anyway, punch him to death? Maybe I could pull his hair before he decided to kill me.

I rolled my shoulders and moaned in pain as the cramps in my arms loosened.

Tobi laughed and I shot him a glare before rubbing my wrists, where the cuffs had left bruises.

"Let's go, yeah. We gotta finish setting the traps."

"Fine, fine!" They shut the door behind them, and I could hear their conversation as they walked away.

"Hey Boss, after we capture your demon, can I play with her then? I promise I won't spoil her – please please?"

"Fine, Tobi. You can do what you like with her after the demon is withdrawn and the host is dead. But if Leader wants her dead, I don't want to hear any complaints . . ." They left earshot and I shivered. I had to escape, before that Tobi person returned. But what was that demon business? They were withdrawing a demon from a host they would kill. . . they wanted me alive until he . . . Oh, shit. Gaara. They wanted Gaara and they took me as bait.

I fell to my knees with a sharp thud. What could I do? I couldn't let them get him. If he got hurt because of me . . . My eyes filled with tears as I imagined what would happen if they took Gaara from me. I needed him there; I thought he would always be around to protect me and love me.

"No . . ." I whispered to myself, dropping my head in my hands. The tears ran down unyielding as I realized how helpless I really was. What a waste of time it was to marry me. If not for me, Gaara would not be threatened like this. He didn't deserve this, didn't deserve someone as helpless as I was. All that training gone to waste . . .

x

A memory flashed into my mind. It was a sunny afternoon in the Wind, and Temari and I were sitting outside after a spar. Well, a spar which included her going incredibly easy on me as I tried to wield my kunai without nicking myself in the process.

I had sat down, exhausted yet exhilarated from the fight. Temari stood near me, seeming to be off in thought.

"Seluni," she said, "I want to talk with you about that Drift incident." I nodded, watching her face as she looked at the sky. We hadn't brought the topic up since it happened.

"I do remember most of it, but something has been bothering me. When I was being tortured by Yura . . . Something happened and I'm not sure what to think of it. Maybe I just imagined it."

I remained silent, thinking I knew where this was going.

"There was a moment when I could swear your eyes lit up red. Your face changed, and it freaked him out." She looked back down at me. "Do you remember that? What happened then?"

It was my turn to look at the sky now, examining the clouds as I remembered Kakashi's words: 'If anyone found out, you and I are likely to be killed'.

"I have no idea." I turned to my sister-in-law, my friend, and lied, "I don't remember that at all. You were probably just imagining it, which is understandable considering the situation." I'm sorry, Temari, I thought. I didn't want to lie to her, but I had to. For mine and Kakashi's sake.

x

I snapped back to reality. What had brought up that memory? I knew something had happened, I remembered how I saw everything differently for a few moments. I may have even seen their chakras before Yura hurt Temari until I stopped.

But what would have happened if it didn't stop? My eyes had glowed red, my face had changed, but why? My head hurt trying to figure it all out.

I rolled off my knees and looked at the chains on my ankles. They were cuffed and connected by one simple lock. These chains would never hold a real ninja captive. I'm not a ninja. So what do I do?

I passed the time by picking at the measly scraps of food given to me, and fidgeting periodically, as if the chains would somehow loosen. I don't know how long I was down there. Another few hours, at least, before I began to doze off. I was woken by a loud BOOM from above me, like thunder. There were shouts from a few different people, and many more explosive noises.

Was he here? Would he make it? I stood up and waited anxiously until the noise ceased. The fight, if that's what it was, only took about ten minutes.

I heard someone running down the hallway towards my door. No, it wasn't a person, was it - ?

A bang on the door, and a scratching noise. The doorknob turned and in jumped Toboe, barking to me and licking my face ferociously.

I pulled him off and realized he was wet with dark blood. My hands and clothes were now coated in it. Immediately I checked him for cuts, and finding none, I became more worried.

I buried my face in his soft fur, my tears mixing with the red stains. "Whose blood is this, Toboe?" I cried, "Is Gaara here? Is it his blood?"

The pup pulled away and licked my face, catching the tears. I felt like he had answered yes, and was trying to console me.

"No, he can't die . . ." Toboe trotted to the door and picked up something he had dropped on the threshold. He dropped it into my lap, and looking at it, I began sobbing. It was a Sand hitae-ate, splattered in blood. The pup looked watched me as I cried, knowing that it was Gaara's forehead protector, and knowing he must have been killed.

"Toboe, please," I clung to his fur, "I don't know if you can understand me, but please help me get out. I have to see him; I have to make sure he's alive . . ." He barked and ran off, leaving me alone again to cry.

Not five minutes later he returned, proudly carrying something else in his jaws. It wasn't a key, but a senbon, and he dropped it at my feet.

Still sniffling, I hugged the wolf pup and picked up the needle. Not really knowing what I was doing, I stuck it in the lock and fiddled with it, until it clicked open.

I stood up and let the blood rush back into my feet. Still feeling the aches in my legs, I picked up Gaara's hitae-ate and took off out of the room into a dark stone hallway, lit only by more ceiling lamps every few yards. Toboe barked and ran ahead of me, leading me down several turns and up a set of stairs until we reached a large chamber, the air thick with risen dust. I stopped at the threshold and looked around.

The room was windowless and carved in stone – just how far down were we? – And at several locations the walls seemed to have broken off and lay in large piles of boulders. That must have been the thunder-like noise I heard earlier.

I ran down across the floor, until I spotted two figures standing amid the rubble. They both turned to me in shock.

"How the hell did you get out?!" Deidara roared. I could see he was sweaty and exhausted, and his hair was a mess. His right eye was furious, and his camera for an eye was exposed.

Tobi laughed through his mask, but I could tell he was panting. "Look, there's that mutt. I told you we should have chased it. But no, you said don't bother with his pet."

Toboe had stopped beside me, giving me courage. I gripped

"Where is he? What have you done with Gaara?"

Tobi looked over at Deidara, who reached down in the rubble at his feet. He pulled up something heavy, and tossed it down so I could see.

I gasped, covering my mouth and the tears swelled up again. It was Gaara. Gaara's body. His calm, expressionless face was splashed in blood, and I could clearly see cuts beneath his torn clothes.

I couldn't see him breathing and I felt nauseous, falling to my hands and knees. Gaara, my husband, my love, who protected me and taught me and believed I was worthwhile . . . was dead.

"Are you upset at losing that demon, girl?" Tobi prodded, "It was my idea, you know, to send that letter to get you here. Luckily enough, you were gullible enough to fall for it."

"The- the letter? That was you?"

"We know all about your little secret, yeah," Deidara smirked, "But there's not much reason to keep it a secret now, is there?" He kicked Gaara's side, sending his body forward a few feet.

Both men laughed as I shook in agony. Laugh? How dare they! These men took me as bait! They took Gaara away from me! He must have come here to save me and they – they -

I felt the anger bubbling furiously inside me as I stared at the ground, not even seeing straight in my fury. The pain of his loss swept over me. I would kill them for what they did. Both of them deserve to die. Gaara didn't, and I would avenge him, if it cost me my life.

I looked up at the two men before me, and I saw their figures laced in that bluish purple glow. It's happened again. I could see their chakra building, see their hearts beating faster, see their eyes wide and their mouths open as they witnessed whatever was happening to me. I felt an immediate reaction to stop the power rising, but I pushed that aside and I let it take control. I lost the part of me that held back. I knew I could kill. And the time was now.

xxxxxxxxxx

No... only a few more chapters to go. Im so happy i could get this one out sooner than i thought!

I hope you liked it - read and review as always, i really love reading your comments and ideas!

Love from Hoffnung Fliegt!