Spirited Away: Wind and Sand

Notes: Sorry this took so long to post. I was done with two thirds of this chapter when some personal problems came up in my life, some very serious ones. I also started school on top of that so I got a little behind and I think this chapter may be a little strange. If it is written strange please tell me in a review, I went back and edited and rewrote some parts and at some point I couldn't read any of it without thinking something was wrong with it so I just left it as it was. On the other hand I am glad that I got this one posted, I can reassure you that I am not giving up on this story since I have it all planned out anyway, all I have to do is write it out. Well, actually writing it out takes a lot of time to do but at least I have the outline done. Thanks to all for reading so far and hope you enjoy this chapter!

Special Thanks: Thanks to pitifuldreamer666 for telling me that what I was writing was interesting. It's nice to know that I haven't made something that gets boring from the start.

Thanks to Narutard for reviewing, and don't worry, it won't be abandoned.

Thanks to Nekomata for reviewing, I hope when the new group/enemy is fully introduced that you will like them.

Thanks to misaai for reading my notes and commenting on my concerns, that really helped.

Thanks to everyone that favorited and alerted my story, so far this story has the most out of all of my previous stories and in a very short time. Thank you all!

Chapter 4: Lightning Strikes!

A messenger bird was sent out to Kumo when we told the Hokage about the vision. Although relations had become a lot better between the five great ninja villages they still didn't become completely allied after the war against Mandara. We didn't know if they would cooperate fully with us. I had a funny feeling deep inside that I should go to Kumo, in a way it felt like a magnetic attraction in that direction. In order to go to Kumo we needed the permission of the Raikage and to ask him if they had seen anything or anyone strange like me.

Tsunade had called the thing between Gaara and I, a bond. Nobody or any sensor could find any connection between us whether through chakra or any other means. Although the bond between us was only a theory I believed to be true since Gaara also had that magnetic need to go to Kumo. I could also tell that Temari was concerned about this connection since she sort of threatened me about harming Gaara. Even though being threatened by Temari was scary, it really showed how much she loved her brother.

I felt bad about the connection already though. I didn't know if I made it or not but I knew I didn't do anything consciously to make it. I suppose it wasn't harming either of us. For the most part the connection was unnoticeable since it's not like we could read each other's minds or anything.

I also felt bad about the destruction I had caused. I saw the site where I had supposedly let loose. I didn't remember it but I still said I was sorry to the Hokage. Everyone simply brushed off my apologies. Apparently they were use to these kinds of things. It was also great that no one got seriously hurt.

The other two Sand ninjas that came with us to Konoha were sent back to Suna with the news of the events and to inform the village that the Kazekage would be gone longer than expected. Because of all the suspicion caused by Kimori: Temari, Kankuro or Gaara were always with me. Sometimes they were with me all at once. Needless to say there was not much privacy. We all ended up sleeping in the same room since I couldn't be left alone. It's not very peaceful sleeping in the same room as an insomniac, a snorer and a girl who was upset with me because I was the reason she had to share her room.

Temari had thrown pillows and things at Kankuro to stop his snoring and a small spat would break out. Eventually they finally fell asleep and it was silent, but no matter how many times I closed my eyes I couldn't sleep.

I sighed then opened my eyes to look around the room. Kankuro was sprawled across his bed snoring again. Temari was sleeping on her side facing away from me, and Gaara was sitting on top of his covers awake. He was staring at the window where the moonlight was pouring in. I wondered what he was thinking about?

"Gaara," I sat up in bed as he turned to me, "aren't you tired?"

"No," he answered, "Aren't you?"

"I just can't sleep, I keep thinking about that person," I could see the slitted pupils in my mind and shivered.

After some silence between us I asked, "You suffer from insomnia right Gaara?"

"Yes," he responded simply.

"But you don't have the Shukaku anymore, or are you just used to not sleeping?" even though it was dark I saw his expression change to surprise.

"You know about the Shukaku?" he asked.

Oh no, I didn't want to bring this up with him. I really had been avoiding things about his past since I got here. Me and my big mouth.

"Ah, well," I tried to think nervously, "I actually know a lot of things about your past. I mean, I know a lot of things about this world in general."

I thought I really made this moment awkward until he looked away and said, "I am used to being awake."

"Oh," I was confused but I realized he answered my earlier question, "but you do sleep right?"

He looked back at me, "Yes, I do."

"Well," I shifted in bed so I was sitting on my legs, "since we are both awake, you want to do something?"

"What do you have in mind?" he didn't move at all.

"Come over here," I smiled as I got up and then sat in the moonlight.

He hesitantly got up as well then walked over to me. I patted the floor opposite me. He sat down with the moonlight shining on the floor between us.

"In elementary school I used to play a game with my friends, it was a game used to read the other person's mind," he just stared at me with his level expression.

"In order to do this you have to hold out your hands palms up okay," I told him.

I didn't know if he would do it but he was actually cooperative with me and held out both hands in the moonlight.

I smiled as I slid a finger gently over both palms, "Which one tingled the longest?"

He lifted his right hand and I took it and then did the same thing with each of his fingers, "Okay, same question."

"This one," he flicked his index finger.

I then continued and dug a nail into each of the three sections on his finger, "Which on hurt the longest?"

"The last one," he said which was the top of his finger.

I then pressed down on this part of his finger tightly, "Now close your eyes and think of anything, but make sure to picture it clearly in your mind."

He closed his eyes and I waited a while then let go. An image flashed in red quickly against white then went back to normal.

I blinked in surprise, "Oh wow."

He opened his eyes to see what I was so surprised about.

"I saw the symbol on your forehead," I said looking at the character above his left eye.

He looked down at his hand then back up to me. I couldn't tell if he was surprised by this or not.

"What were you thinking about?" I asked curiously.

"I thought it was suppose to read my mind," he answered.

"Well it isn't perfect but at least I know that it has something to do with the symbol on your forehead," I told him.

"I don't think this trick works," he said.

"Well if you told me what you were thinking about maybe it would make sense," I encouraged an answer from him.

After some time he said, "I couldn't think of one thing."

I sighed, "Oh well, I'm feeling kind of tired now."

I got up and so did he. It actually seemed awkward that he stood at the same time.

"Thanks for playing that game with me. Goodnight, I hope you get at least some rest," I smiled at him before going back to bed.

For some reason this moment seemed a lot more awkward than it should be. I laid in bed and pulled the covers over my head. What was he thinking about? If it wasn't clear it wouldn't have shown up at all. So did he lie to me? Why did he avoid the question? All the questions in my mind proved to be the narcoleptic I needed to finally fall asleep.

Gaara watched as her breathing became more shallow and level. He knew she had fallen asleep at that point. He then looked over at the moonlight again. Why had she seen that symbol? He couldn't possibly think of one thing. Did any of his thoughts have anything in common? Did they have something to do with the symbol?

He shuffled through his thoughts trying to find similarities when he realized something. He looked back over to Aura's sleeping form. They all had involved her. The recent disaster in Konoha, her training, the meals after training, the day she arrived in Suna; they all had one thing in common.

Aura shifted in her sleep. If she was the similarity in his thoughts then why did that symbol show up?

I woke up the next morning with a horrible feeling; it was like something extremely bad had happened. I brushed it off though thinking that it was just a bad dream that had awoken me. Temari had told me that day that I needed some kind of weapon. She considered my inability to concentrate my chakra and thought some kind of weapon would help. I ended up picking dual tonfa-style blades. They were relatively easy to hold and Temari thought they would be perfect for my element.

I was just going to start training with my new weapons when someone had come to find us. The person told us that the Hokage had gotten a message from Kumo this morning.

We had only gotten to Tsunade's office when she said, "There you are."

It seemed like she was overwhelmed at the moment, "We received a message from Kumo with some disturbing news."

"What is it?" Temari questioned urgently.

Tsunade was in front of her desk holding what I assumed to be the message.

"Kumo had been attacked by a person with odd lightening chakra," She said then looked at me, "Chakra similar to yours Aura."

"How were they attacked?" Kankuro questioned glancing over at me.

Tsunade gazed at everyone before answering, "Apparently this person had found his way into the village and tried to kill anyone he met with odd lightening chakra. Although Kumo's forces reacted quickly to the intrusion this person proved to be overwhelming. The Raikage's chakra was drained so he had tried to defeat him with pure physical strength. The enemy had fled after becoming seriously wounded although they haven't been able to track him down yet."

"So we can assume this guy is the lightening element," Kankuro commented sounding mad.

"It would seem that is so," Tsunade responded, "Although the Raikage is not the type to ask for help or share much information so I'm sure he will try to handle this on his own. Even this letter was written by one of his subordinates."

"So can we go there?" I asked.

The magnetic pull I had with Kumo was only getting worse.

Tsunade looked at me, "I'm not sure if your arrival will be welcomed."

"I'm sorry but I need to go there," I spoke up, "I have a desperate need to go. I'm not sure if it's because I am this element or something but I have to go meet this other person."

There was a long pause but I needed to stand firm on this.

"I also need to go to Kumo," Gaara said suddenly.

"Gaara?" Kankuro was surprise but Gaara kept staring at Tsunade.

"I need to know more about these elements," he said.

Tsunade's expression changed when looking at him. She then smiled and looked away, "I will inform Kumo that you will be on your way, but be wary on your journey. I can't promise you will get a warm welcome."

"Thank you," I said happily to her.

She smiled back, "Good luck."

We began to leave and I noticed how Temari and Kankuro looked at Gaara with curiosity and suspicion. I was also quite curious as well. Was it the bond that made him want to go as much as I did or was it something else?

We were preparing for the journey. I already had my new weapons on me but otherwise I just needed to gather my kunai and shuriken. As I packed I realized that ninjas really didn't take anything they didn't need. We were going to set out right away that afternoon. My time in Konoha had been short but I hoped I would be back again sometime. Hopefully I wouldn't destroy something the next time.

We reached the gates of the village when Kankuro stopped, "Are you sure about this Gaara?"

Everyone stopped suddenly.

Gaara turned to his brother, "Yes."

"How can we trust you?" He said accusingly.

"Kankuro," Temari said it as if she was restraining him.

"Oh come on, you have been thinking it too Temari," he looked at her and back to Gaara, "You have been acting weird since the incident during the exams. This connection between you and Aura could be a bad thing. Are you going to Kumo because you want to or because she does?"

Kankuro seemed deadly serious. There was a strange and deadly tension in the air. Gaara looked at his brother with intensity.

"I am going because Aura is my responsibility," he simply said.

"Because she is your student?" Kankuro questioned.

"Because she is a part of Suna," Gaara responded.

Kankuro seemed taken aback by this.

I really didn't understand what was going on between them. It must have been some sibling thing I didn't know of. I felt very out of place.

"Let's get moving, it's going to take a few days to get there," Temari broke up the strange silence.

"Right," Kankuro responded.

It seemed no one was paying attention to me at all as they all started walking forward. I didn't know what to think about what just happened. I'm a responsibility? I'm a part of Suna? I had no idea when that happened. I know I felt bad about being a responsibility though. All I was doing was causing trouble for these people. Was I even any help at all?

"Here?" Kankuro asked.

Gaara nodded to him then turned to me, "Aura."

Because I was lost in thought this caught me off guard, "Huh?"

Sand started to gather around me.

"We are going to take off. Hold on to the sand," Gaara told me.

I didn't know exactly what to do but I grabbed on to a stream of sand. It seemed like I had only just grabbed it before we began flying through the trees. It was really weird riding on sand but it was actually more comfortable than when I was with Kimori. Traveling was easy, at least I thought so. We didn't run into any difficulties and stopped near a river on our way there. They had said it was a good idea to take a break before we left the Land of Fire because we didn't know what we would encounter across the border. We would leave for the Land of Lightening tomorrow.

I sat by the river looking up at the colorful sky. Trees were densely packed together so I couldn't see the setting sun but I really liked the sound of the river. Kankuro was with me trying to catch fish while Gaara kept a look out and Temari gathered wood for a fire. It had been a while since I had camped out like this.

I looked over at Kankuro who seemed to be having a difficult time. I thought this was a perfect moment to get back at him for calling me an alien.

"You catch any dinner yet?" I yelled to him.

He seemed to get annoyed, "If you shout like that you'll scare them away."

"I don't know, I think maybe they're scared of all that make-up on your face," I replied.

He seemed to get tempered by that, "This isn't make-up, it's face paint."

"Well whatever you want to call it, it's still scaring the fish," I retorted.

He smirked, "If you think you can do better then I'd like to see you catch a fish."

There is no way I could turn this down. If I did then he would win and I needed to prove that I could be of help instead of problem. I walked over and took off my shoes before wading in the water. We glare at each other for a second before we both went silent waiting for a chance.

It was then I saw a fish come my way; I had to be careful and precise. I shot my hand into the water and pulled it out quickly again. I didn't even notice I had pulled the fish out with my hand but it didn't stay there long. I tried to get a good hold on it but it was impossible, it slipped out of my grip and went flying and hit Kankuro in face. He trashed about in surprise trying to get it off him, as he stumbled backward. It finally got off him as he lost his footing and fell into the water. I tried to dive and catch the fish before it hit the water but ended up splashing head first into the river. The fish got away.

Kankuro and I stood up again dripping wet. We stared at each other for a minute in silence before we started laughing. It was then I realized that it had been a while since I really laughed like that.

"What did you two try to do, drown the fish?" Temari said as we entered our campsite.

She had already got the fire going and Gaara was there with her as well.

"Why are you both wet?" she asked, as we got closer.

"Well someone thought she could do a better job," Kankuro hinted.

"What?" I glared at him, "I actually caught one."

"It got away so you can't really count that as catching one," he said.

We glared at each other.

Temari was un-amused, "So you didn't catch anything."

"Uh, well," we both turned sheepish.

She sighed and held up a string of fish she caught.

I could almost hear Kankuro twitch, "What? When did you—?"

"I knew you weren't going to catch anything. I don't know why you even volunteered to do it in the first place. You couldn't catch a fish if your life depended on it," she said as Kankuro was fuming.

"Oh yeah well you—achoo!" Kankuro interrupted himself with a big sneeze.

"Why don't you two dry off while I cook these," she suggested before she began the food preparations.

Kankuro and I got something to wrap around ourselves as we sat by the fire. Some of the brother-sister banter had gone on while the food was cooking too. I wanted to talk as well but I decided that it's best if I stay out of it. I glanced over at Gaara and saw that he was thinking about something so I didn't want to disturb him either. It was only after we ate that I finally got a chance to talk.

"So Aura," I perked up at the mention of my name.

"Where are you from exactly? What's it like there?" Kankuro asked.

"Oh well," it felt strange thinking about before I arrived here, "I came from a place called Farwood. I guess you could call it a small town. It was actually a lot like this area. We had a lot of forests and lakes. I guess you can say I lived in a place kind of like Konoha. Although most of the year is really cold and snowy"

"Ugh, snow," he seemed disgusted.

I just laughed. That's right, these people were from a desert.

"What about your family?" Temari asked.

Apparently Temari and even Gaara were looking at me with interest.

"Well I lived with my mom and dad, my older sister moved out with her boyfriend a few years ago," I answered.

Kankuro leaned over to toward me and said, "Aren't older sisters a pain?"

She glared at him and was about to say something when Gaara interrupted, "What about your friends?"

I was surprised to hear him ask but then smiled, "I had a few friends. If I think about, I've actually had them ever since I've started school."

He seemed satisfied by this answer and looked away.

"It really is strange to be in a place like this. I mean, we don't have anything like the ninjas here. These kinds of things only existed in a fictional world," I said staring at the fire in front of me.

It was a little weird talking about my past. It all felt like some kind of dream now. I even felt that I was a little spoiled when I looked back at the live I had compared to this one. Was that world the fictional one or was this place?

"I'm almost beginning to wonder if I even exist," I said to myself.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked over to see Kankuro smiling at me, "You don't need to talk like that, as long as you have us around we can bring you back to reality."

I smiled back at this comment. Maybe Kankuro wasn't so bad after all. I glanced over at Gaara who was staring at me. I couldn't exactly place the look he was giving me but he had looked away quickly.

Sleep came easily to me that night, probably because I didn't sleep well the night before. What I didn't expect was to wake up in the middle of the night fully awake. The fire had nearly gone out as the coals soft red glow was my only light. I sat up in my blankets and looked around. Kankuro had the covers over his head snoring more softly than the other night and Temari was sleeping normally. Gaara was sitting against a tree with his eyes closed. I watched him wondering if he was asleep.

"You're awake?" he opened his eyes and asked.

Well, maybe someday I would catch him sleeping.

"Yeah," I answered, "I think I'm a bit nervous about Kumo. I just have a bad feeling about that vision."

He was silent for a while then stood up, "Get your weapons together and follow me."

I was caught by surprise but got up anyway. I followed him a little ways away from the camp to a small clearing.

"Pull out your weapons," he said facing me in the clearing.

"Ummm, what?" I asked.

"The tonfa-style blades are close combat weapons. Before you start using your chakra with them, you should first learn how to handle them," he told me in his calm voice.

I felt nervous drawing the weapons. They were actually lighter than they looked or maybe I had just gotten stronger. I kind of hoped it was the latter.

"The blades are meant to spin with the handle. Knowing when to loosen and tighten your grip on the weapons is important," he explained.

I looked down at the weapons doubtfully. Close combat weapons? Maybe these things were wrong for me.

"Hold up your weapons," he said.

I hesitantly held them up. I suppose this wasn't much different than when I trained with him before but attacking him with sharp objects seemed dangerous. Although I'm sure his sand would protect him but still, it seemed that I was some kind of dangerous entity. I didn't know if I would actually hurt him or anyone else by mistake.

"Come at me with intent to kill," he told me calmly.

Intent to kill? How could I kill him? How could I kill anyone?

I took a deep breath then focused on my target. I took off running at him as fast as I could. I swung the blade at him but just as I expected, the sand protected him from my attack. I used my other hand to try to attack from another angle but the sand was there in an instant again. It wrapped around my arms and tossed me back where I tripped slightly but then gained my footing again. I lunged forward again knowing I had to attack faster. Hitting the sand clumsily with my weapons I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere without using my chakra.

I needed to concentrate it to the weapon. Even though it had been hard to concentrate it in my body before, the blades actually picked up my chakra right away. I jumped backward to make some space between us while I charged my chakra into the blades behind me. Then with a swift movement I went for the strike. The speed was something I wasn't sure I was capable of in the first place. I noticed the sand wasn't going to protect him in time as the chakra blade was nearing his neck. Was I really going to kill him? I stopped an inch away from his skin as the sand closed in and shoved me back. I stumbled back and fell on my butt.

I looked up to see him standing there. He hadn't made much movement since the start of the fight. The sand was still surrounding him protectively. A small breeze blew past me as I finally felt how cool the night air was.

"You still aren't able to take your fights seriously," he said with his level voice, "It's uncertain what we will find in Kumo. There will be times that you will have to fight and there will be people who will be fighting to kill you. There might also be times that the person may be someone you know. It's important to clear your mind and be able to fight with everything you have no matter who you face."

I felt a twinge of shame. I had come so far with my training but I still had a long way to go. Did I really have to fight to kill? The life I had in my world seemed so spoiled compared to this place. I was being forced to do things and face problems I never thought I would ever have to face in my entire life. Now was the time to ask myself the hard questions. Could I kill someone for my own survival? Could I possibly even intend to kill someone close to me? What if that person was my sister? What if it was the people I was traveling with?

This person I was pursuing in Kumo could be dangerous. The reason I was nervous about this trip was that I knew deep down that I had to fight this person. It could be because I was an element that I knew, but I also felt this was my duty. I was compelled to go. Ready or not the wheels of an uncertain future were turning and I was along for the ride.

I got up and brushed myself off. I gave Gaara my best-determined face I could.

"Thank you Gaara," I bowed respectively, "Please let me try again."

I looked back up at him since the silence was lasting longer than I thought. His expression had changed slightly. I could tell he knew I understood what he was trying to get across. I smiled and held up my weapons then ran at him for another attack. Gaara always knew how to keep me moving forward. Hopefully someday I will be able to repay him.

We had taken off in the early morning before the sun even shed a ray of light in the sky. I ended up sleeping on the sand when traveling which made up for some of the night training. They woke me up when we had crossed the border between the countries; from then on it would be unpredictable. When we stopped for a brief break on the way to Kumo, Temari took the time to train me with my new weapons as well. She really helped me develop more wind-style techniques while Gaara had trained me more on weapon use.

Although I can't say all the weapon training went smoothly. Kankuro thought it was funny how I was so clumsy sometimes. He got me so mad that I eventually fought against him and his puppets. That gave an informal lesson on poisons for sure. Kankuro complained about having to waste one of the antidotes on me, that jerk.

When we started moving again our landscape quickly changed from forests to mountains. The slopes seemed to get steeper every minute around us. We followed a river chasm for a while before finding a sloping mountain path that was hidden well enough that I would have never noticed it if they didn't point it out. We ended up walking up these slopes and going at a slower pace than before. It was harder to breath the higher we went, but I didn't want to be the first person to say anything about it. Luckily Kankuro beat me to complaining about the altitude.

"Stop complaining," Temari scolded him.

"How can anyone live up here? You can't even breath," he wined.

"You'll get used to it," she said, huffing a little herself.

"So where is Kumo?" I asked.

"We're almost there," Gaara answered.

I sighed in relief but then noticed that everyone was frozen.

"Ummm, what's going-" Temari held up her hand for me to be quiet.

This wasn't good.

One of the large clouds that were sweeping over the mountain's path rolled by quickly leaving behind a person. He stood there with a devious grin on his face as if he had been waiting there the whole time. My breath had caught in my throat as I noticed that this was the person we were looking for. In person he looked even more terrifying than in my vision. I tried my best not to show that I was afraid and nervous.

"What do we have here?" I heard Kankuro say.

The person chuckled, "What an odd bunch you all are."

"Who are you?" Temari asked.

He rubbed the back of his head as if he was thinking, "I have been called by many names but the one I am rather particular about is Ryuu."

He seemed to be relaxed and confident but I had no idea why he had decided show himself in a place like this. I felt my chakra pulse. It was like a sudden pull and repel of the magnetic, as if it couldn't decide if I should approach or run away.

"Well?" he said with fake innocence, "I introduced myself, isn't it customary to respond with one's own introduction?"

"You know who we are," Gaara said staring the man down, "You are the one that has been watching us this whole time."

We all looked at Gaara with confusion as the man across from us smiled.

"So you were the one blocking me. You must be the girl's Familiar," Ryuu stared straight back at him with amusement.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

Ryuu looked at me like I was stupid, "You really don't know? In that case this might be easier than I thought."

He lifted his hand to examine it leisurely, "I was hoping to have a little fun."

Sparks then shot between his fingertips, "I guess I will just have to kill you slowly for entertainment."

Before I even blinked he was flying at me with an arm of immense electrical currents. Suddenly he was blasted sideways by Gaara's sand into a rock where he landed like a cat. Sand snaked its way around his side and his arm.

"A sand user, not bad to keep up with my speed," he smiled with a wild amusement, "but not good enough."

Gaara's eyes widened for a second as Ryuu's electricity surged through the sand surrounding his arm and side causing it to turn into a glass substance and snapping it off of himself. Temari attacked with her wind sending hurls of air blades. Ryuu evaded but it was a trap since one of Kankuro's puppets was waiting to impale him with a poison blade.

"Got you," Kankuro smirked in victory but it was short lived.

Ryuu had disappeared.

"Well that trap was actually clever, I had no idea the puppet was there," he said from behind us.

We whirled around to see him acting cool as he sniffed the air, "And the smell of poison. The Wind really has gathered a peculiar bunch."

"So you're the Lightning," I said with wonder, which made Ryuu look at me.

"Why are you trying to kill me?" I asked.

He smirked, "Such a naive girl. What compelled you to come here? We are the Elements; our destiny is endless conflict. I always knew what I was, living for centuries as a demon in another world. Unlike my previous incarnations I will kill the Wind and without it I will have nothing left in my way. I will do as I please, I don't need anyone else. Once you are gone I will be free and this pointless chain will be broken."

There was a sense of seriousness in his voice that contradicted his carefree expression. Was he right? Is an endless conflict all that lies ahead of me?

"Looking for freedom in the annihilation of others," Gaara said with a tint of anger in his voice.

This is the first time since I saw Ryuu that he looked truly angry, "The only way to gain freedom is to have no one. People imprison each other through chains called friendship. I will release myself from all forms of imprisonment; from fate, from people and from any physical bonds."

He then laughed to himself, "What am I saying to you people, let me just kill you and get this over with."

He lunged at me again. He moved so fast it seemed like he teleported. I couldn't move but noticed that the wind swooped up from behind me in small quick needles. In nearly an instant the sand came between Ryuu and I. My needles hit the sand and the electricity burned into the other side of the sand wall. I didn't know what Gaara was trying to do but he seemed to have protected us from each other in a way. Temari sent large blades of wind at Ryuu but even with her speed it was too slow. Ryuu avoided them without effort only to be faced with Kankuro's puppets again. The puppet had tried to shoot poisons darts at him but he avoided those as well only to be caught in Sasori puppet's binding cords.

"Looks like speed is all you have," Kankuro smiled.

His smile didn't last long as he noticed the sparks escaping from in between the bonds. The intensity grew until the bonds then melted and Ryuu was free again.

"You're forgetting that I'm the incarnation of Lightning, there's no way a toy could bind me," he smiled, "I'll make sure you don't forget that again."

Ryuu jutted toward Kankuro who hadn't had the time to react but was protected by the sand.

Ryuu jumped back and glared at Gaara who had his hands held out in different positions. He then was about to attack Gaara when his expression changed.

"It can't be," he said as he looked at his arms.

It's then that I noticed the small cut on his forearm.

Kankuro's smile came back to him, "Binding you was a distraction while one of my puppets shot a needle with a potent poison."

"You," Ryuu shot a furious glare at him.

Suddenly the ground turned to sand beneath him and wrapped around his legs.

I looked at Gaara who had his hands on the ground.

"So the whole thing was a distraction to slow me down enough for this," he glared at Gaara.

The sand continued to curl around his body. When it got to his arm he mustered his energy into his arms but it wasn't enough. It covered him up completely and thickly so the electricity had trouble escaping.

"Sand coffin," Gaara said as the sand tightened.

I knew what this meant and tried not to think about what it would be like to be crushed to death.

"He's resilient," I heard Gaara comment.

I was confused until the sand burst apart. I automatically put my arms up protectively and closed my eyes. When I looked again Ryuu was replaced with a large ball of blue lightning. The lightning then soaked into Ryuu leaving him with a blue glow and blue glowing eyes. I couldn't help the feeling I had inside; the magnetic pull I had with Ryuu was no longer switching polarity but was a constant pull now.

Out of nowhere he erupted in bolts of power that went off in random directions. Ryuu didn't seem to be conscious of what was going on. His expression was that of pure hate and rage.

"Get back!" I heard Gaara yell over the crashes as everyone avoided the massive bolts.

My feet didn't seem like they wanted to move when I heard a crack of thunder and a yell from Kankuro. He was struck with lightning in less than and instant. I didn't know what to do. I knew that some people survived from being struck by lightning but I wasn't sure what kind power this person's lightning had.

Temari was the first person near Kankuro but there wasn't even much time to think. Before I knew it Ryuu was facing me. I knew it only by the magnetic pull, the glowing eyes had directed their hate in my direction.

"Die," Ryuu said in a voice of multiple tones.

I was struck with fear. What an inconvenient time to be paralyzed, but when I thought about, what could I have done? Even with my training I was ill prepared for any kind of fight like this.

The lightning bolt shot out in an instant. I could have missed it if I blinked. The sand made a thick shield in front of me but the bolt kept drilling through it. Gaara just tried to keep up with it by building up more sand. I looked over to Gaara who was still concentrating on the fight at hand.

Ryuu turned his attention to him. He lifted his hand then gathered his lightning chakra. I knew what he was about to do and before I could even think of anything I found myself running in front of Gaara to block the surge of electrical chakra. I didn't know why I did it at all since Gaara had an ultimate defense but all I can say is it was reflex. I didn't even know how I got there so fast.

More wind chakra than I could ever muster before gathered in front of me canceling out the lightning chakra. The attack dissipated as the wind gathered again and released at full force toward Ryuu. It sent me flying backward into Gaara whose sand cushioned the impact. The wind force hurled at Ryuu and sent him flying into a rock with his lightning disappearing around him.

All was silent again except for the sound of a few rocked falling from the indent Ryuu was left in. He had been rendered unconscious. His face was calm and serene when slumped over in the rock.

"Is it over?" I asked getting up.

"He can't move anymore, the poison spread too far," Gaara commented from behind me.

I looked back at him to see him looking over at his brother, which made me follow his line of sight as well. Kankuro had a burned and bleeding mark on his shoulder and was unconscious. Temari was looking after him and already taking care of the wound. I noticed the rise slight rise and fall of his chest and was relieved to know he was still breathing. I was more than glad that he was still alive.

The sound of more rocks falling made me turn my attention back to Ryuu who was about to fall out the indent in the rock when somebody caught him. I was shocked to see a woman there, holding him. Where had she come from? It's as if she just appeared out of thin air. She had long dark brown wavy hair. She wore a red mermaid-style dress with a gold chain around her waist. The dress was pinned up by a gold curly design showing the white underskirt. The chain was a made up of large gold circles clasped together and a ruby in the sun shaped one at the front. Her skin was pale white with deep red lips and dark black eyelashes that cast shadows in her emerald eyes.

"What a pitiful child," she said holding his limp body.

Temari was about to get up and prepare to fight but the woman stopped her, "No need to be hostile, I'm not here to fight."

"What are you here for?" Gaara asked calmly.

She watched him for a moment with her expressionless face, "I am here to simply take the Lightening to my dear one."

"The Lightning? Wait, why do you want Ryuu? Who are you?" I asked.

She looked at me and smiled slightly, "Ah, the Wind, so you proved useful after all. We had underestimated you in Konoha but thank you for taking care of Ryuu for us."

"Kimori was one of yours?" Gaara questioned.

"He was merely a pawn," she looked away from us all, "a useless one at that, easily manipulated. I like it when people put up more of a fight. Well it doesn't matter now, I'm glad he's gone."

I saw both Temari and Gaara's expressions change.

"What do you want with him?" Gaara asked more defensively.

"I think you should already be . . . familiar with that," she smiled in amusement.

The ruby on her belt glowed softly as both her and Ryuu began to disappear like water vapor.

"I look forward to our next encounter," she said before they were completely gone.

It was silent again. Who was that woman? She kept saying 'we' as if there were more. Who was this dear one she was talking about? What did they want with Ryuu?

My thoughts were interrupted by a sound of pain from Kankuro. We all had turned our attention toward him.

"Don't move," Temari told him sternly when he tried to sit up.

He looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"What happened to that lightening guy?" he strained to ask.

"You shouldn't be talking, you just had over 200 million volts shot through you," she told him with concern.

I cringed as I saw the large blood soaked wound on his right shoulder. It looked even worse than it did earlier.

"Kumo isn't too far from here," Gaara said when he saw the wound as well.

There was a different tone in his voice.

Temari looked up at him with urgency in her eyes, "It would seem that's our only option."

"Let's go," he simply said as the sand began to curl around Kankuro and me.

"You don't have to do that Gaara," Temari tried to tell him.

"It's fine Temari, I can carry both of them," he assured her before taking off.

I could tell Gaara was concerned for his brother. We traveled faster than we ever did before. I couldn't help but feel at fault for Kankuro's injury. It gave me a twisting feeling in my chest knowing that I got these people involved in my problems. Although I am not sure I would have made it this far without them. I couldn't pinpoint the exact moment that I had become so close to them. Close enough for me to worry about them. What surprised me even more is that I had thrown myself in front of Gaara to protect him. What was I thinking? I mean, someone with an ultimate defense doesn't need my help. I suppose I didn't want him getting the same injury as Kankuro.

I watched Gaara as he moved swiftly through the mountain passes. What did Ryuu mean when he called Gaara my familiar? I thought I would find some answers on this journey but all I found were more questions. Although I didn't know if I would obtain all the answers I was looking for there was one I couldn't give up on. I was going to find out why I was here. I needed to keep moving forward, no matter what the obstacles. I needed to be strong.

Notes: Yes, that reading minds thing is a real game and it does work on certain people more than others, probably because some people can picture things more clearly than others. If you already knew about that game well all I can say is there are variations of playing it, I adapted it only slightly for story purposes. Just so you know, Aura's group stays in pairs for the most part to make sure that they are not compromised, kind of like a buddy system but if they can they all stay together. I also tried to make a little more fun in this chapter before all the serious things at the end, I felt it balanced things out a little more and got the characters to bond a little. Tonfa-style blades I modeled after Talim's weapons in Soul Caliber II, and coincidentally (because I didn't think of it when I put the weapons in the story) Talim's specialty is wind. Aura's bad feeling in the morning was because of the attack that happened in Kumo even though I won't specify that in the story. A mermaid style dress can be found in any image search engine as well if you would like to see a visual of what that kind of dress looks like. I also want to comment that Ryuu is one of my favorite OC's I'm going to make, although all the elements are my favorites. I hope to explore a little of their pasts as well if I find time, either in the main story or in a short side story. Thank you for reading this chapter and I would really like reviews with any kind of feedback. I'll see you next chapter!

Edit: Sorry to report this but on Sept. 9, 2011 my puppy, my best friend died. Which would be the day after I posted this chapter originally. He was really close to me, I really loved my puppy. It really hurt to watch him die, I always told him I loved him and that he was the cutest in the world. I've become so depressed and pained, so I'm sorry if the next chapter takes a while to come out. I grew up with my puppy, I will miss him so much, we have been through a lot together. I am at a loss of what to do without him. He was extremely friendly, he accepted anyone. He really loved people. I will have a picture of him in my profile soon. His name was Buster and he was a part of my heart.