1Kankuro surged through the storm, Kuroari and Karasu slipping and sliding between comrades and enemies. They sliced and diced everything that they could see in sight while Kankuro attacked with kunai and hidden blades in his boots. He ducked in and out of the crowds, past enemy rouges and focused on one thing: the only circling sand ship still left being driven by Nakahara Akemi.

Kankuro was focused on the girl mowing down his shinobi left and right, showing no regard for her own safety or the safety of her people. He moved like a demon possessed towards her as Karusu shot poison darts into the wall of rogues that appeared in front of his master. Their feather masks were soaked in their own blood as cries of the fallen shot out amongst the shifting winds.

The wind shifted to the side as the sand ship sped past him. Kuroari moved to hold its master up in its wooden arms as the ship turned once again to face the opposing puppet master. Kankuro smirked under his hood and yelled to the winds.

"NAKAHARA, YOU'RE MINE."

As if on cue, the sand ship sunk to the grounds and buried itself ferociously into the sand. A ninja had come from behind Kankuro and he kicked backwards, a hidden spike activating on the back of his boot had dug into his opponent. For chrissake! These people underestimate us too much... Kankuro shook his head in disbelief. Didn't these people know the truth? No matter how innocent looking, nothing from Suna was safe. Not even a little leather boot.

Kankuro continued on surging forward, dodging left and right into the storms around him. He had to keep moving. He had to keep his feet from making contact in too many places. Since that Akemi girl was underneath the ground, she must have a way to figure out where he was. Kankuro assumed that way was by locking onto a chakra pattern and watching it shift through the lifeless sands of the desert. All puppet masters are taught certain skills to make their lives a little easier. This was one of the basic ones to uncover hidden enemies that even a genin could learn with the right amount of practice.

Kuroari and Karasu moved with every flick of his finger. He was cruising swiftly and efficiently, his legs pumping quickly to deflect off of the ground with the lightest of touches. In being so light on his toes, Kankuro never felt the rumbling underneath the ground that signaled the speeder emerging from the depths of the desert.

The large sand ship exploded out of the sand, the tip of the bow coming in contact with Kankuro's pant leg, spearing it and severing the cloth while launching him high into the sand storm. He grunted as he was tossed like a rag doll, both of his puppets flying from their master's fingers and into the sands below. The puppet master twisted in the air in an attempt to save himself from being impaled on the spiked bow of the ship. Coming down, he saw the first glances of Akemi Nakahara.

Her maroon hair was flowing out of the back of her head like waves of an ocean, a few strands crossing in front of the lenses of her goggles. The colorful feathers protruding from around her mask came down to bend and twist in the wind. Her eyes were violent and determined, a gleam coming across the dilated pupils. With her body thin and lithe like a cat's, the light straw colored strings protruding like streams of gold from her fingertips were different from what the puppet master was used to seeing. Kankuro couldn't help but find the scene rather hysterical. I'm getting my ass whooped by a pretty little twit. Way to be captain…

The puppet master twisted gently before corkscrewing into the ground below him, disappearing gently into the shifting sands just as his opponent had before. Akemi furrowed her eyebrows and catapulted herself from off of her ship, strings still connected to the sides. In taking a quick scan of the surrounding areas, she could tell that her people were being slaughtered one by one. Feathers were littered across the sands and swirled in the winds, the iron smell of blood hovering in the air. With a taste of acid in her mouth, the girl gritted her teeth and yelled to the winds.

"RETREAT!"

The earth rumbled beneath her. The saliva in her mouth dried instantly. Her knees locked and her feet were off the ground, the wood of a large puppet shaking underneath her sandaled arches appeared with Kankuro standing upon its head. Akemi struggled in mid air and whipped her hands around, pulling her ship into a vertical position, the keel facing out towards the newest puppet. As soon as it had come to rest, the ship had sprouted arms and legs, the wooden planks shaking and transposing into fingers and knees. The bow of the ship had moved to the front of the "face", resembling a large beak dripping with poisons and toxins.

The sounds of the battle had fallen silent other than the winds whipping around the dunes with chakra induced speed. The Tori no Suna were standing behind their mistress, their faces hidden by their colorful masks. Many were wounded and bleeding, the red coming out in rivers and staining the tan sand to the color of dirt. Only about half of them were left standing.

Many of Kankuro's men had disappeared below the desert sands and were just as badly wounded as those of Akemi's clan. Only about half of his men remained as well.

The girl stood with her ten story giant, her fingers laced into the sand storm. She stepped forward and the great creature moved as well, its feet making the grounds shake with every stride. Kankuro stood hard and strong against the pounding. This is the demon that no one has ever seen. This is the deadliest weapon of the Tori no Suna… How the fuck could they create something of this mass at their levels? Could that scroll really contain the information to make GIANTS?

Akemi continued to move towards him. Baki had come up behind the side of Kankuro, a large hand placing itself on the dirty commander. "What do we do Kankuro-sama?"

Kankuro didn't let his eyes leave the small girl before him. He could see the whites of her eyes at this point, the violet looking dead straight into his soul, into his pride, into his mind. Without losing contact, he stiffened.

"Get everyone out of here."

"But Kanku-"

"Don't argue! Now. The safety of the men is more important than a fuck up like me. It's my duty to protect the village and my men. Now leave. Quickly!"

"Kankuro, they're going to follow us."

Akemi stopped 200 yards from Kankuro and his men. If the puppet that she had was so ultimate, she was in a kill zone to destroy not only himself, but the entire Suna army. There was no time.

"Baki, it's not going to happen. Just take them all and go. I'll stop them all. That's a promise."

He turned with a child like grin to his old master. "And I don't break my promises."

Baki gritted his teeth and hung his head low in respect. He took off in a blast of sand and fought back the urge of his feet to stay by his student's side. Kankuro had grown from an immature child who played pranks to gain attention into a man; a man who made mistakes no doubt, but contained an air of leadership that couldn't be looked past. He got what he wanted with not only his leading voice, but with his stealthy mind and words. It was a trait that would not be forgotten in Baki's mind.

"Everyone move! Grab your man and head to the village."

The army faltered for a second, but complied with their second in command, their gazes lingering from behind their head gear towards their leader who was standing face-to-face with a serial killer and her army. It was a single man versus a thousand.

Akemi felt her eyebrows furrow deeply. The man was letting his army retreat! What a coward. Her lieutenant, Kai, came from behind her and bowed at the hips. "Sir?"

"Kill them."

Without another word, a click sounded through the air and her army sprang towards their feet, a new found force of excitement surging through them. They ran forward through the sands as Akemi stayed in her spot. She held her head high. This would be a victory. A pitiful one on Sunagakure's part, but a victory none the less. Her father would be proud. After winning against the "Stronghold Army", Akemi would personally deliver the Kazekage's head on a plate to her father.

In watching her army continue on towards the single figure that was Kankuro no Subaku, the large puppet that he had been standing on had went vertical just as hers had, it's stomach opening with thousands of senbon needles shooting from its thorax in an everlasting stream. The front line of her army fell and the infantry in the back stumbled over the dead bodies as the needles continued on. The man had taken shelter behind the spine of the creature.

When the stream stopped, only about twenty of her men were left standing. Akemi bit her lip and ran forward into battle. She was going to end this puppet master before he could end the rest of her clan.

Kankuro had come out from behind Sanshuo and dropped it to the ground, its major purpose used as of now. He was hoping to wait to use the Death Needles, but with over five hundred people coming at him at once, it was never really an option to hold it back. He back peddled gingerly and searched for the chakra remnants on his lost puppets under the desert. He had to think quickly about where Kuroari and Karusu fell before the group of standing men could get to him. That was wishful thinking, but it didn't happen.

With the men quicker than he had expected coming upon him, Kankuro ended his search abruptly and drew a kunai from the pouch on his hip. His t-shirt rippled in the winds and the sand stung his eyes, but it was now or never. Fight or die. I'll fucking fight alright.

The first two men approached him and he struck out with both arms, the kunai driving deeply into their chests. He slightly sensed the chakra of one that was coming from above. He took the bodies of the recently killed and held them above his head, the pouncing ninja's katana skewering the two together. He dropped his kill and slit the throat of the ninja flying over his head, the beak of the mask splitting in two from the speed.

As the seconds went on, Kankuro continued on with his slaughter, his feet and arms working in perfect unison. He didn't think. He didn't judge. He didn't care if it was man, woman, or child. He would slaughter all of these fuckers until there was none left. Those who threaten his village and threaten his family would die. Those who came against him would die. Those who hurt the ones he loved would die. Nothing mattered. Nothing felt abnormal. He killed without remorse, without feeling, without protest from his body. It was like he was a river, simply flowing on. His strength never waned and his body never slowed. He was a machine and he would finish the deed.

Suddenly, there was one left. Kankuro could see the red dripping down his face and his hair. His headgear was long since discarded and his gloves were cut to shreds. He ripped a katana out from one of his felled victims and pointed it towards the figure. It ran towards him, it's obviously masculine voice screamed towards the winds. Kankuro simply sidestepped the man and flipped the katana deep into the spine of the poorly trained 'warrior'. The man plummeted to the ground and fell silent.

He looked up fiercely to the woman before him, now girlish in appearance, three scarred circles scrunched underneath her goggles. Her teeth were gritted and her fists were clenched in frustration.

"YOU. FUCKING. BASTARD!" she shouted towards the winds. Kankuro stayed silent. The stillness after the battle phase had left his body to feel the after effects of his adrenaline rush. The chakra depleation wracked his body quickly and fiercely. He knew his time of battle was going to end soon. It was just a matter of time before he would die before this girl's hands.

Akemi raged forwards, her shoulder muscles straining as her puppet surged to life. It's hands came forward to grasp for the body before it, but Kankuro sidestepped out of the way. His eyes were analyzing the wood type, the structure, how many boards made an arm? A leg? Where were the weak spots. His dark eyes never left the puppet as he calculated everything that he could about the creature. After dodging the thing for a few seconds he had come up with a few pros and cons.

Pros? The thing was slow and it seemed like it was jointed together rather weakly. That would be where he would strike. The cons? The wood was cherry wood which he had never fought before so he didn't know how to destroy it; he couldn't tell if there was furnishing on it, or what the traps within it were. He could see the pullies and springs and such, but any netting or poisons or shards were invisible to his eyes. He couldn't figure out what the thing did. Would it just crush it's victims with it's brute force or would it burn them all with a river of stereotypical Tori no Suna poisons?

Kankuro felt himself slowing down as his muscles burned of lactic acid. He felt as if he was having an out of body experience trying to extend his chakras to find his puppets and trying to dodge the large creature that Akemi controlled.

His gaze rolled over the girl controlling the beast, her arms and legs pulling wildly against the sands. Her muscles were sculpted and her shirt pulled under the stress of the chakra strings (or rather ropes) that protruded from various parts of her body. Her face was pulled in anger and frustration as her knees started to buckle and her head started to loll to the side. She was getting just as tired as he was which lead Kankuro to think that controlling this monster cost her small body massive amounts of chakra that she just didn't have. His mind clicked.

The creature was meant for quick kills en masse. The heir to the Tori no Suna wasn't used to prolonged fights. Normally her enemies fell before she most likely even had to pull out the big guns. The creature wasn't used unless there was no way of winning. It was quick and effective and that was all that the warriors needed for a victory.

The second Sand Sibling was better by himself than some of the armies that Akemi had ever faced. He was quick and didn't yell or scream if he had gotten hit. She could tell that he was slowing down and she needed to strike fast. I got to get this guy to trip or fall or something. At this rate, I won't be able to fight back when he attacks. He's tiring me out and I know that's his plan...

Akemi pulled from the right and Kankuro jumped left just as she had expected. Quickly, she punched the left fist of her creature towards the slowing body. Kankuro was thrown ruthlessly to the sands and tumbled to face directly up. Akemi let out a grunt of approval. Direct hit. Perfect. Time to finish this.

Kankuro crumpled into the sand, his eyes forcing themselves open slowly to look at the angry grey skies and the sand swirling above his head. His legs were beginning to be covered and his shirt whipped against his chest. The hit from that damned puppet definitely shattered a few ribs and dislocated his right shoulder. He moved his leg gingerly and felt muscles pulling and the few that had torn sent shudders up his spine. Fuck. I'm in bad shape. Shit motherfucking...

A wooden hand appeared over his body and came down quickly. Kankuro rolled out of the way, the pain of the past injuries sending large pockets of pain down his frame. He couldn't tell if he was bleeding or the blood from his past victims were currently running down his lips. Everything was a blur. His eyes were starting to close. Kankuro was in a bad place.

Akemi saw the puppeteer beginning to give. His body was crumpled in the sands and she could visibly see his legs bent in awkward angles. At least he wouldn't run anymore.

Panting, Akemi moved forward her creature reaching down to pick up the puppeteer's body for the second time. The puppet picked him up forcefully and a yell was pulled from the man's lips. Akemi could see that he was tall, broad, dark eyed and well fit. There were dark bags under his eyes that were visible to the human eye from almost twenty feet away. She felt that his exhaustion extended long before the battlefield had ever become a problem.

The man didn't fight and didn't fidget. Akemi could safely assume that he was in too much pain to even fight. If she wanted to, she could crush the man, make him bleed internally and let him die slowly, but she had other plans for him. Akemi drew the man closer to her so she could inspect him closely.

"You must be exhausted Kankuro-san," she said venomously. The man kept his head hung low. He didn't speak. He didn't react. Akemi almost thought he was dead already.

"You fight like a warrior. You're probably better than almost all of my men..." She took his chin gently in her hands and lifted it slightly. His eyes were squinted in pain. She lifted her goggles up to peer into his face. "But even so, when one is tired, they make stupid mistakes. If I didn't swat you like a fly, we would still be fighting. You have to think three steps ahead of your opponant."

"Don't fucking lecture me bitch," Kankuro drawled out, his words slurred in pain. "I get enough of that at home."

Akemi smiled gingerly at this and let his face fall. "Goodbye Kankuro-san. It was nice talking with you. I'll make sure I tell your brother about your pitiful death as soon as he's BEGGING on his knees for life."

Kankuro's head snapped up in anger. A throaty growl shot from his lips. "That's not gonna happen hoe."

Akemi let another smile protrude from her lips. "It will. Trust me."

"NO. IT. WON'T." Kankuro's face scrunched and his shoulders twitched. Akemi felt the wind change suddenly and she was in the dark. It was cold and damp, the darkness around her suffocated her system. She felt her chakra strings sever at the very appearance of the darkness.

"W-WHAT THE HELL?" she yelled, her own voice echoing into the darkness and back into her eardrums. She heard the sound of her puppet come crumbling down to the sands under her. A grunt was heard through the walls of...of... of whatever Akemi was in that she assumed was Kankuro.

"Now Akemi-san," a weak voice muttered through the winds. "Rethink your own advice. Think four steps ahead... Not three."

Akemi played the scene that had just happened in her head. How in the world could a man with no energy such as the one before her had trapped her in a dark prison? How had he found the time? How was he able to spring such a trap so easily without her knowing?

Suddenly, it all became clear to her.

That goddamned shoulder wiggle…

Akemi figured that the small shoulder wiggle was Kankuro sending his chakras searching for the two beloved puppets that she had sent hurdling into the sands below them. She thought for sure that they would have been crushed to splinters by now underneath the sand, but there was an obvious other force at work that prevented that. What it could possibly be, she had not a clue.

"Where am I?" she asked as calmly as possible. Akemi knew that losing her head in this situation wasn't the smartest thing to do at this point. She was his prisoner and she was defenseless. Her only puppet was destroyed and she was at his mercy wherever she was.

Kankuro didn't respond for a good ten seconds, but grunted as he lifted himself up off the ground. Akemi could feel the vibrations from his moving body ripple through the ground, proving to her that she was still in the same area that he was in. Had he somehow developed a sand jutsu just as the Kazekage was capable of?

A searing pain was felt through her shoulder and a hot wetness dripped from the throbbing muscles. Akemi could only mask her scream as the slight light of day made its way through the slight openings where the pain had come from. She saw the metal of two katana gleaming from above, crossing over to pin her into her cage. She realized that she was inside of something because neither the heat nor the wind could touch her. Her surroundings shook and the swords dug deeper into her joints. She let out a howl.

"Serves you right. Deal with it," came from Kankuro, his voice strained and pain obvious in his tone. Akemi had really done a number on the man. He didn't want to admit it, but he was walking on two broken legs, trying to trudge a good five miles back to Suna with a prisoner and three puppets on his shoulders. He had no way to communicate with base since Baki had left him. For all that he knew, they all could have thought him dead.

He might as well have been.

Tears flooded Kankuro's vision as he trudged through the sands. The only thing keeping him from falling over was the moaning and whimpering of the younger girl trapped in the pits of Kuroari's stomach.

He trudged on through the whipping winds hoping, praying, that Baki and the rest of the army was safe and sound.

This has been SO long overdue. I feel like a complete butthead, but I really just haven't had much time to get to the computer! Don't worry boys and girls, this story won't end! I have many plans for it still. It may take a while for me to get them out on the computer, but they're in my mind! ;) Don't you worry about that!

Until next update my little cherubs!

Your faithful servant,

Epsilion