A/N: Hey guys, so this is the story I'm writing for Temari, just because I'd like to show just how Temari winds up where she is when she'll first appear during Fairy Tail's Hellhound. The second reason why I wrote this story is I didn't think it was a good idea to side-track the plot of Hellhound with a series of long flashbacks. I know I said in my Chapter 8 A/N of FTH that I wouldn't write another piece until my exams were over but I got a creative itch that needed to be scratched so here it is early. I don't expect this story to be too long but I'll try to make it an intriguing read regardless. While there will be my own content (mostly to expand on certain things), I expect to show some canon locations and maybe even hint at some canon events. Anyway, I've kept you guys long enough, so let's begin.

Caryoph Town (1), inland Fiore, X775

Fiore's desert was a hostile place, hot and arid aside from relief during the cooler months though arguably the smallest desert on the continent, it was still vast and empty in comparison to Fiore's size. In spite of this, people still called it home. Some were nomadic but others had settled into a more permanent residence, such as the inhabitants of Caryoph Town. An irrigation system kept the crops watered and the small population of roughly six-hundred well-fed, the same river providing water for their agriculture. A fairly isolated village, most of their trade came from nomadic groups or occasionally merchants from other cities looking to ply their craft in the Badlands.

The village was also home to the Orio family (2). They were amongst the first settlers of the village, being founded by the grandfather of current family patriarch, Rasa. Though there was no official leadership, Rasa was often considered such by the local Rune Knights acting as the only form of communication between the inhabitants and the Magic Council.

Speaking of him, he was currently tending to one of the fields belonging to the family farm. He wore a linen shirt, stained a reddish brown colour from a day's work. The blue overalls, black steel-toe-capped boots and white gloves hadn't fared much better. There was a thick sheen of sweat both on his forehead and in his spiky, red hair, almost wetting it down. Though his appearance was bedraggled, he let out a proud sigh, a mood reflected in his dark eyes. Having just tended to several of the irrigation ditches, water would be sure to flow far more efficiently in time for the wet season.

He waved to another figure tending a different field, his wife Karura to be specific. Dressed similarly to her husband, albeit she was a woman who had sandy-brown hair and indigo eyes. The two were locals, having grown up to together, gotten married and even had three children. The two youngest of them, currently exiting their modest house.

"Gaara, Kankuro. Where are you two going?" Karura asked with a tinge of concern. It was evening now and would be getting dark soon.

The two boys were dressed in loose fitting, long-sleeved robes, suitable to their home. Kankuro dressed in a black set secured by a brown sash and a hood pulled up to protect his head from the sun. The best purple makeup he could manage to paint at just six years old. His four year old brother Gaara, sporting a shock of vibrant red hair that matched with his robes and a clear admiration for his brother that made him follow Kankuro around like a lost puppy. They both had silver lockets in the shapes of hearts dangling around their necks.

"Gaara wanted to know more about puppets, so I'm going to teach him." Kankuro called back, hoisting a wooden marionette in the design of a court jester up.

"Okay, but don't go too far and be careful!" Rasa yelled.

"We will, papa!" Gaara yelled back, giving a little wave as he and his brother wandered off. Rasa gave a proud look, Kankuro's interest in puppets was unusual he would say that much but as long as it was harmless he and Karura would always seek to cultivate their children's hobbies.

Speaking of which…

"Karura, are you okay to finish the rest of the work here?" Rasa asked, he was always the quicker of the two and given that, he would need to prepare dinner and check in on their only daughter.

"Yep, just have dinner ready by the time I'm done!" She said eagerly.

With a grin, Rasa went into his home, white-tiled floors with reticulated rugs. He made his way up to the second story of his home. Knocking on the first door, he called in, "Temari, may I come in?"

"Yeah." She said, her tone almost non-caring. Rasa chuckled to himself, she was probably curled up in a good book. She was only seven and read material far beyond her years.

He opened the door, there was Temari, sitting on her bed. Books and souvenirs from travelling merchants lined the shelves that covered every wall except for the door of course. A window slightly ajar to let the heat out. Like her brothers, her clothes were loose-fitting but hers were a purple top with a lace-up collar, a pair of shorts just a slightly lighter shade than the top and black sandals. Her spiky, sandy-blonde hair was pulled into four pigtails at the back of her head. A similar necklace to ones her brothers wore hung around her neck too.

Rasa smirked as his suspicion was proved correct, Temari practically had her face pressed to the pages, "Into a new book I see, what's it about?"

She looked up at him, smiling excitedly, "It's about a kid who's taken in by an angel, they then have to go on a quest together. The angel acts as a tutor to them."

"Interesting," Rasa admitted, "On another note, we've got your favourite for dinner, kenchin soup."

"Whoo!" She cried, if one thing could get her mind of a book, it was her stomach.

Rasa gave her a grin, though, his expression changed when he caught a whiff of something from the open window, "Smoke?" He muttered to himself, opening it further before sticking his head out of it. His breath hitched in his throat, fields though not his own, were on fire. The writhing, orange flames casting an ominous glow in the dying light as the smell of smoke assailed the air.

Temari soon copied her father, having a similar reaction. "Temari, we need to get out of here." He didn't wait for an answer, instead picking her up. In her shock, she didn't resist, dropping the book in the process.

"Karura!" He yelled, bursting out the door, "Karura, we-!" He was cut off, being greeted by her scream of rage. Two men, both robed and wearing masks with a symbol of two intertwined sickles had attacked Karura. One had met the business end of a hoe, his mask cracked slightly while he was on the ground. The other, despite having a sword, was backing away nervously as Karura tried to attack him in a frenzy, finally managing to land a blow underneath his chin.

"You're telling, me. These creepy bastards just showed up out of nowhere. We need to get Gaara and Kankuro!" She yelled, "They went closer to the outskirts, we need to find them, quickly."

The town itself wasn't too much of a maze, being quite orderly in the design of its streets, with numerous intersections. Running down one of the streets heading towards the northern edge of town, that's where Gaara and Kankuro had been heading. However, it became clear that whoever these people were, their main attack had come from the north. The sounds of people shouting, screaming, some even begging were becoming more apparent the closer they got.

"What in the name of the gods is going on here?" Rasa said, hugging Temari even more protectively closer to him.

A Rune Knight, the hat of his uniform while the rest of it was torn up as blood trickled down the side of his face came barrelling around the corner in front of them, "Run!" He shouted when they noticed him, "They-" The explanation was shown rather than told as a red, eyeless, dog-like creature pounced on him.

The couple turned and ran in terror, the unfortunate Rune Knight's screams being quickly cut off by the sound of snapping bone. The next sound they heard, sent a chill down their spines, it was howling. An unearthly shriek that sounded almost like a human woman screaming but distorted, Rasa and Karura knew what it was.

It was ringing the dinner bell.

More of the same shrieking howls sounded, from different locations, some different pitches, some long and drawn out, others quick and in rapid succession. They were communicating, more yelling from people was prevalent. Though this was not the panicked cries of people facing a threat they weren't equipped to handle. The voices were stern, commanding, shouting orders, they were the invaders.

The family attempted to confuse those who had ill intent, weaving through the streets, keeping an eye out for Gaara and Kankuro yet they still could not find them. Others ran past them, flammable materials inside houses had been set alight and some unlucky souls had even been slain, now slumped against walls or lying in the streets.

They halted in their tracks, they were nearly to the edge of town, it had been blind luck that they had avoided the efforts of the invaders and that luck had just run out. In front of them was a tall, burly man, tanned skin with short, blond hair. He wore nothing but a waistcoat that had been another type of jacket previously as evidenced by its ripped sleeves and a pair of denim trousers that had undergone wear and tear as they were slightly torn and discoloured. He was a stranger, and given the current situation that meant he was likely with the enemy. Rasa was nearly six foot, this man stood head an shoulders above him. If being tall and well-muscled wasn't intimidating enough, the glint of firelight reflected off a steel lower jaw and an axe attached to the right arm as a prosthetic. He was flanked by two people similarly clothed to those who attacked Karura before, both were clutching wooden staves with lacrima implanted in the top.

"Hah, look at this boys, our prey has come to us." The steel-jawed man said maliciously in a gruff tone, "Take the kid, try the adults as well but if they resist, kill them." He said nonchalantly as the two at his side moved in.

Rasa was almost paralyzed with fear, what they wanted with his daughter, he didn't know but this imposing figure exuded a bloodlust, akin to a predator, and it scared him. Sure, there had been visitors who caused trouble, but this was pure evil.

"Rasa," Karura spoke up, "Get Temari out of here, I'll hold them off."

"What?" Rasa cried in alarm, "I can't just leave you!"

"You have to, go, this not an argument we can prolong. Keep her safe!" She ordered.

"Mom?" Temari asked, clearly worried.

"I'm sorry dear," Karura apologized, raising the hoe to defend herself, "You and your dad have to go, I'll be fine."

"No, no you won't be!" Temari affirmed, it pained Rasa to do so but he knew better than to stay and fight, "No, NO!" She cried, trying to scramble over her father's shoulder, only to be held in a vice-like grip.

"I'm sorry dear, your mother is right." Rasa said, struggling not to choke up but trying to power ahead.

One of the two flankers approached and once he was in striking distance, Karura swung the hoe in a sideways motion at him. He simply grabbed it, rending it from her hands and smirked as he pointed the now-glowing staff at her. Realising what was about to happen, Karura did the only thing she could think of. She lunged for the staff, pushing it towards the caster, throwing herself at her assailant. It was too late to stop the lightning bolt that erupted from the top an neither were able to avoid it after the weapon was sandwiched between them.

"Mom!" Temari screamed, reaching out in vain with an outstretched hand, seeing the flash and then Karura's body fall lifeless. However, a more immediate danger presented itself, the staff of the other mage glowed orange. A ball of fire shot from the tip.

"Dad…" Temari said in horror, realising what was about to happen. In a way, Rasa seemed to as well, he pulled her down off his shoulder bringing her back to his chest.

"Temari, I love you. Live, find Gaara and Kankuro, no matter what-" If Rasa was to say anymore, he didn't get the chance as the ball of fire hit him. Using his own body as shield to protect his daughter, it pushed him forward, though he tried to move in a way that Temari would be unharmed when he fell.

Despite the best efforts of her father, Temari still landed roughly, "Dad!" She said, not caring that the two remaining assailants were now leisurely making their way towards her as she tried to rouse her father and that they had now been joined by two of the dog-like creatures that had attacked the Rune Knight.

"Go, Temari," Rasa said, the pain he was in clear in his voice, "Run far, run fast, don't look back. Please, do it." He continued, wiping away some tears that had begun to trickle down Temari's face, trying his best to give her a reassuring smile, "Go, keep hold of that locket, me and your mother will always be watching over you. I know your brothers are alive, just save yourself and get the strength to save others. No matter how cruel this event is, always remember, to try and be kind. Now go…" He finished, grunting in pain from the burn on his back.

She nodded, turned tail, and ran. Hot tears ran down her face as a lump formed in her throat, she took of running towards the next closest part of the outskirts. The town was completely compromised, the paths would be too obvious, if she was to lose them she would need to run into the desert itself. It carried its own multitude of dangers, deadly creatures, toxic plants and an uneven geography in both the dunes and the badlands. Still even being swallowed up by the sand would have been preferable to what just happened. She headed west, out of the village.

Morgan had been in this sort of work a long time, he was a thug first and foremost, selling his talents to the highest bidder. If that included razing a small town to the ground, selling some inhabitants into slavery and killing the rest? He was fine with that, such a task was made fairly easy with his brief experience in the Rune Knights.

The crazy woman who had almost blown herself up protecting her husband and child had died in vain as said husband was lying on his stomach and the kid was running off. He noticed his associate raising his staff again, he grabbed it, forcibly lowering the trajectory, "Don't, I like playing with my food." He said sadistically, the creatures he had been lent, barghests (3) listened to orders well, having not given chase to the girl. He would ask how to summon one of them for future jobs but for now he wanted to test their tracking ability. At least if she wasn't shot he would have a chance at getting paid a bit more, in addition to the others who had been rounded up. The cult he was in service too liked kids younger, easier to try and indoctrinate apparently.

The man who had been shot with the fireball was still breathing albeit sporting a fresh burn in the middle of his back and was now completely vulnerable. The barghests growled hungrily, eager for a taste of flesh, "Down." Morgan demanded authoritatively, the creatures heeding his command as they ceased their snarling.

He pressed his foot down on the fresh burn, hard. Causing the man to give a strangled cry of pain, "I'm going to enjoy hunting down that kid of yours. I think my beasts are going to have a field day looking for her."

"Go fuck yourself!" Rasa shouted defiantly.

"Don't worry, she's not going die, yet at least. Once I sell her off, what happens to her is out of my hands. Now, do me favour, die." He finished, raising the axe before bringing it down in a sweeping, crescent-shaped motion, severing the man's head from his body. He snapped his fingers at the barghest to his right, telling it to follow him. The one on the left of him deserved a treat.

The remaining cultist followed nervously behind him, the two leaving the remaining barghest to begin its feast.

Three miles away, a lone figure traversed the dunes small though they were, heading eastwards towards a town that had now seemed to become a bonfire. A breeze ruffled the slightly trailing brown cloak that covered them from head to toe and passing the over the rather full rucksack strapped to their back as the wind carried the smell of smoke in the air. They huffed in annoyance, there had been stories of a cult apparently doing this sort of thing to remote areas across the country. Some group of radicals determined to tie themselves down, desperate to be noticed by someone who in life would not have hesitated to step on them with all the apathy of a child crushing an ant. Quite frankly, such an attitude was disgusting, though it was but an inconvenience to this lone traveller.

Perhaps though, there was a silver lining to this… maybe a survivor would fall into their lap and become their champion? One could dream, couldn't they?

Temari had been running for half on hour at least, the sand shifted with her footfalls though she did not stop even as she nearly tripped several times. Her adrenaline was all that was keeping her going, fuelled by the howl of the creature that seemed to be enjoying tracking her down. Even though she was young, she could tell that it was toying with her.

"You can't run forever, kid!" That man taunted, the one who had stopped them back in Caryoph Town. The one who's actions had resulted in the deaths of her parents. Tears still stung at her eyes when she thought of it, the same for the feeling of not knowing what had happened to Gaara and Kankuro.

Her head was down and tried to shake off the tears in vain, running up the side of a sand dune, she didn't see the vague outline of a person in front of her until it was too late. She crashed headfirst into them, flailing back flat on her rear from the surprise. She looked up, she could not see the person's face, though she could still feel their gaze on her. Their head tilted, curiously, as if inspecting her. Temari at the very least knew this strange neutrality towards was better than what the invaders had in store, she got behind them, clinging tightly to the bottom of the cloak they wore.

"Please, help me…" She managed to weakly say, the sound of a barghest's call echoing, and quickly approaching. Temari held on tighter, yet the one who was acting as her shield wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"So it is them." Her, Temari hoped, saviour spoke up. The voice was feminine, though quite deep-pitched.

The eyeless beast soon came into view, the hunters seemingly having grown tired of the chase so sent it ahead to catch their prey, snarling aggressively. It sniffed, beginning to stalk towards them, trying to get a read on the newcomer and abruptly stopped.

"That's right, you know what I am, beast." The barghest seemed to agree with her, it began to tremble, tucking its tail between its legs before sprinting off in the other direction now sounding more like a kicked dog.

"How…" Temari trailed off, her jaw slacking, looking up at the woman with an expression of awe.

"Hey, where are you going?! Get back here!" The voice of that man sounded, "What the hell was that, I thought those things were supposed be undyingly loyal?!" He yelled at the accompanying cultist.

"I don't know!" The cultist exclaimed, "I've never seen a barghest act like that before!" A wordless yell of anger sounded, it became clear that Temari's attackers were now running towards the pair. They came into view on the other sand dune, in truth there was little distance separating them, though the blade of the prosthetic axe still gleamed dangerously in the moonlight.

Morgan gave an annoyed grunt, "Hand the kid over or you get hurt!" He yelled, trying to intimidate her.

"Stand back, child." Temari's saviour ordered, "I will deal with them." She continued, reaching under her cloak, taking out a kusarigama from underneath it as well as discarding her bag before unveiling her hood. Though Temari could only see the back of her head, the hair was straight and as black as midnight, the colouration only ending in tanned tips.

Morgan and the cultist could see her from the front, and even Morgan was a bit unnerved by what he saw. She was young, looking to be in her early twenties, pale skin that made her almost look translucent in the moonlight. Though she looked human, her eyes told a different story, they were amber. An unusual pigment sure, but the pupils were thin slits, focussed like the eyes of a predator. She grinned, showing off jagged teeth, they didn't seem like they had been filled down.

"My name is Zephyr, perhaps you've heard of me? I don't normally like doing this, but I really can't be bothered killing either of you, now run along and I will decide the fate of this girl." She said, sounding completely calm as she walked up to them.

"Wait…" The cultist muttered, "Zephyr? Oh no… I'm getting out of here!" He screeched suddenly, following the example of the barghest and running away.

"Who the hell is Zephyr, you coward?!" Morgan roared at the cultist as he kept running off. He snarled when he didn't get a response, "I don't give a crap about who you think you are, you're going to die!" He shouted furiously, charging at Zephyr and swinging his axe in a vertical slash.

He grinned as he felt the impact, but soon found himself perplexed. Zephyr had grabbed the blade of the axe, blood flowing from the wound on her palm, "You crazy bitch…" Morgan gasped in shock, partly because his axe hadn't severed straight through her hand. He tried to remove it, to go in for another strike but it wouldn't budge. Her hand was like a vice and her strength unusual for her size. She barely came to Morgan's chest yet she held his arm back with minimal resistance.

"It's almost adorable that you think I'm crazy now." She said mockingly, tightening her grip on the axe even further, the groaning of metal beginning to sound. Morgan's eyes widened, surely, it wouldn't…

The axe's blade shattered, Morgan reeled back from the sudden release. He still remained standing though he was trembling in fear. Even if he hadn't been before he definitely would have by what he saw next, Zephyr began picking metal shards out of the affected hand casually. She began tracing the open cuts and gashes with the other hand. A fine, red mist rising as she did so, the open wounds closing up. Once she was done, she flexed the hand, making sure there was no lasting damage.

"Monster…" Morgan said, "Monster!" He yelled, swinging the damaged axe at Zephyr. It may have been wrecked, but the jagged edge left behind was still sufficient to cause harm.

"Close," Zephyr admitted as the axe came down at her, "But not so." This time, aiming an open palm at the descending, damaged blade. A palm-sized ball of red energy beginning to collect there, just before Morgan's axe could reach her, she fired it off.

Morgan roared wordlessly, clutching the new stump where his prosthetic used to be. It hadn't furthered the amputation of his arm, in fact it was scarily close to doing so as if it had been purposefully taken off with accuracy akin to a surgeon.

"Now then, you've seen what you're up against, I suggest you leave." She said, still as calm as ever.

"Go to the hell!" Morgan roared in a panic, trying to go for a haymaker with his left hand. Zephyr casually unfurled the chain with a weighted end from her kusarigama. Her opponent had left himself wide open, she swung the weight, smashing it clean into his temple. Even with Morgan's size, striking at such a vulnerable area was enough cause him to fall. Knocking him out completely.

Temari looked on in surprise as her saviour wound the chain back around the handle of her weapon and stowed it underneath her cloak once more. The girl's adrenaline had worn off, now she could herself becoming tired as Zephyr began to walk back towards her.

"Are you…" Temari began, the fatigue, both physical and emotional crashing onto her like a tsunami. She began to sway before she finished the last part of her sentence, "An angel?" She managed to ask, falling over sideways onto the cool desert sand.

"Quite the opposite actually," Zephyr answered, though she knew the girl would not hear her. She bent down, picking up Temari and carrying her slumped form bridal style, "Now then, let's see what the future holds for the two of us, shall we?"

A/N: Well roll credits! Now I hope that those of you reading this will have read Fairy Tail's Hellhound. Basically, the main premise of that is that Jackal was sealed into Naruto by Minato, rendering him out of commission, Zephyr is effectively Jackal's replacement. But I want to try to develop her so that she at least seems to fit in as a character and not just be there to solely fill the vacant position. I know there isn't really a lot to go on with her or Temari for that matter yet but I hope I've at least caught your attention.

I decided to use Axe-hand Morgan from One Piece as a bit of a thug character, I didn't want Zephyr to seem too OP and that's not my intent but at the very least she can handle herself. If you want the best description I can give of Zephyr's power is it's basically Hanataro's power from Bleach. She can heal herself and others then turn the damage back on her enemies. I'll talk more about its limitations in later parts of the story.

1) Since Fiore cities/towns are named after flowers/plants. I decided to name the town after an order of cactus known as Caryophyllales. I figured it was appropriate for the sand siblings.

2) Orio is a Japanese name that apparently means "Is woven." Which given a temari is a woven handball, Kankuro uses puppets that are attacked to strings and you could even argue Gaara 'weaves' sand. I thought it was a good, ironic name. Since we never got their surname in canon.

3) We never got names for the creatures I described in FT, so I thought giving them the name of a mythological creature was best.

Anyway, reviews are appreciated, hope you guys enjoyed.