Four months later... I return. I know, I know, but all the fighting is such a pain for me ..

Thank you all so much for your reviews, though I am a bit sad that no one apparently caught on to the hints and foreshadowing of the last chapter (or at least none that said anything).

You didn't really think I was that mean, did you ;)

Though I will Admit, Kira does make a decent tragic hero, that was never my plan. For thought and questions on the foreshadowing please come find me on Tumblr FeatherFang where I plan to drop a detailed explanation in the next few days.

Anyway, enjoy!

DROH

Chapter 32: Resolve

Her vision was having trouble clearing. Tears trickled down her face as she blinked rapidly, trying to get things to unblur and stop screaming bloody murder. She wanted to claw her eyes out, to press her palms into them to wipe the distortion away – but she couldn't. If she tried her hands would simply hit her mask. She'd put it on when the smoke had hit, and thankfully the filter seal Aya had insisted on etching into Kira's mask when their unit first formed, kept most of it out, but even after the smoke had cleared every sense felt like it had been doused with raw spices, the inside of her nose protesting with every breath.

"Kira!" Her name echoed across the desert, and her eyes flicked up to the crest of the dune the battle had moved them down. The one who had called her was Shura, the cloth over his face whipping in the wind. Next to him stood Aya and Temari, all looking upon the situation with what she was sure was worry, but from the distance and her burry edged vision, it was hard to tell. It seemed she might be one of the only people still fighting.

"Are you alright?" Temari called, the distress in her voice evident and frankly Kira couldn't blame her. Things were not looking great. She didn't know how she looked herself, but everything ached, and her arm and ribs burned like acid teeth had sunk into her skin. She couldn't have looked good, but if Kira had to wager a guess, she was pretty sure the blond was more worried about her younger brother than her. That made two of them.

She moved her gaze back to where she'd been staring before, knowing even though her blurred vision that something was off. As things cleared to leave only the edges of her vision fuzzy, she became more certain until she definitely knew something was wrong. Gaara wasn't moving. True enough he wasn't all that acrobatic in combat, his rather iconic crossed arms and planted feet in battle while his sand did all the work known well enough. This wasn't that though, and she wasn't quite sure what it was at first.

Gaara was just, standing there and hadn't moved since she'd spotted him once the smoke had cleared. It wasn't his relaxed stance either. He was stiff as a board from what she could tell across the battlefield, his arms at his side, eyes staring straight ahead and unblinking. It was so bizarre that it took Kira longer than it should have to realize what was going on. She'd seen that look before a few times from Shura's victims.

Genjutsu.

"But how…" she whispered to herself, trailing off in confusion as a low chuckle drew her attention back to her opponent. Her glare was hidden behind her mask but that didn't stop her from doing it. "What did you do?" she snapped, her hands clenching around her weapons.

For whatever reason, Korin had backed off as the smoke was blown away with the howling wind caused by his summon partner. His free hand now rested on Marrow's head, the demonic wolf standing tall next to him as his master laughed.

"I wish I could see your face Koyote, I bet it's priceless," he mused, his hand stroking over one of the wolf's horns. "Sometimes I forget how little you actually know about me. From what I've heard, the elders did everything they could to cover up my apparent betrayal, including my own file. So foolish of them really." He raised his other arm, the one holding his blade and rested the weapon on his shoulder confidently despite that large gash ribboning down his biceps. "Tell me Stray, what does the name 'Caged Mind', mean to you?"

The condescending tone did nothing in comparison to the sudden brain numbing realization the question prompted. So simple. Now that he said it, now that she saw it – maybe she was a fool. But then, Gaara hadn't come to that conclusion either. Genjutsu, the power to trap someone in their own head, to cage the mind. That and his own wind jutsu along with a summon creature, this was why Korin had been picked as Rasa's guard, this was why he had become leader of the Scorpion Section.

Realizing all of this didn't answer her first question though: how had he done it? Genjutsu was a jutsu that effected the senses; thus it was triggered by said senses. The most common was visual activation, where merely glancing eye contact could spell trouble, though using sounds wasn't uncommon either. She'd also read about accounts of the Uchiha clan being able to use their hands as a catalyst if someone looked at them for too long. Kira didn't remember seeing Korin doing anything that even hinted at those methods though and she pulled in a deeper breath in order to calm her racing mind, only for the inside of her nose to protest again with a sharp sting. She winced, once again wondering what the hell had been in that smoke and then suddenly, much like before, she felt her brain come to a crashing halt.

"The smoke," she said dully, shock buzzing through her insides and having her stance lower just a bit as Korin smirked at her in confirmation. "You can activate genjutsu by smell?" She'd never heard of that, but as she'd been taught before, any of the senses worked, so smell was possible. It also explained the blurring at her vision's edges; she hadn't inhaled enough to fall to the spell, but her mind was still being affected to a small degree.

"Kira!" This time she recognized the voice as Aya, and despite knowing better, she raised her gaze back to the small group at the top of the hill. The blond looked ready to run into the fight, and while normally that would have been a relief, Kira felt the sharp stab of panic instead. She didn't know much about Korin's genjutsu or if the smell was still lingering in the air or not; it was already affecting her to a degree. Hastily, the shadow user shook her head back and forth at the group, raising a hand palm up around her weapon in the sign to stop.

Shura understood first, his hand snapping out to grab his teammate's shoulder and halt her. Aya's head snapped to the side to look at him and Kira saw his mouth moving, but normal talking was lost to the wind and distance. She could guess what was being said though; nothing got past Shura of The Third Eye after all. Kira had started the fight without her mask on, and now she was wearing it, so Shura probably realized something was up. Aya's mask had been broken during the sneak attack on them months ago, and so any protection her friend might have had was gone.

Hopefully, they'd keep their distance.

"You are sharper than you appear at times, aren't you? Maybe I should take back my earlier statement," Korin commented, his hand falling from Marrow as he spoke and the beast took a few steps forward and to the left, slowly making his way towards her. "You are right though; I use a particular assortment of herbs to set up my jutsu. Once the targets have a few good breaths of it in their system, I slowly meld real world events with fake ones until all they see is what I want them too." His smirk widened as Kira found herself darting her gaze from him to Marrow as the horned wolf crept closer in a wide arcing path, setting himself between her and Gaara. "I wasn't sure what to use at first, but then I saw how he acted in defense of you. I'd been informed that the two of you were close, but it appears that was just the tip of the matter wasn't it Stray? Rasa's two failed weapons falling in love – how cliche."

Shit.

Kira bit back a retort. She couldn't lose her cool again, not if Gaara was basically a hostage. She didn't want to think about what Korin had weaved together for the young ruler to experience, but she knew from his twisted smile and her past experiences that it couldn't be good.

"We're not tools," she said finally, shifting her hold on one of her tonfa so the blade pointed behind her. If there was anything Kira had finally come to terms with it was that – they were people, no matter how others had viewed them. Just because someone thought of them, of her, in that way, didn't mean she had to think the same. "And we're stronger than you'll ever understand."

At her words, the ground around Marrow erupted and while Kira hadn't been sure when they'd make their move, she was glad they had good timing. Ryoko and Ruu, clad in their stone and sand made bodies burst from the ground at the wolf's feet, their glowing yellow and green eyes vibrant against the pale landscape. The demonic wolf had little time to do more than flinch before two sets of jaws latched onto his neck, limbs wrapping in normally impossible ways as they caged the large beast in a stone prison with deadly sharp teeth at his neck.

"What!" Korin snapped and Kira blew out a breath.

"Perfect timing," she applauded her partners and golden eyes flickered as Ruu laughed. The leader of the SS glowered at the two spirits, clearly surprised and angry at the situation. He more than likely thought Ruu had been killed or at least unsummoned when her body had been smashed earlier in the fight, but the thing was, they weren't normal summons. They didn't have physical bodies and therefore couldn't be killed, at least not to her knowledge.

Of course the downside was the rather large charka pull from Kira to supply their new bodies, leaving her feeling a bit winded. That was body three and four, and, as she'd found out while training in the Leaf, she could only manage six bodies in total for the two sisters and that was while using little chakra on anything else. Assessing herself and taking into account Korin's state, Kira figured she could handle making one more body for the sisters each and still have enough reserves to fight back and save Gaara. That meant it was time to pull out every trick she had left, including the ones she'd never used in real combat. Korin seemed to know she was up to something too as he changed the hold on his sword and winds began to spiral in sharp lines around it.

"You want this to be just the two of us little girl?" he sneered, narrowing dark eyes. "You can't beat me; you couldn't even manage it with the Kazekage's help."

He was at least partially right; they hadn't been able to beat him, but not for the reasons he thought. They hadn't been fighting him the way they should have been from the beginning, and that was Kira's fault. Something she'd need to let go of and rectify now.

"That's because we weren't trying to kill you," she explained frowning behind her mask. "I had hoped to bring you in and have you pay for what you've done – that was foolish." Her words, while calm and smooth, seemed to have enough meaning to them for Korin to realize something. The man stopped his taunting and swagger instantly, the insufferable smirk falling from his face. Glancing to the side where her partners still immobilized Marrow she spoke again. "Girls, playtimes over."

"Aw…" Ruu wined, but her sister quickly cut in to stop her.

"Of course," Ryoko agreed and the green eyed wolf moved it's sharp teeth from it's hold on Marrow's jaw. Once free the demonic wolf snarled, snapping his teeth into a chunk of the stone that made up the leg wrapped around his torso, but it was too late. Kira watched as in quick succession as both coyotes jerked their heads, Ruu's snapping around to face backwards on her body as they opened their jaws and tore into the throat of the large black wolf.

Snarling and tearing, a high pitched, pained sound, and blood was slashed across the dunes less then a minute after Kira had spoken. Ryoko's body shattered as it was caught under the weight of Marrow falling limp to the ground in a pool of blood. Kira had time to blink once before a puff of smoke freed Ruu from her guard duty. The yellowed eyed familiar trotted up to her as Kira watched Korin stare in surprise at the blood left behind from his contracted summon beast. Clearly, once again he'd underestimated her. Then, all at one, his face was wiped clean, dark eyes sliding back to meet her own through the mask.

"Fine," he growled. "You're going to regret what you just did." Wind swirled in jagged curves around him as he spoke, tossing sand as he did so. He was going to try and finish this quickly; Kira had a feeling using genjutsu on Gaara had taken more out of the man than he would ever admit.

She'd have to go hard and fast too then, not that she'd planned to do anything else.

Spreading her feet a bit, she glanced at Ruu who had pulled her ears back against her head, dust scraping off from the friction. The spirit was ready, and so was her sister. Kira didn't let herself think about it anymore, instead she dropped her weapons to the ground and started signing as Korin rushed towards her. No hesitation, no time, Kira couldn't debate this, even if she'd never gotten to use this more than once in any kind of sparing or mock battle. No time to think about how this was the last bit of chakra she could spend on the summoned sisters. No time – just action. Signs finished, she slammed her hand, palm open into the ground between her feet.

"Earth Style: Stone Familiar Armor!"

Sand and rock rose up, shaking dust into the air as the ground wound up her arm and legs, traveling across her body and transforming once in place. The jagged sword of her former teacher lashed out at her through the billowing dust and Kira blocked it with the back of one arm. She didn't need to look at it, she was too busy enjoying the rapidly appearing face of Korin as his eyes widened in surprise once more at what he saw.

It was as if Ryoko's form had been skinned and molded to Kira's, the white and yellow-brown rock of the desert come to life on her skin and clothes, tribal like armor forming plating across her torso, legs, and arms. The armor covering her forearms, one of which was still bearing the weight of Korin's sword, ended over the back of her hand in claws that stretched far enough out to maim if she fisted her hands. Hardened sand crackled across joints and newly made armor like veins and a flowing veil of sand drifted behind her like a tail. Kira knew, from when she'd looked in the mirror before that her head had been engulfed in a mane of glowing green energy, two exquisitely crafted ears capping the crown of it. Her own ANBU mask had been partly covered in earth, the normally bland markings morphed into details befitting the creature it represented.

"You'll regret it more," she hissed, her voice melded with the echoing growl of her familiar partner. Strength rippled through her, and Kira lifted a leg and kicked, smashing her foot straight into Korin's gut and sending him stumbling backwards, knocking him from his shocked state. She bent and picked up her tonfas once more before darting forward. There was new strength in her legs now, enhancing her speed just enough to make Korin go on the defensive as she struck down at him, hidden blade out.

Her strike hit, though shallower than she would have liked. The slash to his chest was interrupted by his own blade as it whipped up toward her face and even with it covered Kira flinched back from it, leaving her shoulder exposed. The steel went for the opening, serrated teeth hungering to rip and tear, only for it to smash into hard rock that had shifted to that spot, taking the impact for her. Kira took that moment to use the same tonfa as before, using the end of the weapon to smash it into Korin's jaw and maneuvering away from his blade once again. The older man grunted, hand at his face as he grimaced and then spit. Blood splattering onto the ground along with a white object that was most certainly a tooth.

He spat again before straightening, his eyes narrowing into hardened slits. Then, he moved, charka surging forward and coiling like rope around his blade as he lunged towards her, only this time Ruu had her back. The stone coyote leaped at him from her side, jaw gaping and snaping towards his leg. Korin dodged, and Kira moved to intercept him, activating the spikes in her prosthetic as she jumped up and flipped, bringing her leg down hard towards her opponent. A slash of his blade in the air cut her off and this time it wasn't dozens of tiny air currents like before but one large gust sweeping up, meant more to hinder than to hurt. Kira brought her arms up to shield herself from the torrent of wind smashed into her, sending her of course into the sand dune that led up towards her watching friends.

She hit the ground hard, the blades in her leg popping back inside as she turned back towards her old master. He wasn't facing her though and the attack of wind he threw didn't come at her that time either. It went towards the unmoving target of Gaara and this time, Kira was sure it was an attack meant to kill. Her breath leapt into her chest as she frantically searched for a shadow to use and knew she wouldn't make it in time.

"No!"

Rock and sand exploded seven feet from the Kazekage, the glowing yellow light of Ruu becoming brighter as the body she was using broke apart. Carefully molded teeth, ears, and eyes turned to rubble and dust, the bright light of her familiar strobing once in the upswept cloud before it blinked out as her remains carpeted the earth. Too shocked by the fact that her partner had sacrificed the last body Kira could make her, Kira hardly saw the blade coming towards her.

"Kira!" Ryoko's snarling voice ripped across her ears, making them ache at the proximity. The shadow user tried to jump back, falling short before she was on the dune's incline. Her armor reacted faster than her, and she could feel as the sand and rock moved to try and cover her torso's weak spots better. She felt the impact of the weapon grate across her stomach, breaking through stone and tearing her reinforced gear and Kira let instinct save her. She fell back on the sand avoiding the blade and used her foot to bash into the hand holding Korin's weapon.

She heard the bones break and Korin screamed, the sword going flying as Kira pushed and rolled and tumbled into the shadow he had made just before a kunai could hit her. As she passed into her shadow world she felt Ryoko jump from the armor, for the only living thing that would enter the inverted plan was Kira herself. The rock armor's full weight smashed into her, making her stumble slightly before gritting her teeth pushing on, running past one portal opening and then jumping through the one the pile of rubble Ruu had left behind made.

The moment she touched the sand once more, Ryoko returned, sapping Chakra from Kira in the process and lightning the load once more. Her breath came out in a hard, fast pace, heart beating frantically in her ears. She could feel sweat creeping down her back and her neck, wetting the stone that laid near her collarbone. Korin had turned to face her again, clutching his broken hand by the wrist, rage and agony evident there. She risked a quick glance to the rubble behind her, frowning under her mask.

"She's fine," Ryoko spoke in a hushed tone. "She has simply returned." Gone back to whereever it was the sisters resided when they weren't summoned. Ruu must have known Kira couldn't make her another body, she had to be very careful with what chakra she had left. She needed to finish this now.

"Right," she whispered, hands clutching her tonfa tighter. She'd kill him now, she had to.

She sprinted at the man without another thought, jumping back up the incline with all the speed she could muster. Korin snarled like the wolf partner he'd lost, and despite the pain it must have caused, started forming signs. She didn't have time to see what it was as gravity brought her down to him and moved to slice his throat open with her bladed tonfa.

"Wind Style: Chains of Air."

Her blade, centimeters from his jugular, stopped. Kira saw the chakra infused current of wind that wrapped around her wrist for a mere moment before she was violently yanked towards the ground. Her forearm hit the sand, but Kira still had momentum and so swung one of her legs up in a handstand. She felt the rock armor shift on the ground of her shin, molding into a sharped craggy surface as she smashed it into the side of Korin's face from the side. Surely if she struck his face enough, he'd blackout. Yet, as her leg hit, the force of it was softened by the feeling of something wrapping around her ankle. It tore her leg from his face a second after the hit landed and slammed it onto the ground, pinning her two limbs against the sand.

"What?" Ryoko howled as Kira pulled at the bindings but found she couldn't get them to move an inch, the grip on her limbs so tight it was bruising. She could hear her teammates shouting at her, but still Shura must have been stopping them from doing anything. He didn't see enough of the situation to stop it and hell, Kira wished he were with her. He'd have probably seen exactly how she'd ended up as she was, because she had no clue what had happened.

Her answer came in the form of a half cough, half laugh as Korin came into view once again, leaning over her with his sword now reacquired in his good hand. Even if he'd stopped most of the force, she still landed her kick, and half of his face was now littered in small cuts that bleed and his nose seemed to be in pretty bad shape at this point. Korin spat again, his blood smacking against the muzzle of her armored mask. Ryoko growled at the insult but Korin just grinned despite the fact that he had several broken teeth to show now.

"I didn't want to have to use that – the charka expense is a bit steep," he explained, mockingly, his dark eyes roaming over her. "But seeing as your little friend didn't step into help you, I'm guessing we're in about the same boat, isn't that right Stray?"

Kira just glowered at him, still pulling on the chains, going as far as using her free arm to try and pull the thing off. She'd never seen him use anything like this before, nor had she heard of it, but Kira should have known he'd have a back up plan, an ace up his sleeve. He was always prepared, a skill she had yet to master. He rested his sword on his shoulder against, staring at her with a sickening expression she couldn't name but that reminded her of the look he'd given her when she'd been hallucinating from a fever. He was a monster.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you," he told her, before he turned his attention beyond her. "But first I will do what I came here to do and take what is mine." She could see a swirl of wind building on his sword again. "This time, you and your little spirits won't stop me." He didn't give her a change to think, to respond or plead or curse him, he just tightened the grip on his sword and then he swung it out in front of him, the lacerating invisible attack jumping from the blade. Kira jerked against the bindings, unable to see where the attack was going, but knowing where it would land.

Gaara.

Gods no, she'd failed.

The scream that tore from her throat was mixed with the desperate howl of her summoned partner as she twisted her neck to see below her… and watched as sand rose up in sudden sheets to stop the attack. Eyes wide, she hardly heard the surprised curse from Korin, as she stared at the unchanged stock-still redhead and the roiling sand around him, the area of effect growing and growing.

Oh no.

The sand under her blasted to life, the invisible binding on her breaking as she was thrown down the hill by frantic sand. The world spun just like her mind and it was still spinning when she finally was laying still on the ground, staring up at the spot she'd been as sand grappled Korin in much the same way she'd seen Sand Coffin work many times before. The former SS leader dropped his sword once again and quickly put his hands together in a focusing sign, and just before he was completely engulfed a bubble of air seemed to appear, holding off the sand just enough to not crush the man inside.

Slowly, Kira pushed herself up to her knees, glancing back to Gaara and starting at the fact that she could barely see him. Wall-like waves of sand undulated around him in bobbing deadly masses, but from what she could see, Gaara still wasn't moving at all. Which meant he was still in the genjutsu, and if that were the case his sand was…

A scream cut through the air in a pitch Kira recognized and she found herself whirling around, gaze cutting up to the top of the sand dune in time to see a tentacle of sand grab Aya by the leg and toss her into the air. Below her the sand hardened, turning rough and spiked and Kira screamed for the second time in less than a minute. Thankfully, her team captain never lost his cool it seemed and still had a tendency to watch out for both girls. Before Kira could take more than a step in her friend's direction, Shura was moving. He jumped up, hand signs already flying before a torrent of water shot forth, soaking the sand below and making jagged spikes turn limp and useless.

The team captain landed in the center of the drenched earth and quickly caught the blond before she could hit the ground. He didn't put her down though and as Temari ran to them, Shura turned to look down the hill at Kira, showing that her friend was unconscious.

"We leave this to you!" His voice carried over the wind and down the slope to her and Kira could only nod to her friend, teeth clenching together as he and Temari jumped away from another grasping vine of sand. They couldn't stay any longer; it wasn't safe, not with Gaara's sand defense going crazy around them. Glancing back to Korin, Kira confirmed the man was still grunting and struggling to keep the sand coffin stranglehold from killing him. He wasn't a threat, not now, but he was the cause of his current predicament. Kira took in a deep breath and blew it back out.

"Ryoko, go ahead and head back home," she told the spirit and saw the flicker of green at her partner's surprise.

"Are you sure?"

A difficult question to answer.

"We leave this to you."

Shura never said such things lightly, which meant he'd figured it out too, that Kira was the only person that could do what needed to be done. Her eyes looked around her, at the shifting sand a few feet from her, and knew her answer.

"Yeah. Believe it or not having you attached to me like this will put me in more danger then if you weren't, and I don't have enough chakra to give you another body right now." Reaching up, Kira placed her fingers along the rocky snout of her armor infused mask. "Thank you for everything."

A moment of silence passed as the wind rustled and then Ryoko let out a small sigh.

"Of course. Be careful, Kira." With her words, the green glow at the edges of Kira's visions flickered to nothing and the armor encasing her cracked as if rapidly drying, crumbling away in moments to fall from her body like sand from an hourglass. Letting out a small sigh of her own, she reached up and pulled her ANBU mask off, realizing only then as she spied a piece of her hair, that it had become unbound at some point in the fight. She glanced down at the face she held, the scratched and worn mask that had been her life for so long.

She'd never realised how easy it was to take it off these days, not until she was staring it down as sand roiled around her like the sea. But she was the moon, wasn't she? That's what she'd always seen their relationship, a moon somehow controlled by the sea. Except this wasn't a sea made of water the color of Gaara's eyes, it was a sea made of his weapon of choice. Kira couldn't remember seeing it like this in a very long time, not since the One-Tail had been a part of him, not since before he'd met Naruto.

Those days on watch, back when the sand would lash out and maim anyone she had been too slow to keep away from him. The chill of long dormant terror skittered across her skin causing goose flesh to well up despite the heat of the summer sun. She'd never lied to Gaara when she'd told him he had scared her. When she'd said the One-Tail had been a thing of nightmares for her, she'd been telling the truth. It hadn't stopped her from caring all those years either; strange that one can love something that scares you.

That was over though, and the sand she was staring at wasn't painted in black swirls.

"Shukaku has been gone a long time," she reminded herself, taking in a deep breath to steady her worn and fraying mind. Clipping her mask to her belt, she relaxed her hands at her sides and continued forward, taking the steps needed to be right outside the barrier Gaara's sand had created. The wind whipped at her hair, tiny grains of sand dancing across her skin before leaving. Staring into the storm, Kira let the fear and anxiety of everything fall away, focusing all her attention on one goal: reaching Gaara. Then, she took a step forward, into the torrent of sand and watched as it parted to make way for her.

She was the only one who could do this.

She'd known that fact since she'd seen the wound of Gaara's face and asked Tenten about it. Hesitant at first, her friend had told her what had happened and Kira had known – down into her bones – what that meant.

"Trust me when I say this, that your place is by my side Kira. That won't ever change."

Gaara had said that to her months ago, what felt like a lifetime ago now, and it had meant the world to her. She just hadn't known the extent of what that meant. Trust. Love. A place so deeply entwined in another person that their subconscious changes. That scratch on his cheek had meant everything had changed and so the sand didn't attack her, didn't stop her as she made her way towards the boy – the man – she loved.

He'd been through enough, so much now that his emotions were ripping the real world apart without his consent. Not that he would care at this moment, not when he was suffering as he must be. It had to stop. Stepping in front of him, Kira looked into his unfocused eyes and felt a sliver of the agony he must have been in, for she knew him well enough to know it must have been his greatest fears to have caused this in his sand. Tears pricked in her eyes and she closed them for a moment before taking one more step and touching his cheek. Her fingers grazed over the smooth skin of his cheek where her nails had ripped it open. Healed now, it was like it had never happened, but she knew, as did he, and that's what really mattered.

Pulling away, she formed the proper hand sign and pulled in a breath.

"Release."

A swirl of air around them and the spell snapped instantly. The sand around them calmed almost as quickly, dropping the curtain of shields, and leaving them to bubble on the ground. With it, Kira watched as the light in Gaara's light refocused and he blinked, jerking slightly in a stumble that she steadied with a hand to his shoulder.

"Gaara?" His name on her lips had him blinking again and meeting her eyes before freezing, almost as still as if he were under Genjustu once more. But she knew that wasn't it, knew because those sea colored eyes were frantic and confused and relieved all at once. She gave him a small smile, her free hand coming up to brush hair from his forehead and glide over his scar with gentle fingers.

"…Kira?" His voice was breathless, unbelieving and terrified. She knew then for sure, what he'd been seeing. Leaning forward and pressed her forehead to his, her hand combing through his hair.

"I'm here."

She closed her eyes, her hand on his shoulder moving to slide down his arm. She'd seen the tears forming in his eyes and did her best to be strong for him this time.

"I'm right here."

…

She was alive.

Alive.

His brain couldn't seem to get past that fact.

Mere moments ago he'd been sitting on the ground, staring at her lifeless eyes, her blood all over his hands and he had felt… empty. Everything had drained from him, all of the anger and pain and shouting he'd done for hours as he clutched her body had suddenly just stopped, ended. Gaara had been left numb and ice cold, only the bitter laugh of a long-gone demon filling the void with sound.

And then that void had shattered and he'd been staring at bright light filled amber eyes. And he was still staring at her face when she closed them, one hand brushing against his scalp while the other moved to clutch at his empty hand and squeeze.

"I'm right here," she told him, opening her eyes again and he saw they were wet with tears. "It wasn't real Gaara, you were under a genjutsu. It wasn't real, I promise." Her words, so strong and yet somehow soft, soothing, rang in her ears.

Genjutsu.

He'd been trapped in a genjutsu by Korin and Gaara hadn't seen it coming at all. Just like during the war he'd been drawn in seamlessly and never questioned a single thing. Yet, instead of feeling stupid or realizing he still indeed had a huge blind spot in battle, all Gaara felt was relief. A relief so profound that it felt like he'd had a weight torn off and he could finally breathe again. He hardly even registered that something wet slid down his cheeks. Without hesitation, he reached up with his free hand and touched the side of her face. Her skin was soft and warm, something he'd thought would never be possible again.

"You're alive," he breathed as she squeaked in surprise at the movement. "You're alive," he repeated, needing to hear that confirmation out loud to let that nightmare fade to the back, if just a little bit. After a moment, she pulled back, her hand leaving his hair to rest over his own and pressed her cheek hard against it, smiling.

"I'm alive," she agreed. "I'm not going anywhere."

Gaara let out a shaky breath, closing his eyes and letting her words sink in.

"This isn't over!" The snarling shout barely had time to register as Korin's voice before Kira stiffened, her hands moving off his in an instant. Then they were back on him, on his shoulders and then she pushed, throwing him off balance and to the left as he crashed onto the sand on his rear. Still slightly dazed, Gaara barely had his vision righted to stare up at Kira in confusion before something whistled past him and hit Kira straight in the back. Shock clouded his mind as he recognized Korin's blade, the remains of chakra thread blowing in the wind, as it sunk deep, Kira's face that of surprise and pain as she fell forward.

He was certain his heart stopped beating.

No.

Not again.

This couldn't be happening again, he had to still be under some kind of jutsu or trick or-

Kira's body exploded into a puff of smoke, her form instantly gone, leaving the sword to stab and shatter glazed pottery. He could only stare as the ANBU mask called Koyote shattered into pieces, falling onto the ground around the sword that now stuck harmlessly out of the ground. Relief washed over Gaara once more as his mind caught up with what had happened.

Substitution.

Footsteps on sand had him looking away from the broken mask and straight to where the ninja who'd disappeared was. Kira wasn't looking at him, her back in plan view as she stalked up the slope of the dune nearby. He drew his gaze up and found she was walking towards Korin and to his surprise, the man was trapped in a sand cage. Gaara didn't remember putting him there, but if Gaara had truly been so far gone in a genjutsu then it explained why the ground looked so upturned. It was just like when he'd lost control of Shukaku, and yet the one tails was gone, despite what the nightmare from earlier had told him. Somehow, his sand had acted on its own, catching Korin and not appearing to have hurt Kira. It was the exact opposite of the dream.

How that had happened and how Kira had known she wouldn't be killed were things Gaara would have to look into later. Instead, he focused on the fact that Korin had gotten an arm free and that was probably how he'd thrown his sword to begin with. It appeared that since Gaara had been back in control of his sand, the cage that was a Sand Coffin had loosened since he didn't know it was there. Now that he did Gaara quickly fixed it, sand crawling up Korin's arm and promptly jerking it back down to his side hard enough that the man yelped in pain.

He could end it now, Gaara realized. All he had to do was use Sand Burial. It looked like Korin was running out of chakra, that last attack wearing him down as he nearly sagged against his sand prison. Just one thought and the monster that Kira had dealt with for so long would be dead.

Yet…

He couldn't, he realized, because Korin wasn't his monster, it was Kira's.

Instead Gaara simply held the man there as the ANBU walked up to him, her face mostly blocked by her unbound black hair as she stood in front of her former master. Korin sneered at her, saying something that was too quiet for Gaara to hear, though he was sure it was unpleasant. As the wind whipped her raven hair around, he spotted Kira's face for a moment. She wasn't talking, her mouth set in a line, her eyes glittering like hardened tree sap. She didn't say a word at all to Korin as he finished whatever it was he was saying, she just stared him down with a look that Gaara couldn't quite pin down as either pity, anger, or indifference. Whatever it was, it soon shut Korin up, his smirk crumpling into a frown as they stared back at one another. Gaara felt the second tick by with the sound of his own heartbeat.

One beat…

Two beats…

Three…

Kira's hand moved to a pouch at her belt, slipping inside with deft fingers, and with one swift movement so fast Gaara couldn't quite track it, she whipped her arm up, wrist cracking as she drew her hand across Korin's throat. In the bright afternoon sun, the crimson painting the tip of her raised kunai seemed almost unreal, rather than morbid. It matched the gushing steam that poured from an open jugular, Korin's eyes bulging as all the color quickly drained from his face. Gaara wondered if Korin had ever thought he'd die by her hands, the girl he'd made sure was brought to the village, the girl he trained but ultimately couldn't break. He had never seen it: how powerful a young woman that girl had become. Still the man stared at her and Kira stared back as gasping breath filled the silence of the desert. They didn't stop staring each other down, unmoving and still, until blood trickled down from a slack jaw and Gaara felt the weight of the dead crumple against its prison.

Only then did Kira look away, shaking her head slightly and stepping to the side as Gaara released the sand, lowering his hand. They both watched as the body of Korin Esley tumbled down the sand dune, limbs falling like a windmill's until he hit the flat ground below, his body contorting and bending without care. Gaara scrutinized it for a full minute, making sure the body remained still and lifeless and when it did he turned away, back to the only one that mattered on the battlefield.

Kira was still on the slope of the dune, having turned from the blood splattered sand behind her, she met his gaze over the distance. From yards away he looked upon her, standing ready and waiting on the white sand, her midnight hair blowing gently to one side. There was a look of triumph in that stance, of victory won and relief that Gaara couldn't hope to fully understand. She cracked a small smile at him, and over the distance between them, he saw when she faltered. Her prosthetic buckled first and the rest of her soon followed, but this time, Gaara was ready. Sand came up to soften her landing as she collapsed to her knees on it and the redhead made short work of the yards between them, darting up the slope and coming to her side in seconds.

She was breathing rather hard as he crouched in front of her, worry edging his mind as he rested a hand on her shoulder. Looking up at him, she held up a hand to halt any words he might have spoken in alarm and gave him a better smile than before.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Just… out of chakra. Used the last of it up to keep my leg working those last few steps." She let out another long breath, her head dipping backwards to look up at the sky. "It's over," she whispered. "It's finally over."

It was, wasn't it?

Gaara's gaze flicked to the unmoving form in the sand below, and understood her relief, for he had felt much the same after speaking with his father during the war. A long pain filled chapter of her life had finished. She could finally move on and start a new one, a better one, and he hoped it was with him.

He let his gaze linger on her face as he thought that, picking out all the details, old and new alike. With her hair unbound and shifting in the wind it had become rather tangled, one of her braids caught and twisted oddly behind her ear. Her fair skin looked flushed and damp from sweat. Blood, both her own and Korin's, dotted it, the largest spot being where it looked like she whipped at it, the red streak staring on the bridge of her nose and sliding under her cheek bone. Kira's eyes were open and bright – something he'd never take for granted again – and they shone like the softly glowing harvest moon.

Gaara couldn't think of anything, nothing at all except one word over and over again.

"What?" Kira asked, quirking an eyebrow at his staring. "Do I have something on my face?" She did, he thought, but that wasn't why he was staring. Somehow the blood didn't seem to detract from what he saw in her and it made Gaara remember a promise to her and to himself.

"You're beautiful." He said it with such ease that it made him feel foolish for all the times in the last month he'd agonized over telling her, going so far as to ask Kankuro for advice. It hadn't been very helpful, and he'd wished Temari had been there, but his brother had said one thing that had stuck.

If it's true, if it's what you really believe – then there is no harm in saying it.

Kira on the other hand, frozen at his words, staring at him with wide unblinking eyes as if he'd spoken gibberish. Maybe he had – had he?

"W-what?" she stuttered out, that shy, easily embarrassed side of her showing just a bit after quite a long absence. Gaara smiled, for the first time not finding that trait worrisome for tiring at all, but, if he was honest with himself, a bit charming. Lifting his hand up, he brushed it across her cheek cupping the side of her face as his thumb glided over the smudge of blood. She didn't flinch away from his touch, she'd stopped doing that a long time ago, but still a part of him was astounded by that fact.

"You're beautiful," he repeated, holding her gaze. "And I love you." So easy, too easy he thought, to say those words, but maybe that was how it was meant to be. Easy, because it was true and there was no reason to hesitate at all. Kira stared at him a long time, blinking a few times as she let those words sink in. For one heart stopping moment he worried he'd done something wrong and then a blush lit up her face, nearly as red as the blood on it and she grinned, laughing slightly as she turned her face into his hand. The laughter stunned him, and she peeked an eye at him, still smiling as she finally spoke.

"You still have terrible timing," she told him, sounding only half serious at that as she nuzzled her nose into his hand, one of her own coming up to drag strands of hair from her face in a nervous tick. "We really do need to work on that." Brushing the hair behind her ear she moved to drop it, but Gaara caught it first with his free hand, holding it tight in his own and making her look at him again. He tilted his head a little, smirking slightly at her bewilderment.

"I think it's perfect," he told her, and moved the hand on her face, quickly tilting her chin up. No hesitation, that's what his brother had told him. Do what you feel is best and don't think about it, just do it. So, he did. He leaned forward and kissed her, spotting wide golden eyes for a fraction of a second before he closed his own. His hand gliding to the back of her skull tangled in damp hair and pressed his lips surely to her own. There was one long sharp intake of breath, a jolt of excitement blooming in his chest as Kira nearly instantly kissed him back.

He couldn't describe it, not really. All he knew was that it made him happy. He felt warm and loved and had an overpowering need to pull her as close as possible as he felt a hand brush through his hair again. All his life Gaara had struggled with emotions, with keeping everything under control to the point where he'd buried those feelings in favor of some semblance of order. Even after Naruto, even after the one tails was gone, he'd been too concerned about his powers to ever let anything slip, too afraid that it would make him a monster. Then he'd met Kira and little by little she'd reminded him why feeling things was important, reminding him of what Naruto had said years before. Emotions can hurt, they can be painful, but they can be so much more than that. He'd been so used to not feeling, to keeping things in check that Gaara hadn't even realized he'd fallen in love with her, not until it was right in front of him. He knew now, knew exactly how he felt. He loved her, and he'd be damned if he didn't show her that for the rest of his life.

When he pulled away, her blush had faded a bit, and she was still breathing hard, though for a different reason. She leaned back on an elbow in the sand, on hand still touching him, fingers tracing the Kanji on his forehead and she softly smiled.

"You're right – it is perfect," she agreed quietly, her hand slowly dropping away. He wondered if he should do something else, kiss her again, ask if she was alright, but he couldn't be sure. So he just let the silence linger as they sat together in the sand, and it was perfect.

"Hey! You guys finished over there!" The voice of his brother echoed over the wind breaking the peace around them. Kira stiffened, looking up the dune and Gaara followed her gaze. Kankuro stood at the top, grinning like the fool he was as he eyed them. Temari and Aya were behind him, barely bothering to be subtle with their knowing looks. "What? Too stunned to say anything?" As he spoke he took a few steps towards them, walking diagonally down the slope with a grin plastered to his face.

Kira sighed, flushing brighter than before as she pressed her hand to her forehead. Gaara knew from that expression, exactly what she was thinking: they were never going to hear the end of this. That was probably true, knowing his brother, but that didn't mean Gaara couldn't make things a bit more even on the playing field. Drawing his eyes to his brother his hand twitched in command as his brother opened his mouth again.

"I mean, I can come back later-" The sand under Kankuro's feet shifted, causing him to lose his balance, and then with one small vine of sand around his shin, Gaara pulled. He watched in satisfaction as his brother went tumbling down the hill with a rather undignifying squeal. When he finally hit the bottom where Gaara had at least softened his landing, the puppet master groaned, a hand on the top of his head, and grimaced. It took him a few moments, but then his brother sighed in defeat. "Yeah, okay, I deserved that."

In front of Gaara, Kira snorted, her hand having moved to her mouth to cover a smile that she quickly gave up on hiding. Her laugh was accompanied by the more distant one of Aya at the top of the dunes, but Gaara thought hers sounded like wind chimes. It was as carefree as he'd ever heard it. For a long moment, with that sound echoing in his ears, everything was perfect and Gaara could forget about things that the battle had brought to his attention. He could forget about being Kazekage as he let himself laugh quietly along with her and just be him: Gaara.

For he no longer felt as if his dreams and wants were out of reach, as if they might as well have been skybound and were grasping at air. They felt tangible, solid as his hand tightened around Kira's and she responded in kind. It felt like a miracle, his miracle, and out of everything she had done for him, given him, or shown him, Gaara thought perhaps this was the greatest of them all.

I'm pretty sure I agonized over Gaara's confession about as much as he did in story.

Only two chapters left guys!