Hey guys, wow, okay so where do I even start? I suppose an apology will suffice for the beginning. I'm sincerely sorry to all of you for not updating this story in… what? Okay, so I hadn't checked the date when I started writing this apology, but – it's been nearly 9 months.

Again, sorry!

I just lost motivation for writing in my free time, so I took some time off. But for no apparent reason, I've received multiple reviews and PMs in the past week asking me to pick up the story again. And the fact that this story has not been updated in nearly a year, but people are reaching out to me in hope of it being updated completely warms my heart.

Thusly, I have at least the motivation to write this chapter. However, I have changed quite a bit over the past two years. I've gone from being a freshman to a junior; my writing style and language has certainly changed, especially because I am currently enrolled in an AP Language and Comprehension class. Due to this, I hope there won't be a change so dramatic that you guys will start to dislike the story.

I hope you all will enjoy the long awaited update.

~narutoobsessedgurl

3 years later

Naruko startled awake, her body drenched with sweat from the unusually hot Suna night. Her hand rose to her face, rubbing the side of her cheek as she sat in shock. Her ears were ringing from an explosion that she wasn't sure if she had actually heard or simply dreamed. She noticed the absence of the usual warmth that found its home next to her in bed, and she slowly turned her head. Gaara wasn't there.

Another explosion sounded, making her very core go cold. She stumbled out of bed, her bare feet padding against the floor of her home. Her face went stark white as she gazed out the window – seeing a large sand shield formed over the village.

"Gaara." She whispered.

A third explosion.

Naruko rushed over to her dresser, yanking out clothes and changing out of her night attire. She rummaged through more drawers, searching for her weapons.

"Come on. Come on." She repeated, wondering just where the hell her weapons were.

She stopped abruptly and looked up in realization. The table – the kitchen table. She had been sharpening her weapons earlier that night, and she had just left all of them there to finish in the morning rather than putting the completed ones in their usual place.

She hustled to the kitchen and grabbed her weapons, including her sabre. She tied her hitaite on, hearing the fabric slide past itself and form a tight knot. She got to the door and tugged on a pair of shoes, then quickly exited their apartment.

However, once she was outside once more, the sand shield was gone. Where was Gaara? That idiot just had to go and get into fights without her, didn't he?

She noticed an errant ninja running frantically towards the Kazekage tower. Naruko stopped them and quickly asked them what was going on.

"It's Kazekage-sama; he engaged in battle with a rogue ninja in a large robe. But he lost! And now the ninja is flying off with him!" The man stated.

"What?" Naruko asked in fear. "He lost? Where is the man taking him!?"

"I'm unaware. I went to get Kankuro-san at the tower-"

It was at this point that Naruko grabbed the man by his lapels and dragged him forward. "Where did the man take him? Which direction?" She barked.

"T-towards the gates." The man stumbled.

The man fell to the ground as Naruko released him and she rushed towards Suna's gates. She raced through the gates and pursued in the general direction of where she hoped she would find her husband.

After what felt like an eternity, she saw two men in large robes walking like ghosts across the sand. Along with them was a large white bird; her husband trapped in its clutches.

Naruko sped up, and she could tell they were aware of her presence. She reached them quickly, and was surprised to see the both of them in relaxed stances.

The man with blonde hair chuckled. "What do you think of this? We go for one and the other tries to tag along – funny, isn't it?"

"Shut it." The shorter man grumbled. "Now get out of here with the kid – I'll deal with the girl."

"Tch, typical." The blond said before jumping on the bird.

As the bird started to flap its wings, Naruko realized what he meant. "Don't you dare think I'm just going to stand here and let you take my Gaara-kun."

Naruko ran forward, but was stopped by a large, metal tail striking the ground before her. She jumped back a yard and turned her attention to the short man.

"You must be stupid to believe you'll get past me."

Naruko watched in anger as the bird flapped away; as Gaara was taken away when she was so close to him. She looked back at the short man. 'I suppose I'll just have to fight my way through this guy to get to Gaara.' She thought.

She saw the metal tail coming towards her once more and took out a kunai to block. However, the tail sliced through the kunai like butter, and she only had an instant to react. The tip of the tail made contact with her skin before she could jump away, forming a shallow slice from her collarbone across her breast.

Naruko looked in shock at the simple handle she held in her hand – stunned that the tail had wrecked her kunai like it was a child's toy.

"Don't worry, I'll end this fight quickly. However, I can't promise that your death will be quite as sweet." The man said.

Naruko left her sabre alone at her side, terrified that one of the few mementos from her late father would be destroyed just as easily. Rather, she pulled out another sword – a katana that her mother had given her for her 15th birthday. Its hilt was the same shade of red as her hair, and the blade itself was made of a sleek, black metal. Her mother claimed that the sword was from her days as a child in whirlpool; one of her clan relatives had forged it from metal exclusively native to whirlpool. She had several different swords from those days, each unique; the first of which Naruko received, two more were promised to her siblings, and the rest her mother would keep.

She slid her sword out just in time to block the tail, but the force of the attack pushed her back about a foot in the sand. She slashed out, but when her katana made contact, it simply slid along the length of the tail. They exchanged several blows, yet no progress was made in the fight; it appeared to be a stalemate between her exotic sword and the tail.

It was Naruko's confidence in this fact that lead to her being tricked. The tail made a classic move used to knock a sword out of the wielder's hand. She countered, but was distracted by this move enough to not immediately detect several senbon her attacker had launched.

Naruko was forced to spin and deflect the projectiles with her katana, leaving an opening in her defense. The tail grazed her side once more, and she retreated even further.

'Damn. This guy's no joke; though I should have anticipated that considering his buddy and him took down Gaara.' She thought. 'Just who is he?'

The tail struck out towards her once more, but she quickly evaded, hopping closer towards her enemy. She sliced towards one of the balls that acted as a joint for the tail; wishing for it to be a weakness in the weapon. Naruko watched as the katana slid harmlessly off the tail, and she rushed under it when it began to twist towards her. A hail of needles descended upon her, and she dodged by flipping backwards. Nevertheless, some of the senbon struck her legs and she ripped them out quickly.

At the moment she landed, her eyes caught a small detail – a patch, emblazoned with a red scorpion in the middle of a red-outlined rhombus. Her eyes widened, 'Wait, is this-'.

She was jumped backwards, noting how the man had halted his attacks. They stared each other down as the gears ground in Naruko's head. Years ago, back when she was in the academy, she recalled a lesson of puppetry she was forced to undergo. She hated nearly every minute of it; but she enjoyed one certain part of it – a brief history lesson on masters of puppetry. She remembered learning of a man that had the same color hair that she had, and found it quite nice that, despite what some said, her 'screaming red hair' would not hinder her shinobi career. But this guy looked nothing like –

"Have you finally discovered who I am?" The man asked.

"Sasori of the Red Sand." Naruko stated. "But it doesn't make any sense – you look nothing like him."

Sasori let out a deep, low chuckle. "You're a fool if you believe all shinobi appear as they truly are." Directly after that, Sasori struck out with the metal tail.

Naruko backed off even more, knowing she would need a moment to prepare for her makeshift plan. Over the past few years, she had worked on tapping into her bloodline that had always seemed to evade her. She still struggled with the ever elusive Flying Thunder God technique, but she succeeded about 50% of the time when attempting to use it. She hoped her imminent danger at the moment would give her an extra edge into utilizing it.

Whilst she was trying to harness her ability, Sasori took full advantage of her staying still. Naruko was forced to break her concentration to dodge the tail. The next several minutes were spent in frustration as Naruko attempted to get enough time to tap into her bloodline. She felt as if she were a mouse; trapped inside of a maze – being toyed with as she desperately searched for a chunk of cheese.

She was not giving the fight her complete and utter attention due to her diversion of trying to activate her bloodline, so she was tripped up when she was suddenly hit with the blunt side of the metal tail. She was knocked flat on to her back, and was staring in fear as it bore down on her with full force.

It was at this precise moment that her instincts – and her bloodline – kicked in. Naruko rolled out of the way in a blur of yellow; a fraction of a second before the tail dug into the ground. The tail was buried deep into the ground, as Sasori had assumed it would be buried in her instead. This meant she had a several second advantage – and she used this for her own personal gain.

Naruko jumped on top of the tail and ran over it, using her extreme speed to race along the top of it. Before Sasori could fully take in what was going on, Naruko sunk her katana into Sasori's back. She ripped it through his back, creating a long, deep slice through the man and completely ripping open the back of the clouded robe.

Naruko used a burst of chakra to jump off his back and far behind him, giving her about 20 feet in between them. She quickly spun around, looking back and fully expecting him to be on his knees from the fatal wound she had inflicted. She was shocked to observe something completely different – seeing instead the discarded robe on the sand, and a large mask over Sasori's back. The mask had only a simple, white scratch along it – the inverse of what Naruko had believed she had done. It was as if all she had done was cut through fabric. The large metal tail she had been dealing with was sprouting from the mask's mouth, and Sasori was nothing like the boy she had seen in her history book.

"What?" Naruko whispered in confusion. This was the fruits of her labor? A scratch on – on – god, what even was he? He was nothing like the boy she had seen in her history textbook; this was something else, this wasn't Sasori. He is a master of puppetry; could this simply be a puppet? But if that was so, where was the real Sasori? He had to be close by, or else he couldn't be controlling the puppet. Yet there was no one in sight. What was his secret?

Then it was back to their little game – Sasori lashing at her with his metal tail, this time paired with constant volleys of senbon and Naruko evading, using her bloodline to have the upper hand. She was able to gain ground slowly but surely, and launched kunai at the shield, hoping that it would somehow work. But it was in vain, as the kunai did nearly nothing in turning the tables for the battle.

Naruko was quickly tiring; her bloodline sucking her energy much more heavily than she was used to, as she had never used it for an extended amount of time. She ever so slowly became sluggish with her technique – something that Sasori took note of. Yet she knew that simple energy drain wouldn't slow her this much. There was another thing affecting her; something she couldn't identify. She felt as if she was slowing due to another factor, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

He waited for an opening, and when it appeared, he took it. His tail struck out, and Naruko didn't have time to process the attack before she felt the tail stab directly into her abdomen. She howled in pain, but forced herself to grab the tail and exert chakra, stopping it from completely tearing through her body.

"You're done for." Sasori said. "All of my weapons are coated with my own special toxin – toxin that is now spreading rapidly through your veins. You've received two shallow wounds and senbon strikes that have let in small amounts of poison, but now, you're doomed. With this amount of venom, you will die within the next couple of days. However, it will be a slow, painful death. One that brings no hope of survival, for there is no antidote."

Naruko listened intently, feeling her body begin to writhe in pain due to the poison. The tail was abruptly pulled from her body, letting out a spurt of blood. She wrapped her arms around her middle and fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Her very being felt as if it was burning, and she had no clue how she was going to live to see another day. Surely he would kill her, yes? He wouldn't just leave her to die of poisoning in the desert. No one could be that cruel – and most wouldn't offer the chance of possible survival. But clearly he had firm belief in his own toxins.

He began to stroll away from her, unharmed and unbothered by the fight.

'Get up.' She thought to herself. 'Get up, Hatake! You're just going to let him meander away? Let him go and succeed with taking away your Gaara?'

She pressed her hands flat to the sand and used sheer willpower to force herself on to her feet. "Sasori!" She yelled. The man paused and turned his head ever so slightly towards her, acknowledging her pitiful state as well as her conviction to continue.

"Don't think this is over!" She yelled. "I'll never give up so easily; not when my husband's life hangs in the balance! You can beat me down and crush my spirit, but I will continue! I will fight, and I will win. If you rip my arms out, I'll kick you to death! If you rip my legs off, I'll bite you to death! If you rip my head off, I'll stare you to death! And if you gouge out my eyes, I'll curse you from my grave! Even if I'm torn to shreds, I'm taking Gaara back from you two!"

Naruko felt pure energy bubble up from within herself, and watched as a cloak of deep red chakra formed over her body. She lost conscious control of her own body, but was aware of her surroundings. She let hate and rage rule her – giving in to the Kyuubi's wants in exchange for his power. She needed to take down Sasori, and then go after that other bastard that had taken Gaara. Only after he was safe and sound would she worry over any repercussions.

She let out a shriek of anger, and had she been any closer, she would have seen Sasori's eyes widen the slightest bit at the malevolent chakra that coursed through the air itself. In the blink of an eye, Naruko was above Sasori, and bringing her fist down over the mask. She then proceeded to rip the tail apart from the puppet, crushing it with her bare hands. What was left was a stunned red-headed boy – one who was eerily similar to the picture in her textbook. How he had not aged in the 20 years was the least of her concerns as she grabbed him by the neck.

Naruko held him in the air by his neck whilst using her other arm to rip his arms off. She witnessed him attempt to use another technique, but he was unable. The chakra that flowed around her ripped apart what appeared to be his body, but seemed to simply be another puppet. She roared in anger, the chakra around her thickening and becoming harsher in anger.

She noticed the small tube labeled 'core' where his heart should be. Assuming this was the key to killing him, she snatched it from his weak, puppet body and took it in her hands. She ripped it apart with her newly-formed claws and used chakra to shred it from the inside out.

Naruko continued by tearing apart the puppet that remained in front of her, leaving nearly no remains as it was mostly burned away by her chakra. She released another mighty roar, but she felt the all-powerful chakra receding towards her stomach now that the threat was gone.

She felt the chakra swirl back into the seal, then fell to the ground in pain. Naruko was confused and shocked all at once – as her outer wounds, including the large stab wound, were all healed per usual. Yet, she still felt the potent toxin flowing through her veins powerfully. Why did the poison not dissipate? The Kyuubi should be able to rid her of that threat – it's what has always happened with venoms, so why didn't it now?

Naruko felt her exhaustion return full force, yet she fought it.

"Naruko!"

The call permeated her skull, but she couldn't find the energy to respond. She fell to her knees, then promptly slumped over onto her face in the sand.

"Naruko!"

"Kankuro." She whispered. "Kankuro – poison. I'm poisoned. Sasori – he said, he said."

Kankuro's visage appeared over her own, and she tilted her head to the side. "Don't worry Naruko, we're taking you back to the village."

Naruko's eyes widened and she weakly protested. "No. Gaara – I have to go after Gaara."

"I have to bring you back to Suna, Naruko." He stated. "You'll die if I don't. Not only do I not want you to die, but Gaara would never forgive me if I let you die."

"I'll never forgive you if you let Gaara die." Naruko said. "Let me go."

She struggled out of his arms and slid to her feet, only to collapse on the ground once more. She let out a cry of pain and hugged herself. Kankuro picked her up once more, and she no longer had the energy to move.

"Stop moving – you'll spread the poison more rapidly if you struggle and move. I'm bringing you back to the village, whether you like it or not."

Kankuro began running back to Suna, his sister-in-law cradled in his arms. 'I have to get her back to Suna, and quick. This is clearly a strong venom, and she'll die if the antidote isn't identified soon. The only person I know to be an expert is Granny Chiyo. I'll have to enlist her help in finding the cure.'

Hazy blue eyes turned to look out at the desert as Naruko was raced back to Suna. She felt potent sweat run down her body as pain coursed through her. She could feel the distance between her and Gaara expanding with every step. Sure, she had defeated Sasori, but did that even matter with that other bastard still having abducted him? Would he kill Gaara?

Naruko felt her eyes fall shut as she sent out a silent prayer.

'I don't care what happens to me.' She thought. 'Just please, please, let Gaara be okay.'

"Please."