Well! Here is the last ever chapter to be written for this series for the REST of TIME. Do you feel sad yet? I feel sad. DON'T LOOK AT ME I'M EMOTIONAL

I'm allowed okay this story was the first I ever started on this website go away

- - -

"Damn it!" The masked individual slammed a fist against the wall, angered. The rock cracked, the same happening to the sandstone beneath the pair's feet. His companion squawked, juggling the unconscious child she held. Slinging him over her shoulder, she smacked her fellow shinobi round the head.

"Fucking moron, he's thrashing enough as it is! I don't need your hissy fits increasing my burden!" Her companion rubbed his head.

"Itai, Kazumi... that hurt." He simpered, then growled, "I can't help being annoyed! That Panda eyes is following us!"

"Well, if you'd done your job and eliminated him while you had the chance..." the kunoichi growled, "He was alone for a good five hours! What were you doing?!"

"He's the Kazekage!!" The male wriggled his fingers, "I had to time it right, it wasn't like he'd be easy to dispatch!"

The pair glanced down at the distraight male below them, at the bottom of the skirting wall of the Great Sunagakure. Then, they turned their gazes out into the vast desert, toward their destination.

"We'll have to kill him on the way. There isn't as much for him to use where we're heading." The Kunoichi said, "We'll take him down easily..."

She trailed off with a glance to the small boy in her grasp.

"He doesn't look so good...-" she stopped abruptly as her companion sent his palm into the side of her head with a smack.

"What does it matter, he'll be dead soon anyway." He said, jumping down to the loose sand below.

"..Yeah." she replied, following... and making no effort to cover their tracks.

Kaien

I didn't know what to think, sat on the ground where I'd parted ways with Gaara. In my head I knew I had to get back to the house- Nanase needed me, and Hiragomi desperately needed medical attention... but in my heart I couldn't make myself move. And I didn't know why.

There were a lot of "why"s in my head that I didn't know the answer to.

Why was it now, just as Yura was at his weakest?

Why Yura? Why my darling, precious child that wouldn't harm a fly? Such a tiny being that had had no time to do any wrongs so as to deserve such a thing?

Why, when I was at my weakest?

Why was there always something to take away my happiness?

I managed to drag myself forward, but my forehead scratched against the sand, out of my control. My face screwed up, tears flooding. My fist pounded the floor.

Why wasn't I there with him?

"Mama!" The anguished cry pierced straight through me, the tiny sobs shattering my heart. "Mama, where are you?!"

I quickly sat up, wiping my face. I couldn't let my daughter see me like this. I had to be strong, for her. She was too young to feel such despair.

Still, I couldn't bring myself to look at her. She flung herself at me, weeping wholeheartedly, voice hoarse. "I-I thought you'd gone too, Mama! I thought- I thought you'd been taken away!"

My heart clenched, and I wrapped my arms around her.

"Don't worry, Nanase." I whispered. And I heard her voice, mucfled, against my clothing;

"Right, because Papa will bring back Yura-chan..." she looked up at me, eyelashes clumped together, "Papa's the strongest in all the village, right?!"

I stared at her, feeling my soul swelling, and gripped at my upper arm- where the seal was. Shame filled me at what I was about to do; I was a selfish and awful woman, the most abysmal parent... but I had no choice.

"I'm sorry... Nanase."

Gaara

"Eeehh, what's this? I'm disappointed." Gaara gasped for air as a foot slammed against his ribcage. It had been a while since he'd fought this hard, and even longer since he'd used his second skin. "I'd heard the Kazekage was a much more formidable opponent than this."

"Well, you have sucked away half his chakra, Kazumi, you leecher." The male, Kazuma, sneered, a laugh in his tone. The sand shield was cracking, crumbling, revealing Gaara's true skin. That made the strikes hurt even more. He braced himself, pulling his body upward, "Oi, oi, he's getting up."

"It'll take more than that to knock me down." Gaara said, raising his hands. Sand flew at the pair, driving them back to a distance that the redhead was more comfortable with. He quickly reassembled his shield while they were at a distance- since they both seemed to be using primarily taijutsu, he was safe for the moment. He couldn't afford to mess around- they still had Yura closer to them than him, and they'd managed to lure him to a rocky clearing filled entirely with grass and a large lake. If his sand was lost to him he would be at an incredible disadvantage.

With a sweep of his arm, the sand shot toward them, driving the both of them to one side. He didn't want to split them up. He wanted to keep them together so he could end them quickly- and painfully. His eyes flared slightly at the thought of crushing the life out of them, fighting to keep control of those murderous urges he had long since buried, but he wasn't doing a very good job. They dodged his attacks as he predicted, and he could feel slight glee, despite the pressure of his situation. Mostly, however, it was overwhelming rage. It only took one glance at his unconscious son, writhing in agony over the changes going on within him, to get his heart pounding and blood boiling anew. His heart was screaming.

"How dare you interrupt my peaceful life... how dare you even think to harm my son?!" The hushed growl tore out of him, darting forward in a clearly unanticipated move. Gaara struck, knocking the mask clean off the woman's face, sending her flying with it. Gaara was quick to continue his assault, knocking back a kick from the male with his sand, delivering barrages oof his own to the female. He was almost past them, almost to Yura, almost...

"Ah-ah-ah!" Suddenly, something hit into him. Flung to the side, Gaara could feel the dampness soaking into his clothes. The sand dripping off him. "Wet sand's useless to you, I hear..."

Kazumi grinned, spinning a stream of water round her fingers. Kazuma laughed.

"Wow, no wonder you wear a mask, Kazumi! Your face is a mess!" He exclaimed, throwing rocks in Gaara's direction.

"Urusai! Moron!" Kazumi returned, an onslaught of water blades targeting the Kazekage at the same time. Gaara flipped, dodging just barely, having had little time to recover from such a crushing blow. He'd thought they were taijutsu focused... how wrong he was. Panic consumed him. He had very little chakra left and even less sand. His son looked worse than he ever had, and he was no closer to reaching him. What was he to do?!

"Come on, Kazuma, stop messing around! Master wanted that Uzumaki girl, right?! He's not going to be too happy if we take much longer!" Gaara froze, a slab of rock smacking into him. His anger boiled.

"What... do you want with Kaien..?" He growled. Kazumi covered her lips.

"Shit, said too much..." then she grinned, "Never mind! You'll be dead soon, anyway...-"

Gaara could see her eyes flung wide as he was suddenly, very much in her personal space, eyes colder than any she'd ever seen. He could see the beads of sweat dew on her face. An expression he used to hate. Terror. "Don't fuck with me."

She faltered, then leapt back, but her movement were clumsy. It was as though a switch had been flicked inside of Gaara; his panic vanished, anguish diminishing, being replaced with cold accuracy. Emotions were forced back, easily landing punch after kick on each opponent. Kazumi's final dodge failed, and she found herself with what little sand Gaara had left wrapped around her throat.

"It may not be much but what I have here is more than enough to crush your windpipe." He murmured, coldly. She wheezed out, eyes watering as she attempted to breathe, scratching at the clasp at her neck. See you in hell-

"Don't fucking move!!" The voice was desperate, face sweaty. Kazuma had ditched his mask, arms stretched in one direction. Gaara whirled, eyes wide.

A large rock was being held above Yura, enough feet in the air that, if dropped, it would crush the infant easily. "Let her go, bastard! I'll do it! I'll have nightmares but I'll kill the kid!"

"K...Kazuma...!" Kazumi squeezed out of her strangled throat, wheezing and coughing as the sand released. Gaara dropped to his knees as if all the energy had left him, eyes fixed in horror on his son, beneath such a heavy weight. He felt his resolve leave him; he hadn't the energy to dissolve the boulder, nor to send his sand after either assailant. He was helpless. What a terrible parent...

His eyes closed.

Protecting them is my only job...

"I'm gonna fucking... kill you...!" Kazumi declared a water jutsu of some kind. Gaara wasn't listening.

And I can't even do that. Pathetic.

Something warm and wet splashed on him. He wondered briefly if death was supposed to feel this numb.

"Kazumiiii--!!!!" The anguished cry pierced through the fog of Gaara's mind, his eyes opening immediately. He took in the sight of the female's head, rolling away from him, followed by Kazuma's roar, and then the whip of blood that was fast moving toward the boulder above Yura. It sliced through the rock easily, flinging each piece far away, and then whipping the remaining enemy away with a slash to the arm. Seeing his son safe in the arms of his wife, Gaara finally gave. This wasn't a bad dream to die with.

Kaien

I breathed hard in exhaustion as my blood dropped to the ground. It had been so long since I'd used that power, and I was loathe to do so, but I wasn't strong enough without it. My family needed to come before my selfish desires, and from the looks of things I'd made it just in time.

My blood listened to me eagerly, the sensation of finally using it akin to stretching a muscle after a deep sleep. Though it was hard to admit, it felt good to let it loose.

The remaining assailant was the picture of despair; eyes wide, tears running tracks down his cheeks. I felt no guilt nor sorrow- he'd be joining his companion soon enough. He'd threatened my family. I couldn't take pity on him.

I darted toward Yura, attempting to dodge around the foreign shinobi, but his anger made him fast. Clumsy, but fast. He threw himself relentlessly at me, bundles of rock following him, as he screamed at me. "You bitch!!"

I dodged him within a hair's breadth, twisting my body to evade the rocky spears he sent my way. I stopped and cursed as two more were flung at me, managing to just dodge and avoid them hitting vital points. One lodged in the side of my stomach, the other sliced across my arm.

I grit my teeth, analysing the wound quickly. I should leave it in. The blood loss in removing it would kill me in minutes- it was in deep.

I flipped backward to avoid streams of kunai, cursing at the jarring pain of the stone grinding in my wound. I couldn't move freely like this. And my chakra was fast diminishing- years of not using the chi shihai meant that it was draining much more on me now.

I healed the wound as best I could as I moved, not stopping to think about how much it would hurt to pull the stone out now that my flesh was fusing to it. He didn't give me time to do so, sending yet more rocks flying at me. Driving me toward the edge of the lake, I felt an outcrop of stone jab into my foot as I landed. The innate response of lifting my foot away from the source of pain caused me to topple. I was fast smacked in the side, hard, sending me skidding into the water;

"I'm going to kill you, bitch!" The shinobi screamed at me, rocks flying up through the water, blocking my escape as he lunged at me straight on. I could see the kunai aiming stright for me, his hand driving it to plunge deep into my chest.

"Don't underestimate me!" I shouted back, thinking quickly. I screamed out in pain as my fingers dug into the tender new flesh, ripping the stone out of my side, a whip of blood following shortly behind it.

I exhaled in heavy pants as my enemy fell, landing in the reddening water with a splash. The blade of my blood fizzled away, and I steadied myself against the rocks that jutted out of the water. "...It's over..."

"Haha... wrong." I could barely turn before a kick slammed into the side of my face, sending me back out of the water. I tried to pick myself back up, but a foot slammed my head back down. "Don't move."

I scratched my nails into the dirt, straining to get a glimpse of my assailant. There had been another? I hadn't sensed him in the slightest!

He had dark, but greying hair, like salt and pepper, longish. Hazel eyes, narrowed and slightly withered- glaring down at me with the coldness of utter hatred. I gasped.

"Y... you..!" It was him. The face that haunted my nightmares. The face that reminded me of the grave sin I'd committed, all those years ago.

The Father of the boy I'd killed in my Akatsuki days. The man who took my first child from me, and made it all go so very, very wrong.

"What do you want this time?!" I screamed, struggling. His foot pressed down against my head harder, grinding my face into the dirt,

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked, a sort of smile on his face, "I want to make you feel my pain." His foot let up, but as I went to move, he turned, "Don't. Move."

I froze, eyes immediately flicking to my son. I gasped in horror. The four year old child was pinned down so that he could no longer writhe in agony. Seals surrounded him, spikes jutting out of the chains that he bore on his wrists and ankles. Trickles of blood dripped from him to the floor.

"Not him first. Firstly..." I managed to tear my gaze from my poor, injured, sick child, only to watch in anguish and he stood above my unconscious husband instead. My already fragile heart slowly shattered, seeing the blade pointing at Gaara's jugular, "Ah, I wouldn't if I were you." The man's cold sneer pierced through me. "One move from me and your baby boy will be swallowed by flames." The kunai slid along my husband's neck, "Do you think he'd forgive you? If you let your son die for his sake?"

I shook against the ground, my will breaking, "Please... stop this..."

"What's that? You want me to stop?" He rose the blade, slowly, "I don't recall you stopping when I begged."

"Stop this!! Please!" I cried, desperate, "I know what I did to you is unforgivable! But you've already taken one child from me! Isn't that enough??!"

He stared at me for a second, then looked back down at Gaara. "No."

My scream echoed through the clearing, my eyes and ears shrieking protest as the kunai fast approached my husband's neck. But... it stopped.

The man gave a strange choking noise, coughing blood, and the spike retracted. He quickly stood, springing back, his blood splashing on the ground. "You!! I told you not to move, your kid's done!"

"Nai..." a voice neither of us had expected rang out, quiet, but clear. I whirled, just in time to see whips of his own blood break through Yura's chains. "Don't hurt Mama or Papa..."

He stepped toward us with lidded eyes, the whips of blood following, like living entities of their own will, creating a shield around my son. Our enemy, starting to panic, flung weapons at him, but they were easily deflected, like swatting flies. I could only watch, helpless, as my son slowly approached the man who had tried to destroy our happiness, and, listlessly, tore him apart.

And, just like that, Yura jarred, eyes going wide and filling with tears. He wailed, loudly, evidently having noticed the pain of his lacerations. The whips dissipated, and I ran to him as he cried my name. However, seconds into cradling and comforting him, the light fizzled away and I blacked out.

When I came to, the world was swaying. I tried to sit up so fast that the world spotted, and Gaara, who was carrying me, nearly toppled.

"Yura!! Where's Yura?!" I exclaimed, heart leaping into my mouth.

"He's fine." Gaara said, quietly, "Naruto has him."

"...Naruto..?"

"We ended up fighting quite close to the borders of the Land of Fire. Apparently we attracted attention." He said, "More importantly... are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine. Are you? I can walk." He gave me a soft glare, fingers squeezing against my arm. I sighed, resting my head against his shoulder. "The person pulling the strings... he was the same guy. From before."

I felt him immediately stiffen. "You mean-"

"Yeah. Who stabbed me when I was pregnant the first time. Way back when." I said quietly. It was impossible to describe or label the pain I felt while reminiscing it. Gaara remained silent. We'd never talked about this, he'd never asked, and I'd never started the conversation because I didn't know how. I was too ashamed to tell Gaara what I'd done, why that man- that I didn't even know the name of- hated me so much. "I killed his son, back when I was an Akatsuki. His son was a Jinchuriki... and my target." Tears dewed in my eyes, "He begged and begged me to stop, to leave them, let them be... but I didn't listen. And now, it put all of you in danger, it nearly killed our child a second time, because of me-"

I was silenced by a pair of lips lightly brushing my own, then trailing to kiss away the tears. "It's fine." Gaara said, eyes boring into mine. "We're fine, aren't we? It's over. We'll protect the family we have now." He smiled slightly, nudging me with his shoulder, "I love you, Kaien."

The tears only fell faster at that. I didn't deserve him. Didn't deserve this happiness. "I love you too... Gaara."

- - -

It was rowdy in our living room, since everyone had come down to Sunagakure- for what purpose, I didn't know, but here they all were. Gaara and I were still very much injured, and Yura still had sickening scars around his wrists and ankles that hurt me a little more every time I saw them- but we were alright. And, he didn't seem to remember any of what happened, so that was good.

"Kaien! You're usually first at the sake, what gives?" Kankuro grinned- the only time he was completely at ease with me these days was when he was completely plastered.

"Ah, well... you see..." I fidgeted slightly, "I'm pregnant again." I said, scratching the back of my head. Everyone blinked, then we received a few cheers, grins, and general positivity from our friends and family.

"Again!! Just how many kids are you planning to have?!" Sakura exclaimed, and I waved my hands.

"Ah, not many... I think..." I exclaimed, while Gaara perked up, sending a hand signal indicating a "five" to the pink haired woman. I glared at him, and he looked away "You are not putting me through two more kids!!" earning a laugh from our friends.

"That's funny, because..." Temari fidgeted as we all turned to looked at her. Shikamaru stepped up.

"Tema's pregnant, too." He said, clearly- looking proud, an expression rarely seen on his face. I slapped his back, grinning.

"Good going, Shikamaru! Our kids can be playmates!" I laughed. He rose his eyebrows.

"If this next one's anything like the other two, I don't see that happening..." I narrowed my eyes, and he raised his hands defensively,

"Just what are you saying about my precious babies, huh, Shikamaru?" I growled, in what Naruto calls my "mafia voice". He just shook his head, laughing awkwardly.

"What a coincidence!!" There was a "poof" noise, and we all turned to where my dorky brother and his dorky boyfriends had been stood, "I'm pregnant, too~!"

Silence reigned as we all stared at my brother, in his Harem jutsu form, except with distended pregnancy belly. We hadn't seen this jutsu in so long, and Sasuke's face was so awkward, that we all couldn't help but laugh. Sasuke glared, blushing, "It's not true!!" He then hissed at Naruto, "Haven't you grown out of that yet, Hokage-sama??!"

"You're such a child, Oniichan!!" I laughed, my sides hurting, as tears streamed down his cheeks from laughing. I stopped, abruptly. "Is that actually possible, though..?"

We all silenced again. Sasuke cringed, "Why are you all seriously thinking about this?!"

"Wouldn't work, Naruko's not Sasuke's type..." I dismissed, ignoring him.

"Like that's the problem here!! Oi!" Sasuke grew more angry and embarrassed by the second,

Kankuro leered at him, "I bet you couldn't even get 'it' up to get started with her, could you? Sasuke-kun."

"Don't you think I'm cute?" Naruko leaned toward him, "Sa-su-ke ♡"

Finally, Sasuke seemed to have had enough. Naruko was sent flying with a punch, returning Naruto to himself. We all just laughed... including a small girl, who had, unbeknownst to us, witnessed the whole thing.

"Why was Naru-jiji a lady?!" Nanase squealed with laughter, and we all chuckled at her,

"She looks so confused." Kankuro chuckled, which I returned,

"Yes, she does," I laughed, keeping my words light, "I'll kill you if she understood your comment about getting it up, though! ♡"

Our chuckling continued, mine jovial, Kankuro's slightly more strained than it was before. I dove at my daughter and swept her up in a hug. "Where's your brother? We have something to tell you both!"

"Mama has another heart... 's a baby!" Gaara, Nanase and I all blinked at the boy that was clinging to his father's leg. An oddly determined look grew on his face. "I'm gonna be a big brother."

I stared at him a moment, then picked him up, too. Gaara's arms encircled us, and I glanced up at him.

"An amazing one." He said quietly, smiling, and I grinned.

"Too right."

Well, that's the end. I'd just like to take a minute to thank all of you who have stuck with this story to the end, despite the cheesy, mary-sueish, and pretty much downright awful writing at the beginning and despite the hiatus and long waits between chapters. You're all amazing!

When I first started Gaara and Kaien's story I was a silly 13 year old girl without an ounce of writing ability just starting out on this website. And now, 6 years and over 6.5k followers later, I'm finishing it! You can tell I'm emotional, right?! At the time I had no idea where this story would take me, nor where Kaien and Gaara would end up, but I'm proud to say that I'm glad how it turned out and that it will always have a special place in my heart as my first ever serious book. Thank you again for sticking with this ridiculous and poorly thought out journey. I truly hope that you enjoyed it.

Love always,

Ninjasauras.