Welp, I just saw something amazing. Was re-reading Your Blood, and the amount of votes and comments on that story now is insane!! Take VIII as an example (the chapter with Gaara and Kaien's first kiss) that chapter has 163 votes and 29 comments! Over 6.9k reads, too! :O

So I decided to update to say THANK YOU OMG for all of the amazing support I'm getting from you guys. :D

Enjoy the first chapter of the final arc! :3

(The side picture is Shirazu from TG:Re with a Turtwig. Drawn by me. Because why the fuck not)

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It was dark in the cave. That wasn't so strange- no bulbs were placed in there, the only source of light a torch that had been set aflame and flickered in the strange wind that echoed through the dank space. The torch light illuminated the hands of the person that held it, but fell short of his main body.

There was a rustle of clothing, and a small hiss as a droplet of moisture from a stalactite fell into the flame. Other than that, silence reigned, not even perforated by footsteps- though someone entered the room.

"You called for me, Banchou*?" the voice that broke the silence was deceptively warm and smooth, like an odourless poison concealed in sweet honey.

"Yes... how are the preparations going?" the one holding the torch asked- his voice was much rougher, deeper, as though he had faced many hardships.

"We are almost finished, my Lord."

"Good... you depart tomorrow morning."

"Nanase." there was no response. I sighed. "Nanase, I know you're there." still hearing nothing, I decided to try a different tactic. "What's that, Haku?" I heard her sharp intake of breath as I feigned conversation with the stuffed animal. "You say you're going away? For how long?" I paused, then gasped. "Forever?! But whatever will Nanase do without you?"

"Haku-chan don't leave!" Nanase tore out of her hiding spot, leaping to grab the bear from my hands. I chuckled as she froze, realising that she'd fallen for my trick. Before she could dart away, I grasped ahold of her collar.

"Now that I've got you..." I smiled at her, though my eyebrow twitched slightly in anger. "Mind explaining the scribbles on the floor over there? I know the pen didn't grow arms and draw with itself..."

Nanase looked away, then back, then away, fidgeting ever so slightly. She played with her fingers, then yelled, "Yura-chan did it!" she folded her arms, looking guilty but seeming to find sacrificing her infant brother easier than turning herself in.

I rose an eyebrow at her. "Yura did it. Really." she nodded, looking determined. "Are you sure?" more than a 'Are you sure that's what happened?' that was a 'Are you sure that's the excuse you want to use?'. She nodded once more, sweating beading on her forehead. Her brows furrowed. I finally snapped and glared at her. "And I suppose Yura drew a moustache on himself, too? Like hell I'd believe that!"

She glared back, "Well that's what happened! You never believe me, 'ttebayo!"

She stopped, as did I. We stared at each other. Her face paled, while mine darkened.

"Nanase..." she gulped. "Go to your room." she nodded vigourously, and ran away. I screamed after her, "Don't let me catch you scribbling on the floor again! Ya got that?!"

"Yes Ma'am!" she yelled back from her room. I sighed, steam seeming to come from my ears. I was going to kill Naruto. Not only had he got even Gaara calling her by that insufferable nickname, he'd even passed on his annoying verbal tic. Why couldn't he pass it on to his own kid? Gah.

"What's with all the yelling?" Gaara had apparently picked that moment to sneak up on me. I jumped out of my skin and struck out. Luckily, he was used to my random punches and simply leaned to the side to dodge.

"Oh, Gaara." I lowered my fist, then sighed. "Nanase drew on the floor. Again."

"Well, she's a kid. What do you expect?" I frowned at him.

"I expect you to back me up with these things." I said, narrowing my eyes. I exhaled heavily through my nose, "You're too soft on her. That's why she's like this."

"Well, my free time is pretty limited." he said, "I don't want to spend the little time I do get with her telling her off, you know?"

I rolled my eyes, brushing his hands, that had moved to rub my arms, off. "Yeah yeah. Well, now you're back I can leave. I need to get some stuff from the market while it's still open."

"Alright." he said, "Where's Yura?"

"He's in the living room." I grabbed my wallet and kunai pouch. It was temperate outside so I didn't bother with a coat. "See you later." I shut the door before I could hear his reply. I was irked. I knew that as soon as I was gone he'd go and persuade her to come out of her room with sweets or something, making her totally ignore what I'd said. She wasn't very well disciplined and this was the whole reason.

Though, as I walked through the cool night and let the clean air clear my head, I supposed that I probably wouldn't love Gaara if he was any other way. It was just frustrating.

When I returned to my home I came in through the kitchen, and found that the floor had been scrubbed clean of pen marks. I blinked, surprised- I had expected to have had to clean that up when I returned. I walked into the living room to find Gaara asleep with Yura on the couch. I huffed a laugh through my nose, smiling slightly. I caught sight of Nanase, peering out from behind the couch at me. When our eyes met, she looked away quickly, sweating as she ducked behind the couch.

I smirked slightly, knowing she was sulking. I felt a little bad, but she could sulk a little while longer. I'd make her favourite (Okonomiyaki) for dinner and she'd cheer up.

She fidgeted awkwardly through the whole of dinner. I frowned, but let it go- I couldn't be bothered to have another argument right then. Yura sat, staring into space, then looked at his elder sister. Then he looked at me.

"Mama, did neechan do good?" He asked, seeming confused. "Neechan's floor."

I frowned, unsure what he meant. He stuffed more food in his mouth.

"Neechan... scrub scrub." He pointed at the area where the scribbles had been. "Make floor all shiny."

"Shut up, Yu-chan!" Nanase exclaimed, flushing red. She froze, then glanced at me, then glared down at her plate. Her cheeks were burning.

"You cleaned the floor, Nanase?" I asked, surprised. I'd assumed that Gaara had done it.

She fidgeted. "Yeah..." she chewed on her lips, then stood up from the floor and ran to her room. I sent Gaara a guilty look, and he smiled, indicating with his head for me to go. I stood up too, and followed after my mischievous daughter.

I knocked on the door, then just walked in. She was flopped on her bed, clutching Haku the bear to her. I felt the guilt wash over me again. She hadn't been sulking. She had simply been worried that I was still mad at her.

"Nanase, I'm not angry with you." She curled up tighter, clearly embarrassed. She was red all the way to her ears. I sat down on the bed beside her and she turned away. I sighed. I placed my hand on top of her head, patting her curls. "Thank you for cleaning the floor. You did a good job."

She peered hesitantly around at me. "Really?"

I grinned. "Really."

She got up and flung herself into my opened arms for a hug. "I'm sorry I got mad at you, Nanase."

"I won't draw on the floor again, Mama. I promise." The nine year old mumbled into my jumper.

The moment was interrupted by the sound of a clatter and then crying. I froze, realising that it was Yura, and leapt up, leaving the room with a quick apology to my daughter. Yura was being held by a panicking Gaara. It was odd that he'd be crying- he must have really hurt himself.

"What happened?" I asked, folding my knees beneath myself as I sat down in front of them.

"He tripped on his blanket. I think he cut his knee." Gaara said, attempting to console our son.

I gently took hold of the limb, starting up the steady glow of chakra that would heal the laceration. My sealing mark had long since been modified; I could heal, but the Blood Control ability was well and truly locked away. I didn't trust myself not to use it if someone were to threaten my balance. Not yet.

The blood welled up over his knee, then fizzled away, leaving clear, unblemished skin behind. Yura had stopped crying, watching in awe and slight discomfort as I healed him. But, even with my gifts as a healer, that was way too fast...

Pushing the thought aside, I kissed his knee and smiled at him. "There. All better."

He smiled back, tearfully, "Thanks Mama."

- - -

I yawned largely as I strolled down to the gates; Gaara had asked me to meet Temari as she came from her mission to get the report. It was early in the morning and she'd probably been travelling through the night, so would need to get some rest immediately.

It was still a little bit awkward between Temari and I- I was completely over what had happened those few years ago, but she didn't ever seem to know what to say to me. So, we only exchanged the standard small talk before I took the mission report scroll from her and we went our separate ways.

I hadn't been walking long before I noticed someone following me. I stopped, and turned- a man and a woman, seemingly travellers from the looks of their luggage, were stood near me. Both wore masks.

I smiled easily. This kind of thing happened often; it was easy to get lost in Suna and usually a person would find the nearest shinobi for assistance. "Can I help you?"

"Ah- yes." The man's voice was smooth. It put me on edge that I couldn't see their faces, but I ignored it since there were quite a few clans in which it was disrespectful to show your face. "We're a little lost- could you point us to the nearest restaurant? We've had a long journey."

"Sure. There's a nice little Yakitori joint just down this road, it's got red curtains outside. That okay?" They nodded, so I got out a bit of paper and a pen from my pocket (convenient, right?) and scribbled down some directions.

"Thank you!" They bowed to me, then hurried along. My eyes followed them down the street, widening as I caught a glimpse of the shine of a metal headband. Were they shinobi?

As i reached Gaara's office, the concern over the strange pair was still circling my head. I knocked and he called for me to enter, relaxing somewhat when he saw it was me. I smiled at him, but he seemed to feel that something was off.

"Here's Temari's mission report." I said, passing it to him. "She went straight home. She looked like crap."

"Good, good." He eyed me, carefully. I stared at the floor, distracted. "What's wrong?"

I jumped, then finally focused on him. "Well...." I chewed my lip, "I'm sure it's nothing, but- well, you weren't expecting any visiting shinobi, were you?"

"A band of five from the Cloud Village. Why?" He responded, lacing his fingers together atop his desk. I smiled,

"I saw a pair of shinobi earlier. They're probably part of the group from Kumo." I said, relieved, "Just thought I better check with you."

"Alright." He said, smiling slightly in return. He stood, crossing the room to run a hand lightly through my hair, "You should get home. Kankuro's not good with our kids."

Our kids... I smiled wider. "Yeah."

Our family....

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Prolly only about 3-4 more chapters to go for this book. Gonna go out with a bang, though! :D