Frostbitten Sand (Naruto Fanfic)

Awakening Holiday Season

The sand crunched under the feet of the young Kazekage as he and Kankuro stepped towards Suna on their return journey. Gaara's thin hand reached down to finger the package of medicine tucked securely into his clothing. The two brother's walked with a steady stride, and for a moment Kankuro flashed a grin at his younger brother as they walked through the gates. "Well, that trip went well, didn't it?"

Gaara's head darted up to look his brother in the eye. "You coming?"

The grin quickly left Kankuro's mouth, and the young puppet master rubbed the back of his neck. "You know that I don't like going and seeing him. I'll wait for you outside of the hospital, particularly since there are Anbu guarding him."

The red haired shinobi titled his head slightly at his older brother, and didn't verbalize what he felt.

Kankuro let out a sound indicating he knew full well what Gaara was thinking at that point of time for once. "You know full well why Gaara. I'm surprised you've not given up on him yet either. He's been like this for a couple of years now."

"He's our father." The two brother's stared at each other, and then Kankuro reached out a hand to ruffle his brother's hair despite the young shinobi's status as the Kazekage. Something in Kankuro's eyes told Gaara that something was upsetting his brother, but he couldn't place his finger on what that was.

Stepping into the hospital Gaara saw the medical-nin working on putting up the decorations in the hallways. His pale green eyes widened at the sight. "Decorating already?"

One of the female medical-nin stopped what she was doing, and smiled down at the young shinobi. "Hello Lord Kazekage. Be sure to be on the look out for mistletoe so that you don't stand under it. I'm quite sure some young ladies would like to take advantage of the situation once it gets close to the day of celebration."

"I'm not quite following." Gaara watched as the nurse stepped down the ladder, and made a quick bow

"Speaking of which, would it be possible to stop by the children's ward sometime before Christmas Eve. Some of the children won't be able to go home to their families."

"I would love to, but also can't promise anything." The red haired shinobi felt the corners of his mouth twist up slightly for a short while. He waved at the nurse, before heading on his way to the room where the previous lord Kazekage stayed. On his way he stopped by the head medical-nin's office to drop off the medicine.

The two Anbu standing guard outside of the door startled upon seeing the young jinchuriki. "Lord Kazekage?" The Anbu who spoke up glanced over to his partner, before choosing to speak up. "Shouldn't you have your own guard with you?"

"Kankuro is outside the hospital waiting for me, and the two of you are here. Plus, there's also my own abilities. I wish to visit the forth Kazekage now." The men let Gaara slip into the room, and the young Shinobi headed over to sit in his usual chair next to the man. Even after two years the young shinobi couldn't find words to speak to the man, and instead picked up the book on the nightstand.

Gaara's thin fingers turned to the place he left off reading the last time, but then stopped short letting his mouth hang open for a few seconds. His head darted up wondering if he should tell the man about the visitors from Konoha who would be coming by for the holiday season, but stopped again. His eyes darted down to the page in front of him, but then pushed his lips together to look up again at Rasa.

"Things are getting better," didn't even leave his mouth, as the young shinobi watched Rasa's finger twitch, and then watched as the man's eyes flickered open for a short time.

The young Kazekage stood up, and the book dropped from his hands to the ground. Gaara let his hands grip the side of the bed, and he leaned over to look at the man. The sound of another person coming into the room didn't make the red haired shinobi look up to see who the person was, nor did the head medical-nin's calling out. "Lord Kazekage?"

Gaara's eyes widened as he watched Rasa's finger's twitch again, and then his head darted up to look at the medical-nin in question. The young Kazekage pointed a thin finger at the man in the bed. The medical-nin's eyes widened as he stepped over, and a hand reached out to touch the young shinobi's shoulder. The man then turned to Gaara. "I need you to step out so I can do my job please."

The young shinobi stepped out of the room, and stood across from the two Anbu as the head medical-nin called for other medical-nin to come into the room. Eventually they came out, and Gaara looked up at the man. "Is it all right if I see him now?"

"I don't think that is a good idea, Lord Kazekage. Would it be possible to see you and your two siblings in my office? Actually, it may not be a bad idea to see Lord Baki as well."

Gaara's eyes widened, and he pushed himself away from the door, and headed outside to where Kankuro was waiting. Upon arriving a grin spread across Kankuro's face. "So you're done visiting him, and we can go home and see Temari? She'll be glad to see us."

"They didn't let me see him." The young Kazekage watched as his brother's face fell. "The head medical-nin wants to see us in his office. You, me, Temari, and also Baki."

"Is he dead?"

Kankuro's comment made Gaara's stomach lurch, and the red haired shinobi felt the corners of his mouth pressed together.

The older of the two siblings took a deep breath, and rubbed the back of his head. "I'll go and get them. You head up to the head medical-nin's office Gaara."

The young Kazekage turned back into the hospital, and headed up to the office in question. The head medical-nin was waiting for him, and motioned for him to take a seat. When Temari and Kankuro came to the room he felt his brother's calloused hand placed onto his shoulder. Gaara saw both of his siblings were upset as Temari took a seat next to their younger brother.

Baki soon came into the room, and stood with his arms folded. "Kankuro sent me a message saying there was news regarding the forth Kazekage, and that I was to be here to hear the news as well."

The head medical-nin began to tap his fingers on the desk, and his lips pushed together. "The forth Kazekage is awake."

A silence fell over the room, and out of the corner of Gaara's eye the young Kazekage saw his sister tense up.

"Can I see him then?" Gaara felt Kankuro's hand tighten protectively around his shoulder.

"I don't think that's a good idea." The head medical-nin folded his fingers together. "While it's true Lord Kazekage that you're the only one of your siblings to visit him these last couple of years, it's also true that the fourth Kazekage doesn't know you've changed from who you were two years ago. We don't know how he'll react to seeing you."

Gaara turned to look at Temari, but she simply sat there biding her tongue instead of saying what she wanted.

Their brother didn't, however, hold back. "I'm going to put my foot down and say I absolutely don't want you to see that man. It was one thing when he wasn't awake, and couldn't say anything to you."

"We don't want you to get hurt again."

"Can't the two of you though..." Gaara's words stopped short upon feeling Kankuro's grip tighten even more.

"No. Absolutely not. Neither one of us are ready to forgive him little brother."

Another silence fell over the room. The head medical-nin finally came to the point of the meeting. "I was afraid of that. We still need someone to run interference for..." The man for some reason paused, and shook his head before continuing. "... the previous Lord Kazekage. He doesn't get know two years have passed. Lord Baki..."

"I'll run interference. The three of you need not to worry."

The corners of Gaara's mouth pressed down. Despite his trust of Baki, something still bothered him."