Secret Memories (Naruto Fanfic)

Where is Mommy?

 "When is mommy and the baby coming home?"

Rasa stopped short in the doorway, his brown eyes drifting down to the blond haired girl standing next to him. The girl's hair, her eyes, they looked just like her mothers, and there was that look Karura gave him, demanding an answer from him, but as always his mouth refused to open. Behind the small girl stood another child, their arms wrapped around their siblings waist. Rasa noticed one brown eye, and shoots of brown hair.

"Mommy's not coming home." Rasa watched Temari's frown move, her lips wrinkling up as she took in what he said. The brown eye behind Temari squeezed shut, and a muffled sob was heard from the two year old, and the small arms wrapped tighter around his sister's waist. Rasa felt one corner of his mouth moved, frustration at the fact his eldest son cried way to easily. The auburn haired man tried speaking in a soft manner though to calm the boy, like Karura tried teaching him. "What is the matter? Did I say something wrong?"

Temari's small nose wrinkled up, and the auburn haired man recollected when she was Gaara's age, her small nose wrinkling up as she took in the new world around her. Little wrinkles appeared around the child's beautiful eyes, and her mouth twisted into a childish pout. "You're mean."

"How so?"

"You don't care that mommy's not coming home."

"I do care." Rasa stared at the blond haired child, rather awestruck at how the girl's mind worked. His mouth opened to say something, but found his tongue dry, the words refusing to come out. Temari, that look on her face, the look only appeared when something bothered the three year old. His mind fumbled over the right words, but instead his calloused hand reached down to ruffle soft blond hair, his body kneeling down so he could look right into those beautiful eyes. He felt his mouth twist down, wondering if the words would come.

Temari, however, had something to say. "You are sad too?"

"Yes, I am." Rasa swallowed away the dryness in his throat.

"Where is baby?"

"With Yashamaru." The man took a deep breath. "I am going to see him right now, so be good for when the babysitter comes by, all right?" His calloused hand ruffled the girl's sandy locks some more, realizing no one had done up her hair in the manner Karura adored. "I could... couldn't. Temari always complains." Rasa noticed Kankuro still sobbing, and he leaned to the side to look at his eldest son. "Kankuro?" A hiccup ended up the only response, as the sobs continued to rack the child's small body. "You be good to, right?"

A head of brown hair nodded up, and down once, more hiccups occurring making the boy's body jump. The side of the child's face he could see was streaked with tears, the child's lip trembling. Rasa moved his hand to wipe away the tears with the back of his sleeve, but stopped short at the foreign action, his heart pounding in his throat. "No. This is Karura's job. What am I going to do without her? She always told me the right way to do these things."

A sigh escaped Rasa's throat, his body tensing up as he stood to leave the house, wondering if the two would actually be alright. The auburn haired man's stomach lurched, the pout on Temari's face reminding him of the pout Karura made when things didn't go to her liking. Staying though meant his heart would break, and he slipped from the room as Temari continued to glare, her eyes reflections of her mothers.

The Lord Kazekage headed to the hospital, his shoulders tense as he felt the eyes of Suna upon him, staring, but not saying anything of the plight Rasa went through with his family. The auburn haired man's eyes drifted to the ground, glad that no one tried approaching him, as Rasa knew his words would not come easily. Each step felt like forever, as he took himself towards the room Gaara was in, his throat tightening, not sure what he would see.

Yashamaru stood in the room next to the small crib, the tiny infant resting safely in the sandy haired man's arms. Relief washed over Rasa upon seeing his youngest, and he stepped over to watch Gaara's arms move, his sea foam green eyes open wide. One arm moved up, a calloused finger held out to touch the delicate infant, only to stop short, his throat tightening at the thought of such a small thing breaking.

The smile upon Yashamaru's face left. "He's not a monster, Rasa-nii. You can hold him if you want."

Rasa's eyes blinked a couple of times, his breath drawing sharp, the air stinging his throat. "I can't. I might drop him."

The auburn haired man's brother-in-law let out a humming sound, the smile so reminiscent of Karura's creeping across the young, sandy haired man's face. "I see. I guess asking you just to man up, and confess to nee-chan is out of the question."

The Lord Kazekage choked, a tightening feeling in his nose making him gag, and splutter. "That... you know... that..."

"You should have more faith in yourself, Lord Rasa. You are the Kazekage after all."

"That's not the same." Rasa felt his lips tighten, his anxiety grow. "That's one thing, this is another."

The auburn man opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, as if a rock were lodged in his throat. Yashamaru tilted his head in a childish manner, the smirk he shared with his sister playing across his lips. Something though reminded the Lord Kazekage of the look Temari gave him earlier. "Lady Chiyo, she's taken sis to her place now."

Rasa blinked a couple of times, his tongue pushing against the roof of his mouth. "Something, there is something about that Yashamaru doesn't like." Instead of saying something, as the twinge in his gut told him he should, his tongue feeling like it was weighed down with sand.