Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
When Karura saw her three year old daughter holding a kunai, her first instinct was to snatch the weapon and scream at Temari's father for leaving the child unsupervised. However, she was neither in danger of being impaled nor unsupervised. The esteemed Kazekage, sat there beside her daughter, her baby girl, teaching the child how to hold it properly.
She rolled her eyes at the sight. 'Why does he think Temari should learn to hold a sharp weapon when she can't even feed herself properly?' With her two year old son sleeping in her arms, Karura approached the pair with measured steps.
Yondaime Kazekage looked up at her and smiled. "Has Kankuro come to play?"
Karura narrowed her eyes at her husband. "No. My daughter needs to go to sleep."
"What?!" came a shrill cry from beside the Kazekage "It's still too early, Mommy."
Karura only needed to say Temari's name once more to get her daughter to march straight up to bed. Yondaime looked at her, his brows knitted together and uncomprehending.
"She's three," Karura explained, a sharp edge creeping into her voice "at least let her play with normal toys before sending her off to kill people in those over glorified shinobi mission."
He did not so much as bat an eye at her tone. He's probably attributing her sour mood to pregnancy hormones or dismissing her as a simple minded civilian. Without uttering a word, the Kazekage turned to walk out of the living room. Karura immediately stepped on his foot to keep him from walking out on her.
"I'm serious." Her voice both harsh and pleading. "I did not give birth to these children only to have them die, their throats slit by weapons you introduce to them as playthings."
She felt firm hands press on her shoulders. "Karura," Yondaime whispered, careful not to wake his son resting on his mother's arms "They're not just children. They will be shinobi someday and they need to know these things from an early age..."
Her head snaps up at those words "No, they don't! What they need to know in an early age is how to eat without making a mess, how to play with toys and building blocks, and how to take care of each other! Will there be no end to this-" soft sobbing echoed in the room.
"Mommy, don't be mad..." The Kazekage gently took Kankuro from his mother's arms and wiped away the invisible tears in her eyes. "You're tired," he whispered "I'm not just saying that to keep you from shouting."
She felt hot tears trail from her eyes, this she wiped away by herself. It's not fair. A small voice inside cursed herself for falling in love with one of those glorified mass murderers. She could have lived in a quiet home in the outskirts of the village and her children could have played with wooden toys instead of sharp steel. They could have made a living selling produce instead of snatching the life out of a mother's child.
"I will protect them, Karura," he said to her "We'll both protect them." She slowly turned towards his face, hopeful. "The Third Kazekage was killed when he was forty. Can we really..."
His eyes turned away from her. "I don't know. But that's why we need to start them early. So in case we're gone, in case we can't protect them...they will be strong enough to protect themselves."
Yondaime Kazekage took this time to gently kiss her cheek and turn to tuck his son in bed. Karura's hand went to the tiny lump forming in her belly and prays. She prays to any god in the Suna pantheon who would listen.
'Let me be strong enough to protect them. Let me keep them safe.'