Title: Monster
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing/Characters: Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, Yashamaru
Warning(s): None
Genre: General
Temari learned to say "mama" the day before Kankuro's birth, and "monster" the day after Gaara's. The circumstances behind her mother's death were for so long a mystery. Her attendants explained that she sacrificed herself to a monster in order to save the village. She was a hero. The monster sealed inside of Temari's youngest brother would save them all. It was hard to understand. All she knew was that her mother's warm embraces and melodic words were replaced with eerie chills and silence.
Still, she would not cry. She was the lady of the house. She was taught that ladies were dignified and strong. Those with dignity and strength did not cry.
Kankuro cried a lot, though. He was an infant. That's what infants did. His wails faded into whimpers whenever Temari held him. He learned to walk and talk after her lead, and eventually stopped crying as well. They were children of the Kazekage, destined to live strong lives. They tossed away their tears, their reservations, and themselves in order to become ninjas. Their training started young, and the first to supervise them was their uncle Yashamaru.
They were strong and knew no nonsense in their training. All nonsense was met with discipline, the likes of which made them quiver. It took months before Kankuro dared to ask about their mother at the end of one of their sessions. He wasn't satisfied with Temari's murky memories. To tell the truth, Temari wasn't satisfied with them either.
"My sister Karura was beautiful, strong, and wise. Above all, she was loving. She gave her life for this village, you two most of all."
"What about Gaara?" blurted Temari, and when she saw a flash of malice in her uncle's eyes she gasped and clutched Kankuro's arm, wishing she could take it back.
"You're not to see him or know of him. That is Kazekage-sama's will," said Yashamaru, polishing a kunai with just a little too much force.
"He's our brother!" blurted Kankuro, having always had this question burning inside of him as well.
"He's a tool. Nothing more. I don't recommend becoming attached to him, or even the idea of him. He'll be dead before long."
Yashamaru tossed his kunai into the bullseye of a target and left it at that. The two siblings exhaled their chafing breaths and waited for their uncle to vacate the room. Both of them wanted to protest. Their eyes reflected the same wonders and the same outrage. Their mouths stayed shut, as usual.
END