The Kazekage lay dying, betrayed by Orochimaru, and he would be unmourned. After all, they would drag his name through the mud and claim he brought the Sand Village to ruin. What hope did he have of his children avenging him? Of restoring the honor of their family name?
Temari was the most promising, he had always thought, if not for her gender he could've seen her following in his footsteps. She would make a valuable alliance one day, through marriage, in the best circumstances. Ah, but she was too headstrong, too stubborn. A decent marriage, respectable children, that was the best he could hope for.
He had missed Temari's third birthday. She took her toy fan and created a mini-tornado by accident. The dinner was ruined, but her mother was laughing. Mother didn't laugh very often in those final days of pregnancy. Temari was the one that held her hand, Temari was the one who heard her cry and calmed her down at night. Her father slept in his office.
Kankuro. Hrm. The puppeteer history of Sand was a solid one, but the Kazekage expected better of his firstborn son. He attempted to teach his son the secret techniques his own grandfather had created, but the boy was lazy, unmotivated, weak. No interest in power, no interest in politics, no use to his father.
He had turned a blind eye to Kankuro's creations. The boy created puppets of dogs and cats and horses, and practiced using chakra strings to make Temari hit herself. He managed to steal from the hospital's greenhouse and craft deadly poisons at ten years old. But his father saw only toys.
And Gaara. His greatest mistake of all, and the one he had the highest hopes for. He lost his wife to give the boy near-limitless power, and the ungrateful child threw it back in his face. Even after the failed assassinations, he attempted to drag the youngest out to the training fields and at least learn some decent techniques. The boy would learn in the morning, turn hostile by the afternoon, and attempt to kill him by dinner. He abandoned that project, and what was Gaara but a series of failed ones?
He avoided the child for most of its infancy and toddler-hood. Yashamaru taught the boy to walk, to talk, to laugh. Yashamaru knew the boy was kind and careful, and only wanted a bit of affection in return. The Kazekage sat in front of his desk, and drew up plans to kill them both.
Yes, words could not express how disappointed he was in his children. The Kazekage only had time to pray that they did not dishonor him at his funeral.