Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto. This was started for Wattpad's Just Write It for October 2015 where the goal was to write a horror piece. This is an expansion of my one-shot Yamiji Ouketsu.

Suna no Mugetsu Re-ku

Nobusuna

The air choked with dust comprised of fine sand thickened by the threat of rain from the clouds above blocking the burning sun from scorching the skin. Gaara's dry tongue pushed up against the roof of his dry mouth as his green eyes stared soullessly down at the villagers passing back and forth down below. Nobody noticed the young Kazekage watching from the shadowed cove above, nor did they know he was listening and observing their conversations. Even after becoming the Kazekage he wanted to know more about the social interactions of other people.

Temari and Kankuro still didn't understand why he did this.

The clouds burst with a sudden downpour and Gaara felt his clothing and sand shield stick unpleasantly to his body. One hand reached up to tug at the clothing as a woman let out a yell and rushed out to the clothes line strung out in the court yard to struggle with getting the wash off the line. One piece of clothing shifted due to the added weight and fell with a sickening thud to the ground below. Gaara's eyes widened wondering if he should step in and help, but another woman hurried from her home to help the other scoop the wet load into baskets and then pull the baskets towards an overhang.

The young Kazekage could still see the two women as well as hear them from where he hid himself in the damp shadows. One of the women attempted to wipe away the rain water dripping from her forehead, and her tongue clicked as she spoke up. "Ruined. Absolutely ruined this day of washing."

The other woman looked up at the sky. "I wonder if our Kazekage is out in this."

Gaara's eyes blinked a couple of times, and he shifted his weight to a more comfortable position as his hand continued to tug at his wet clothing. The other woman turned to look at the other as her mouth pushed into a tight frown. "What ever for?"

"Haven't you noticed? He tends to always be wandering about regardless of the weather."

"His sand protects him from everything." The other woman pulled out a soaking wet piece of clothing and shook it making it so the water scattered across despite the rain still falling outside of the overhang the two women were under.

"Does it?" The second woman's comment caused Gaara to blink again as well as shift his position again.

"It's true you know." The beast in the back of his head spoke up. "Your sand can't protect you from everything."

The second woman pushed back a stray strand of hair. "I don't think his sand protects him from everything. He is human you know."

"Human?" The other woman shook her head. "I guess you could say he's more human then the previous Kazekage."

Gaara's dry mouth opened at the mentioning of the previous Kazekage. His shoulders tensed up as the young Kazekage tried to swallow.

The second person turned to her companion, and her voice gave way a distinct nervousness. "What are you trying to get at?"

"If the Kazekage hadn't died when he did he would have been tried and executed for treason. His children would have been executed with him as well."

A shiver ran down Gaara's spine as his arms wrapped around his thin body. The thought of leaving entered his mind, and his body tensed to do so. The second woman though said something which made him stop. "Don't speak like that! Our Kazekage and his siblings, they've honestly done a lot of good for Suna since that happened! Do you not like our Kazekage, or do you still think of him as a monster? That was you know the previous Kazekage's fault you know."

"I'm not saying anything against our current Kazekage. Goodness knows we wouldn't know we were wrong had the previous Kazekage lived. That man... he was the real monster. As I said though had the previous Kazekage not died all of them would be dead. We would never have known we were wrong."

Gaara's eyes snapped shut as a silence fell between the two women. "Don't understand."

"What don't you understand?" The beast at the back of his head spoke up.

"How is it they can go from thinking the previous Kazekage was a saint to thinking of him as a monster. He really did have the best intention of the village in mind."

"Real funny coming from the child he was more then willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the village and use as a weapon."

Gaara continued to tug at his clothing in an attempt to pull the stick clothing away from his body, and his dry tongue pushed against the roof of his mouth as the sand stuck to his skin in an irritating manner. The second woman spoke up. "It's still worrisome that the Kazekage is likely out in this weather. He's likely soaked to the bone."

The young Kazekage in question shrunk back into the cove as his sand sluggishly moved around himself carefully tightening back up. The rain slowed as the women continued to speak. The first shook her head. "I know you think the Kazekage's sand isn't a perfect shield, but it really is. Nothing can get through. Have you ever heard of anything getting through?"

"Something must have gotten through. How else do you explain the fact the previous Kazekage's plan didn't go well?"

A silence fell between the women as the rain stopped, but Gaara continued to tug at his clothing as his lips pushed together in irritation. A sharp sound came from one side of an alley way leading into the small court yard, and a few of the Suna shinobi hurried forward splashing through the puddles on their way towards the wall. Gaara leaned forward as the men spoke of a man being found at the entrance, a man who should have been dead, hence the reason Baki choose to increase security in the area.

The two men passed by and the young Kazekage jumped from his nook to land on the ground in a puddle making the two women jump. His soulless eyes picked up on the color draining from their faces and heard the tight tone of voice as they greeted hm. He paid no mind to the fact they knew he over heard what they said and simply headed to the hospital to find out what was going on. His clothing and sand still clung to his skin in a miserable fashion. Each step pushed a cascade of water past his toes.

Eventually though the clothing and sad dried out, but the sensation left ended up a rather sticky feeling which made Gaara want to pull his own skin off. His mouth twisted into a frown as he approached the hospital and walked past the staff who stared at him. His pale green eyes took in the looks the medical-nin gave, looks of utter horror. The looks didn't phase him, and he simply walked through the hall to the directors office.

The man's head shot up in the deadening silence, and the director's mouth opened telling the young Kazekage the room number. The young man with his thin frame turned on his heals and headed towards the room and noticed the gathered guard outside of the room and intelligibly guessed Baki was inside. The young Kazekage stared at the Suna elder until the man noticed he was there. "Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara said nothing and simply stepped over to towards the man, and then turned his eyes to look at the patient in the bed. Two red eyebrows shot up upon seeing the man's face, and an odd feeling fell over him indicating he recognized the man, but couldn't place where he knew the man or the fear of trepidation which resulted from seeing the man. He then turned his head to look at Baki. "Who is he?"

"Who is he?" Baki let out a sigh as he looked at the figure. Bandages covered a good portion of the figures body, and a few of the bloody injuries remained uncovered, but stitched up. "Do you recognize him Kazekage?"

"If I did would I be asking you?" Gaara spoke without snapping.

"You might ask if you weren't sure."

"Sorry."

"You need not apologize lord Kazekage." The man turned back to look at the man. "In some ways I'd rather not tell you who the person is as I'm not sure how you will take the information, but it would also be wrong not to tell you as you are my superior."

Garra's pale green eyes turned back to the man, and he felt the corners of his mouth press shut as he looked at the man lying in the bed. "Is it something I need to know and deal with."

Baki let out a sigh. "Probably."

"Do you not trust me?"

The Suna elder remained silent until Gaara turned to look him in the eye. "I must honestly admit I'm still getting used to the fact your mental state's stabilized. It's still much of a shock. That though, it's not the only concern I have regarding how you'll take the information." A silence fell between the two causing the young Kazekage to look away, but after a brief moment of silence Baki decided to speak up. "This man is one of the previous Kazekage's men."

"So?" Gaara turned his head to look at the man. "I think I would have noticed if he tried attacking me. I also don't blame those allied with the previous Kazekage for not taking to me."

"That's not it." Baki's words jarred the young Kazekage's head up. "When I say this man is one of the previous Kazekage's men I mean this is one of the men who died the same time your father did."

A shudder ran down the young Kazekage's spine, and his fingers reached up to pick at his sleeve. He felt the cloth pull away, and then snap back. "How?"

"I don't know. He lost consciousness before we could ask him."

Gaara's head turned to look at the man again as another shudder ran down his spine. His pale eyes took in the man's facial features and easily noted the fact the man's face remained in tact. The beast at the back of his head began to mock him, and it was Shukaku who first chimed the idea of another certain someone being alive and a tense sensation of fear washed over the young Kazekage.

"Kazekage?"

The young red head found himself brought back to reality, and his head darted up to look at the Suna elder. "Is it possible, is it possible he's actually alive?"

Gaara watched as Baki simply stared at him in wonderment. "Or this man could be an imposter. It could be a trap. Even if it isn't you need to remember what the previous Kazekage did."

"Is he really a monster like the villagers say? He did after all do what he felt was best for the village"

Baki's head shot up so he could look the young Kazekage in the eye. Something about the look on Baki's face sickened the young Kazekage, but his thought process couldn't figure out what bothered him. The man finally spoke in response to Gaara's words. "Are you sure you want the previous Kazekage to be alive? He may have had the best interests for the village in mind, but he certainly didn't have yours. One might even argue he didn't have your older siblings best interests in mind either."

A thick feeling settled into the young man's throat. "I don't think my feelings matter."

"What about your older siblings?"

"I don't appreciate their mistreatment, and suspect I'd come to heads with him on such a matter." Gaara couldn't shake the ill feeling in the pit of his stomach regarding the man the two were discussing. "My feelings, or my own well being for that matter, that doesn't matter."

The look on Baki's face told Gaara he didn't like the answer he got, but the young Kazekage found himself unable to understand why. "Still, he's likely an imposter."

"There is a way we could tell for sure when he wakes up." Gaara watched the man's head dart up. Something told him Baki not only read his mind, but also didn't like what the young Kazekage was thinking.

The man however didn't even try to argue with the youth beyond saying why.

"It's the right thing to do."