Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but if I did, that'd be cool!
CHAPTER 1 – Mother
Temari ran up to her mother, in her hands the doll her mother had given to her the day before. It was handmade. Special. Temari's mother was a beautiful young Medic Nin, like her younger brother, Yashamaru, with Temari's blonde hair. Lately the kunoichi and mother of 2, soon to be 3, had been very solemn, only ever smiling to her daughter and 1-year-old son, Kankuro. Her father had told Temari that it was only a little labor over the new child, that Temari had to be especially nice to her mother.
"Can I sit on your lap, Mommy?" Temari asked, though there was hardly any room that Karura's bulging stomach didn't take up.
Karura smiled softly, rocking her chair slightly. "Sure, you can sit on my knees." Temari smiled and crawled carefully to her mothers' knees. She couldn't help but poke the hard belly that held her little brother of sister. "Has it been kicking?" she asked, remembering the time when Kankuro wasn't born, but Temari had felt her mother's stomach right as her brother kicked.
Karura shook her head. "He or she's been kind to me." She whispered, but to Temari's surprise, her mother started to cry, her eyes blurred by salty teardrops.
"I'll go get Father." Temari said seldomly. Karura, however, broke out of her cries to comprehend what her firstborn had said.
"Wait, Temari-" Karura tried to get up, the way she normally would have, but was stopped by a terrible breaking feeling that spread through her body. "Don't bring him here," she whispered as her water broke.
Temari ran through the halls of their home as fast as her little 3-year-old legs would take her. She was sure that her father'd be in his study, doing some last minute 'kage business before departing back to the Kazekage tower.
Reaching his office door, Temari yanked open the door and dashed in. Her father didn't acknowledge her presence until she stood right in front of the desk, her wide teal eyes staring at him.
"What is it, Temari?" he asked in a dry tone, writing something down on a piece of paper.
"It's Mommy, she's been crying again." Temari explained.
The Kazekage sighed and looked down impatiently at his daughter. "And I've told you before, it's just labor over the child!"
"But it wasn't even kicking and-" Temari was cut of by a cry that silenced the house. The Kazekage stood and in a flash was out of the office, leaving Temari stunned as the breeze from her father's departure brushed her face.
Temari was young, but she had a lot of common sense about the world. She'd been through her brother, Kankuro's, birth, and she felt she knew what to expect for this new one. So she knew from the distant cry that her mother was going into labor.
The young blonde girl stumbled up to the stairs to her mothers' nursery, her teeth grinding against each other. She reached the door right as her mother and father were exiting. Karura had a look of fear in her eyes, and her father a hard stone look that made her freeze. Temari watched as the Kazekage helped her mother down the stairs, only moving once Karura finally turned back to Temari. Tears still streaked the pretty Sand nin's face. "I love you, Temari." She whispered. "Be sure to tell your brother, as well. Tell Kankuro I love him. Will you?"
Temari nodded mutedly. She knew something was wrong. Swallowing she started to follow her parents towards the front door to the Kazekage residence.
"Stay with your brother, Temari," her father said in a hard voice as her opened the door. "Your uncle will be here to look after you now."
With that her father slammed the door behind them, and Temari fell into cold. Before, when she was 2 and a half, still a little fuzzy on her take of the world, and Kankuro'd been borne, she hadn't seen her parents so serious. Then again, perhaps her vision had been blurred by youth. But now everything seemed as crystal clear as a sharp of glass.
"Your uncle will be here to look after you now." Temari whispered. She didn't want to accept the thought, but obviously her parents thought there was something wrong, or that something grave was going to happen.
(skip)
Yashamaru walked up to the Kazekage house and opened the door. Inside was peaceful, the sound of the sand filled wind muted by the hard packed walls. He thought of his own house, the one he and his sister had shared until she'd fallen for the Kazekage. He still didn't see the draw. He was several years younger than his sister, not even a professional in his trade yet, perhaps he wasn't old enough to see the drawstrings of love like his sister did.
"Temari, you there?" he called.
"I'm in the nursery." She called from upstairs. The young medic nin walked up the stairs and to the nursery to see Temari awkwardly holding Kankuro in her small arms.
"Where's your mother and father, Tem'? They didn't even tell me where they were going!" Yashamaru asked, kneeling down in front of her.
"The baby's coming." Temari said blandly.
At that Yashamaru shot up, his hands in fists. "And they didn't even tell me?" he whispered. Karura had told him about the child, what had been done to it? He was furious!
"Will Mommy be okay?" Temari's voice, timid and scared, broke Yashamaru from his trance.
Looking down at his niece, he saw just how young she was. Her brother, almost 2 now, awkward in her arms. They were so young!
"I don't know." He lied, sitting down in the rocking chair. Temari ran up to him and crawled into his lap.
"I hope Mommy is gonna be okay." She whispered, hugging her brother tight and closing her eyes.
"Me too."
(skip)
Karura blinked slowly. She muttered some incoherent words, she didn't know what she said, not really, or why her arms, shaky, started to reach out. She felt exhausted all over, her heat beat slower then usual. She knew she was coming to an end, she'd prepared herself for this. Something small and clothed was set in her arms she felt a smile slip onto her face. The baby fit perfectly into her arms.
"It's a boy." Someone said close to her ear. Karura nodded and held the boy close to her face. Pale green eyes gazed straight at her, their eyes ringed with insomniac black. He already held the demons signature mark.
Anger boiled up inside of her. Her poor baby, her little boy, had to grow up in such a horrible village, full of horrible shinobi. Looking at his face, the soft set of brick red hair, she could almost imagine the type of ninja he'd have grown to be, if not for the monster inside him. Perhaps Yashamaru could have taken him as a Medic nin apprentice.
"His name shall be Gaara." She said as loudly as she could. Yashamaru knew her wishes. He'd care for her son, not Gaara's monster father.
The Kazekage glared at his wife. "Gaara."
"Yes. And he shall avenge me, my last child. You can count on that." Karura looked from her angered husband to her son. "I love you."
(skip)
Temari woke up to sunshine tickling her eyelids. She yawned and sat up. It was warm, the wind blowing sand outside her window. Temari was in her own room, not the nursery.
"That's right." She said softly, standing up. "Mommy left for the hospital." Temari thought about her new brother or sister. She wondered if they'd have reddish brown hair like dad, or blond like her mother. She giggled and ran out of her room and to the nursery. To her extreme happiness, a new, smaller baby bed had been added.
The little blonde ran up and peeked over the side of the cribs bars. Wide mid-drift eyes gazed into her own teal ones. The baby had a round cubby face, like Kankuro had, and the shape of the eyes was the same, yet he had rings around his eyes, and his hair was a red/brown. Still, the baby was absolutely adorable.
Temari managed to climb into the crib and held her new baby brother in her arms. He was really small, so he wasn't quite as awkward to hold as Kankuro. "Hi-ya!" she said in a slightly squeaky voice. Her brother simply stared up at her, eyes unblinking. Temari sighed. "Well, at least you're not screaming, like Kankuro. You wanna meet him, too?" Temari carefully stood with Gaara in her arms so he could look over into his older brothers crib.
"Temari, what are you doing?"
Temari nearly dropped her brother, but caught herself just in time. Setting Gaara back down, she crawled out of the crib and to her father, who looked graver then ever.
"Sorry, I just wanted to meet him. What's his name?"
"Gaara." The Kazekage said tensely. "Listen. I need to speak with you."
Temari frowned. "'Bout what? And why isn't Mommy hear, shouldn't she… be…." Temari stopped. "Is she alright?"
Her father sighed, about to kneel down to break the news, but Temari knew. Tears formed in her eyes and she shook her head madly. "No, no, no!"
The Kazekage looked to his daughter with eyes that weren't not kind, but they didn't have a lot of sympathy either. "I am sorry. But it was for the better of the village."
Temari swallowed and looked up at her father. "The better of the village?" she repeated.
"Your mother died nobly. Your brother shall be unlike any other shinobi of the Sand. He will be our weapon against the rival villages. The Suna will grow strong again!"
Temari stared in horror at her power driven father. His tirade shocked her. The young girl looked back to her newest brother. He looked so innocent. So small; why was he to be the villages' next great weapon.
"But why would Mother have had to die then?" she nearly wailed.
"It had to be." The Kazekage said gravely. "For the strength of our village, it had to be done."
"I want Mommy." Temari whispered, tears flowing from her eyes.
"Be strong." Her father said coldly, and then turned to his youngest son. "You too, Gaara."
This chapter was depressing, but fun to right. It'll get better, or as better as it can be. Believe it! (I wish Karura had a bigger part in Naruto than just being in a picture or in one of Gaara's flash backs, just sayin'.)