AN: So, this idea just suddenly came to me. What the hell would Haru do, if he was born as Gaara? He lives in the middle of a desert, has a sand demon locked in him, and controls sand. Gaara would be one of the worst people for Haru to be reborn into, honestly.
And thus, this crossover was born.
Chapter 1: A Sandfish Is Born
Karura gave a long sigh, as Chiyo-obaa-sama finally finished the sealing ceremony.
The petite woman wasn't exactly happy that Rasa decided to seal the One Tailed Demon within one of her children, but…Well, it was for the best for Sunagakure. Her sweet little one will be strong—strong enough to survive the world of shinobi—and help protect the village.
She suddenly felt a jolt in her stomach.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, looking down at her rounded belly with wide eyes, and a bit of awe. "He…He kicked me."
The venerable Lady Chiyo gave a dry cackle. "Yes, that's what babies do, when they're in the mother's womb, Karura-chan."
The younger woman slowly sat up from her previous spread-eagle position on the sandstone slab. One of her hands fluttered to her baby bump. "This has been the first time I've felt him kick…Should I get my brother? Or Rasa?"
Chiyo scoffed. "Ah, let 'em feel your stomach later. This is your moment, Karura-chan. Bask in it."
A bemused smile spread across the brunette young woman's features. "Perhaps I will." She cradled her stomach in her hands, smile softening. "I think…I think he will be alright. Perhaps he is even fine with the One Tails, as he reacted right after the sealing ceremony."
Lady Chiyo merely gave a hum. "He'll be an odd one. Strong, but odd."
The expecting mother gave a startled laugh. Chiyo-obaa-sama was always very blunt.
"I'm sure he will," Karura replied warmly.
Yashamaru furiously wrote down the results on the forms in his hands. "Looks like everything's good, sis," he told Karura. "Bit more activity from the little guy than we expected. But other than that? He seems to be healthy."
"Oh, good," the woman sighed, a hand gently placed on her heart. "I was getting worried."
It's been a month since the sealing. As her baby grows, so does his restlessness. It's quite common for the baby to be kicking inside her womb.
"Still…I wonder what the little guy's doing in there?" her brother mused, a teasing tilt to his smile. "Kickboxing? Swimming? Karate?"
Karura laughed, aiming as swat at his shoulder. "Don't give him any ideas! Stop being such a bad influence to my children, Yasha-chan. You're even starting before he's born!"
"A new record, I know," the young man smirked, ducking from receiving a smack to the head. He gave a laugh. "Hey, no strenuous activity, sis! It's bad for the baby."
"Chiding you and putting you in your place isn't strenuous. I do it often enough," the young woman sniffed, nose in the air, a grin creeping upon her mouth.
"Oh, c'mon! Don't be like that, Karu-nee!" Yashamaru whined, a pout in place.
"If you behaved, then maybe I wouldn't have to do so, so often," the elder sibling teased to her younger brother, an impish twinkle in her eyes as she gave him a grin.
"Why won't he just behave?" the expecting mother groaned, one delicate hand over her eyes, as she heavily rested on a couch in the Study.
Somehow, her toddler son managed to climb up on the kitchen counters, and knock over multiple ingredients that laid there. Like an entire bag of flour.
Kankurou was white head-to-toe, covered in the stuff. The servants had to swoop in to scrub the entire kitchen, and put the mischievous boy through a bath.
The baby inside her womb suddenly gave a series of furious kicks, and the woman hunched over, gripping her stomach.
"Both of my boys are such little troublemakers," she sighed. "And one hasn't even been born yet!"
"There there, dear," Rasa said distractedly, giving an idle pat to her head. "They will be better behaved, in time."
Karura pouted at her husband, who was treating her like a nuisance, or a puppy. Right now, he was having a break from work—and even then, he just holed up in his study to read and do paperwork.
"I hope you will discipline them when they are older, husband dearest. I am not going to do it all on my own," she huffed, rubbing idle circles on her stomach.
"Mmm. Yes, dear," her husband replied, still staring down at the paperwork in his hands.
"And you should really take more time from the office. You need a hand in raising our children as well, you know," she added, frowning at him.
"Yes, dear." He was still ignoring her.
"Temari-chan and Kankurou-chan will forget who their father is, with how much time you spend in your office," she groused, brow furrowing further.
"Mhmm," he gave an idle hum from his throat. Still not paying attention.
Karura gave a frustrated exclamation from the back of her throat. She took a deep, calming breath, and slowly let it out.
"You know, I'm very frustrated right now, dearest husband mine."
"That's nice," he answered vaguely.
"Oh, not particularly, no. I get very, very frustrated, as of late. I believe it is the hormones."
"Mhmm."
"And," she goes on, a sly smirk slowly forming on her face. "I get very, very lonely, Rasa. Always having to go to sleep in an empty bed…It really puts things in perspective."
"Right." Still reading his paperwork.
"And, well, it's been so long since we shared a bed. You know, properly," she purred. She leaned over, threading a hand through his hair, gently scratching his scalp.
Rasa gave an appreciative hum, eyes glazing over. He finally deigned her important enough to look at. Finally.
"And I've spent so many nights. Alone. With only myself for company. All hot and bothered, with no one there to help me," she says, eyes staring into his, tilting her head slightly in order to expose the arch of her neck.
Her husband's eyes trailed down her neck. He gulped, Adam's apple bobbing harshly.
"I see," he rasped.
"Temari-chan is with her tutors, and Kankurou-chan is having a bath…" she trailed off, trying to fight off a toothy smirk. "Perhaps we can use your break to…Catch up."
Karura's smirk widened, as she saw her husband's pupils dilate. "Ah."
The man swallowed audibly. "Isn't…Isn't it still unsafe? Because of the baby," he murmured, idly licking his lips, sounding very unsure but very interested.
"That doesn't mean we can't use a more…Hands-on approach," she purred, tugging his hair, guiding him from his seat over to her.
Rasa's eyes widened, as he stared down at her. "On…On the couch?" he choked out.
"You have a lot of time to make up for, dear," she answered cheekily.
The next few minutes were rather enjoyable…Except for the fact that her baby decided to start kicking up a storm right when she was on the edge. And hit a kidney.
"Ah!" she exclaimed in pain, clutching at her side. "He just kicked my kidney!"
Rasa froze, like a deer in the face of a hunter, eyes wide. He stopped his ministrations, and Karura gave a noise of pure and utter frustration.
"Should we…Get a medic?" he asked, awkwardly hovering over her.
"No!" she bit out, harshly moving her hips. "I-I'm almost there…! Rasa, please—"
And then her baby decided to start swimming a relay in her stomach.
"Son of a—" she bit out, gritting her teeth and clutching at her stomach. She gave an acidic glare down at her unborn child. "Little one, your Kaa-chan will very much appreciate it if you calmed down, so that Kaa-chan can have her brains melt out of her ears after months of no action."
Rasa stared down at her, looking equal parts bewildered and concerned. "Ah, dear…? I believe it would be best if we get a medic."
Karura dug her nails into his shoulders, glaring at him. "If you stop before I come, Rasa, I swear to the Sage that I will—" another round of rapid kicks. She gave a keen of frustration and rage, doubling over. "—Fuck, fuck, fine."
Her husband carefully balanced himself, extracting himself from her grasp. He shifted his uniform with a grimace, barely managing to hide his erection. He took a handkerchief from his robes, wiping his wet hand. "Dear, it's not proper to curse when you're pregnant."
"If my baby didn't interrupt, then I wouldn't have cursed," she grumbled with a pout. "We'll do this again later. Properly."
The man coughed. "I, ah, would not be against that."
The brunette woman let out a long sigh, almost putting a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose, before remembering what she had previously been doing with that hand. "Help me pull my panties back up. I'll go to see my otouto now."
The seventh month of her pregnancy loomed, and Karura was feeling rather faint.
"We need to up your prenatal vitamins. And your check-ups," Yashamaru noted worriedly. "There's a chance the little guy will be born premature."
"He sure doesn't act like it," the woman sighed wearily, rubbing a hand tiredly over her face. "He's kicking like a budding taijutsu master. All. The. Time."
"Maybe he just really likes it in there?" her younger brother wondered, weakly trying to make a joke. She gave him a tired glare. His smile wavered, and dropped.
"Just…Get lots of bed-rest, onee-chan. Eat a lot of food, and your vitamins. We'll figure it out when we get there," he said with a grimace, giving a shrug.
The day estimated for her labor—February 24th—came and went. It was now March 1st. And still, no sign of her baby wanting to leave her womb.
"We'll need to either induce labor, or put you through a Caesarean section. Your kid's been in your womb for too long," Chiyo-obaa-sama said bluntly, clucking her tongue and shaking her head.
"We can't put her through a C-section!" Yashamaru exclaimed, deathly pale. "Both Karura and Gaara-chan will die if we do!"
The brunette young woman grimaced. C-sections were the absolute last resort when it came to a pregnancy. They didn't have much of a good reputation, since more often then not, they ended up killing the mother or child. Or both.
Lady Chiyo gave a grunt. "Then we'll have to induce labor soon. Gaara's going to get too big, if we put it off for much longer."
Karura licked her lips, readying her resolve. "The third. We'll do it the third."
Her young brother put a hand on her shoulder, hovering next to her, eyes shining with concern. "Are you sure, Karu-nee?"
"Of course." She wasn't, but no need to worry her otouto further.
In the morning of March 3rd, Karura was put in a special chamber to give birth. To deter from assassination attempts, keeping it secret.
For this birth, it would also be a precaution, in case something goes wrong with the Ichibi.
The day was deliriously painful for her. No matter how hard she pushed, Gaara-chan just didn't seem to want to enter the outside world.
Six hours of labor later, and there was finally a good sign.
"I can see the head!" Chiyo-obaa-sama crowed.
"Someone, go fetch Kazekage-sama!" Yashamaru ordered, clutching at one of Karura's hands. "You're almost there, onee-chan! Keep pushing!"
"What do you think I've been doing the past six hours?" she snarled, before putting all her energy and attention into pushing out eight pounds of miracle from her hoo-ha. "Gaaah!"
Her other hand grasped the sheets in an iron grip. She felt a familiar weight on her shoulder, before it took her hand. She crushed it.
She blearily looked over, panting, seeing Rasa cringe. There was a wet popping sound, of bones shifting in place.
Ah. She broke his hand again. It was like a tradition at this point; she broke his hand in Temari and Kankurou's births, too.
"The head's out! Keep pushing, girl!" Lady Chiyo crowed.
Steeling herself, Karura went back to pushing, letting out cries of pain and frustration.
"We're out to his torso!"
"Keep pushing!"
"Wait—is the kid trying to go back inside the womb?!" came an incredulous yelp. Her otouto.
"What the hell?!"
A cry split the air. Her baby. Her baby was crying.
"Don't stop, Karura-chan!" Karura didn't stop. "There we are!"
The young woman blinked blearily. She hurt. But she also felt numb all over. And she was so, so tired…
"Dear, please hold on." That was her husband. He sounded…afraid.
She was too tired to turn her head to see. Her vision swam. Rasa was leaning over her. His eyes were of… heartbreak? Why would they…
Karura blanked out. Tried to blink her eyes hard. Still couldn't pay attention.
Not good. This wasn't a good sign, was it…? Probably not.
Voices swam around her. Exclamations. Panic. Buzzing. She couldn't distinguish what anyone was saying, but could pick out the voices she knew best. The closest voice was her husband's…
"M…My baby. Ra-Rasa…L-Let me… see…" she managed to slur out. She couldn't feel anything anymore. Could barely move her mouth.
When did it get so cold?
A small bundle was floating before her eyes. A hand was gently turning her head to the side. Her baby was set down by her face.
Karura blinked. Blinked again, this time willing the fuzzy haze away. Just for a moment. Just so she can see her…baby…
"G-Gaara…" she murmured, voice faint. She looked at the beautiful baby boy, with a shock of bright red hair. She managed a smile. A burning in her eyes, and a wetness down her cheek. "M-My baby…"
She tried to lift a hand. Couldn't. Made a sad noise deep in her throat. Someone picked up her hand, and gently laid it on the bundle. Yashamaru.
"I-I'll…Always pro…protect you…My little...G-Gaara-chan," she slurred, still smiling like a loon. She felt tired. Cold. But also…happy.
She closed her eyes. Heard her name called over, and over again.
Then she knew no more.
At the moment the woman passed, the newborn gave a cry.
"No…Not my first pool!" the baby thought in despair.
On March 3rd, 1537 hours, Sabaku no Gaara was born. At that same time, Haruka Nanase was reborn, ejected from the comforting wet darkness of his second life's first pool.
