Mother of the year

"Kid." Jiro said. "Welcome to Suna."

Chapter 2

While the boy was distracted by all the sights and sounds, Temari thought she make a quick and quiet getaway.

"Okaa-san!"

The boy immediately noticed her leaving and called out in distress. Embarrassed, Temari noticed that the boy's cry was so loud it had attracted the attention of some of the people around them.

"Okaa-san!" The boy frantically tried to get off of Jiro's shoulder. "Okaa-san!"

"Alright. Alright. Stop screaming," Temari fought the urge to roll her eyes. She lifted the boy off of Jiro. She turned to the waiting jounins. "Go and report to the Kazekage. Tell him I'll be there later to turn in my report."

With that she teleported with a poof.

Her apartment was small. Just one bedroom, one bathroom, one kitchen, and a living room. It was more than enough space for a single nin to live comfortable in. Most of the rooms were bare, devoid of personality, but there were items here and there that made it her home. The rags and cleaning tools that she had left sitting on the living room table were for polishing her fan, kunai, shuriken, and the occasional senbon needles. She had a small TV, but she barely watched it, opting usually for one of the novels on the small shelf next to her living room window.

Speaking of books...

Temari hastily put the boy down and raced to her shelf to remove Icha Icha Paradise. Face flushing, she turned and watched as the boy studied the apartment. When his back was turned, Temari hid the bright orange books behind a large potted plant. God. What was her life coming to? Temari thought wearily as she moved down the hall.

"Okaa-san!" he panicked.

"I'm just going to take a bath," she frowned. She stared at his dirty appearance and grimaced at the amount of sand he left on her floor. "You first."

Obediently, he trailed behind her and sat on the toilet as he watched her fill the tub. Unlike the horror stories she heard from other ninja mothers about bath time, the boy behaved and climbed into the tub without a fuss. Using a damp wash cloth she quickly began to scrub his arms and legs and shampoo his hair. She frowned at the amount of dirt that washed into the water. She had to refill the tub two more times before the boy was finally clean.

Grabbing a towel, she toss it to the boy and ordered him to get out. She rearranged the towel so that it was wrapped snugly around his body. Dripping slightly, he followed her to her bedroom. He sat on her bed as she rummaged through her drawers and found an old pair of t-shirt and shorts. She use ninjutsu to shrink them and quickly dressed the boy. From her closet she grabbed another towel, and began to viciously towel the boy's hair dry.

The boy seemed to think it was a game and giggled. By the time she was done grooming, the kid looked halfway presentable. The shirt and short were a little loose, but at least they stayed on. As for his hair…Temari noted that his hair was actually a few shades lighter than she thought it would be. With all the dirt gone, it shone more like auburn-gold instead of the brown gold she had imagined. His face was cleaner so it actually brought to her attention what huge eyes the kid seemed to have. A small nose and a happy smile. He looked like an ordinary child. Not some desert rat she found a few days ago.

Temari grabbed a brush from her dresser and tried to work on the boy's hair. After a few minutes, she toss the it away with a huff. His rat-nest almost broke her brush. Let it stay spiky for all she cared.

"Look, I'm going to take a shower, ok?"

She moved the boy back out into the living room and sat him on a worn couch. She flipped on the TV and watched as the boy's eyes widen. He seem to barely remember her presence.

In twenty minutes, she was clean and dressed; ready for the meeting with the Kazekage. By the time she made her way out to the living room, the boy was already on his way to find her.

"I'm going to meet the Kazekage," she said.

"What's a Kazekage?" He tugged on her skirt.

"The leader of our village," Temari adjusted the fan on her back.

"Can I come?" he asked. He tried to use his eyes to puppy-dog her into saying yes.

"Why not." What other choice did she have? She wasn't going to leave the boy in her apartment alone. Temari grabbed his hand. With another poof she teleported them into the mission room. She was waved inside by the secretary.

Gaara, impassive as always, looked up and didn't bat an eyelash when he noticed a strange child clinging to his sister.

"My report." She tossed him the scroll. Catching it, Gaara roamed his eyes through the report before tossing it over his shoulder where piles of other scrolls laid.

"It went well in Leaf?"

"Yes."

That was all he wanted to know.

Pulling out a drawer from his desk, Gaara took out some paper and crayons and offered it to the child. The boy hesitate and Temari couldn't blame him. Gaara just has that effect on people.

"Okaa-san?" The boy looked up.

"Go ahead," she nodded. The boy took a step forward and said a quiet thank you before he ran to a corner to color. Taking a seat in front of Gaara, Temari tried to ignore the staring.

"You have a question?" she asked. She bit her lips to keep the irritation out of her voice.

Gaara nodded. "Father?"

"I don't know," she mumbled. She caught the eyebrow that Gaara raised. "It's not like that! He's not mine!" She lowered her voice when she noticed the boy looking up. A moment later his head was back down, concentrating on his drawing.

"I found him."

"Where?"

"In the desert between Leaf and Sand."

"Spy?"

"I don't think there's a chance of that. It looks like he was just abandoned." She frowned at the boy. Suddenly, he leapt up in excitement and raced to her.

"Look Okaa-san! I drew you!"

Temari stared at the stick figure of herself with massive yellow lightning bolts coming from her head.

"That's your hair," he explained. Abruptly, his attention shifted to focused on Gaara instead. Since Gaara was the nice guy who gave him crayons for his picture, the boy seemed a lot more talkative and comfortable.

"Ne, Onichan. Are you the Kazekage? What's your name?"

Gaara stared at the child in a moment of silence before he spoke. "Gaara. What's yours?"

The boy peered at Gaara seriously. "Okaa-san never gave me one, Gaara Onichan. I like your name, though. Ne, Okaa-san. Can my name be Gaara, too?" Big pleading eyes.

Temari gapped. "I don't think-" She stopped when Gaara raised his hand to silence her.

"I don't mind," he said.

Temari's jaw dropped. Climbing into her lap, the newly named Gaara beamed at her.

The door burst open.

"So it's true! You do have a kid!" Kankuro stood in the doorway. His face was etched with shock. "When Mika told me, I didn't believe her!"

The boy hid his face in fright when he saw Kankuro's chalked white face. Temari scowled.

"Close the door and stop shouting," she ordered.

Doing as he was told, Kankuro quickly locked the door and ambled inside. He grinned when the kid looked up.

"I'm your uncle Kankuro."

"My uncle?" The kid lifted his head all the way up to stare.

"You're not an uncle," Temari snapped. "He's not my kid!" She tried to shove the boy off.

"Stop being cruel to your child," Kankuro teased. "He got a name?"

"Gaara," Gaara said. Kankuro looked at his brother.

"Really?" he asked with a little disbelief.

Gaara nodded. "She named him after me."

"Hey. How come you didn't name him after me?" Kankuro looked genuinely hurt.

"I didn't name him!" she growled. She managed to get the kid off of her and stood up. "Anyway, I'm hoping you can find him a home at one of the orphanages."

"Are you sure?" Gaara asked.

"Yes."

"Alright," he dismissed her. With a few hand seals, she teleported away, leaving the cry of "Okaa-san" behind her.

In her apartment, Temari began setting her life back to normal. She had dinner for one. Washed the dishes. Watched a little TV. Read a little.

As she was lying in her bed that night, she had the strangest feeling of uneasiness. She couldn't get to sleep. Her left side felt strangely cold and it hit her. The boy, she refused to call him Gaara, had always slept beside her on the left side. Only three days and she had gotten use to his presence. How pathetic. She fell into a restless sleep.

For the next few days afterwards, everything went back to the way it was. She ate, slept, and went on missions in Suna here and there. She felt almost like herself again until that afternoon.

Leaping from one rooftop to another, she was on her way home from another mission when she spotted a bunch of children playing in the park. They were being chaperone by Suna nuns. Almost immediately, her eyes went to the lone figure sitting on a swing.

Temari almost lost her balance.

Making sure no one saw, she teleported herself into the tree branch above the swing set.

"Hey, Ga-chan, do you want to play?" a child asked.

"Don't bother with him. Even his mother didn't want him," another child taunted. Laughing, the children left the boy alone. From her position in the tree, Temari tried not to feel guilty when she heard the sniffing sounds. She heard him weep with an occasion "Okaa-san" come pleading through his cries.

In her memory, she saw another child, another Gaara, sitting in an almost identical swing set, watching the other children with their parents.

Temari felt the self-reproach weigh her down again. Much like when she had mistaken the boy for her youngest brother in the desert. The guilt she had still ate her alive when she thought of it. She was supposed to be the big sister. The one who should have been protecting her brothers. Instead, she chose to turn away. She ignored Kankuro for years and brush away Gaara from her mind as if he didn't exist. Even when they were on the same genin team, she hadn't bother with them. They weren't worth her time, she thought. Kankuro was a bully who picked on those smaller than him. Gaara was a monster. She soaked up the pity people offered her for having those two as brothers.

Baki-sensei saw. He saw her mixed disgusted and embarrassment when they walked down the streets. Temari had always made sure to distant herself as far as she could. She didn't even want to breathe the same air they did. Then, while on a D-rank mission, Temari had been cornered by a Jounin who had taken an interest in her. Before she could even defend herself, the jounin went flying off to the side by the force of Kankuro's punch.

"Don't touch my sister!" Kankuro snarled.

The last thing the jounin felt was the pain of Gaara's sand burial before he died.

That incident had opened her eyes. She had never cared to think of them as her brothers. But Kankuro, and perhaps a small part of Gaara, had accepted her as their sister.

That's when the guilt set in. The guilt of not being there for Kankuro when he himself was being bullied. The guilt of not being there for Gaara when he was little, when he needed her the most to protect him from their father and Uncle.

Everything that happen to Gaara was her fault. Her fault he grew up the way he did. Her fault when he was kidnap by the Akatsuki. Her fault when he was killed. What kind of a sister, was she?

Temari felt rain. Stun, she touched her wet cheeks and glanced up at the clear blue skies. The water that fell came from her eyes. Tears. Crying. It was something she hadn't done since she was little. Almost as if a dam had burst, Temari felt herself sobbing quietly with the boy. All the guilt and hurt she kept inside seemed to come spilling out.

"Okaa-san." More weeping . More tears. More guilt to lay on her already heavy shoulders.

Temari hastily wiped her eyes. Making sure there was no signs that she had been brawling her eyes out only a few moments earlier. She felt confident enough to drop out of the tree and in front of the boy. Looking up, he stared at her in disbelief. He launched himself a few moments later and wrapped his arm around her middle.

"Okaa-san!"

Temari's hand came to rest on his head. Maybe she could do for this boy, what she couldn't do for Gaara or Kankuro. He was already attached to her. If she abandoned him, she was no better than her father.

Temari watched as the boy looked at her adoringly. She felt her stomach rumble, a testament to the fact that she hadn't had dinner yet.

"Come on," she said. She picked the boy up in her arms.

"What are you doing?" A nun cried out. "Oh, Temari-sama. It's you."

Temari shifted the boy to a more comfortable position on her hip.

"I just came to pick him up. Thank you for watching him for me," she gave a nod at the nun. "If you have any questions, take it up with the Kazekage."

"Of course," the nun smiled fondly at the boy in her arms. "Ga-chan is such a sweet child. The Kazekage said that you would pick him up soon."

Temari felt her eye twitch. "He did?"

"Yes."

"Well, thank you." With that, Temari leapt up into the tree limb and from there onto a neighboring rooftop. She stopped when she landed on top of ramen stand. "Wanna eat?"

He nodded.

Leaping down, she took a seat on a stool and watched as the boy climbed up on a stool of his own. The ramen man behind the counter gave a big grin.

"Temari-sama," he greeted politely. He gave a huge smile at the boy. " Ga-chan, do you want me to get your usual?"

The boy nodded happily. The man gave them both a glass of water before heading towards the back.

"How do you know this place?" Temari asked warily. She got the feeling that all of Suna was against her.

"Uncle Kuro takes me here for lunch," the boy kicked his legs out. "I like pork ramen."

"Uncle Kuro, huh," Temari took her glass of water and began to sip.

"Sometimes, Uncle Gaara comes too."

Temari spat the water back into the glass.

"Are you ok, Okaa-san?"

"I'm fine," Temari grabbed her napkin and began to wipe her mouth. "You call Gaara, Uncle Gaara?"

The boy nodded solemnly. "He said to."

Temari grabbed a passing waitress. "You wouldn't happen to have any aspirin, do you?"

"We do, Temari-sama. Should I get you some?"

"Please."

After they got back from the ramen stand, Temari gave Ga-chan another bath before they settled in for the night. Her left side felt oddly comfortable with small body curled up next to her.

"Okaa-san?"

"What?"

"You're not going to leave again, right?" the boy asked with wide anxious eyes.

"No," Temari pulled him into her arms. She felt him relax and together they drifted off to sleep. When she woke up the next morning, it was to the smell of bacon and coffee. She heard Ga-chan's laughter. Tumbling out of bed, Temari stumbled her way to the kitchen.

God. She hated mornings. Walking in, she raised one eyebrow when she noticed Gaara sitting at her table reading the newspaper. Ga-chan was in the seat next to him coloring and Kankuro was at the stove, frying eggs. She pinched herself. No, not a dream. Did she stumble into another dimension, then?

"I have another mission for you."

Temari sighed as she sat down. She waited for Gaara to speak again.

"Our main proctor for the chunnin exam had an accident. I want you to take his place ."

Temari nodded. She wanted to complain that she just got back from the Leaf, but held it in. "When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!"

"You're leaving, Okaa-san?" the boy looked fearful.

"Don't worry, kid," Kankuro ruffled his hair. "I bet Okaa-san is going to take you with her."

"What? I can't go on a mission with a child!"

"I'll give you mules so you'll travel faster," Gaara said.

"Why didn't you offer me mules before?" Temari glared.

Gaara looked impassive. "I never had a nephew before." He stood up, grabbed a piece of bacon, and munched on it on his way out.

"Eat up," Kankuro placed a plate in front of her. "At least with the mule, you only have a four day trip instead of eight."

Temari tried not to grumble as she ate. Kankuro sent Ga-chan off to watch TV so that they could have some privacy.

"I did a little digging about the kid," he said. He sat down next to her.

"What did you find out?" Temari asked. She placed down her fork. Suddenly, she wasn't hungry anymore.

"Nothing," Kankuro threw his hands in the air, clearly aggravated.

"Nothing at all?"

"There's no missing report on any kid matching him from any of the villages, at least," Kankuro took a look at Ga-chan. "I don't even have a solid lead about his real parents. None of the other villages are claiming him."

He looked at Temari.

"Something doesn't feel right. I'll keep digging," he hesitated. "Be careful."

"I'll be fine," she rubbed her temple. Kankuro nodded. He wave a hasty good bye as he made his exit out her window.

Temari walked into the living room.

"Lets go," she turned off the television much to the boy's disappointment.

"Where are we going, Okaa-san?" the boy got to his feet.

"Shopping. You need some new clothes." He was wearing an old genin suna vest, something he must have gotten from the orphanage, and a pair of sweatpants she had shrunk for him the night before. The vest was just about his size. The pant was too big and he was using one of her obi like a belt to hold it in place.

Picking him up, she teleported them into the market place and went to the first clothing store she saw.

"Temari-sama!" someone called. Once the attendants saw who their customer was, they began doting on her instantly. "What can we help you with, Temari-sama?" At least three salespeople were waiting on her, ignoring the other shoppers. Temari pushed Ga-chan in front of her.

"He needs some things."

"Right away, Temari-sama!"

The next thing Temari knew, she was being presented with all the latest Suna fashion for young boys.

"This sandal has a built-in compartment on its lower sole that can hide a single kunai." The sales women held up a regular looking sandal and eagerly showed Temari how it worked.

"I'll take it," Temari waved it away. With help, Ga-chan had all the clothes and underwear he would need for the next two years. He even begged to wear one outfit out of the store and Temari relented. When the little boy emerged from the dressing room, Temari held her tongue. The way Ga-chan jumped around in his new orange jumpsuit reminded Temari of another idiot who had a strange affliction with the same color.

Ignoring it, she went to the counter and paid. When she saw the total, her eyes almost budged out. Clothing the kid was expensive. No wonder shinobis mothers always seem to complain. She was going to have to take on a lot more missions if she didn't want her account to be wipe clean. Temari allowed the clerk to swipe her Suna bank card through. She left with Ga-chan happily in tow. The sale people called out asking her to come again.

Greedy, money-stealing vultures, she thought moodily. They headed back to her apartment to drop off the shopping bags. Ga-chan spent the afternoon looking through his things, only breaking when Temari told him it was time for lunch.

They ate at a nearby sushi bar and had dinner at a local restaurant. Gaara stopped by that night to give Ga-chan a little surprise. It was a small bag in the shape and image of a panda. "It's for the trip," was all Gaara said. He left just as quickly as he came. Kankuro stopped by as well. He gave Ga-chan a miniature shuriken set. Ga-chan became excited. The moment he accidentally cut his finger, though, he began to cry.

Temari made Kankuro bandaged the boy's finger and then kicked him out. She began packing everything she needed for the trip. After she was done, she walked over to Ga-chan's bag and she shifted through the items to make sure he was bringing everything necessary.

The next morning, they were off and ready to go before sunrise, heading for the Suna gate. The jounin escort that was assigned to them was already there, waiting with two mules.

"Temari-dono," he greeted. She nodded. Saddling up one mule, she picked Ga-chan up and placed him on top before climbing on the beast herself. She kicked the mule and sent it tottering out of the gate with the jounin riding his own beast beside her. Ga-chan waved good-bye to his Uncle Kuro who had come to see them off.

When the gate vanished behind them, Ga-chan turned his attention forward.

"Okaa-san. We're high," Ga-chan said in awe. He began to talk excitingly about everything and anything. Just two days into the journey and he had ready named the mules. Hiroyuki and Hiroyoko.

They camp. They ride. Camp and ride. The journey was pretty calm, except for the occasional emergency restroom break for Ga-chan.

Later that evening, on the third day, the jounin began to set up camp for the night. One more day and they would reach the Konoha. Temari frowned. She should feel relieved that it was close, but something felt a little off.

"Something wrong?" the jounin asked.

"Just a feeling," she said. The jounin became guarded. A moment later, Temari felt something whizzed by her cheek, embedding itself into the sand. A senbon. Cursing, Temari frantically looked around for Ga-chan and noticed that he was by the tent.

"Gaara, get down!"

Doing as he was told, the boy threw himself down in time to avoid being beheaded by a large shuriken. Whipping the fan from her back, Temari stopped the attacks of more kunai and watched as three figures leapt out of the sand to attack the jounin. While the attackers concentrated on her escort, she tried to make her way to the stunned boy.

She snarled and cursed when a fourth and fifth figure leapt out from the sands in front of her. Temari swung her fan. To her disappointment, the figures kept leaping out of distance. The speed of their taijutsu was fast and nimble. Biting the flesh on one of her finger until it bled, she made a move to do her summon when a cry of pain reached her ears.

Jerking her head, Temari watched in horror as a sixth figure appeared. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and he leaning over Ga-chan with a rather unpleasant smile. Without being prompted he grabbed Ga-chan by the throat and lifted the boy clear off the group, choking him.

"Gaara!" Her momentary lapse in judgment cost her. Distracted, Temari felt herself get knocked and sent flying back a few feet away. Rolling to the side to avoid more shuriken, she leapt to her feet, angry and pissed.

"Put down that fan or the boy gets it," the sixth figure placed a single kunai to the boy's throat. "You too." He said to the jounin that his companions were fighting against.

Angry, the jounin held up his hands. A moment later, his head went flying from his body much to her grimace and Ga-chan's terrifying screams.

The attackers kicked the dead body with disinterested.

They were missing nins. Dangerous missing nins who have Ga-chan's life in the palm of their hand. Temari slowly placed down her fan already missing its solid weight.

"Good girl," another missing nin began to look her up and down lecherously while his cohorts checked the bags on the mules. "Boss, can I have fun with his one?" This missing nin made sure to kick the fan a distance away.

"Why not?" the boss tightened his hold on Ga-chan. "We'll even let the kid watch."

The man glided up to Temari and caressed her face with his slimly hand. The other hand went to caress her thighs underneath her kimono. Temari fought the urge to spit in his face.

"Leave my Okaa-san alone!" Ga-chan shrieked. He began to wiggle, trying to get free. The man howled when Ga-chan bit him. He glared down at the boy. "On second thought, lets just kill the boy and just have fun with the girl instead."

To Temari's horror, she watched as the kunai was raised. Before the boss could bring it down, he was viciously kicked away by an orange blur. The whole area was filled with them. Taking her chances, Temari palmed the blade she had hidden in her sleeve and stabbed the nin in front of her, clear through the throat. She leaped for her fan. Feeling the reassuring weight, she snarl and dispatched the last remaining nin closest to her.

In mere moments, all of her attackers were dead or dying. Temari gave the nin who touched her a vicious kick. She turned her attention back to the nin that saved her life.

In a poof of smoke, most of the clones vanished leaving only a boy with bright blond hair and blue eyes standing in the middle of the sand.