Note – I've not updated Ghost in the Sand since 1/31/16.

Ghost in the Sand
Accusations

"Who am I kidding. I turned our son into a psychopath." Rasa found himself sitting at his desk while the accusations against Gaara plagued the back of his mind. Gaara did have certain tendencies, yet the accusations didn't add up in Rasa's head. He leaned into his arms while his fingers twisted into his auburn locks. Taking a deep breath, the Kazekage mentally told himself he couldn't sit around doing nothing, particularly since he'd already spent to much time doing that in the cave.

His calloused fingers reached for the incident report, pulling the piece of paper closer as he started feeling out his own recollections regarding the incident. The Kazekage wrote down how Orichimaru left him and his men trapped in the cavern using a special kido, how he attempted getting them out and they were running out of supplies, but also how the only reason they didn't get out came down to the Konoha shinobi who came to their rescue.

He found himself staring at the report, but also his inadequacies written down for the entire council to see. Rasa pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing he had more control over the situation. Setting his own report aside, and noting he should give some kind of deadline for receiving the reports, Rasa moved onto the next item on the agenda. Picking up the incident report sheet, he flipped into the folder only to find himself staring at a picture of the girl who was supposedly attacked by Gaara.

Rasa gleaned no new information. Spelled out in detail was the report that, no, the girl had not been defiled. The report also noted she was found at the shrine, but that she possibly had a previous injury caused by Gaara using his powers. Rasa stared at the picture for quite a few minutes, before deciding he needed a more proactive approach to the problem.

The Kazekage stood, teetering on his feet for a few minutes. His head spun and his calloused hands gripped the edge of the desk as his eyes closed. Rasa took a deep breath not liking the empty feeling in his stomach. Opening his eyes, Rasa mentally cursed his current frailty caused by the limitations of the supplies he and his men carried with them when locked into the cavern. Taking a deep breath, the Kazekage found himself glad nobody saw him in such a state.

With his balance settled, Rasa stepped out of the room with his paperwork under his arms. The Kazekage paused upon seeing Gaara in front of him, as if the young Shinoby was waiting for him. "Why are you still here?"

"I forgot to mention that Temari is making dinner for everyone, yourself included." What Gaara said startled him, yet Rasa found himself pleased at the idea of Gaara eating with them even if it might end in disaster. The Kazekage saw Gaara flinch, indicating Rasa may have reacted in some manner. Gaara started turning to leave. "I guess that means I should be going now."

Rasa's hand reached out, not wishing to dissuade Gaara from his planed course of action. "Wait, Gaara. Does this mean you'll be joining us for dinner?"

"Only if you wish it, Lord Kazekage."

Rasa found himself looking away, thinking carefully. He did want Gaara to join them at the dinner table, yet tonight wasn't the best night for finally sitting down to have a meal as a family. After all, he needed to investigate the accusations against Gaara. "Please tell Temari to put dinner aside for me. I've got things I need to finish."

Gaara looked away, his disappointment quite evident. Rasa shuffled his papers to position them better in his arms, drawing Gaara's attention. He wasn't expecting the question which came next.

"What is a rapist?" Gaara's expression when he heard this question was hard to read, yet the young shinobi obviously felt he'd done something wrong. "Apologies. I asked something inappropriate again."

"Gaara…" Rasa tried keeping his voice soft, his mind wandering to what the two shinobi from their ally village said to him. Before the Kazekage could correct his son, Gara became distracted.

"That girl…"

"What girl?" Rasa looked in the direction Gaara was looking in. The Kazekage took a deep breath, seeing the girl standing there with a doll clutched in her arms. The eerie resemblance to the girl who was attacked made the man close his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'll head home now."

"What was that?" He barely noticed Gaara leave through the window, his attention now turning to where the girl stood in the hallway. The Kazekage walked over, frowning due to the strange presence of the girl he knew both he and Gaara saw. He felt nothing. Taking a deep breath, he decided to head towards the hospital, but in the back of his mind he found himself wondering how Gaara could ever be guilty of what they were accusing him of when the boy honestly didn't know what the word even meant.

He walked in, asking for the head medical-nin. One of the man's eyebrows rose up. "Shouldn't you be resting Lord Kazekage?'

"I've got too much to do."

"You aren't much use if you don't take care of yourself."

"Might I check in on the girl?"

The head medical-nin took a deep breath, but quickly turned on his heals, motioning for Lord Rasa to follow him. "Only if you promise to get some rest yourself Lord Kazekage. Don't make me give you a medical order for complete bedrest because you pushed yourself past your own limits."

The auburn-haired man followed, stopping just outside of the room the young girl was in. His eyes narrowed, noting she looked exactly like the ghost he and Gaara appeared. A woman sat near the girl, tears falling from her eyes. "Could it be caused by some kind of ninjutsu?"

"Poss…"

The head medical-nin's words were interrupted by the woman. Upon hearing the two speak, she turned towards them with anger, but stood up. She physically approached the Kazekage, banging her hands into his chest. "How dare you! How dare you come here when that monster defiled my daughter!"

Rasa gently grabbed the distraught woman's wrists. The head medical-nin tried calming the woman down, even pulling her off him. Rasa's brown eyes narrowed. "I don't appreciate the false accusations you're making."

"They aren't false accusations!" The woman pointed an accusatory finger at him. "This is your fault Lord Kazekage! This wouldn't have happened had you taken care of that monster a long time ago!"

"I don't have time for this." Rasa turned. He heard the woman scream at him, but also the head medical-nin reminding him he needed to get some rest. Mentally, he did need some rest to straighten out the thoughts coursing through his head, yet physically he needed something to eat. He didn't get far when one of the Anbu appeared out of nowhere.

"Lord Kazekage!"

"What?"

"There's been another incident."

"What?"

"I told you! He's gone and defiled another girl!"

Rasa turned towards the head medical-nin, motioning for him to follow. A quick whispered order meant the woman wouldn't follow. His brown eyes darted around, recognizing the place. "I know this place. This is where my children came to play when they were little."

"The girl is over by the swing set." Rasa walked over, frowning at the girl with the sandy-colored hair who lay on the ground not moving. Her breath came in shallow breaths.

The head medical-nin spoke, catching the Kazekage off guard.

"I know this girl."

"You do?"

"She came to us with phantom pains in her legs. She believed…" He turned in time to see the head medical-nin close his eyes, but let out a sigh.

"What?"

"She believed Lord Gaara crushed her legs but believe me Lord Kazekage. Her legs are perfectly fine, and it is all in her head. This isn't to say Lord Gaara isn't involved though."

"How is he involved?"

"While he didn't ever attack the girl, he did attack her older brother. Specifically, her older brother was injured right before Lord Gaara first killed someone. Her phantom pains, even her believe that the young lord attacked her – all of that started after that incident."

"That boy then?" Rasa frowned. "Make sure she gets proper medical attention."

"Lord Rasa!"

"What is it Joseki?"

"Where is the jinchuriki?"

"Gaara?" Rasa looked the man in the eye. "He should be at home."

"You need to do something about this Lord Kazekage, before it is too late. It's already bad enough the jinchuriki messed up at the Chunin exams, but now we have the defiling of these young females."

Rasa glared at the man, his lips pushing together in a thin line. "The last girl wasn't defiled."

"The fact she wasn't hasn't stopped the village from talking about Shukaku's brides, but some say the act doesn't even have to be done for the girls to be with child."

"Perhaps instead of complaining about something that has yet to be verified you should be focusing on figuring out some way to squash the rumors floating around?"

Joseki's eyes blinked before glancing away, his irritation evident.