Previously...

"Dad liked you. He believed in you, thought you were worth more than what everyone else said," Kyoko spat. "How could you just turn around and throw everything he's done for you back in his face?"

Gaara waited for a moment to see if she had finished before he spoke. His voice was inflectionless and calm, showing uncanny resemblance to the no-nonsense tone of the Kazekage whenever he was forced to calm a raging too-upset-to-think-rationally shinobi. "I killed your father out of self-defense."

"What is that supposed to mean," Kyoko snapped, her head whipping up to glare at Gaara. Seeing the hate in her eyes, he struggled to keep his poker face straight and his bloodlust down. "That would mean he attacked you firs—" She suddenly broke off, horrified realization dawning in her eyes. "Wait...you mean...No...he didn't...he didn't try to...did he?"

Gaara nodded. "He was assigned to kill me. So I killed him first."

At first, denial lingered on Kyoko's face; emotions—anger, hate, confusion, betrayal—waged war in her open eyes. However, he knew the exact moment she accepted his words. A moment after his words, her face fell so devastatingly that he wondered if he had looked like that when he learned of Yashamaru's hidden feelings. She looked crushed, like the one thing she truly believed in life had been proven wrong, flawed, mistaken.

Fake.

Chapter 9: Wind Child Saniiro

"Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow." — Abdul Kalam

"I hate it when it's our turn to cook," Saburo sighed, trudging into the little kitchenette of the Kazeko apartment. Rolling up his sleeves, he went to wash his hands in the sink.

"Me too, but it's better than letting Kyoko cook, right?" Taizo laughed, following his twin. He pulled open the fridge, scanning its contents. "Hey, we still have leftovers from two days ago."

"Seriously?" Saburo asked, moving over to look over his brother's shoulder. "Nice! Looks like we won't have to cook today."

"We'll still need rice though," Taizo mused, handing the dishes to his younger twin. "Can you go heat those up while I get the rice?"

"Sure."

"So where do you think Kyoko went?" Taizo asked as he pulled out the rice. Carelessly, he dumped a few scoops of the white grain into the rice cooker. "She wouldn't go on a mission without at least leaving us a note, right?"

"She's probably at the Sabaku household," Saburo replied, counting out three pairs of chopsticks as he waited for the microwave timer to go off. He paused before closing the drawer. "Think she'll be home for dinner?"

"Don't know," Taizo replied, starting the rice cooker. "Set the table for four just in case."

At that moment, the front door was thrown open, effectively startling the twins when it crashed into the wall. Looking more furious than they had ever seen her, Kyoko stalked in.

"Nii-san!" she roared just as the black-haired jonin burst out of his room, armed with a kunai to fight whatever threat had invaded his home so loudly. Seeing only his sister—fuming and glaring at him as if she wanted to kill him with her eyes—he frowned, lowering his kunai.

"Kyoko?" he said, confused as she started to storm towards him. "What's wron—"

He stopped when she slammed a palm on his chest, forcing him back several steps from both the force in her strike and surprise that she'd actually hit him. The twins abandoned their kitchen duties and scrambled over to try to pacify the oncoming fight between the siblings.

"Whoa, Kyoko!" Taizo exclaimed, jumping between the siblings.

Saburo grabbed Kyoko's arm, tugging her back a little. "What's wrong? Why are you so mad at Kazuo-nii?"

Without removing her eyes from Kazuo, Kyoko shook Saburo off and stood with her fists clenched by her sides. "Why didn't you tell us the truth about Dad?"

At her yell, Kazuo stiffened and stared, wide-eyed. Oblivious to this, the twins continued their attempts at separating the siblings.

"What?" Taizo asked as he and Saburo pulled Kyoko away from Kazuo. "What are you talking about?"

"Dad didn't just die on any old mission," Kyoko snarled, still maintaining eye contact with her brother. By her sides, the twins froze as they realized what direction the conversation was drifting towards. "He took the assassination mission! He died because Gaara killed him out of self-defense!"

Silence fell in the room as the twins tried to absorb this revelation.

Kazuo broke it first.

"How did you find out?" he asked quietly, coming out of his shocked stupor.

"The Council told me Gaara killed him," Kyoko replied coldly. "Gaara told me it was out of self defense."

"But," Saburo squeaked, looking uncertain. "Kazuo-nii said he died an honorable death and that the mission was a success because of his sacrifice."

"Yeah," Taizo jumped to add. "Kazuo-nii wouldn't lie to us about something like that," he looked over at the jonin. "Right?"

The three stared at the jonin expectantly with varying degrees of anger and confusion.

Kazuo seemed almost speechless. "Guys...I…"

"It's the truth, isn't it," Kyoko snapped, scowling.

Kazuo sighed and nodded, biting his lip at the apparent betrayal that appeared on the twins' faces. "It's more complicated than you think. He...he didn't want you guys to know until you were ready."

"That doesn't change what he did!" Kyoko shouted, pushing past the dumbstruck twins. Moving in front of Kazuo, she jabbed a finger in his chest. "How could you have hidden this from us? All this time, I thought he was a hero! I was proud that people used his epithet when they refer to our family as a whole! And now I find out that he wasn't the hero I thought he was—he taught us not to discriminate against people and ultimately turned around and stabbed those very people in the back!"

"You don't know—" Kazuo began, a hint of frustration entering his voice.

"Don't know what?" Kyoko cut in furiously. "That he didn't actually hate the assassination attempts on a kid? That he was just pretending to be disgusted by the village's contempt for Gaara?"

"If you'd just let me explain," Kazuo tried again, but Kyoko seemed determined not to let him finish any of his sentences.

"How?" she challenged hotly. "How can anything you say ever justify what Dad did? Not only did he betray the people who trusted him, he left us like this! We don't have a dad, I don't even know how I can call you my brother anymore, and how in the name of Suna are we supposed to ever face the Sabaku siblings again after knowing that our father was one of Gaara's assassins? Tell me how you can justify what Dad did!"

In one fluid motion, Kyoko was suddenly slammed face-first into the wall, Kazuo pinning her securely with a tight lock hold. The jonin's resorting to violence spurred the twins back into action.

"Hey, no fighting in the house!" Taizo and Saburo yelled in unison, hovering on either side of the the two siblings. Neither sibling paid the twins any mind.

Kyoko glared at Kazuo as best as she could over her shoulder.

"Look," Kazuo said, straining to remain patient and calm. "I'm not going to listen to you mouth off about Dad. He is a hero."

Fury flashing in Kyoko's eyes, she opened her mouth, but Kazuo merely tightened the lock, twisting her arms higher behind her back. She gasped in pain, angry remark forgotten.

"Kazuo-nii!" Taizo barked.

"I'll explain everything," Kazuo continued as if nothing had happened. "But Gaara needs to be here to hear it."

"What?" Kyoko ground out, appalled. "What makes you think Gaara wants to hear any attempt at justifying Dad's actions?"

Kazuo's grip tightened, and she tensed in anticipation of pain, but instead he released her.

Confused, she turned around to face him, rubbing her arms absently. Kazuo stared at her with a deep frown. Finally, he set his hands on her shoulders and lowered his head. "Please, Kyoko. Just trust your brother on this."

Seconds crawled by as Kyoko exchanged glances with the twins, all of them caught off-guard by Kazuo's actions.

"Fine," Kyoko said grudgingly, most of her anger gone, leaving just a bitter aftertaste. "I'll go get him."

Kazuo hadn't moved from his spot by the time Kyoko returned, but the twins had. Fluttering around almost robotically in the kitchen, they emerged with a cup of tea in each hand, setting them down with the other three steaming mugs already on the coffee table just as Kyoko stepped through the doorway with the Sand Siblings in tow.

"We're back," Kyoko announced when Kazuo didn't even lift his head to acknowledge them. "Hope whatever you have to say won't be a waste of their time, coming all the way over here."

Sighing, Kazuo looked up, irritation passing over his handsome features as he spared Kyoko barely a second's worth of a glare. The irritation smoothed off when he looked past her to the three siblings. Temari and Kankuro looked curious and slightly awkward if anything; Gaara stared back, unfazed, with his arms crossed leisurely across his chest.

"Why don't you all sit down," he said, motioning to the couch on the opposite end of the coffee table. "The twins made some tea." Because they didn't know what else to do, went unsaid.

"Thanks," Kankuro said nonchalantly, plopping down as casually as he would on a normal day. Temari followed a little more reserved, but retaining her natural confidence nonetheless. Left with only the space between his siblings open, Gaara sank down between them in his usual quiet manner. Crossing her arms, Kyoko perched herself on the arm of the smaller armchair the twins had squeezed themselves into.

Steepling his fingers together, Kazuo leaned his face against his hands as he took a deep breath, wondering how he would tell his father's tale. He hadn't counted on being forced to tell it so soon and abruptly so all the details were still jumbled in his mind, waiting to be filed into a chronological line that made sense to someone who didn't have all the details yet.

"We're waiting," Kyoko murmured testily after a long, silent moment.

"Kyoko," Kazuo ground out through gritted teeth. "You're getting on my last nerve."

His sister scowled, but heeded his warning anyway, crossing her arms and sinking into silence.

Taking another calming breath, Kazuo looked up at Gaara. "Please don't think of Dad as a bad person. He was a great man. He loved his family, and he loved his friends. And when he's faced with unthinkable decisions, he chooses what he thinks will benefit everyone in the long run, not just the easiest."

Saniiro chewed on the inside of his cheek as he squinted across the table at Takeo, who pointedly ignored him in favor of a report on the well-being of a nearby Wind Country village.

Ever since the day Takeo authorized the sealing of Shukaku, Saniiro had mourned the loss of his best friend to the clutches of Kage-level responsibility. Of course, he was proud of his oldest friend for turning out to be such a good leader—always level-headed and considering the well-being of the village in every decision he made—but at the same time, he despised the Kazekage for the same reasons. When was the man going to start thinking of himself? Of his family? Even the Kazekage should put his family before the village sometimes, right?

"Surely the infamous Kazeko—Wind Child Saniiro of Suna—came here for a reason other than attempt to set fire to my head using only his eyes," Takeo suddenly drawled, signing the document with his looping signature before setting it aside. Folding his hands neatly in front of him, Takeo looked up expectantly.

Saniiro rolled his eyes at his epithet, Kazeko—meaning Wind Child, which he had earned when he'd whipped through enemy forces like a destructive wind during the Third Shinobi War back when he was younger. Shifting in his seat, Saniiro scowled at the Kazekage. "I don't like you."

Takeo arched a brow. "You're being childish again."

"You're sending assassins after your son," Saniiro replied. "He's almost eleven. And he's your son. Targeted for something he didn't do—for something you did. And I can plainly tell that you don't even want to kill him. What's wrong with you?"

"Ah," Takeo sighed. "I expected this to be about that. Yes, I am. Gaara's becoming too much of a danger and must be elimina—"

"Bullshit," Saniiro stated calmly. "If you really wanted him eliminated, you would've killed him yourself. Why hire shinobi from foreign villages to walk to their deaths when your gold dust could easily overpower the Shukaku." It was more of a statement than a question.

Takeo remained silent so Saniiro plowed on, presenting the theories he'd come up with during the fifteen minutes he'd sat glaring at the Kazekage. "The longer you wait to kill him yourself, the older he'll get. The older he gets, the stronger he'll become and the harder it'll be to kill him. But the stronger he becomes," a triumphant smirk emerged on Saniiro's lips, "the better his control over sand will be. And if he can control Shukaku, he'll have a purpose in this village, thus forcing the Council to stop nagging you about disposing of Gaara. You secretly have hope in Gaara, don't you?"

Takeo frowned. "Since when did you become smart?"

Ignoring the cheeky insult, Saniiro crossed his arms. "So I'm giving you a choice. Stop the assassinations on Gaara."

"...I can't. You know that. The Council is already having a fit. What's the other option?"

"There is no other option," Saniiro said calmly.

Takeo sighed insufferably. "Then why did you tell me I have a choice?"

"Because you can either decide to stop the assassinations yourself," Saniiro said. He took a deep breath, steeling himself. "Or I'll decide for you."

"...What are you talking about?" Takeo deadpanned.

"I know you can't call the assassinations off," Saniiro said, shaking off any remaining residue of his joking attitude. Staring his best friend in the eyes with seriousness, he said, "So I'm going to do it. Put me on the mission."

"No." The answer was blunt and unhesitant. Takeo stared at him like he was crazy. "You're insane."

"No, I'm a genius," Saniiro countered. "Listen, I've done my research. All the previous assassins underestimated Gaara and were crushed without a fight. I know what to expect; I've seen Gaara's methods of attacks. It used to be just catch and crush, as simple as that. No strategy, no thinking—just a kid trying to grab something. But now, you can clearly tell that his methods are more sophisticated. If you send me in, I can draw the fight out so that the Council can see that Gaara's control is actually much more phenomenal than they remember. They'll be pleased and stop pushing you and the assassinations can officially stop!"

"No," Takeo repeated again just as bluntly as before. "You'll die."

Saniiro waved it off. "A shinobi is merely a tool for the village. Trust me when I say this, but I think Gaara has endless potential! Something tells me he can grow up to be something better than me. Better than you even—better than all of us. One death to improve the well-being of all—the most honorable death for a shinobi, right?"

"You have a family," Takeo bit out, eyebrow twitching at the insane proposal his best friend had cooked up. "What about them? Masae died on that mission with your sister. Your family already lost its mother, and now you're going to willingly deny them of a father?"

"Don't think that I haven't thought about them, Takeo," Saniiro growled lowly. "I love them. More than anything. But if this will make a better future for them, which I am certain of, then it'll all be worth it. Besides, everyone has to die eventually, and for me, that time is now. Kazuo, Kyoko, and the twins have each other. They know how to love each other. Even with me gone, they can still support each other. Your family though," he sighed, shaking his head. "You need to stop being a Kage sometimes, Takeo. Go home and be a father for them. Your family is falling apart." He cracked a bittersweet smile. "Just think of this as repayment for that time we were kids and you saved my life at the Chunin Exams. If that's not enough for you, add in the times during the war when you had my back. I owe my life to you and I'm paying it back now."

"No," Takeo snapped, shaking his head firmly. His face was strict, hard, and unmoved as ever, but Saniiro could see the barely-there shimmer of tears in his old friend's eyes. "I can't let you do this. Request denied."

"Takeo," Saniiro said. His face was grim. "I'm doing this with or without your blessing. You know the Council can and will override your decision on grounds of sentimentality if I go to them with my request."

"What if I order you not to do this?" Takeo growled, signs of irritation appearing in his fidgeting fingers.

Saniiro smiled. "Then I'll go rogue and carry out my plan as a missing nin."

"The official mission was a failure," Kazuo finished. "But the true mission—to get the assassinations to stop—was a success."

Struck into silence, the twins exchanged a wordless glance before locking hands—something they used to do as children whenever they felt overwhelmed. When they graduated to full shinobi status, the childhood habit had died away; at the moment, however, nothing felt quite as good as just holding each other's hand and basking in the comfort of each other's presence.

Feeling Kyoko's body shaking ever so slightly beside him, Taizo glanced over at his cousin. Her head was down, chin tucked into her chest. With her head dipped so low, her long fringe hid her face, but nothing could hide the clear liquid drops dripping occasionally down to the couch. From his position looking up at Kyoko, Taizo could see her grit her teeth, shaking with the effort of controlling her tears.

Without thinking, he reached out and took her hand, including her in the old tradition he shared with his brother. As soon as his fingers found hers, her grip tightened almost painfully.

More so than the twins, Gaara was absolutely stunned. Slack-jawed, he stared back at Kazuo, who met his gaze evenly. Part of him was dubious, itching to demand evidence of such a tale, but he could see from the sincerity and pride in Kazuo's eyes that not a single lie had been told. Breaking out of his reverie, Gaara relaxed his stiff posture, shaking his head as he let out a long breath.

Despite all his intelligence, it was almost outside of his mental capacity to understand that someone was willing—and did—give up their life for him. Even back when he was a child, when he had been so unstable, when he had done nothing to show that he could be worth anything, when he'd even given up on himself—someone had claimed to see something better in him.

Someone had given their life for him out of blind trust that he would blossom into his alleged 'full potential'.

Seemingly the only ones to retain their speaking abilities at the moment, Kankuro and Temari exchanged glances.

"Wow," Temari finally said as Kankuro mutely reached for his forgotten cup of tea. "Saniiro-san...was really something."

It had been a long time since she'd felt this much respect for someone.

"True Suna shinobi," Kankuro murmured into his tea. It was cool now, borderline cold, but he made no mention.

A shaky laugh bubbled up from Kyoko's lips. Sniffing, she dragged an arm over her eyes before looking up, lips spread in a crooked smile. "You know what this means, right? We're going to have to double—no, triple our efforts in helping Gaara."

At her words, Gaara snapped out of his stunned stupor. Nodding, he found his voice and quietly added, "So your father doesn't die in vain."

Though it had been several hours since night had fallen in Suna, Kyoko remained as sleepless as ever. Ankles crossed and arms pillowing her head, she lied on top of her covers, staring up at the ceiling. The entire apartment was silent, and she could only assume everyone else had fallen asleep already.

No sooner had she thought that, a sudden knock rapped against the door, softly enough that she wouldn't have heard it had she been asleep.

"Come in," she said quietly.

There was a moment's pause before the door creaked open and Kazuo poked his head in. "Still not asleep?"

"Nope," Kyoko murmured, not bothering to move.

Without a word, Kazuo stepped in, closing the door behind him. Sitting down at the edge of Kyoko's bed, he looked down at his sister. "You okay?"

She didn't respond for a moment—just lied there, staring at the ceiling calmly with an expression that betrayed nothing. After several seconds, as if her mind had just registered his question, she suddenly frowned, letting her head roll to the side. "Just embarrassed."

Sighing, Kazuo shifted, nudging his sister aside. "Come on, make room."

Obediently, she shifted over, letting him stretch out beside him. Though it had been several years since he'd comforted her like this, she curled into her brother's side, immediately feeling a little better when his hand started thumping out a beat on her back.

"Nii-san," she said after a while. "I'm sorry."

Kazuo shrugged as best he could in his position. "You didn't know the full story."

"But I was bad-mouthing Dad when he had done something noble and heroic," she squeaked, her voice small. "Dad's so amazing; his passion for justice was so strong that he gave up his own life for it? Are you sure I'm not adopted? I'm proud and happy about the truth and all...but...at the same time, I've never been more ashamed of myself."

Immediately, Kazuo knew she wasn't just ashamed of wrongly bad-mouthing their father, but also of abandoning Gaara when they were children. While their father had firmly believed in Gaara so deeply that he died for it, Kyoko had allowed village rumors to terrify her young mind.

"Hey, that wasn't your fault either," Kazuo murmured, switching from patting her back to rubbing along her arm. "It was such a dark and abrupt change. No one expected you to know how to deal with Gaara's sudden sadistic streak. You were a kid."

She was still and didn't respond for so long that Kazuo eventually assumed she fell asleep. Just as he went to untangle himself from her, her fist suddenly clenched on his shirt.

"Don't go," came her muffled voice, face still buried in his side.

Wordlessly, Kazuo settled back down, reaching around Kyoko to tug the forgotten blanket over them.

MHJ: Sorry for the extra week! But we finally finished the dreaded senior mid-years xD From now on, hopefully it's smooooooth sailing ^_^ Hmm...I don't actually have that much to say this time... Hope you guys enjoyed it! :) Seeya next week (hopefully on time)~ Ja!