Chapter 21: Remembrance

Normal POV

As the clock struck seven in the morning of October 10, the two elder Sand Siblings walked down the hallway of their home toward Gaara's bedroom. Temari opened the door to find Gaara hugging his pillow as he slept in his bed, perfectly content as the sunlight began to leak in through the window blinds. Temari and Kankuro crept into the room and walked over to his bed, making sure to not make a sound as they moved.

"Gaara? Gaara!" called Temari as she gently shook the redhead awake. Gaara's face scrunched up before his eyes blinked open.

"Why the hell did you two wake me up?" asked Gaara as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "And why are you two dressed like bank robbers?"

"We're dressed like mimes. We just haven't done our makeup yet." said Kankuro as he crossed his arms.

"You just saying 'we haven't done our makeup yet' does not surprise me." muttered Gaara as he sat up in his bed. "So why did you two wake me up?"

"Kankuro and I are going over to the Tower to oversee the final preparations for Izuka and Naruto's birthday. Matsuri, Hinata, and Shikamaru are going to keep Naruto occupied for the day while you will do the same with Izuka." explained Temari as she walked over to the door. "Your costumes for the day are in the living room, but I will be personally giving you your second costumes for the party later tonight okay?"

"Sure thing," said Gaara as he let out a yawn. "See you later."

"See ya!" said Kankuro with a wave of his hand as he followed Temari out the door. Gaara soon got out of his bed and walked over to his bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. When he was done with those morning tasks, he walked out of his room and over to Izuka's room. He knocked on the door, making it open on its own, and he peeked inside to see Izuka sleeping with the lower half of her body on her bed, while the upper half was hanging off it.

"Not again" said Gaara with a chuckle as he walked inside the room. He walked over to the precariously perched sleeping girl and looked down at her face to see that she was definitely fast asleep. He picked her up by her arms and brought her upper body back onto the bed, waking her up in the process.

"Gaara, why do you have your hands under my armpits?" asked Izuka as she opened her eyes, surprising Gaara as he held her up.

"You were hanging off your bed, so I decided to help you out." answered Gaara as he let Izuka go and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Oh . . . okay." said Izuka as she looked out her window, her gaze going straight to the tower.

"Happy birthday" said Gaara with a small smirk as he turned to the girl.

"Thanks" answered Izuka as she kept her stare at the mirror, but the look on Izuka's face told Gaara that she really wasn't in a festive mood.

"What's wrong Izzy?" asked Gaara as he wrapped an arm around her out of concern.

"I know it's my birthday and I should be in a festive mood . . . but there's such a glum aura around my birthday that I just can't get over at times." answered Izuka as she crossed her arms.

"Glum aura . . . why do you say that?" asked Gara, curious to what Izuka had to say.

"I shouldn't be telling you this . . ." muttered Izuka as she looked Gaara in the eyes.

"I want to know. I won't judge you at all. I promise." said Gaara as he rubbed Izuka's arm comfortingly.

". . . Okay." mumbled Izuka as she sat up in Gaara's hold. "Do you remember the day you told me that your mother passed away the day you were born?"

Gaara shook his head yes for an answer. He quickly thought about that night back in the middle of the Chunnin Exams when they encountered each other in the Forest of Death. They were alone, both ditching their respective teams for a while, when they encountered each other near a small pond. Neither of them attacked the other and they ended up talking instead; Gaara talked about his early past and Izuka talked about her days training within the ANBU ranks. Now that he thought about it, Gaara realized that Izuka was actually the one person he was kinda nice to, even though his mission was to capture her.

"Well, on this day seventeen years ago, both of my parents passed away. It was the night that Kurama, the nine tailed fox, was controlled by Tobi and used to destroy the Leaf village. My father, the Yondaime Hokage, was successful in sealing Kurama within Naruto for the sake of the village, but Kurama didn't go in without a fight." Izuka explained as she got off the bed.

"How so?" asked Gaara, instantly curious and slightly eager to hear more.

"Kurama tried to kill Naruto when he realized that he was going to be sealed within him, but my parents stepped in the way before his claws could touch him. They died saving my brother." Izuka explained as she leaned beside the window.

"Where were you when all this was happening?" asked Gaara as he scratched his hair.

"I was nearby. Before Naruto, my mother was the nine tailed jinchuriki. After my mom Kushina gave birth to me and my brother, Tobi found us and managed to kidnap me and my mother. He took us to a secluded area near the Leaf and managed to seal Ryuna within me before extracting Kurama from my mother." Izuka further explained.

"How do you remember all of this?" Gaara asked in mild shock as he got up from his seat.

"I wasn't even awake when all of it went down. I actually ended up being one of those babies that fall asleep as soon as they exit their mothers' womb. Somehow, I was asleep for the sealing process, the whole attack on the Leaf, even my parents' death . . . but Ryuna wasn't. She was aware and awake for everything, even when she was sealed within me. I don't know how, but it's true. She told me about everything that happened a few years back when I was at the age where I could fully able to understand it at all." Izuka explained as she continued to look out the window.

"Wait a second. Wasn't Ryuna within the Land of Iron at the time?" Gaara asked, now remembering a little bit of the 10 tailed bat-dragon's history.

"She was, but Tobi managed to steal the case that she was held in without the samurais' noticing." answered Izuka as she closed her eyes. She opened them right back up when she felt the abrupt touch of Gaara's arms as they wrapped around her waist. She turned her head to see Gaara's head resting on her shoulder.

"Izuka, I never realized that happened to your parents. Before your story, all I really knew from that night was that the Fourth died protecting the Leaf. Hell, I didn't even know the Yondaime Hokage had a wife!" said Gaara in mild surprise, earning a small chuckle from Izuka.

"Well, considering the fact my mother came from a prized clan and almost completely extinct clan from Uzushiogakure, had very special chakra, and was the second ever nine tailed jinchuriki, I think it was a reasonable decision to keep my parents relationship a secret from everyone outside of Konoha." said Izuka as she leaned her head against his.

"That's a good point." said Gaara as he tightened his hold on Izuka's waist. "Izuka, I know this day contains a bad history for you, but you need to remember that what your parents did was to protect your village and your brother. It was probably their only choice. I bet they never wished for you guys to go through a bad childhood."

"I get what you're saying Gaara, and I'm proud that I'm their daughter. It's just really frustrating to know that I'll never see my parents because someone's actions took them away from me and Naruto." said Izuka as a tear slid down her face. Gaara kissed the tear away, before moving on to her lips, kissing her softly as another tear fell down her cheek.

"Hey . . .," said Gaara as he turned Amanda's body so that it faced his. "This may be a day of remembrance for you, but this is also a day of celebration. Everyone, including myself, care about you and we all want you to be happy today. Please don't be so sad." pleaded Gaara as he brought Izuka close for a hug. Izuka let out a deep sigh as she returned Gaara's hug, inwardly thankful that she had someone so understanding like him.

"Thank you Gaara," said Izuka as she broke their hug. "You're right . . . I shouldn't be so down. C'mon, let's go see what your sister has planned for us to wear today."

"Okay . . ." said Gaara as Izuka led him out of her room. "But I got to warn you,, because it's your birthday, Temari has decided to make us wear two costumes today, not just one."

Izuka let out a small groan, making Gaara chuckle, as the two made their way down the stairs to get their costumes for the day, but at night, the real festivities was going to take place, the good . . .

And the bad.

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