So I was procrastinating while studying for exams and I came up with this. I also noticed that none of the stories I read are updating, lots of people must be busy. It's not super long but I hope people like it.
It was at Kayla's next appointment that Dr. Amai confirmed Shukaku's chakra, and distinctly, the chakra of the baby, safely growing together. Kayla seemed to exist in a fog, detached from reality as the doctor used a machine to show her the baby's heartbeat and reminded her of the things she should be doing to keep herself healthy. Kayla barely heard any of it.
Gaara's voice snapped her back to reality as he pulled the doctor aside. "There can be no record of this. Make sure there is no mention of Shukaku's chakra, and change any dates that would give anyone looking into it the idea that the baby was conceived before the demon was removed. I was targeted because they wanted the chakra of the tailed beast, I will not have those precious to me targeted for the same reason." With Dr. Amai sworn to secrecy they left.
Once they got home Gaara sat her down on the couch and looked at her seriously. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.
She hadn't spoken since the beginning of her appointment. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out, so she closed it again and took a deep breath. An image flashed in her mind of the little red-haired child with blue eyes playing in the sand, smiling sweetly from her dream. "The baby has its own chakra…" her hands drifted up to rest over her stomach in a naturally comfortable position.
Gaara nodded, waiting to see if she would continue.
The door banged open, Temari stood on the other side with an open scroll in her hand. "You weren't in your office," panted the flustered looking sibling.
Kayla quickly put her hands at her side, trying not to look as flustered as she felt.
Despite the intrusion, Gaara's face remained passive, "What is it Temari?"
"A message came from the Leaf Village. They encountered two members of the Akatsuki."
"Is Naruto all right?" Gaara asked, a slight sound of panic creeping into his voice.
"He's safe," Temari reassured her brother, "apparently the incident only resulted in one casualty."
"Did they request any assistance?" Gaara asked.
"No, " Temari said, pausing as if she were unsure of what she wanted to say next, "but I'd like permission to travel to the Leaf Village anyway."
"Why is that?" Gaara asked.
"Last time I was in the Leaf Village, Shikamaru and I came up with the idea to pool our information about the Akatsuki. It's a smart plan. If we work together, we'll be prepared for the next attack. We may even be able to go after them. We're already allies, and since both Villages were recently attacked we have the Akatsuki as a common enemy." She explained patiently.
Gaara nodded, his sister spent a lot of time cultivating their alliance with the Leaf Village, and she was intelligent both tactically, and politically. He trusted her idea was sound. "I will write a request to the Hokage. Take whoever you need to get it done."
"Good, " Temari smirked, "Kayla, you up for a mission?" She seems to smile even wider at the looks of surprise on their faces, "What? Is something wrong? I know you've been researching rogue ninja, you have a connection with the Leaf and you haven't been out of the village in forever. It's perfect."
Kayla was almost certain Temari was plotting something. They began travelling through the desert that afternoon as soon as the day's heat abated. Kayla could almost hear the gears turn as Temari lead the way through the desert. She wasn't sure if Temari had heard what she and Gaara had been talking about or if it was something else but the oldest sand sibling was too smart for this to be anything less than a calculated step.
Three days of travelling without so much as a hint of what Temari was planning had Kayla wondering if she was just being paranoid. They made it to the gates of the Leaf Village and let a messenger take Gaara's written request to the Hokage. The guards seemed on edge, but it was to be expected after an encounter with the Akatsuki.
"They'll probably send that lazy fool. He's usually the one who I get stuck with." Temari said casually while they waited. She sounded annoyed but the mood didn't reach her face.
"It should be. You said you came up with this idea with him. Or are you still holding a grudge from when he beat you in the chūnin exams?" Kayla snickered.
"If I remember correctly, I was named the winner of that fight." Temari attempted to derail the accusation.
Kayla was going to tease her more when she noticed what looked like a literal dust cloud racing towards them.
Kayla and Temari both watched it, trying to figure out what it was travelling so fast down the main road.
Kayla let out a small "oh no" as she realized who it was. She braced for impact as Rose glomped her at full speed. She tried as hard as she could to stay upright, but she was overthrown by the momentum. She had half a second to wonder how bad the fall would be on the hard-packed road when something caught her.
Temari stood behind her, catching her by the shoulders to stop her from falling. When she turned to thank her, Kayla realized her suspicions were correct. The oldest sand sibling had heard her conversation with Gaara. She knew about the baby. The worried look on the normally brash sand sibling said it all.
After they untangled themselves, Temari and Kayla scolded Rose for the whole walk to their hotel room.
It wasn't until after they had dropped their belongings in their hotel room and gotten cleaned up that the girls started to address their mission in earnest. "So where is your boyfriend, " Temari asked Rose as they headed to a secure library meant only for jōnin rank or ninja with special permission, "He had a hand in coming up with this idea. I would have expected him to muster up some interest."
Rose darkened a bit, chewing her lip before speaking. "He hasn't been taking missions. He was involved it the Akatsuki incident. It was his sensei that died during the fighting so he's not in a great place right now."
"Oh," Both the sand ninja stopped in surprise. "I'm sorry for your loss." Temari continued diplomatically.
Kayla was certain Temari would normally have called him a crybaby. She had in the past, but perhaps losing someone close to you to the Akatsuki was a little too familiar at present. "Maybe he can come and proofread after we've done the work to make sure we didn't miss anything," Kayla suggested.
Rose agreed to suggest it.
They worked almost in silence for the rest of the day, sifting through Bingo books and gathering information on known Akatsuki members. Arranging pieces of information on a large table like a puzzle that needed to be put together. All known members were from different villages, they seemed to have no previous connections, and nothing pointed to the shadowy leader behind this rogue organization. At the end of the day, they had dedicated piles for each of the seven known members but nothing to connect them.
Rose stretched as she walked them back to their hotel room, "I hate how I get more sore from being inside all day than actually going out on a mission."
Temari agreed, chatting with her easily. Kayla zoned out as they walked, just following the other girl's footsteps. It had been easy to forget while working, but now as the evening wound down she again had to think of her dilemma. She wondered if Temari would try to bring up the overheard conversation in the privacy of their hotel room, or tell Rose of her suspicions. The latter seemed more likely, as she had had the whole three-day journey to bring it up privately. As her thoughts drifted to her sister, Kayla wondered if she should tell her. It was unlikely she would be in the Leaf Village again closer to her due date, and she was sure this type of sensitive information was not something she should send in a letter. There was a certain comfort in keeping things private. She didn't have to answer any awkward questions, or deal with what she was sure would be a massive scolding for her hypocritical stance on Rose and Shikamaru's relationship. But the longer she thought about it, the more relief she felt at the idea of sharing at least some of her fears with Rose and Temari. She found some hope that maybe they'd be able to help her figure out what she was supposed to do next.
Her train of thought halted as she bumped into the two in front of her. Looking around she realized she wasn't at the hotel, but outside a quiet hot spring near the edge of the village. Rose and Temari grinned broadly at her. They had taken advantage of her wandering mind and led her away. Any other time it would have made her angry but today it suited her purpose. She let them lead her inside, rolling her eyes at how excited they got when she didn't fight with them over their surprise.
The hot water and steam were exactly what the three needed after the day stuck in the library. Rose and Temari had chosen well, there were a few people bathing when they arrived but soon the filtered out leaving only the three girls.
When it seemed they were finally alone, Kayla finally gathered her courage. She peeked in Rose's direction, trying to stay relaxed. "You're a sensor, right Rose?" She asked, knowing the answer but waiting for Rose's nod anyway. "Are we actually alone now?"
Rose thought, stretching out her senses for any nearby chakra signatures. "Yeah. The owner is inside but there no one else here. What's going on?"
Kayla glanced at Temari, who was watching her expectantly. Kayla nearly groaned with the effort to keep talking. "I need to tell you something but you have to promise to keep it a secret."
"Of course," Rose answered easily, but her expression was concerned. "You can tell me anything, you know I have your back hun."
Kayla took a deep breath preparing for the worst. "I'm…" she couldn't say it.
"Pregnant." Rose filled in the blank, laughing a little after she said it.
The other two girls' jaw dropped. "How did you know!" Kayla almost screeched, barely keeping her voice under control.
Rose's eyes went wide, "I was joking! I didn't think I was right! What happened?"
"You know how it happens," Temari interjected sharply.
Kayla sighed. "I was on birth control. It just… failed. And apparently, I have health concerns preventing me from dealing with it after the fact… so I'm in this for the long haul." She silently cursed Shukaku, wherever the demon was.
"So what are you going to do now?" Rose asked.
Kayla sank in the water, slouching till it touched her chin. "I don't know. I've only been dealing with things as they come up. I don't have any plans." She glanced at Temari who was taking in the information without giving much of what she thought. "People are going to think I did this on purpose to trap Gaara. In his station, he should never be stuck with someone like me."
"And did you?" Temari asked plainly, ignoring the indignant look Rose gave her.
"No. I don't… I didn't want kids." Kayla explained, too upset to be angry.
"Do you love my brother?" Temari continued.
This time Kayla went red, unable to keep a lid on her emotions everything that had been weighing on her came tumbling out, "Of course I do! That's why I don't want to burden him. It doesn't matter how I feel. The council… the whole village will never accept someone like me. I don't deserve this!" She stopped, suddenly realizing what she just said. She turned invisible dashing out of the water and back into the changing room. Gathering her things she left the other two to talk and went straight back to the hotel room.
She was in bed, pretending to sleep with her still damp hair splayed out over the pillow when Temari walked into the room. Temari sat on the edge of Kayla's bed, either knowing she was faking or not caring about waking her up.
"You don't have to worry about the council, or the villagers, or even me and Kankuro. If you two do what makes both of you happy, the rest of us will catch up eventually. Don't get hung up on the 'who deserved what' bullshit. If you two are happy together, you should be together. Gaara is happy with you. A kid may not be ideal but it's not the end of the world." She didn't expect a response, so she got ready for bed herself leaving things to sink in till the next day.
Plans for the next day got derailed when Rose informed them that Shikamaru had gone through their previous days' work over the night. He had finished what they had started and suggested to the Hokage that she sends a request for more information from other hidden villages.
Kayla was fine with not having work. All she wanted to do was hide in her bed after the previous night's heart to heart. Rose had other plans though.
So Rose was dragging her through the streets of Konoha seemingly running errands. They picked up groceries and fresh flowers before Rose dragged her into a cemetery. Kayla held the bags of groceries while Rose laid the flowers at Asuma's grave.
"Rosanna…" a surprised voice came from the cemetery path, "I didn't expect to see you here." Kurenai approached the grave with her own flowers.
Kayla almost didn't recognize her in her civilian clothes. She looked different but Kayla couldn't put her finger on exactly what was out of place.
Rose rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Shikamaru's been coming every day but he didn't sleep last night so I figured I'd stop by for him."
Kurenai nodded, "I see. It's not like him to miss a chance to sleep"
"Well, he does tend to get caught up in a puzzle from time to time." Roses chattered away. "This is my sister, Kayla, by the way. She's visiting from the Sand Village. Actually, I think you two have a lot in common, you should talk. Why don't you let me cook you lunch? Yoshino has been teaching me some recipes."
Kayla was baffled by the course of the conversation but Kurenai seemed ready to humour her. "Alright. Why don't you two come back to my place and I'll make us some tea."
Thank you to Dark Rose Charm and nightgem14 for the reviews, they mean the world to me. And anyone else that faved or followed, it still astounds me that people read what I write.