Kintsugi
New Beginnings

Gaara's eyes flickered open, closing instantly upon seeing the bright light.

He turned his head slightly, his nose picking up on the scent of hospital disinfectant, yet mentally he didn't understand how he ended up in Konoha's hospital. After all, the only place he'd ever been in the hospital was Konoha; his sand had a way of protecting him from anything which might harm him, though there were some exceptions to this rule. The last place he remembered being was Suna, but the last thing he remembered...

His eyes snapped open despite the manner in which the light hurt his head from sleeping as long as he had. Gaara closed his eyes, pushing himself up from the bed. He wasn't dressed in his normal clothing or the clothing of the Kazekage; instead, he wore the clothing one wore when they were in the hospital. "I feel like a fool for not realizing there was anything added to my sand."

"You do realize you said that out loud, right?" The sound of Shikamaru's voice made Gaara turn his head and look at the Shinobi from Konoha, yet Gaara's seafoam green eyes picked up on various clues such as what the building was made of which in turn clued him in to the fact they were in Suna. He also still felt as if his chakra were majorly depleted for some reason.

"Ooh, he beat me to it this time, didn't he?"

"Shut up Shukaku."

"What a drag, having him talk in your head." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head, his mouth twisting into a frown. "So, I've got to ask. How are you feeling?"

Gaara looked around, yet what he looked for was definitely not in the room – Shikamaru was the only one keeping him company. "Where's Temari?"

"That really didn't answer my question you know." Shikamaru brought a leg up where he sat, placing his hands in the lap. "Look. She's fine, but she's going to want to know how you're feeling. More importantly, you know she'll know if you're not telling the truth, right?"

"Right." Gaara looked at his hands, thinking about how he felt. His body did in fact hurt, yet there was also the fact, "My Chakra's low still. I definitely feel sore, but my head also hurts."

"Well, considering what happened, that's not surprising." Shikamaru leaned forward. "What you did had to use up a lot of your chakra, but you're not used to your sand shield failing."

"The sand shield worked though."

"Oh. You're trying to say that for once your perfect defense was too perfect?"

Gaara nodded his head, pleased Shikamaru picked up on what he was trying to say regarding the matter. "I'd like to see my siblings."

"You do realize you're supposed to be resting, right?"

"I want to see them." In other words, he didn't care what he was supposed to be doing and moved his legs out of the hospital bed. Looking down at his toes, he wiggled them, feeling the cold floor underneath. "The floor feels good." Standing up, on the other hand, did not. Gaara felt himself teeter on his feet for a bit until Shikamaru reached out and steadied him.

"What a drag. Well, since you're going to be stubborn about this, it will just be easier to take them where they are, though truth be told, I think your older sister is going to kill me."

Gaara let himself be led by the other teen to another room in the hospital. The way the doctors looked at him – it reminded him of the day he discovered his mother was alive right before. "There's something they don't want to tell me."

When they arrived at the room, Gaara nearly bumped into Sakura – another shinobi from Konoha he met during the first chunin exam he participated in. He bowed his head slightly, remembering how he tried killing her, purposefully avoiding eye contact in case he made her feel uncomfortable. "Oh. Lord Kazekage." She then changed from formal to informal. "Gaara, you really should be resting."

"Did one of my siblings get hurt?" In the back of his mind, he couldn't think of any other reason why one of his siblings might avoid visiting him in the hospital room. He didn't wait for an answer, stepping into the room. Temari looked up at him, her eyes wide.

"Ah, Gaara."

Kankuro let out a sigh. "Gaara, you're supposed to be resting."

"That's the third time..." Gaara paused, his eyes focusing in on who was in the hospital bed. "Wait. What happened to mother?"

"You weren't the only one who was amazing that night."

"Kankuro!" Temari's hand held onto their mother's

Gaara watched his mother stir, her eyes opening. "No. It's alright. I'd like to see Gaara as well."

"You're both supposed to be resting."

He hurried over, sitting himself down in one of the seas nearby, completely unsure of what to say to his mother. A thought did cross his mind. "Did I almost lose her again?"

"I'm alright, Gaara. Lady Tsunade sent one of her students. Sakura removed the poison."

"You were poisoned? Why?"

"Because mom – well, she went up against Sasori. Lady Chiyo was furious."

"He is her grandson."

"She was furious for not being there. I told her I didn't realize until I was there that it would be Sasori, but she made sure I had some shinobi tools."

"Why?" Gaara didn't bat an eyelid. "Why did she provide you some shinobi tools? Why were you where you were?"

His mother's eyes widened slightly, but he saw Temari look away. "Well, see... mom loves you."

There were the words Gaara found himself struggling with ever since his mother appeared. "Uncle Yashimaru ..."

"Can you forget what that monster said! Mom loves you. And, she's not insane! Okay!" Gaara tensed up. He looked his sister in the eye, the tone of voice Temari used frightening him, if not outright confusing him. Her eyes widened upon realizing the effect her tone of voice had on him. "Gaara. I'm sorry." He watched Temari glance away, not looking any of them in the eye. "I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"For starters, I'm sorry I yelled." Temari took a deep breath. "We also didn't tell you why..." Her mouth pushed together.

"Mom sealed Shukaku in you so that you would be born alive, but she had these visions predicting that this would happen, though apparently didn't have certain specifics."

"Kankuro."

"Oh." Gaara watched them. "What do you mean by being born alive?"

"She means you wouldn't have been born if Shukaku wasn't sealed in you. Shukaku is why you were born alive." Kankuro remained blunt as ever.

"Oh. That makes sense."

"That makes sense?" Temari watched him, the corners of her mouth twisting. She then realized something. "Wait. You're more bothered by that then the visions?"

"Why would I be bothered by the visions? Lady Tsunade knows something bad is going to happen when she wins big."

Kankuro stared. "What does that have to do with our mother? I mean, how could you..."

"She's our grandmother." He watched Karura stare at him, contemplating what he said.

"And how did you come to that conclusion?" Kankuro folded his arms across his chest.

"Because Temari looks like Lady Tsunade, except much younger. Oh, and there is a character in one of Jiraya's books – TheTale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi I believe."

"Wait." Temari's eyes blinked, but all three stared at him, their expression becoming a bit horrified for some strange reason.

"There is this character who has this bird creature who has Lady Tsunade's personality, but is flat-chested like mother."

Kankuro facepalmed. "Gaara, that doesn't mean anything.

"The name of the bird creature is Karura." Both of his siblings stared at him with more horror, before looking at their mother.

"Um, Gaara. You said you've read his books. Does this mean you've read the Icha Icha series?"

"Should I have not? I found them under the bed in yours and father's room."

"I was afraid that's where you found them."

Note - For those not familiar with the Naruto series, the Icha Icha series is a series of adult novels which is popular among females.