Disclaimer: Sis didn't own Naruto, only her story plots and her OCs.

16—History Repeats

It had been awkward when Meyumi-sama had first seen Sakura's brother, because she vaguely recognized him. When she realized just who he was, she almost fainted. Apparently, Sakura wasn't the only one under the impression that her brother was in Africa. They decided on a quaint little place not far from the office where her brother worked. They were surprised when he headed to a table with a woman and three kids at it. He smiled as he went to her, kissed her, and greeted the children.

"Sakura, this is my wife Ayame, and my three children, Mai, Rori, and Mikal." The kids made noises and giggled in excitement at seeing their daddy. Sakura felt something akin to awe flower within her. In seven months, she'd have something very similar to what she was seeing. She and Gaara both would.

"But…mom and dad told me you were in Africa. They said you were a doctor there and that you were single. Why would they tell me that?" There were tears in her eyes and his smile disappeared. He looked at Ayame, who lowered her gaze. He motioned them to sit.

"Mom and dad aren't exactly happy with what I chose for my life. They were adamant that I follow the plans they'd laid out for me. They had controlled me all through high school and when I graduated at seventeen, they wanted me to go straight into college for my medical degree." He took his daughter, Rori, and sat her in his lap. He smiled at her. "I wasn't so sure I wanted to go to medical school. I didn't want to leave the area because I fell in love." He looked over at his wife, his eyes gentle. She blushed and bounced the baby, Mai, in her lap.

He sighed and looked at Sakura. "It wasn't long until I started rebelling against them. I refused to fill out the applications they had requested be sent to the house and finally mom filled one out and sent it in without telling me. I was furious when it came back and I'd been accepted." Sakura had no trouble believing her mother would do something like that. He sighed and ran his hands over his face. A gentle touch from his wife had him smiling and playing with his little daughter again.

"I was so furious that I went straight to Ayame. I told her what mom had done. I told her I was running away and that mom could explain to the school why I wasn't attending." Humor crept into his eyes. "She talked me out of it. She told me that even though my parents had taken the choice from me, I could still make something of myself." He looked at her adoringly and she blushed slightly.

He looked back at Sakura and cleared his throat. "So I went. I was still furious mind you, and I told them if they so much as darkened my doorstep that I would quit and move to Africa where mom's family was." He took a sip of the coffee his wife had ordered for him. He then went back to talking and playing with his middle child. The oldest was at his mother's side, watching the strangers carefully.

"On my nineteenth birthday, Ayame came to see me. She's two years younger than me, but like me she graduated early. She was set to join the same college I was at." He chuckled as he remembered something. "Mom and dad were so furious when they found out that Ayame had followed me. They'd been trying to get her away from me by sending me off to college. When she followed me, they made the mistake of showing up to try and drive her away." His eyes darkened, but his smirk was still there.

"When they showed up, Ayame and I were talking. She'd just told me she was pregnant with Mikal." Said boy looked at his parents, his eyes a mixture between his mother's brown and his father's green. Sakura noticed him looking at her and she smiled sweetly. He wasn't that much younger than her after all. She'd been three when he was born, after all. Hatori looked over at Sakura, who seemed a bit dazed.

"Well, after they showed up, I went nuts. I was so mad at them that I put in papers to transfer to a college out of Japan altogether. Mom and dad were worried, but figured that if I was leaving Japan, I was leaving Ayame as well." He gave a humorless chuckle. "They didn't realize that Ayame and I already had her parent's permission to marry. We went to the Justice of the Peace, married, and moved in together at Ayame's house. When the transfer papers went through, it was for both of us. They were furious and tried to drive her away, but I called the police on them. It's why they had to move to where you live now. Their cushy little lives here had been ruined by me."

Sakura felt tears gathering in her eyes. Her parents had done this to their only son? Their first child? It made sense to her then, why they controlled her so carefully. She closed her eyes and put her hand in Gaara's. He squeezed it and she looked at him. His eyes were telling her everything would be okay. Sakura cleared her throat. "So…why did they disown you?" He snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Because I'd gone against their little laid out plan for me. I didn't contribute to the solidarity of their reputations. I tarnished it by getting a girl pregnant out of wedlock. A girl they hadn't chosen for me." Sakura gasped and stared. Her parents had chosen who they wanted their son to love? Would they try to do that with her? It seems her brother sensed her worries.

"Trust me Sakura, they never do anything that isn't well thought out. Well, except dad hitting you. I think that his show of temper may have saved you from being used like a poker chip in this elaborate game they've been playing for years. Why do you think they take so many trips when there are no conferences where they're going?" Her eyes widened. Her parents were searching for potential suitors for her? She looked over when Gaara growled dangerously.

"They're not forcing her to marry anyone. Sakura is carrying my baby and I will be the one she marries." Sakura blushed and stared at him. He really felt that way about her? He'd marry her even though her parents were obviously psychotic? It seemed her brother approved, because he chuckled.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear." He reached to Ayame, who put something in his hand. He slid it across the table to Sakura. She stared at it before opening it. Her eyes widened when she opened it. It was a petition for emancipation. She stared at it. Her name was on it.

"Hatori, what?" He held up his hand then and arched a brow at her.

"Hatori is my wife's surname. I changed my name after mom and dad disowned me. I go by Xavier now." Sakura arched a brow at this and he chuckled. "Yeah, I know, silly name for a Japanese man, but I found I like it." She looked back at the documents and her mind swan with questions.

"So…what about all that stuff about you and Africa?" He shrugged and took another gulp of coffee.

"I went to Africa, just like I told mom and dad I would if they showed up at the college. Ayame and I finished our degrees there before coming back and getting our doctorates. By then, Mikal was old enough to attend school and we both worked at the hospital. Ayame worked part time in order to take care of Mikal and I worked full time. Our grandparents paid for my schooling and I was working to pay off Ayame's." Sakura was amazed. She'd never even met her mother's parents.

"What were they like? Our grandparents?" Xavier smiled as memories poured through his mind.

"They are amazing, Sakura. Maybe after your baby is born, you can go visit them and introduce them to their newest grandchild." She smiled and looked at Gaara. She then looked at the papers. She knew what she wanted and she was going to make sure that under no circumstances could her parents take that away from her.

"Anyone have a pen?" She asked in a strong voice. Xavier smiled and handed her the pen from his jacket pocket.

"I always knew you were the smart one between us." He winked at her and she laughed happily…the first happy sound she'd made outside of being with Gaara.