Ghost in the Sand
Slipping Sands

Two dark eyes watched as the medical-nin took care of the ANBU assigned to guard him. When one of the medical-nin asked if he had any injuries he tilted his head to the other men. A young female finally came forward saying each and every one of the men who were buried with him were now treated or being treated, and it was his turn. He didn't notice the female blushing, and pulling the clipboard closer to try and hide her face.

"Lord Kazekage? I need to do a physical examination to check for injuries."

Rasa continued to glare at the wall as she helped him remove his shirt. An involuntary groan escaped his lips as she pulled on the shirt wrong causing his bruised ribs to hurt even more. She began to bandage up his ribs in a manner not befitting a medial-nin, but he choose to ignore the rough treatment as his mind stewed over various strategies for dealing with the many various possibilities regarding Suna.

His focus came back when one of the elders stepped into the room. "Joseki."

"Do you have any other injuries Lord Kazekage?"

The way the medical-nin's voice strained caused Rasa to turn his head to look at the female attending him. He looked her up and down as her blush deepened. "Exactly how old are you? Sixteen? Seventeen? I'm old enough to be your father for goodness sakes, so knock it off."

"Fifteen sir." The comment regarding the fact he could be her father only made the blush worsen.

"My eldest is your age." The man continued to glare at the woman. "Seriously..."

Joskei let out a cough causing the female to scurry off. "Remarrying wouldn't be a bad idea Lord Kazekage."

"So this is one of the ways he's going to take his conversation."

"It would certainly clean up some of the mess you created from siding with Otogakure to destroy our allies from Konohakure."

"I did no such thing." Rasa watched as Joskei. "You've assumed that was the plan I had agreed to with Otoga when in reality the plan I agreed to was to wipe the floor during the Chunin exams of the chunin from Konoha thus giving us an advantage in negotiations for missions as well as Otoga as it was a new village needing to make itself stand out. I'm not a fool Joseki."

The man cleared his throat. "There is another matter to address. A young girl from the village was attacked last night at that old shrine dedicated to Shukaku."

"And..."

"They say the girl was attacked by Gaara."

"Let me guess. There was a bloody mess like usual?"

"There was no bloody mess because..."

The pause from the council elder caused Rasa to turn his head. "I can think of a good reason why there was no bloody mess. This wasn't Gaara."

"You can't..."

The Kazekage quickly interrupted the man. "What reason do people have to believe this was Gaara?"

"A rumor's been going around for some time that..." Joseki quickly gulped. "... that Shukaku is looking for brides."

Rasa's mouth twisted up as he contemplated these thoughts. "What kind of nonsense is this? Why are you fool enough to bring this to me?"

"Surely you realize Lord Kazekage that Gaara is at the age now to be hitting puberty?"

"Puberty?" Rasa remained silent for a minute before giving out his curt reply. "I've not thought of it much due to Gaara having the mental state of a spoiled toddler. I don't see why bringing this matter to my attention is important. Gaara was nowhere near the village last night, and there are two people who can vouch for his whereabouts." Rasa pulled his shirt over his head doing his best not to move his ribs. "Hopefully he didn't kill Kankoro and Temari."

"Lord Kazekage! That monster isn't just being accused of murder anymore! He's being accused of rape! You've got to do something about him!"

"Of all the..." Rasa pushed himself away from the bed he sat on until his injuries were taken care of. "You're becoming more and more of a fool as each day goes by Joseki."

"You're the only one who can handle him. What would this village have done had you not come back alive?"

"We'll speak of this matter again later. I have something I need to do. I suggest not staying around as you are seriously testing my patience." The Kazekage waved his hand indicating the man should quickly disappear from his sight. He then stood up and headed to the office of the person in charge of the medical-nin corps. Their head darted up, and they asked what they needed. "I heard a young girl was brought in the night before."

"That girl?" The medical-nin suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Are you going to tell me that you can't share a patients medical records or something of the sort?"

"No." The medical-nin leaned into his hands. "I have a parent who keeps insisting her daughter was raped and attacked by a certain someone when all the tests came back negative. Normally this would be good news, but there are quite a few of the villagers who are quick to believe these rumors. I honestly didn't think the situation with Lord Gaara could get worse, and this isn't actually of his own doing for once. She's in a comma though so we can't get any answers from her about what really happened."

Rasa leaned up against the wall. "In other words your telling me that the accusations are just that... accusations."

"That." The medical-nin stood up and headed to the window. "I don't really wish to discuss this topic anymore Lord Rasa. If you don't take your leave I'll be forced to take leave of my own office."

"Understood. Your information was helpful." The Kazekage pushed himself away from the wall before heading back to the place he called home. The sensei of his children quickly appeared beside him causing him to turn to look at the man. "Please tell me Temari and Kankuro are alive?"

"Yes. Gaara managed to meet up with them as well."

Rasa's eyes widened quickly when he heard this. "Gaara did?"

"What's even more strange was the older two insisted Gaara wouldn't kill them."

"I'll need to have a word with them about that." The forth Kazekage took a deep breath. "Have you heard the rumor going around?"

"No. I've stuck to paths the villagers don't frequent."

Rasa took a deep breath and filled Baki in on what Joseki and the head of the medical-nin told him. He watched as the eyes of the man widened in horror. "I'm honestly not sure how to stop this rumor. To make matters worse we have guests from Konoha, and if they hear these rumors."

"Something else is bothering you?"

"Joseki brought up the idea of me remarrying again."

"You do realize he would like you to marry one of his daughters? He wasn't happy when you choose to marry Karura instead."

"Now I think he wishes for me to marry one of his granddaughters." A visible shudder ran down the Kazekage's spine. "When he told me about these Shukaku's brides he also reminded me Gaara's at the age he should be hitting puberty."

"Wouldn't it be more apt at this point for him to try and marry Kankuro with one of his granddaughters, or Temari with one of his grandsons? Actually... how many children and grandchildren does that man have?"

"I don't know, nor do I want to know. What did you say to Temari and Kankuro?"

"I told them you would likely want a report regarding their mission. I'm guessing you'll want a report from me."

"Once we get back to my office. I'd like you to also send for Temari and Kankuro." Rasa paused before turning his head. "I think I would also like to speak to the white haired shinobi to get his point of view of things."