Chapter 4~~
(A/N: Not much to say about this. Lots more characters and stuff in this chapter. Sorry it tool so long, no internet. I've had it typed up for about 3 weeks tho lol.
Enjoy)
Mikoto quietly slipped outside. The breeze felt amazing in the dead of the night. Everyone was sleeping of course, so no one noticed her leaving.
She'd been restless over the past few weeks and she'd finally decided she was going to find her daughter and see her at least once before she died. After making sure she had everything she needed, Mikoto left for Suna.
DIVIDER
A few days later, Mikoto arrived at the sweltering Sand village. Everything looked different, but there was something still familiar about it.
Still, Mikoto didn't even know where to start. She stopped an old man who happened to be walking by.
"Excuse me, can you tell me the way to the Kazekage's mansion?"
The man gave her directions and she quickly thanked him before heading off to the Kazekage's mansion. She'd figured she could try to find some record of her daughter or someone she knew who would lead her to Akahana.
As Mikoto walked through the streets of Suna, she took in all the sights. The merchants selling exotic spices and foods, people aimlessly walking in the streets to get to their destination, people trying to find relief from the sweltering heat. Mikoto was glad her daughter had been raised here. There was just something that felt like home here.
DIVDER
"Hello, what can I do for you?' The receptionist at the Kazekage's mansion asked Mikoto.
"Is there any way I could see the records of citiens?" Mikoto asked.
"Give me the name of who you're looking for and I'll see what I can do for you." The receptionist replied.
Mikoto thought for a while. She couldn't remember the name of the neighbor who she'd given Akahana to. Then again, she didn't know if he'd kept her either. She decided to ask the name of the family she'd stayed with while in Suna.
She had kept in touch with Karura for a few years after she left Suna, so Karura was who she asked for.
The receptionist looked through a few files before pausing and looking at Mikoto.
"You don't mean the Kazekage's wife, do you?"
Mikoto was surprised. She didn't remember Karura mentioning she was getting married. But then again, it'd been a while.
"Her husband's the Kazekage?"
The receptionist nodded and said,"Well, he was her husband. She died about 5 years ago."
Once again, Mikoto was shocked. Her dear friend was gone? Karura was also probably the only chance Mikoto would have at finding Akahana, too.
"How did she die?" Mikoto whispered to the receptionist.
The woman was embarrassed. "Well, Kazekage-sama doesn't like for anyone to discuss the circumstances his wife died under. So I'm not really allowed to tell you." She smiled apologetically.
Now, Mikoto was really discouraged. "Well, can I speak with the Kazekage? Seeing as I was a good friend of his wife."
"I don't think he'd allow it, but I'll check." The receptionist called up to the Kazekage's office.
While Mikoto was waiting, she saw a little boy with red hair, 'love' tattooed on his forehead, and a weird looking teddy bear come into the waiting area. She stared at the child, who looked like he was the same age as Sasuke. The young boy just stared back at Mikoto, his face expressionless.
The receptionist was just hanging up the phone when she saw the boy.
"Gaara, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Yashamaru?"
"Oh…I guess so." Gaara muttered to the woman.
The receptionist turned back to Mikoto. "You can go up now, but hurry. Kazekage-sama is very busy."
Mikoto thanked the woman, then hurried up the stairs to meet Karura's husband.
When she got to his office, she meekly knocked on the door.
"What is it?" A rough voice demanded.
Mikoto opened the door to reveal the scary looking man with a scowl on his face.
Mikoto bowed. "Hello, Kazekage-sama. I'm Mikoto Uchiha, Karura's friend."
"I'd appreciate it if we didn't speak of my wife." The grumpy man told her.
"Well, I apologize in advance because I came to talk about her. Well, not completely about her." Mikoto said, slightly embarrassed.
The Fourth Kazekage waited expectantly. "Well? What do you want? I have a lot of work to do."
"Well, I don't want to bring up your wife-"
"Don't then." The Kazekage snapped.
Mikoto sighed, then continued.
"But, I was wondering if she ever told you about my daughter."
The Kazekage's expression softened a bit. Just a little.
"Yes… Karura seemed very sympathetic whenever she talked about your situation."
"Is there any way you could help me find her?" Mikoto whispered to one of her best friends' husband. "The man who I gave her to was a neighbor of Karura's and I was wondering if you could tell me his name."
The Kazekage sighed and opened a door underneath his desk that seemed as if it hadn't been opened in a very long time. He pulled out a box with a thin layer of dust on it and handed it to Mikoto.
"What's this?" Mikoto asked, puzzled.
"Karura kept all of your letters and other miscellaneous stuff in here. There's probably something in here that can help you find your daughter. Take it, it's of no use to me."
"Thank you so much!" Mikoto turned to leave, but paused. "But what if there's nothing useful in here?"
The Kazekage just shrugged. "Please leave now."
DIVIDER
Back in the lobby, Mikoto looked through the box. There were the letters she and Karura had exchanged over the years. There was also a picture of the house where Karura's family had lived.
In the photo was a much younger and very pregnant Mikoto and a smiling Karura.
A street sign was in the far corner of the picture.
Mikoto squinted to make out the characters on the sign.
"Oh…I remember now." She smiled and left the Kazekage's mansion to find Karura's old house.
DIVIDER
After half an hour of wandering around Suna looking for Karura's old house, she finally found it. She recognized the big house where she'd spent the majority of her pregnancy.
After knocking loudly on the door, half expecting someone to answer, an old woman came to the door, squinting at Mikoto.
"Uhm…Hello." Mikoto smiled at the woman. She seemed familiar.
"Is that you, Mikoto?" The woman inquired.
Mikoto realized it was Karura's mom, who she'd always called Kaasan because she thought of her as her own mother.
"Yes, it's me." Mikoto grinned and hugged Karura's mother.
"I never thought I would see you again." Kaasan sobbed.
Mikoto patted the older woman's back, comforting her. "I'm going to stay in Suna for a little while."
"Well you know you have to stay here!" Kaasan exclaimed, taking a step back to look at Mikoto.
"Ok. But I have some questions for you, I need your help."
"Of course! Let's catch up first, I'll go make some tea."
DIVIDEr
After several cups of tea and other random conversation, Kaasan asked suddenly, "Have you met my grandchildren?"
Mikoto shook her head 'no'. " I've met your son-in-law, though. He seems…interesting."
Kaasan laughed, then sighed sadly. "He's a complicated man. He got even worse after Karura died."
"How did she die anyway? Karura never seemed like the type of person to die so young."
Kaasan sighed again, tiredly. "The Kazekage had a tailed beast sealed inside of Gaara, my youngest grandson, while she was still pregnant with him. She died giving birth to him. Now, Gaara's feared and hated by everyone. His father has even isolated him from his siblings, so Gaara stays with my son Yashamaru. Although Yashamaru is caring, I still feel awful for Gaara. None of this should have happened."
There was a heavy silence as Mikoto took all of this in. Karura had died for her child, that didn't seem like something the Kazekage should keep from talking about. It also reminded her of Kushina, who'd also died for her child, along with Minato.
"It's sad the way these things happen." Mikoto said, breaking the silence. " My best friend, Kushina, also died after she gave birth to her son. A tailed beast was sealed inside of him too, but for a good reason."
"I just wish I could see my grandchildren. Yashamaru tries to bring Gaara over whenever he can but I'd like to see the other two sometimes." Kaasan began clearing the tea cups from the table. "How have you been?" She asked Mikoto.
"I've been all right, I suppose. I'm married now, of course. And I have two sons, Sasuke and Itachi. But what I really wanted to ask you was if you could help me find Akahana."
"I don't think the family still lives there. They moved to Konoha a while ago. And her parents died when the Nine Tail's attacked." Kaasan explained.
Mikoto gasped. Her daughter had been in the same village as her for who knows how long. She could've seen her without knowing! But then again, Akahana was probably about 20 by now, so she wouldn't know what she looked like.
"Could we go by the house, just to check if someone lives there?" Mikoto asked Kaasan, hopeful.
"Sure." Kaasan smiled. "But let's go tomorrow. For now, rest."