My arms stretched high over my body as I sat up in the bed. Gaara wasn't in Suna, much to my distaste, and hadn't allowed me to come along with him. After the three months spent pleasing political figures and appeasing them for my absence, he refused to let me live the village's walls unless it was absolutely necessary. He didn't like the idea of putting me into any form of danger.
I shrugged this off and stood to put on my council robes and start the day. As I was combing my hair, Aiyota stepped into the room. He looked… abashed? His eyes were downcast and his mind spoke of secrets that he wanted to share very badly but had never found the right time to do it. Being superior to me still (though he insisted I would surpass him any day now), Aiyota blocked me from deciphering his thoughts further.
"What is it?" I asked casually, practically purring. Gaara would be home later tonight and, for me, that was enough cause to celebrate.
"Nari, there's something you should know about your father…" My eyes flashed towards Aiyota's reflection in the room's mirror. I knew nearly nothing about my father and, to be blunt, I didn't particularly care about him. Just as I never bothered to inform Gaara about my birthdate or my visit with my mother, I saw no need to ponder over the man. It simply wasn't important to me. "This may seem important."
"Go on…"
"Nari," he took a deep breath, as though he still couldn't manage to get the words out. "I'm your father." I froze, peering at the strange man in the mirror. The man who had taught me just enough so that I'd survive, and then abandoned me. I knew why. Of course, I did. Nine-tailed ninja had to learn on their own. That was our way. Still, to see Aiyota as my father? I couldn't seem to form the connection.
"That can't possibly be true, my father wanted to drop me with the Hidden Leaf and forget about my existence."
"That's because he knew he wasn't your real father. Your mother was very weak for a nine-tailed ninja and never managed to take human form for more than a few minutes. You're the opposite. So overwhelmingly human, you struggled to take fox form. Because of your mother's weak blood, they knew they'd never be able to produce nine-tailed ninja. But, five litters into their life, I came across the small pack of nine-tailed foxes your family lived with.
"Your mother recognized what I was instantaneously and urged me to leave. I, on the other hand, decided to teach her to control her chakra instead, as I've been working on teaching you for the past few months." I grimaced at this. I hated chakra training and the only reason I bothered with it was because Gaara actually wanted children. "We fell in love, we mated, and then I left. You must have been born a short time after and, when you shifted, your mother's mate wanted nothing to do with you. And that's why your mother made sure I found you so I could train you."
Aiyota opened his thoughts to me so I could reassure myself that everything was true. "I'm not calling you dad," I stated flatly. He just smiled.
"I wasn't expecting anything of the sort. I just…" He glanced at my stomach for a split second and then refocused on my eyes. "I thought it was something you ought to know so that you realize just how pure your blood is."
"Well, thanking for telling me the truth, Aiyota. I've always considered you family."
"I know." He smiled again, an amused look in his eyes but he prevented me, yet again, from reading the source in his head. I was not fond of being unable to unlock the minds of those around me. In the end, I decided to shrug it off and continue as normal. As I had said before, knowing about my inheritance and my family was of no interest to me anymore. As far as I was concerned, it was best that the nine-tailed ninja were close to extinction. It would save others from suffering as I did.
►§◄
Much later in the day, Temari came to me to tell me about Gaara being spotted off in the distance by one of my guards posted on the wall. I just grinned, having already mentally linked myself to my moon. I stood up to follow her and she just stopped.
"Nari?"
"Yes?"
"Are you gaining weight?" I had to force myself not to laugh.
"That's not physically possible, Temari. My metabolism is too high to gain weight. Trust me, I've tried. Why?"
"Look at yourself, Nari. You've got a bump." I looked down and saw it too. A tiny, little bump on my stomach. Then I thought back, to my earlier conversation with Aiyota. The way he had glanced at my stomach… "I thought it was something you ought to know so that you realize just how pure your blood is."
"Oh, gods."
"Nari, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I just… When's the last time you saw me as a fox? Do you remember?"
"I think it was when we first brought you back to Suna, why… Nari! That was over three months ago. Nari, you're…" In a split second, I was across the room with my hand over her mouth.
"Don't. Say. A. Word. You can't tell anyone. Okay? Not even Gaara."
"But Gaara would be ecstatic, Nari. You have to tell him."
"Temari, it's not that simple. Nine-tailed ninja don't just have children. It's complicated. It's why I've never really thought about it and never concerned myself with the want of being a mother. It's nigh impossible to happen. The baby's chances of survival past three months in the woman is about ten percent, at best. And the odds only go down from there until the child is finally born. Even then, birth can be very difficult and the child rarely survives. In the entire history of nine-tailed ninja, only one female has successfully given birth to children and that was my mother. All the others came from males."
"So you don't want to tell Gaara because you don't want to get his hopes up."
"Exactly."
"But why is it so difficult for you to have kids?" I sighed in exasperation.
"When nine-tailed ninja come together, they attempt to 'steal' each other's chakra, ultimately resulting in their deaths. Aiyota and I can avoid this because Aiyota is in complete control of his entire chakra system, something I have yet to master. When a nine-tailed ninja is pregnant with another nine-tailed ninja, the same thing tends to occur, only the mother isn't injured in anyway. Now, it is technically possible for me to give birth to an entirely human child but it's never been done before. My mother had entirely nine-tailed fox children until I came along. But she was very weak for a nine-tailed ninja and didn't have that much human in her. Unlike me who's pretty much, fifty-fifty with practically no normal fox in me."
"How do you know all of this?" Temari demanded. "And why haven't we been told before?" I fluffed out my robes a bit so my bump was nearly indiscernible and then began walking, telling her about the Mating scroll and reinforcing how important it was to me that she not tell anybody until we were more sure that the child had a good chance for survival.
Finally, Temari quit badgering me and we came to the entrance of the Kazekage building. Neither of us bothered to step a foot outside, knowing Gaara had to be in the village by now and making his way to us. My moon appeared surrounded by just a few ninja he trusted above all others, excluding his immediate family, though Kankuro was among his guard. Temari had only stayed home to keep me company while Gaara was away. Matsuri was also among the group.
Without hesitation, I strode forward to embrace my moon. I was so happy to see him safe and sound. He kissed me gently on the cheek before moving on, me following by his side. After a few political protocols, he released the guards to go home. Matsuri waved goodbye to me but, for the most part, we both knew that we could never be friends. There was just too much that was different about us. Not to mention, she was still in love with Gaara.
Afterwards, Gaara and I headed to our room. He had a lot to talk about, and he was too tired to do much work tonight. He hadn't slept since he had last seen me three days ago. The silly boy still couldn't manage to fend off the nightmares without my help. Luckily for me, as I laid down beside him, he didn't notice the little bump.
Sadly, the redhead didn't stay oblivious for long. Just three days later, I woke to him with his hand sprawled across my abdomen. How long were you planning to keep it from me? he pondered calmly, not in the slightest bit hurt or betrayed as I had anticipated.
As long as possible, I responded.
Why? I then transmitted to him everything I had read in the mating scroll and all that Aiyota had told me about my inheritance. Then, to my great surprise, he turned his head and kissed my head. Nari, you don't need to protect me. I am capable of handling these things. You should have voiced your concerns sooner. All this time I thought you just didn't want children, when, in reality, you had just given up on the prospect of having them. I laughed.
Well, kids never really came up in my plans for the future.
Neither did marriage, he reminded me softly.
No, I admitted. I curled up into his side, securing him in my arms despite the fact that we were supposed to be getting up for the day. But I'm rather glad it happened.
So am I, he hummed.
I know that this story is lengthy and that there are probably a lot of gaps, so, in honor of the end, I'll be answering any last questions any of you have when I post the final chapter in a week. Thanks again for reading!