Frostbitten Sand (Naruto Fanfic)

Holiday Worries Coming Forth

The elders of Suna council sat around the table except for Baki. The young Kazekage stepped into the room after his former sensei. Gaara said nothing, and instead one of the elders spoke up. "You're late Lord Kazekage. It isn't as if you have a mother to coddle you."

"No, I have a sister instead." Gaara sat down at his end of the table, and folded his fingers lightly together, sitting in a rather relaxed position. "The Shinobi from Konoha are looking forward to their visit for the holiday."

One of the elders glared at Gaara. "Lord Kazekage, don't you think that we have more important matters to worry about right now."

A third elder let out a sigh. "Specifically he means it may not be a good idea to have the Shinobi from Konoha come and visit, what with the fact the forth Kazekage is awake, and it may be best to keep things calm."

Baki's mouth twisted up into a frown as he looked at the men. "This event is actually an important event for political relations between our hidden village, and the other hidden village."

"Yes, but the Lord Kazekage, the forth Kazekage that is, he's now awake. We hadn't expected such an event to occur." The second elder spoke up.

The former sensei of the young Kazekage looked the man straight in the eye wondering how far the elders would take this particular argument, but Gaara spoke up. "If the forth Kazekage were in this position he wouldn't back down."

"I'm not exactly sure Lord Kazekage that the forth would have approved of this event in the first place." The first of the elders to speak strained his voice.

A silence fell over the room at this point, as Baki cleared his throat. A forth elder let out a sigh. "You know as well as I that this was our idea, not the Lord Kazekage's. Remember that this was to help lift Suna's spirits as well, and with what is going on this is going to be needed."

"Yes, fine. We won't argue about the celebration continuing, but do we need to let the Kunoha Shinobi know that the forth Kazekage has woken up. That is an embarrassment." The third began to tap his fingers on the table.

"How is it an embarrassment. Shouldn't we be celebrating it instead."

The first folded his fingers together in a tight manner, and his lips pushed into a frown with the same tightness. "Perhaps. But there is also about who will be Kazekage now that the forth has woken up. The firth, pardon for me saying this, is not as experienced as the forth when it comes to politics."

"That may as it be, that's really a conversation we should be having later on, as the forth is still recovering." Baki's eyes darted over to Gaara, and saw the young Kazekage wasn't fased by the discussion.

"Speaking of how the forth is recovering, Baki, you've been in to see him have you not?"

Baki remained composed. "The forth Lord Kazekage is awake, but weak as would be expected for someone whose been in a coma for as long as he has. He is though speaking, and wishes to see Temari and Kankuro."

"They've not been to see Lord Rasa yet? He is after all their father." The first elder's facial features twisted up in a way that said he wasn't pleased with the situation.

"Sorry." Gaara spoke up at that time. "I don't know what to say to them. They're quite adamant that they do not wish to see him."

The young Kazekage's former sensei let out a sigh, and noticed the sudden sign of frustration for the first time during that meeting. The other council members remained silent for a few minutes. The discussion quickly changed subject to the up and coming visit from Konoha which would occur in a few weeks, as well as various other needs of Suna's which needed to be addressed.

The subject of Rasa didn't come up again. The meeting ended with the first elder lecturing the young Kazekage about arriving on time, as well as presentation due to overhearing Kankuro's antics outside. They left leaving the young Kazekage and his former sensei, and the boy looked up at Baki. "I'm still not allowed to see him?"

"He specifically asked for Kankuro and Temari, so I'm going to say no at this point."

"How is he really doing?"

Baki thought over Gaara's words carefully, and then told the red haired shinobi what he wanted to hear. "He's stubborn. I'm going to head over to the hospital this afternoon to see how things are doing, and I'll be sure to give you an update." The former sensei looked at the young Kazekage, and knew Gaara still wasn't pleased. "I'm quite sure he'll be proud of the progress you've made, Lord Kazekage."

"Proud?" Gaara glanced away, and walked over to the window. "I don't know. I think I can honestly do better, truth be told." The young Kazekage's hands folded behind his back. "On top of this his standards are high. You of all people know full well what he expected of all of us, his children." The red haired shinobi turned his head to look at Baki. "Plus, I don't think that's what I'm looking for, as I don't expect it."

Baki's mouth twisted slightly at the sides, but he didn't push the issue. Later that afternoon he headed to the Suna hospital, and spoke to the head medical-nin. The other man didn't seem pleased with something, and found out when he asked how Rasa was doing.

"The forth Kazekage, well, when you go in to see him I ask that you don't ask him questions, and answer any questions he has with care. We've also made sure to clear out the rooms near where the Kazekage is, so that his recovery can be done without interference." The head medical-nin took a deep breath. "I'm actually worried about his recovery."

"How so?" Baki folded his arms across his chest.

"Lord Rasa, he thinks the recovery will take a short period of time, but under normal circumstances full recovery takes around three months at least. Add to this we're talking someone whose physical ability is above the normal person." The medical-nin folded his arms across his chest, and his facial features looked stern.

"So you're saying the amount of time he wants to recover is impossible?"

"I honestly think he's being unrealistic, and may end up causing himself serious harm. As you well know the Kazekage's in his forties. For that quick of a recovery he would need to open up some of the eight gates, and that may not be a good thing. In fact, I actually wouldn't recommend that, but I imagine the Kazekage's stubborn enough to do something like that."

"Is he even capable?" Baki shook his head. "Never mind. I imagine the Lord Kazekage would be that stubborn. I'll go and speak with him now."

The medical-nin held up his hand. "It's not a matter of being stubborn, but a matter of being desperate enough. We've all know what Lord Rasa's done in the past. I wouldn't past him to do something like that. You'll understand when you go in to speak with him."

Baki headed to the room the Lord Kazekage was located in, and noticed that the forth Kazekage was sitting up in bed with his arms folded. "Lord Kazekage?"

Rasa looked up at Baki. "Any word from Temari and Kankuro?"

"Sorry, I've not been able to speak to them, but they're still quite adamant about not coming in."

"That's all right. I'll be up and about in a weeks time, so hopefully this will give them enough time to adjust."

Baki folded his arms behind his back. "Lord Kazekage, are you sure that is a good idea?" Rasa simply looked at Baki, rather then answering. "There was a time I would never question the forth Kazekage on anything." The council elder quickly switched tactics. "I apologize. I know I have, under normal circumstances overstepped my grounds, but it's been requested of me to be concerned for your health, Lord Kazekage."

"I'll be fine Baki. There are also things I need to do. Understandably I've been asleep for way to long."

The Suna elder's thoughts turned to the many things which occurred, as well as how long it had been, but he didn't say anything about how long it had been.