Frostbitten Sand (Naruto Fanfic)

Not So Icy Heart

The eldest of the fourth kazekage's children couldn't help but feel angry regarding the situation, not that Temari wanted Gaara to know exactly how upset she was. Rasa not only showed up earlier then she thought he would, but also decided to nitpick the way the sandy-haired teen had chosen to parent her youngest sibling. "You know, maybe if you'd actually acted like a parent to Gaara, I wouldn't 'have' to be making up for lost time now, now would I?"

The auburn haired man's reaction made it all to clear to Temari that Rasa was displeased at the idea of Gaara staying the night in her room, but also disappointed that she turned down his proposition of settling things over Christmas. "Gaara sleeps easier when he feels safe, and as much as I'd like to fix things over Christmas, reality is the focus can't be completely on the family, nor is this something that can be fixed overnight."

Finding Gaara outside of her room didn't really surprise her, as Rasa had a negative reaction as soon as Temari asked the auburn haired teen to go to her room and the way her youngest brother still let what their father thought of them affect him bothered her. Worse yet she found out that Gaara had waited for Rasa before heading to the room. She didn't know how well Gaara slept but felt her younger brother leave in the morning, attempting to move in a manner which wouldn't wake up his older siblings.

She wasn't surprised to see things hadn't gone well regarding Rasa and Gaara that morning, but the sandy-haired teen still couldn't feel irritated at the rather sour look on the auburn haired man's face, and the stiff way his arms crossed his chest. The fact Rasa told Gaara that leaving his breakfast was a waste of food didn't surprise her either, nor did the odd comment about Gaara eating eggs. Turning the conversation to their mother like it did sting, but so did the childish manner in which her father became defensive, making him crash to the ground.

"I don't get why mother married you."

"I honestly don't know either, alright!"

The auburn haired man would have stood up had he not just crashed to the ground, and Temari swallowed at the sound of anger in her father's voice, her mind suddenly wondering if she had taken things too far. Rasa's brown eyes widened, realizing he'd just lost it, and the color quickly left the man's face. The auburn haired man lifted his arms up to bury his face and leaned in. Temari felt her indigo colored eyes widen.

"He doesn't know why mother married him? Why would he care? Didn't he marry mother simply because..." The sandy haired female let her breath pull tight, realization hitting her. "You loved mother, didn't you?"

Rasa's words snapped out. "Temari, you know full well that emotions for a shinobi are a weakness."

"That's a lie." The young woman crossed her arms, and watched one of her father's brown eyes peek out at her, and the look from Rasa indicated he'd thought she'd gone nuts. "I think... I think a man who is unable to show any kind of emotion, that is the man that is truly weak because it is that kind of man who is unable to admit that they have made any kind of mistake."

The man moved his arms so she could see his face, but continued to use one to lean into. "Making mistakes isn't an option for a shinobi, as making a single mistake leads to death." Temari felt her eyes widened, wondering how Rasa could be so morbid. "If it's not your own death, then it will be the death of others."

The young woman looked away, realization hitting her. "You mean like mother." Glancing up, Temari could see the color drain from her father's face. A sigh escaped her lips as she watched the man returned to hiding his face.

"This is not a discussion we will be having."

"Yes, we will." Temari watched as Rasa's hand reached for the crutches leaning up against the table, and quickly moved to snatch them away, watching as her father's dark eyes widened in horror, his fingers still reaching towards where the crutches were. The young female leaned the crutches up in the corner of the room.

"Temari, this isn't funny. You're not a child anymore." The auburn haired man seemed tired, his movements rather sluggish.

"No, I'm not. I'm seventeen now, and I've been the one taking care of Gaara, not you. I've had Baki and Kankuro's help, but it's been me who's been Gaara's parent while you've been in a comma, so can you at least hold a conversation with me as if we're both adults?"

"I've already told you, that you're not your mother." The man's eyes seemed to gloss over slightly, and he glanced away as if he wanted to distance himself from the problem.

"No, I'm not. I really do get the fact there are things you could only talk about with mother. However..." Temari took a deep breath. "I'm still her daughter, so I think I at least deserve to know the truth about how you feel about mother." Temari felt her hand's clench together

"Shinobi..." Rasa attempted to speak, only to find himself interrupted by his daughter

"Lie, and even if it wasn't a lie, need I remind you that you're not kazekage anymore, nor are you still a shinobi of Suna at this point?"

The auburn man stared at her, his dark eyes dilating slightly.

Temari somehow managed to go to a place which made her father feel very uncomfortable, and now he was beginning to squirm in the same manner Gaara did when the fourteen-year-old found himself being grilled by his big sister, typically regarding social skills the young man wasn't quite on part with. Sometimes the council would ask her to step in, to explain things to her younger brother when they went over his head.

Rasa finally looked away, his entire body tense with frustration. "Your mother."

The previous Kazekage's right leg began to suddenly twitch, his dark brown eyes quickly moving down to his leg, his quick reaction informing Temari something was off. The muscle spasms refused to calm down and instead started to get worse. Temari watched the man grit his teeth, refusing to ask for help. His blond-haired daughter, however, spoke up, her chest seizing up with worry. "Something's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong." Rasa's stubbornness showed through, making Temari's frustration grow.

"Something is obviously wrong. I'm going to go get help." The seventeen-year-old turned to leave but felt a hand reach out to grab the sleeve of her clothing.

"Don't. I don't want Gaara to know."

"He doesn't want Gaara to know?" Temari turned to look at her father. "Is the reason he doesn't want to show emotion because of Gaara? Why, though..." The shaking increased, and her thing fingers touched his arm, attempting to loosen the grip of his fingers from her sleeve. "I'm going. I need to go."

"I said I don't want Gaara to know." Rasa's voice rose, indicating his anger. The tone also matched the tone he used when he choose to be firm.

"Do you really want Gaara to see you like this?" Temari didn't know why she used the words she did, but the effect on her father became clear as he let go of her sleeve. The color of his face drained, and his eyes drifted to the ground. Temari scribbled a note onto a piece of paper, slipping it into an envelope, and slipped to the side door to find the nearest shinobi to deliver her message. She then returned to the room to see that the arm Rasa had used to grab onto his leg was now spasming. Her mouth twisted into a frown. "That really doesn't look all right to me. Why are you so worried about how Gaara sees you?"

The auburn-haired man refused to look her in the eye, but also refused to answer her question.