Suna's Ninja (Gaara Love Story)

42: Wartimes

Six months had crawled by for Lord Gaara since his wife's disappearance. He had no idea where she had gone, and he regretted not putting a tracking device on her. He didn't know if she was alright, the twins still alive in her womb...or that she had died. All he knew was that she had been kidnaped, and her end may not be so pleasant.

It wasn't a matter of not having faith in his wife's abilities and capabilities, but rather the desire to protect her and ensure her safety. He knew she could handle herself, but...he would rather her stay out of harm's way. That was one of the reasons he had requested Akimi's citizenship be moved from Konoha to Suna.

Yet now was not the time to concern himself over such things; he had a war to fight and an army to lead. he may be the least experienced among the Hokage and the youngest of them all, but he had a family and several close friends who would guide and aid him. He also had Akimi's support, despite her absence.

Every day had been an emotional turmoil for everyone. Apparently, Kabuto had revived the dead, specifically the loved ones, to be used against their will and to fight the living. Account after account, Gaara had witness ninjas hesitating to lash out and to fight and, in return, be killed. He had lost far too many Shinobi to the enemy, and he needed to lower the death rates before they lose the war.

As Gaara stood in the desert with hundreds of ninjas behind him, he recalled something Jin, Akimi's former boss, had said to him and Kankuro.

"Lord Gaara, Lord Kankuro, what can I help you with?" Jin said, greeting Gaara and Kankuro, who had stopped by the watch towers.  "If you would like to check the supplies, Kui should have the checklist somewhere..." he trailed off, looking around frantically for the clipboard that had the checklist.

"That's alright. I need to ask you of a favor," Kankuro said raising a hand to stop the man from running off to look for his subordinate. "There's someone I need you to look for."

Jin froze and stared at the Kazekage's older brother. "Lord Kankuro, if this is about Lady Akimi's whereabouts....then Sir, with all due respect, I'm going to have to refuse."

"Wait, why not?" Kankuro demanded angrily, glaring at Jin. The mailman looked at Gaara, who nodded slightly, and turned back to the older brother.

"Sir, I don't mean to say that out of dislike for her, but for her own wellbeing. Remember those times she made sure Lord Gaara ate every afternoon and had at least a cup of tea before bed? Remember when she would take over Matsuri's training for Lord Gaara whenever you left? Remember Akimi would always refill your poisons and medicines? Remember Aki would stay up long hours in the hospital just to take care of the patients and tend to their wounds? Remember how motherly Akimi was?"

"So?" Kankuro interrupted, crossing his arms.

"Sir, my point is...if Akimi were back home, pregnant with children or not, she would be, at the very least, be working in the medical stations on the battlefield. Everyone knows what a great asset she is to us in the medical fields, and her personality meshes well with your people. Lord Gaara may be Akimi's husband, Sir, but Akimi is and will be the mother of this village. If she comes back home, I can tell exactly how many days left until she dies, and believe me, that's not long."

"I know. I already know that," Gaara said, waving the explanation aside. "That's why I'm not asking you to look for her. The most I can do is pray for her safety. For now, though, I do need to look over the checklist of supplies."

"Right away, Sir!"

Gaara rested a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I understand how you feel, but this is for the best. I don't want her fight any time soon, and the only thing I can do, is trust in her abilities and make sure she avoids joining this war."

Kankuro sighed, the anger draining from him slowly. "Alright. But you know, if she was here, I bet she could win this war for us!"

Gaara smiled a little at the memory, but now, he needed to focus.

"Everyone, Formation C!"