Hidden Villages

I: Cruel Plans

For once in a very long time Yashimaru felt hope.

The things the council said made the young medical-nin think certain members had a personal vendetta against the Kazekage. He personally understood why Lady Chiyo wasn't on speaking terms with Rasa outside of the council, but at least she put the villages well being ahead of any grudge she held. In the back of his mind he held personal doubts she or her brother would push for the things regarding Gaara the council were pushing for, yet neither participated anymore.

In truth, he suspected some of them encouraged fear of Gaara among the villagers, but spread rumors which twisted the events surrounding Gaara's birth so even he didn't know what was true. Rasa refused to speak of the events, yet when his brother-in-law did openly speak of the matter he claimed he was the one who killed Karura, not Gaara. Despite the times Yashimaru wanted to hold a grudge against the man, or even the darling, precious babe Karura left behind, he could not.

What brought hope was two-fold.

First, Tsunade and Shizune interacted with Gaara adding to the number of people willing to interact with the child. The list was short; Rasa, Baki, himself and now the two medical-nin from Konoha. Temari and Kankuro didn't count as Rasa became quite upset when one day he'd found his eldest son encouraging Gaara to sculpt poop, though in truth the two older children were curious about their younger sibling. Gaara was, though, a very difficult child to approach.

As such, seeing Tsunade approach him easily proved a major relief, but Yashimaru found himself getting some rest, although not much. The smile which appeared on the woman's face was also a relief, as she'd not found much to smile about. Her grief tended to eat away at her, but she managed turning her grief at the latest loss in her life into something productive. Gaara also enjoyed the children's book which resulted even though he'd yet to figure out that Raruka was in fact Karura.

His other hope lay in the questions Gaara asked. The child had a lot of questions.

He found himself actually enjoying a walk with Gaara while Tsunade and Shizune watched the two older children when Gaara saw the ball and tried playing with the children. The sad part was, Yashimaru knew none of what happened would have happened had the parents of the children not taught them Gaara was someone to fear.

He came home with Gaara being careful not to alert Tsunade or Shizune to their presence, as he knew they would both object if not question the injuries he'd received. Gaara was evidently upset as he watched his uncle bandage his own wounds, but questions were asked which led to an understanding Yashimaru felt was pivotal to the child's growth. He felt quite proud when he sent Gaara on his way with the medicine for the child he'd hurt, yet outright encouraged it.

Gaara though didn't come home right away like Yashimaru expected. He finally found himself approaching Tsunade and Shizune knowing full well both would have questions regarding his injuries. As he approached the room in which Kankuro and Temari were playing he heard his niece scream.

"Kankuro! You're not supposed to play with dolls!"

Yashimaru felt a frown spread across his face and peeked in. Instead of playing with the doll Tsunade brought him Kankuro had decided the doll would make an amazing puppet and was making it dance across the floor. Tsunade watched with a rather amused look on her face while Shizune clapped her hands together in delight. Temari looked on the verge of tears while Kakuro had a rather goofy grin on his face.

He almost smiled, yet Tsunade glanced up and saw him. "Yashimaru?"

Shizune looked up upon hearing his name. Her hands went to her mouth. "Yashimaru. What happened?"