Naruto 1. Chapter 1

The desert is full of contradictions. Some days the heat feels like it will seer the flesh from your skin, and some nights the cold nearly freezes the blood in your veins. The deserts lessons were harsh and punishing and you either learned or you died. Only those who lived in the desert learned to love the desert, for despite its' harshness the desert offered life. Pocketed throughout the great expanse of sandy waves were oasis' that flourished around the deserts sources of life giving water; blessing, large and small, that those of the desert never took for granted.

Sabaku no Gaara sat on the edge of the water hole of an oasis a few hours out of Sunagakure. His eyes studied his reflection in the moonlit pool. The stars winked about him. Thick dark circles rimmed his jade eyes, his face was still rounded with the last dregs of baby fat. His hair messy from his hands being dragged through it reflected the color of dried blood into the water. One finger traced the kanji 'ai' on his forehead. The kanji stood for many things. It was what he had always been denied, and it was a reminder that he would only love himself.

But his friend's voice plagued his mind and he wondered if he could some how learn to love more then just his self, if he could possibly find a way to live for more then the next victim to wet his sand with their life blood. He wanted a reason to exist, beyond a menace to the village of Suna. He wanted a reason to resist the blood thirst of the Shukaku demon inside him. He wanted to end his life of selfish bloodshed, to care for another being, but mostly, he wanted what he had always wanted, he wanted to mean something to someone. He wanted-

"What in the sands?"

Gaara twitched, startled as the silent desert night irrupted with the most horrendous sound he had ever head. The wailing sounded like something big, dieing or in more pain he truly wanted to think about. Whatever it was, he doubted it would last the night. It took half a second to pinpoint where it was coming from, beyond the desert berry bushes that grew along the waters bank.

Warily, Gaara stood. His reflection warped as a stray breeze rippled the water and brought with it a foul stench. The sound continued and, unable to continue his internal search for answers, Gaara turned to leave. The animal sounded like it would not last the night. But with only one step the wails trailed into whimpers.

Gaara hesitated and he wondered, what would Naruto do? With a sigh Gaara turned again and trudged towards the piteous whimpers. He pushed through the berry bushes and his foot squelched in the muddy water, but he saw nothing. His search led him farther back then he had originally thought. He stood, calf deep in the water, before arriving at the source of the noise.

He pushed aside thick reeds that grew on that side of the water pool. He yelped in surprise, tripped over his feet and landed with a heavy splash in the shallow water.

"Iie." He sputtered out water and whipped it from his face. "who would-"

He got to his knees, and reached out again towards the reeds. The wailing returned but then quickly dissipated in a watery gurgle.

"Aah!" Gaara cried snatching the soggy brown bundle from water and quickly stood and stumbled out clutching it to his chest.

A sputter, a cough, and the bundle he held began to wail. He closed his eyes hugging it to him and trying to deny that he had actually found what he held.

Then slowly he pulled back, held it out and pushed back the wet blanket.

Azure eyes peaked at him from beneath thick red hair. The wailing hushed as the two of them studied each other. He drew the baby closer, nestling it in the crook of an arm. Tentatively he pushed the hair from the baby's face. His fingers were sensitive to the soft texture of the baby's skin. A small hand reached out of the blanket and took hold of his finger and brought it to its small mouth. With a happy coo the baby's mouth closed over his fingers.

Gaara felt a warmth in the place he usually felt pain.

He marveled at the lightness of the being he held, and how tiny it was. Then he realized that the tiny bundle was shivering violently and its skin was much paler then it should be. He withdrew his finger and began a rapid retreat from the oasis.

But no sooner had he began to walk then the baby began to wail.

"Hush!" he demanded.

The baby jerked at the sound and it only increased in volume.

Involuntarily sand came flew from his gourd, "Hush or I'll kill you."

Gaara's sand wrapped around the baby. Instantly the baby quieted. Gaara smiled happily and continued on. He removed the san, but no sooner at the last grain fallen away but the baby began to whimper.

Surprised, Gaara wrapped her in sand once more

Silence. The baby's eyes drifted closed and she snuggled into his chest.

Gaara smiled again. In his arms was exactly what he had just asked for. Someone who he could care for, someone who needed him.

He increased his speed, he needed to warm the baby and probably feed it. And, he needed to show Tamari and Kankuro his baby.

Nvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnnvnvnvvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnvnv

A/N: Gaara's got a baby :D. So this is somewhere after he returns from the chunin exams but before he becomes Kazekage? I don't know exactly how long it was before he became Kazekage. I dunno, this is an idea that's plagued me and I guess I'd like some feed back on whether I should take the idea and run with it? And…should the baby be a boy or girl?? Review!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Four: Bundle of Joy

The nights chill penetrated even Gaara's sand and by the time the damp teen stumbled into the house he shared with is sibling, clutching his soggy bundle, his teeth were chattering and the baby made soft mewling sounds of distress. His focus was consumed with warming the baby. He could feel the heat leaving her body, much like a corpse. Panicked by the thought of his baby dieing from the cold, Gaara ignored his own discomfort. He removed the dirty, wet blanket and soiled diaper and ran warm water in the closest source, the kitchen sink.

The baby had woken but seemed to enjoy the warm water a great deal and actively pursued mastering the art of splashing. Gaara let her, finding relief in her activity, for it put his fears of her dieing at ease.

He sent a sand hand down the hall for towels as he searched the kitchen for a rag. He found one and set about cleaning mud off the baby.

She laughed as a particularly vicious splash caught him full in face and left him spluttering.

Warmth blossomed in his chest and he clutched his heart. He couldn't remember ever looking at something and finding it breathtaking in a purely innocent way. It was nothing like his memories of bloodshed and carnage. No clearing desecrated, no assassin destroyed could compare to the beauty of her smiled. No pleas of mercy, no screams of agony rang as sweetly to him as her laugh.

Quickly she began to look sleepy again and Gaara scooped her out of the water and wrapped her in a towel. Her face crinkled as her mouth opened wide with a yawn.

Gaara's eyes widened in surprise, "You don't have any teeth."

She cooed sleepily. Gaara supposed she must not be hungry for she promptly fell asleep.

"Gaara, you're home!" his overly loud older brother stated the obvious as he walked into the kitchen.

At once the baby jerked in surprise and again began to wail.

"What the-?" Kankuro found his question cut off as a not so gentle wall of sand shoved him out of the kitchen.

He stood stunned in the living room the sound of a baby's slowly quieting wails kept his mouth opening and closing in a rather impressive impersonation of a fish. One word finally worked its way into the dumbfounded brunettes head.

_Baby_. This revelation was quickly followed by another one word thought, _Temari_.

Kankuro sped down the hall and slammed into his older sister's room.

"Temari!"

Startled the blonde occupant of the bed sat up pulling form beneath her pillow a Kunai.

She blinked at Kankuro, then glowered, "There had better be a good reason for you waking me up at-"she glanced at her bed side clock, "1:30 in the morning."

Kankuro took a deep breath the said, "Gaara had a baby in the kitchen."

Temari's mouth slide open as her eyes widened. She then snapped her mouth shut and narrowed her eyes at her brother, "You woke me up to tell me about one of your sick, off the wall nightmares?"

"No! I'm serious. Gaara's in the kitchen. He had a baby with him!"

"Had? What did he do with it?"

Kankuro shrugged his shoulders helplessly, "I don't know! It was wailing!"

Temari threw off her covers and stalked past her brother, "I'm going to prove it was a dream. Gaara is not in the kitchen, He hardly eats during normal hours I doubt he's in there for a mid night snack. Gaara also does not consort with babies. This leaves only that you were dreaming."

Kankuro followed his sister down the hall, through the living room and into the kitchen. It was empty save for a sopping wet blanket that gave off the powerful scent of feces sitting on the counter next to a sink full of muddy water.

Temari looked at Kankuro, "Is this some kind of experiment?"

Kankuro shook his head, "I'm telling you, Gaara was in here and he had a baby."

Temari pushed past her brother and walked back down the hall to their younger brother's room. She knocked quietly on the door.

There was a shuffling within then the door opened and Gaara stood before them holding a damp shirt that from appearance he had just taken off.

"Yes?"

"Nothing." Temari said with a smile, "Just making sure you were home." She was about to turn around and give Kankuro a beating when Gaara spoke up.

"Try to be quiet, the baby is sleeping." He closed his door with a soft click leaving his siblings dumb struck staring at the unwelcoming door before them.

"I told you." Kankuro whispered.

"Maybe he's joking. He probably heard you ranting about a baby. He's joking." She hissed.

"Yeah, 'cause Gaara playing a prank on us is more likely then him having a baby."

The elder sand siblings exchanged looks, both were equally unlikely and neither knew how to handle either prospect. Temari raked a hand through her sleep tousled hair and shot a glare at Gaara's door.

"He can't possibly have a baby. Where would he get one? He isn't the type to help the weak. That more of a…"

Again an exchange of glances, "I knew that Uzumaki kid would be trouble." Kankuro muttered.

"You don't honestly think…?"

"That Gaara found an abandoned child and decided to try his hand at helping instead of hurting?" Kankuro asked, "Yeah I do."

Temari groaned, "Great. I'm going back to bed. This has all got to be a bad dream."

However neither sibling had moved before a great tremendous wail irrupted from the door they stood in front of. They threw open the door without thinking.

Gaara lifted something bundled in one of his shirts and rocked it gently. He looked up at them.

"I think she's hungry now."

Kankuro backed out of the room and rushed to his room slamming it behind him.

Temari smiled helplessly at Gaara.

Gaara gave her a curious look then shifted the baby so that he held her with one arm and the other he allowed the baby to use his finger as a pacifier.

"I need a bottle." He said.

"A WH-what?"

Gaara nodded towards his desk, "That's what the book says."

Hesitantly Temari moved into his room and over to the desk. She picked the book up.

"How To Care For Your New Baby." She read aloud. She looked at her brother, "Where did you get this?"

"Found it among the books in the attack."

"When?"

"While you and Kankuro were in the kitchen."

"It says if you aren't nursing the baby then you need a bottle."

"Right." Temari nodded, "Um Gaara…you…you aren't planning on keeping the baby are you?"

Gaara looked at in his normally expressionless way, "What else would I do with her? She's mine."

Temari opened her mouth then closed it speechless, "I'll…um…I'll go next door and ask the Miazawa's for a bottle...they...um... have a baby."

She dropped the book and walked out of the room dazed. Two words repeating themselves, she's mine. How was she supposed to convince Gaara he couldn't keep the baby?

* * *

A/N: Woot chapter two. Enjoy! Thanks so much for all the reviews. And yes to anyone who likes the idea of Gaara and a baby knock yourself out take your own spin on this idea if you want.

Thank you thank you thank you sooo much for the reviews I love reviews. I feel all warm and happy knowing you guys like this story. Please review again! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Temari thanked the Miazawas promising to return the bottle as well as the handful of cloth diapers as soon as they had acquired their own. Miazawa Amaya was all at once Anbu worthy ninja and mother to a horde of seven children, their newest being three months old and Temari with her scant knowledge of the baby in question had been able to get a few tips from Miazawa.

Temari sighed and trudged back through the gates surrounding her home. She could hear the baby's wailing before she reached the front door. She winced, and then squared her shoulders. Surely Gaara would be able to see reason that three teenagers could not raise a baby. Temari had no ambition of being a teen mom, she did not like kids, they are noise, smelly and cry a lot.

She opened the door and followed the sound of the baby to the kitchen where Gaara was pacing holding the screaming infant.

_Feed the baby, sleep, and then convince Gaara._ She looked at her younger brother holding the flailing bundle, _Sweet sand he'll murder me._

愛

Gaara felt relief when he heard his sister walk in the front door. However he did not understand the fear and dread plastered across her face as she set her load on the counter. He picked up the white cloths with one hand.

"Diapers." Temari clarified.

_Ah_, he thought, _that's what the book was talking about. Disgusting._ So far the book had not been helpful in deducting how old his daughter was. She could sit up on her own, laugh, smile, but she was too upset for any more tests of her age.

"The milk is on the stove, it should have cooled down enough for her to drink."

Temari was about to ask how he knew what to feed her when she saw the book on the counter. The baby on the cover was laughing and Temari glared at it but none the less went and poured the warmed milk into the bottle.

When she turned around she saw Gaara struggling to put the diaper on the baby. The girl however refused to be still and continued to flail and kick. Temari stared at it. Its mouth was wide open and even from the distance she could see its tonsils vibrating with the sound. Its face had gone an angry shade of red and tears were streaming from its eyes.

Almost instantly, the baby quieted and Gaara looked up to find her sucking contentedly on a bottle. Temari looked relieved. She also settled down enough for Gaara to tie the diapers.

He stepped back to survey his handy work.

"Uh..Gaara…"

He knew what she was trying to say, it looked wrong, but he had done what the book had said and tied it around her waist.

"Isn't it supposed to…uh you know…catch …stuff?" Temari asked.

Gaara looked at the cover of the book and studied the baby on it; its diaper did seem to go between its legs. Gaara shrugged and untied the diaper and tried again, tying off the two sides then picking up his baby and settling her back into his arms.

"Gaara…uh."

Gaara glanced up at his sister then back down at his baby. He was afraid he'd miss something if he looked away to long. Her skin glowed a healthy sun brown typical of the desert dwellers, and her hair, now dry, turned into a riotous mass of red curls slightly darker then his own.

Temari found that the longer she watched her brother the more difficult it became to try and broach the subject of finding the baby's parents. So she shrugged her shoulder's bid her brother good night and went to her room. The baby was nearly asleep and she did not want to agitate her brother when her mind was only functioning on half sleep.

愛

Gaara knew exactly what Temari wanted to say. He could read his siblings easily after all the years he had spent simply observing them. Neither Kankuro nor Temari wanted to keep the baby, but that was fine by him. It was his baby, his to care for and his to protect.

As he moved out of the kitchen and into the living room Gaara shifted the baby over his shoulder and began patting her back. He walked past their blue sofa to stand by the window. Suna was mostly dark but periodically lit up with a flash of lightening. Gaara frowned at the clouds gathering in the direction he had been earlier. It wasn't a sand storm; the thick clouds were pitch against the violet of the night sky.

_A rain storm_, he thought. Rain was not unheard of, but uncommon, especially with it being the, what the desert termed, summer months. He turned from the window and settled down on the couch. Now that he had a baby he would have to buy things for it. There was very little in the house for a child to play with and he had found very little old baby cloths.

The baby seemed wide awake and curious of its surroundings. So Gaara set her down on the floor. She sat for a few moments and studied her surroundings then fell forward onto her hands and to Gaara's astonishment pushed herself to her feet.

Gaara summoned the book from the kitchen and took it from his sand hand. The baby let out a shriek of laughter and Gaara was distracted. He let the sand drop to the floor and watched as she toddled unsteadily to the pile then fell heavily into it. She shrieked again in laughter and he felt his mouth twitch. Then Gaara proceeded to amuse his daughter by forming the sand into various shapes. She clapped in glee as a sand bunny hopped around her in circles.

It was several hours before she finally fell asleep again and Gaara contented himself to holding and watching her as she slept. He marveled at the child who could not be more the eight months old (according to the book) by her size, yet seemed to be nearly that of a one year old. He felt a stir of pride that his daughter was developed so advanced. He watched her sleep and realized in another moment of awe that demon within him had not once made a reference to the weak being in their arms, but if Gaara could tell, seemed to content to watch with him. His heart warmed and he thought that maybe, just maybe he finally understood what love was.

* * *

A/N: Wow...you guys I am totally stunned by the response to this story! I'm like so keen to update for you guys that I've totally begun ignoring my other Gaara fic "Possession" not to mention my LOTR fics and HP fics. Keep the reviews coming and I'll keep the chapters comeing okay??

Thanks for the idea for names. I'll pass Akio, Masa, and Sayuri around and see what my friends think. If you wanna put your imput into it.

Akio means "beloved child" or somethign similar.

Masa means "sand"

and Sayuri means "little lily". Take a vote and next chapter should see her nameing. Please review!!Love you guys!


	4. Chapter 4

Demon Storms

愛

Kankuro woke up the next morning with doom hanging over his shoulders like a heavy cloud. It had personified itself as his older sister. Sleep groggy he had only half understood her whispered ranting. After five minuets of watching her paced his room he was able to coherently put together a full thought. Gaara had a baby. His second realization was that Temari wanted _him_ to inform their younger (slightly psychotic) brother that a baby was not like a pet and that he could not keep it.

The ensuing battle was short livid and Kankuro found himself in the awkward position of trying to strike up a conversation with the younger sibling that he usually only had a one sided conversation with. Walking into the living area munching on an apple he noticed that his younger brother, as usual, looked as though he hadn't slept at all the pervious night. This of course was obvious, as Suna had seen the light of another day. Glancing at the window he realized this thought was actually inaccurate. Thick dark clouds obscured the sun and heavy rain obscured any view but faint lights from the surrounding village.

Kankuro took the distracting and walked over to the window. He could not remember the last time Suna had seen a storm like the one currently raging. Lighting momentarily lit the streets and Kankuro blinked and shook his head against the shadows the light had created. He turned back to his brother.

Gaara sat cross legged on the floor the baby in his lap dressed in what Kankuro recognized as an outfit Gaara had worn as a baby. Looking at the baby Kankuro noted things he hadn't before. Currently the baby had her face tilted to the side mimicking Gaara and Kankuro saw clearly three white scars that ran vertically down her throat from behind her ears. They were clean and looked as if inflicted on purpose, but healed.

She laughed then reached out and touched Gaara's cheeks.

Kankuro watched emotions play across his brother face and saw the smile spread across his face that for once was not foretelling death, but laughter. He moved his gaze away from his breather before he died from the shock and noticed the mess that surrounded the two. It looked as though Gaara had tried to feed an angry raccoon.

"What happened?" Kankuro blurted out.

Gaara glanced up at him then at the mess around him. He looked down at the baby and lifted her from his lap. He held her up towards him and Kankuro noticed for the first time that the infant and his sibling were both covered in what looked like orange and yellow mud.

"Sayuri decided she was more interested in playing with her food then eating it." Gaara said setting her back down in his lap "Didn't you? Yeah, playing in gooey carrots and banana's was much more enjoyable then eating it, wasn't it my aiko?"

Kankuro chocked on his apple and he stared at the child he had watched murder entire squads of ninjas without a backwards glance, the same child that harbored an insane single tailed demon. He could not believe his brother had just spoken down to the level of an infant.

"Chew Kankuro." Gaara suggested covering his face with his hands.

"Ah," Gaara said, "Where did Daddy go?"

The baby, Sayuri, burst into laughter as Gaara uncovered his face, "Peek-a-boo."

Kankuro swallowed with difficulty and fled the room. Temari was waiting for him in the hall.

"Well?" she asked.

"He's playing 'Peek-A-Boo'." Kankuro said.

Temari's face registered shock, then resignation.

"Hey 'Mari." Kankuro said his tone serious.

"What?"

"Um..about Sayuri-the baby-" he clarified, " I..I don't think we should give her back to whoever she belongs to."

Temari stared at him as if he had just grown an extra head and suggested she lend him her arms.

"She..um..has these, scars. I don't think whoever had her wanted her alive."

Temari looked alarmed, "But Kankuro. We can't keep her! None of us are adults.

Kankuro sighed, "But…Gaara seems to know what he's doing. Sayuri…I dunno, seems to calm him down bring out a fraternal instinct?"

Temari groaned and stalked past her incompetent puppet wielding brother and into the living area.

"Gaara." She announced staring, not at her sibling but the window, "You can't keep- WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!!??" Lighting flashed outside illuminating what looked like a face pressed against the window pain. The lights flickered as thunder rumbled and crashed above them. Gaara stood in one fluid motion shoving the baby into her arms then leaping towards the window pushing it open and hoping out into the elements.

Temari stared at the being she held at arms length. The baby looked at her confused, tears began welling in her eyes and her face began to scrunch up. Temari brought her closer trying to copy the hold she had seen Gaara do and tried to make reassuring sounds. She was distracted though by the white scars Kankuro had mentioned. In the exact same spot on each side of her neck were three vertical white scars, perfectly clean cuts as if carefully and deliberately made.

Temari felt faintly sick at the idea that anyone would do something like that to a baby. The baby flailed and screamed jogging loose something from beneath her cloths. A lily white sea-shell strung on a length of leather cord hung around her neck. Temari recognized the shell as the ones that littered the shore of a beach her family had visited in the wave country once when she was younger.

Sayuri let out an monstrous wail and wind and rain wiped round the two of them with impossible force. The rain began taking shape before Temari's eyes and she felt Sayuri slip in her arms.

"TEMARI DON'T LET HER GO!!"

Temari pulled the screaming baby closer as Kankuro burst into the room throwing himself between the two of them. There was a scream that sounded vaguely like someone had stuck a microphone to a drain and the water fell to the ground life less. Gaara stood by the window locking it with a definite click.

"What was that?" Kankuro asked faintly.

Gaara shook his head crossing the soggy carpet carefully. Sayuri reached out for him and he quickly relieved Temari of her. Sayuri's wails softened to whimpers as she huddled into his soggy shirt.

"It looked like a water clone of some kind." Temari said staring at the wet spot on the ground.

"I did not feel any chakra." Gaara said quietly.

"A water demon?" Kankuro suggested.

"The desert is far to dry for one to survive." Temari muttered, "water demons live in the deep oceans and the occasional lake. None of our oases are large enough for one."

"No, but the storm is strong enough to sustain a short stint here." Gaara said and they all turned to look at the raging beyond their window. "It isn't a normal storm."

Temari frowned, "It…tried to take baby."

Gaara face hardened and he held Sayuri closer, "Sayuri is mine. No one can take her from me."

Temari sighed, "Gaara, she isn't a pet. You can't just keep a baby like you would a stray. We have to find her par-a uh more suitable home."

Temari eyed the scars, either her parents were dead or monsters, either way she wasn't going to waste energy trying to find them.

Gaara stalked past them angrily without rebuttal shutting his door with enough firmness to clearly indicate that they took their life in their hands if they disturbed him

Temari looked to Kankuro for help but found him eyeing the wet spot.

"I've never been near a puddle that was filled with such ill intent." Kankuro said.

Temari almost rolled her eyes but remembering the feeling of something lifting the baby from her had her shivering instead.

"Come on help me clean up this mess."

Temari headed towards the hall closest not checking to see if her brother followed. It was going to be a long day; abandoned infants, strange scars and now water demons, and it wasn't even lunch time.

* * *

A/N: Okay updated :D lol, sorry, been busy with summer classes. Thank you soooo much for the reviews! i am sooo glade everyone enjoys it. I was looking over the reviews and decided that even though I'm dog tierd I'd go ahead and update, so, at 9 at night this is what my brain came up with. I hope you like it and i hope this doesn't spin anyone for a loop. I have kind of an idea where this is going, though if anyone has an suggestions about what they kind of wanted from a gaara/baby fic please let me know. and if anyone knows of any other let me know :D 

Please review! they make me want to update! I love reviews! I'm thrilled with the response I have gotten already and thank you so much all who have reviewed again:D


	5. Chapter 5

**Kazekage**

Within an hour the storm that had raged most of the night blew itself out, leaving the hot Suna sun to set to work on the drenched sand of the desert. Suna harbored many puddles that persisted throughout the hot afternoon in the shade of buildings or in particularly deep holes, catching many unwary by surprise and leaving them with muddy feet for the duration of their outing. The villagers talked amongst themselves of the odd weather but were grateful for the full water barrels the storm had left them.

A little after noon Temari puttered about the kitchen fixing a simple lunch for her and her siblings. Thinking the baby-Sayuri- she mentally reminded herself, would be hungry again soon she put a bottle in a pot of water to heat up the milk. She stared at the bottle. How strange that the baby seemed to just fit into their life, throughout the morning she continuously caught herself in the act of thinking that the baby really was Gaara's and a part of the family. She shook her head mentally and pulled a knife from a drawer.

It was ridiculous but she had watched Gaara and the baby and, though she knew it was there, she could see no trace of the monster that had been her younger brother. He wore the mantel of father and caregiver as if he had grown up in loving and giving environment and could mimic their parent's example. She cut viciously into a loaf of bread at the thought of their actual family past. In truth, she knew he was giving the baby every thing he remembered he had longed for and had watched others receive. She also knew he was not pretending and that he truly cared for the child as much as, she assumed, Gaara knew how to. The sand that had been his constant protection growing up now seemed to have extended, at least consciously by Gaara to include Sayuri. Temari had seen the astonishingly quickly reflexes of the sand catch the infant before she tripped headlong into the corner of the low table in the living area.

Temari turned attention to a block of cheese.

What bothered her with each passing moment was that in just a day the baby had wrought a change in the entire relationship the siblings shared. It was hard to be afraid of Gaara when a baby was tugging on his mouth and hair or his voice hushed to not wake up Sayuri. More importantly the more the she thought about it the more she disliked the idea of finding a new home for her.

She really only had two arguments. Money was not an issue, neither was a living place, what was an issue was that the three of them were simply too young to raise a baby. Though with they had more adult experiences then a normal citizen teenager would have that had matured them quickly. That was the second problem. They were ninja's, the children of the late Kazekage, and eventually they would be sent out on a mission. Who then, would watch the baby? And, though she highly doubted it would happen, if Gaara were to die on a mission, what then would happen to the baby.

Sayuri seemed to only like him. Though Kankuro had momentarily entertained her that morning with some of his none lethal puppets she cried if Gaara left the room or if anyone else held her.

Temari reached over and turned down the heat on the pot of water the bottle was in. Her eyes drifted out to the courtyard of their house. Kankuro stood at the gates.

He had left a little over and hour ago when a missive from the Suna council had arrived. He had not eaten since the bizarre events of the morning and she figured he'd be hungry when he came home. However his expression did not say much for an appetite. She laid a second slice of bread over the three sandwiches and went to the pantry for a bag of chips.

She heard the bathroom door open and Sayuri's giggle before she heard the front door open and close. Kankuro entered the kitchen wearing a slightly stunned and perplexed look.

"What did they want?"

"They have accepted Gaara as the new Kazekage." Temari nearly dropped the bag of chips.

She had completely forgotten that Gaara had wanted to be the Kazekage and that the council had been discussing the effects of such a decision.

"Gaara should be… well…happy?"  
"What about Sayuri?" Kankuro asked.

"She'll go to work with me."

Temari turned to her youngest sibling. His spiky red hair was wet and so was the baby from their bath.

"Err…Gaara."

"It is mostly a desk job." Gaara said, "You said it yourself Kankuro. Sayuri will be in no danger and I will be able to perform my duties."

"The baby may be good for his image." Kankuro chuckled.

Temari shot him a glare but decided it wasn't worth arguing over, "Lunch is ready." She said instead.

She ignored the look of alarm on Kankuro's face, "Just sandwiches and chips. I heated milk for the baby Gaara."

Gaara nodded his thanks and took the bottle from the much cooler water. He tested it and, satisfied, took it to the table where they all sat down. It did not go unnoticed by any of them that this was the first time they had sat at the table to eat a meal together.

愛

Gaara sat in the lobby of the Suna Hospital watching Sayuri figure out how to move the balls along the twisted network of wires that was a child's toy. He had showed her initially the idea behind it and after staring contemplatively at the toy she began playing with it. As he watched she divided the colors so that on the right end of toy she had reds and yellows and on the other blues and greens, in the middle of each network were the colors placed in a way she couldn't divide them into what she wanted.

"Amazing."

Gaara barely glanced at the white dressed nurse in his contemplation of his daughter.

"She so tiny, she can't be more then 8 or 9 months, but I've never seen one with such cognitive skill."

Gaara nodded his agreement.

"Are you her brother?"

"No, I am her father."

Gaara shifted so that he could regard the nurse. She looked stunned and then, as did most, her gaze flew to the tattoo on his forehead and the gourd resting against his knee. Her face paled considerably.

"O-of c-course. It-uh…the doctor will see you now."

Gaara nodded standing quickly causing the nurse to startle then turn red in embarrassment. He slipped his gourd back onto his back. Gently he called his daughters name. She looked up and smiled at him, she lifted her arms expectantly and Gaara expertly swooped down and lifted her into his arms. He ignored the nurses disbelieving expression and followed her silently into the doctor's office.

The doctor turned out to be a man of advanced years though his eyes sparkled with vivacity and intelligence. His looked from the baby to the teen with a look of mild interest before picking up a clip board.

"Well then, Lord Kazekage if you could set down both your loads we can get this check up over with."

Gaara set his gourd on the floor uncorking it and letting some pile on the ground. He sat Sayuri in the midst of it and with a shriek of delight she began to grab fists full of sand. The doctor, to his credit, made no comment and with an alacrity born of years in the field he slipped his hand under Gaara's shirt and pressed his hand to his chest.

Gaara for his part did not flinch as the doctors chakra raced through his body.

The doctor grunted and removed his hand.

"Everything seems alright. As healthy as any twelve year old could be."

Gaara knew this was only half true. Though doctor said nothing the signs of insomnia were obvious in both his outward and inward appearance. He let what the doctor had not said hang in the air.

"Now then, about the infant." The doctor knelt without a sound.

Sayuri looked up and the two of them regarded each other. Gaara watch in interest as the doctor's body language changed and his eyes glazed over.

"Sayuri." Gaara said quietly. The knew what the doctor was hearing and feeling. Kankuro had described it shakily that morning to him. The feeling of being falling and rushing sound of waves and then the sensation of water filling his body making it hard to breath, yet at the same time being utterly comfortable and at peace.

Sayuri broke eye contact with the doctor and looked up at him, her expression slightly bewildered. The doctor shook his head as if clearing if of a daydream. The doctor then reached out and gently touched her forehead.

Sayuri blinked her gaze going back to the doctor whose eyes were now closed.

"She has amazing chakra potential. Her brain waves are far more active then a ten month old should be."

Gaara blinked, "Ten months?"

The doctor nodded, "Small for her age, and quite possible will be so for her entire life. I would not be surprised if she started speaking soon." The doctor lifted her from the ground and settled her on the counter.

She looked around at her new position and looked as though contemplating whether she liked it or not. The doctor tilted her head to the side and ran a finger down the scars on her neck. She began to wiggle and he released her.

"What happened here?" the doctor asked.

Gaara shrugged, "They were there when I found her."

"Where?"

"The Dark water Oasis."

The doctor raised an eyebrow, "It's commendable that you rescued the child, should you not, however find a more suitable home for her?"

Gaara stared stoically at the doctor, "What, is wrong with my home?"

Gaara knew what the doctor was thinking, knew it by the cold look in his eyes that he barely hid behind his professionalism.

Gaara took the child from the doctor's care. The doctor watched in hidden fascination the squirming child instantly calmed and began suck contentedly on her own thumb. The doctor looked into the cold and far to world weary eyes of his Kazekage and knew that nothing he said would separate him the child. The doctor sighed then bowed, "Forgive me Lord Kazekage. I would like to continue to observe the health and growth of your daughter, if you would bring her back for her year old check up in two months."

Gaara nodded and left the office.

The doctor stared at the closed door and finally allowed himself to sit. Her raised his shaking hands to his face and tried to calm down his rapid heart beat. He had just let two monsters walk out his office with a clean bill of health.

* * *

A/N: Okay...slightly worried about the drop in reviews...but at least 97 of you made it to the last chapter so hopefully the story is still good?

I guess it probably threw some of you, but well...she didn't just appear out of nowhere...and there has to be a reason why someone would leave her in an oasis to die and not just the soliatary dunes of the desert...right?...well...i hope everyone still likes it. Please reveiw if you do! I read and re-read reviews, it gives me the courage and desire to continue, mostly the reason i havn't doen anythign about my other Gaara fic is the lack of response.

Please Please Please reveiw!!!

To the 9 people who review the last chapter thank you! thank you! Espeically to those who have been with the story from the start and continue to review! i get so excited to see your names again! Thanks so much!


	6. Chapter 6

Birthday Words

Temari stared at her red headed brother and wondered if perhaps the baby food and

diapers had finally gone to his head. She narrowed her eyes and studied her brother for the signs that perhaps the Shukaku had taken over and was trying to kill them in a round-about way.

Gaara however sat patiently at the table a small note book under his pen and several lengths of party ribbon at his elbow. Sayuri was currently down for her noon nap and so they had a good three hours to carry out Gaara's diabolical scheme. Temari was sure her brother did not realize what he suggested was diabolical.

Kankuro walked into the kitchen saving her from replying, "Hey Gaara, Mr. Tanaka is outside with a delivery for you."

Gaara pushed back his chair and stood a glint in his eye the Temari had begun to associate with Gaara's ability to spoil Sayuri.

"It isn't anything sharp is it?" Temari asked before Gaara could leave.

Gaara gave her "The Look". She shrugged in response. Walking into the courtyard to witness Gaara hand Sayuri a kunai had nearly given her heart failure and Gaara continued to present his less then a year old daughter with sharp pointy objects. It confused Temari; he was otherwise suffocating protective of Sayuri but found the idea that kunai were _dangerous_ utterly ridiculous.

"It's the first sunny day we have had in over two months. Please Temari?" Gaara said in response.

Temari blinked at the 'please' and found herself drawn into what Kankuro coined Gaara's "puppy eyes" a trick she was sure he had acquired from Sayuri.

"Sure." She found herself saying as if possessed by jutsu, "I'll bake Sayuri a birthday cake."

Gaara's face immediately returned to its normal stoic expression; except for the excited gleam in his eyes. He nodded to the slightly weirded out Kankuro and headed outside.

Temari shook her head and began going through the cabinets.

"What are you doing?"

Temari glared at her puppet wielding brother, "I'm looking for mom's cake recipe."

Kankuro paled, "He asked you to bake it??"

Temari's glare deepened and she fingered the kunai in her sleeve.

Kankuro beat a hasty retreat.

Tanaka's delivery turned out to be a helium canister. Gaara tracked down Kankuro and had him go invite the few kids Sayuri's age that had made friends with the child(aka Temari had convinced their parents that Gaara was safe with children or they saw political advantage in it). Gaara spent an hour decorating the back yard with helium filled balloons and bright party ribbon. After putting the three round pans of cake batter into the oven she ventured a look outside. What she found was Gaara flipping through a "How to…" on decorating next to a table already piled with gifts and typical party snacks. Balloons had been tied to every other available space and party ribbon was strung around support poles for the house. It didn't look bad; obviously no expert helped, but for Gaara's first attempt at decorating the house in something _other_ than blood and sand it was not bad.

Gaara set down his book and picked up the panda bear piñata in one hand and a small wooden club with the other. He stared at the two objects dubiously.

"Gaara, she's a little young for that."

He looked up at his sister's voice and sighed. He had just come to the same conclusion.

"What did you put in it anyway?"

Without looking at his sister he hung the bear from a tree for decorative purpose.

"Kunai, sherkian." He said.

He heard the outraged horrified gasp of his sister and smirked.

"…shaped candy." He finished.

Temari let out a sigh.

"Where did all this food come from?" she asked.

"I had it delivered; Sayuri and I went shopping yesterday for gifts on our way home from work."

Temari wondered at the need Gaara had for throwing Sayuri a party. She was only a year old and would not remember it. Temari did not voice her thoughts. Gaara had been different ever since their return from Konoha and she could only hope that this was who he could have been if it weren't for the Shukaku. She watched him straiten the things on the table with a small smile.

"Don't burn the cake." He said.

Temari whirled around and raced into the house with a soft chuckle from Gaara to follow her.

♥ 

The relief in storms lasted long enough for Suna to begin repairs in the lower districts but the sand had only just begun to crack in the heat when thunderhead clouds began to role in off the horizon. The storm broke mid-day with a gentle sprinkle that increased as the sun descended behind the clouds.

Gaara had begun to organize his files into what needed to be done tomorrow when a council elder rushed into his office with news of another collapse. Gaara swore under his breath and followed him into the deluge. He was soaked in seconds the umbrella the attendant held doing little against the wind and rain. They had barely turned the corner when a genin rounded the corner. His face white in the pale light of late afternoon.

The genin skidded to a halt the then mud covered ground and bent over gasping for air.

"Ho-house. Daughter…" he gasped.

Gaara did not need to hear more he tripled his pace and within seconds rounded another corner stopping with horror blossoming in his chest at the site before him. An entire complex had collapsed beneath the pounding rain. Sand was sand but the water that the sand had absorbed seemed to resist his command. It took longer than it should have but they unburied those trapped in the collapse with very few deaths.

Gaara shook his head watching the fifteen or so families escape into the Kage building. Something had to be done. He stared up into the sky. Thunder rumbled at him

The rain was unnatural, it was seeking out Sunagakure but who would destroy a village already on the brink of collapse using so much power controlling so many storms would cause? The water men floated to his mind.

What sought Suna's destruction may not be another village. He turned to follow the last refugee into the building when he heard something that chilled his bone.

Sayuri.

In a whirl of sand he appeared before his house. Temari stood clutching a wailing Sayuri in one arm and her fan in the other surrounding her, as if his thoughts had summoned them, was twenty water men.

Sayuri reached out to him her screams he realized as she took her from his sister were not those of fear but rage. Like his own her red hair was plastered to the side of her head in dripping mats. Despite being soaked water whirled around her in angry wavering circles. The rain continued to pour around them as the water men advanced with the roaring sound of waves. Sayuri jerked in his arms tightening her hold on his shirt she twisted the star at the men her eyes ablaze with anger.

"NO!"

The water men paused with the same surprise that coursed through Gaara. Sayuri had spoken; she had never uttered a coherent word before.

"MY Daddy!!" she said, "NO NO! NO HURT MY DADDY!!" she wailed.

The sound of waves against rock and the beings advanced. Gaara prepared to defend himself but Sayuri continued with her surprise.

"GO 'way!" she said raising one of her small chubby hands and clinching them.

With a cyclonic wail the twenty water being collapsed into innocent puddles of water. She lifted her gaze past his to glare into the clouds.

"My daddy." She growled, "Go 'Way!"

Gaara felt a shift in the air, lighting split the sky and thunder followed close behind. Sayuri buried her face in his wet shirt.

"Cold." She said.

Gaara nodded hugging her close.

"Let's go inside."

Sayuri nodded her small voice muffled in his shirt, " 'side."

♥

Gaara elation over Sayuri's first words were tempered with annoyance that they had been "No." something she hardly ever heard from him, and her first words had been directed and someone/thing else.

The three teens sat together watching Sayuri play with blocks stamped with various village symbols while discussing the weather. The rain had quickly tapered off and moon light now shone into their home uninhibited by the storm clouds Suna had begun getting used too.

"Do you suppose that it is another village attacking?'

Gaara had already seriously considered Kankuro's suggestion.

"It is possible, but I don't think anyone could create that number with out leaving traces of chakra. These things were controlled by something else. They responded to Sayuri, some how they are connected with her. They aren't after Suna, at least not directly."

"Why?" Kankuro wondered, "She was left to die, wasn't she?"

Gaara felt the familiar pain his chest coupled with an unfamiliar heaviness in his stomach. There was something wrong with the situation.

"Why not leave her in the desert?" Temari asked, "Why in an oasis, and why _in_ the water. Why drown her in a desert?"

Gaara had asked himself that question and he was no closer to answering it now. Sayuri wasn't a desert child, her features were finer then those produced in the offspring of the desert. Her body structure was delicate not stocky.

"Gaara."

His brother's voice brought him from his thoughts. He looked at his brother in question then followed his gaze to his daughter.

"Why does she do that?" Temari asked softly.

Gaara glanced at the blocks; as usual Sayuri played with the blocks that had nothing to do with water but grouped the water based villages and set them behind her.

"I have an idea." Kankuro took the ignored blocks and lined them in front of Sayuri.

Sayuri frowned at them and then at Kankuro.

"Sayuri, which country is your mother from?"

Sayuri's frown deepened as she considered the question until she finally picked up the block with the Wave symbol.

"And your father?"

This time Sayuri gave Kankuro a look reminiscent of Temari's "are you crazy". She looked to Gaara and then picked up Suna's symbol.

"You're real father."

Sayuri glanced between the brothers, "Daddy _here_." She insisted.

Gaara did not bother hiding his satisfied smile.

Kankuro sat back with a groan, "We know where her mother is from now."

That thought disturbed Gaara.

"Sayuri, is your mother still alive?"

Sayuri stood and reached out to him. Instinctively he reached out and pulled her into his lap. Her azure eyes held his jade as she cupped his face with solemnity.

"My daddy." She said with all the possessiveness of a child asked to give up a favored toy.

Gaara nodded with and understanding and elates smile.

He hugged her to him, "Yes, your daddy."

" 'Uri seepy."

Gaara stood, "Then let's go to bed."

"Panda story." She demanded.

"Wait, Gaara. Is her mother alive?" Kankuro asked.

Gaara scooped the wave country block and surrounded it with a fist of sand. The block disintegrated with a thought.

"It doesn't matter."

* * *

A/n: Haha! Woot finally!! I've had this sitting in the back of my head for WEEKS and I've fianlly been able to sit down a write it. I had to NOT do my math homework to do it...yeah something about Trig. just kills creative thought.. Sorry for the suuuuper long wait. School and work are both back in and mid terms are even just around the corner. I hope I see some of my (so far) faithful reviewers still reading this. Please review :D It reeeeallly helps to convince myself the the next chapter is more important then my Trig homework :D. Thank you so much for your reviews from last chapter :D You guys are great 3


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Waves of Truth

* * *

The unusual rain abated long enough for Suna to rebuild the sections that had collapsed and to fortify those that had survived. In a matter of months greenery had begun to grown and thrive leaving Suna to seem a prosperous oasis. Without a threat of rain Temari took on the task as ambassador to the wave country. On paper it was what Gaara really wanted any knowledge she could attain to prevent any more collapses in the face of another rainy season as they had just went through. Temari went to search for Sayuri's mother. Her only clue was the necklace Sayuri had been wearing on her first night at their house. Questioning Gaara had not revealed its whereabouts and she did not doubt that her brother had gotten rid of any connection to Sayuri's true heritage.

One thing she knew was that whatever had attacked their house twice was after Sayuri and the answer had to lay in her mother's reason for abandoning her. She made her trip quick through the Land of Fire. The ship crossing was rough. She had only been to the Wave country a couple times but she did not remember the water being so choppy.

Upon obtaining a room she began to notice that, even for the wave country everything was consistently damp.

Dinner at a local bar revealed two things. One, like Suna all the islands of the Wave country had been bombarded by quick successions of thunderous rain storms filled with strange figures. That they were searching for something seemed to be the general consensus. What though was a mystery to the common people at least.

The second thing she learned was that the white shell necklace belonged to a family of wealth but also fairly despised by the common people, or at least anyone who said their name promptly spat on the floor.

She studied the family quietly. Sayuri's strange abilities and the creatures that seemed drawn to her had to come from somewhere. However, even among those who lived in the Hiroshi compound never spoke of a missing child. The compound had no shinobi guards. Any shinobi in the country were busy with repairs. She found it easy to slip through the numerous buildings without being caught. Though the clans head was tight fisted and cruel to those beneath him she could find no trace of the kind of malice it would take to hurt and abandon a child. She found it the opposite, for however rude and obnoxious Hiroshi Sanji was he had an rather large soft spot for children.

It was by accident that Tamari even found Sayuri's mother. The woman was by herself in the water guarden. Tamari had seen her frequently, eyes close and listening to the sound of the waterfalls. As Tamari drifted from one shadow to the next the woman leaned forward dipping a hand into the water. Tamari paused and gapped as the water extended to encase the woman's hand. It was then that Tamari noticed what had been bothering her about the woman for the last two days of observation. Her necklace, the same white shell as the entire clan was halved. As a smile drifted across the women's face as if she were listening to something in the water's babble Tamari stepped from the shadow. The water that had been twining it's way up her arm dropped back into the stream without a splash. The women did not move though her shoulders tensed.

"Father?" the woman turned, she was only a few years older than Tamari, her hair the same curly mass of hair as Sayuri's, the same button nose and bow shaped lips. Tamari found herself staring into the older vision of the baby her brother safe-guarded at home and she felt anger well up.

"No."

The woman's face clouded in confusion, she tilted her head and stared at Tamari. Shock leaked through Tamari's anger. The woman blind, her pale blue eyes blinked unseeing through her.

Tamari decided she wouldn't beat around the bush.

"Did you leave a child to drown in the oasis of Suna?"

The woman's face crumbled and stood, "You are the one who stole her?"

Tamari grounded her teeth, "Stole her? She would have drowned. She would have died if my brother had not found her. You abandoned her!"

"No!" the woman shook her head, "My father wanted me to, he sent me to leave in the desert, far from anywhere my child's father could find her. I left her on the waters edge to be found by her father! The child cannot drown. She will die in Sunagakure. She will suffocate in the heat and dry sands. You must give her back."

Tamari glared at the women, "What do you mean she cannot drown? Who is her father?"

The woman touched her neck, in the same place of Sayuri's scars, "Her father is Ryujin."

Tamari stared at the woman, shocked, and suddenly flooded by understanding.

* * *

A/N: Alright, soo whatcha think? Yeah…it's late. I'm sorry. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review:D Twas the last review that made me go a head and finish up this chapter, so who knows, it could be yooour review that gets the next chapter up :D

Okay so i did a little research and i found that Ryujin was the "Dragon Kind of the Sea" in japanese mythology. So that's who her father is :D

Now they know, what do they do?


	8. Chapter 8

**Worries and Lunches**

Gaara bounced his daughter on his knee as he read through relief effort documents. The Konoha shinobi and supplies were expected to arrive within the next week. His sister had sent a message with an estimated time of arrive around the same time as well as a cryptic 'we need to talk' in a post script.

He signed his approval for the document before him and closed the folder. He set the folder on top of a sizable stack of near identical folders and sat back. The sun was approaching its peak in the sky but clouds curdled in dark gray on the horizon. The storm had been there since shortly after Temari's departure. Brooding and unmoving, Gaara knew it would strike with damaging force to hunt down his daughter. He knew the situation could quickly deteriorate to the point where it was either his daughter or his village. The Shukaku howled with rage at the very idea of giving up their daughter.

Sayuri shifted pulling him back from his unpleasant thoughts.

"Beep Beep Daddy" she said.

He nodded and stood swinging her up to his shoulders, "Good idea."

He left his office with a bouncing step that caused fits of giggles from Sayuri and a grin to tug at the corner of his mouth. Two doors down, he turned and entered a small break room. It consisted of a couch under the window opposite the door, a small round table and two folding chairs (plus a high chair), a refrigerator, a counter and a microwave. He settled Sayuri into the high chair with several sand blocks for entertainment then pulled two bentos from the fridge. He opened the soft pink one which contained mashed carrots and peas as well as a bottle. He shook the bottle and placed it into the microwave to heat up, then placed Sayuri and his bentos on the table.

_Beep Beep_

"Beep Beep!" Sayuri echoed the microwave. Gaara smiled and ruffled the curls on her head than went to retrieve her bottle.

"Itadekimasu." He said.

"Eeamahsu." Sayuri mimicked than grabbed for her battle.

Between bites of his own lunch and making sure Sayuri at least ate as much as she wore Gaara contemplated his situation. Temari no doubt had found a clue, if not the family, of Sayuri's past. His problem though, seemed to be in convincing the faceless enemy that they were just that, Sayuri's past, and that he and Sunagakure were Sayuri's future. His gaze landed on the window and the brewing storm in the distance. Sayuri was his, he was not going to hand her over, she was safe and _happy_ with him. He had to make it an irrevocable fact, before Sunagakure became an underwater city in the middle of the Wind country. He was at a loss however in how to confront whatever was behind Suna's watery attack.

Something wet and squishy landed on his nose. He blinked. Sayuri giggled with abandoned, peas and carrots matted into her curls and a spoon in her hand the obvious culprit to his sudden culinary nose piece.

Blithely he cleaned his nose, "I think _someone_ needs a bath."

* * *

A/N: SORRY!! bows to irate readers I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!! **Waiting** is soooo right you guys are absolutely marvelous reviewers and I've totally abandoned this awesome fic. I'm sorry!! Honest to goodness my excuse is still the same and totally lame, but every time I sit down to right fan fic I feel guilty as anything for not working on my novel that was supposed to be done a month ago --; deadlines are obviously not something I adhere to. I wanted this chapter to be longer I was gunna bring in Naruto and it was going to be great and funny, but you guys deserve at least something for all you're reviews. So here! I'm Sorry!! I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up, the good news is I finished the outline for the story so I know where I'm going, it's just yeah I've got like 3 or 4 chapters left to my novel….and yeah enough excuses. So let me know what you think? You can totally rant at me for being a slothful updater and tell me how you hate my guts I'd understand…but while you're at it let me know if there's anything you'd like to see happen??


End file.
