Overtwisted

Yashamaru barely held in the urge to snarl, anger bubbling inside him like a volcano about to erupt.

“Let me get this straight,” he said through gritted teeth, fists clenching and unclenching as he glared at the man in front of him. “You want me to attack Gaara-sama, in order to test his control?”

Rasa simply nodded, uncaring of the other’s visible rage. “As you’ve no doubt noticed, Shukaku has not emerged in three weeks. This is the longest we’ve gone without the Bijuu breaking out and I want to check if Gaara has finally learned to control it.”

Three weeks.

Three long weeks during which the villagers had watched with bated breaths for the Ichibi to appear and go on a rampage as it always had done.

But that had not happened.

There hadn’t even been even the tiniest sliver of the Ichibi’s chakra escaping the seal.

Because of that, Rasa had come to the conclusion that either Gaara had learnt to control the BIjuu or Shukaku was waiting for them to let their guard down. In order to proceed, he needed to know if Gaara was finally useful or if he needed to be replaced. It would be difficult to find someone new who would be compatible with the Ichibi, but it was better than an uncontrollable tool.

“I refuse.”

Rasa paused, his thought process coming to a screeching halt. He turned to fully face Yashamaru, an eyebrow rising in question even as his expression remained placid. “You refuse?”

“Yes. That is one order I cannot follow, Kazekage-sama.”

Yashamaru rose to his full height, making sure that his expression revealed his determination to stick to his decision. There weren’t many things that he would refuse to do if his Kazekage ordered it, no matter what, but this was one of the rare exceptions.

‘I will not harm Gaara-sama, not when he has finally found a little bit of happiness,’ he thought to himself fiercely, meeting Rasa’s eyes without flinching. Even if he was going to be branded a traitor, this was one command he would not obey.

“You would go against me, Yashamaru?” Rasa demanded, rising to his feet as he glared at the other man. “Does that useless child matter to you so much?”

“Gaara-sama is my sister’s beloved son and my nephew. I will not attack him.”

The Kazekage narrowed his eyes in anger, filling the room with his killing intent. The hidden ANBU shifted and braced themselves, faltering under the power of their leader. Yet Yashamaru stood firm, not reacting to the change in the atmosphere.

“One last chance, Yashamaru. Choose your words carefully.”

“Then I apologize, Kazekage-sama. I still stand by my choice.”

Without waiting for a response, Yashamaru spun on his heel and walked out of the office, ignoring Rasa yelling after him.

Rasa growled and fell back into his chair, infuriated by his brother-in-law’s impertinence. ‘I thought he was more loyal to Suna than to that brat,’ he thought, gesturing for his ANBU. ‘Looks like I was wrong.’

“Your orders, Kazekage-sama.”

The auburn-haired man looked at his subordinates, ones that he knew would definitely carry out his orders. “Tonight, you will attack Gaara under the cover of the shadows. Use any means necessary. I want to test the extent of his power. If Shukaku breaks out, retreat and handle the fallout. You are allowed to kill him if necessary.”

“Understood!”

Rasa stared out the window once the ANBU dispersed, taking in the setting sun and the chilly wind already blowing through the village.

It wouldn’t be long now.

From the furthest corner of a darkened bedroom, the sound of sniffles could be heard. Underneath a thin blanket, knees tucked close to his chest, Gaara tried to bite back his cries, albeit unsuccessfully.

The reason for his sadness was the loss of his friends.

No, they weren’t dead or hurt or anything like that. It was just that they weren’t citizens of Suna and there was a limit to how long they could stay in the village. The group had only departed the previous night and Gaara was already feeling lonely.

When he had been with them, the hate and fear of the villagers had slid off him like water off a duck’s back. But now it was painful.

Gaara wished he could have gone with them.

“Gaara?”

Temari’s voice floated over to him before a hand lifted the blanket the child was under. The older girl looked at him worriedly, Kankuro hovering behind her. They knelt in front of their youngest sibling, crowding together in the small space.

“What…what are you doing here?” Gaara whispered, relaxing slightly at the assurance that it was just his sister and brother. He noticed the fan and puppet on Temari and Kankuro’s backs respectively, realizing that they had likely come over right after training had ended.

“We came to check on you!” Kankuro announced with a wide grin, patting the little redhead’s shoulder.

“Why?”

“Because you’re our little brother?”

“But you never cared before.”

Temari and Kankuro flinched, hanging their heads in shame. It was the truth; until Hikari had told them what adults never took the time to explain, they had ostracized and thrown hateful words at Gaara. It had taken an outsider to set them straight.

“Because we were stupid,” Kankuro muttered unhappily, looking to the side but his eyes flickered to meet teal ones. He knew that he had been crueler than Temari, more likely to spit out harsh comments than even ignore Gaara. Sometimes, he had seen a glimpse of Gaara’s loneliness but he had pretended that he hadn’t. “I…I’m sorry, Gaara.”

“I’m sorry too,” Temari added with a guilty expression, crawling under the blanket and determinedly hugging the redhead to herself. Although she hadn’t been outright horrible to Gaara, she had treated him coldly.

Kankuro squeezed in on Gaara’s other side and the three siblings sat together, simply basking in each other’s presence. They hadn’t had any such peaceful moments in their lives, or at least not that they remembered.

After a while, Temari asked, voice hesitant, “Gaara? Why were you crying?”

The reminder of the cause of his earlier tears brought the sadness back full-force and the child buried his face in his knees, alarming his siblings. Kankuro flailed and stuttered, “H-Hey, what’s wrong?!”

“…I miss them.”

Gaara didn’t need to elaborate who he was referring to. The only people he had ever liked and had been liked by were the group of travelers that had befriended him. With them gone, he had lost most of his friends.

Temari and Kankuro glanced at each other helplessly, not knowing how to comfort their brother. They had to admit that they hadn’t been as close to the travelers as Gaara, but they missed them too. If it had been possible, it was likely that the siblings would have asked for them to join Suna.

As it was, Suna didn’t have the resources for people who couldn’t contribute to the shinobi force or in any substantial way. Even if they had applied for citizenship, they would have been rejected.

When the redhead started shaking, Temari blurted out, “When we’re older, we can go find them!”

Kankuro and Gaara looked at her with bewildered expressions but the most Temari thought about it, the more it sounded possible. “You know, when we become shinobi and go on missions, we can look for them on the side!”

“Huh…that might work,” Kankuro muttered to himself, nodding absently.

“Yeah! And they promised to send letters, right? If we get an address, we can write to them too!”

“Nice idea!”

“Really?” Gaara whispered, his teal eyes finally regaining a bit of liveliness. “You’ll help do that?”

“Of course!”

The older two beamed down at their brother, making him smile back shyly. “Thank you, Temari, Kankuro.”

“No need to thank us; that’s what big brothers and sisters are for!” Kankuro grinned, ruffling the four-year-old’s hair. He was relieved that Gaara had finally cheered up, even if it was only for a little while.

The trio sat under the blanket for some time, cuddled together as they forgot the world. No one would be looking for them anyway, apart from Yashamaru. Their father hardly spent time with them anymore and Gaara saw less of them ever since he had been placed under their uncle’s care. Rasa hadn’t been bothered to pay attention to Temari and Kankuro apart from training, which was why they had been able to visit Gaara.

Suddenly, Gaara froze, eyes widening in alarm.

“Wha-?”

Temari wasn’t able to finish her question before the redhead tugged her and Kankuro closer, whimpering.

“He’s under the blanket!”

“Get him!”

‘Assassins?’ the blonde thought, the cloth covering them fluttering off them when a powerful gust of wind threw through the room. In the back of her head, she absently noted that they had been spared a direct impact thanks to a wall of sand.

Ten masked adults stood in the ruins of the bedroom, kunai out and radiating such killing intent that made Temari and Kankuro shake in their shoes. But not one to be intimidated that easily, Kankuro yelled, “What do you guys want?!”

“Me.”

Gaara was the one to reply, having faced similar situations before. While he would normally let his sand take care of them, he didn’t want to kill the assassins this time. He didn’t want to scare his siblings again.

“Run, Temari, Kankuro,” he whispered urgently, pushing them towards the open door, ignoring the men who were now battling against his sand. He didn’t want to kill anyone, but if it was going to be a choice between the assassins and his siblings, Gaara would choose his siblings every time.

Heeding his words, they ran out the room and down the corridor. Kunai flew towards them, making them duck and bite back sounds of fear as they tried to escape. When they reached the stairs to the first floor, they had to stop.

Yashamaru was at the bottom, his normally kind face twisted into a snarl as he fought viciously against another group of assassins.

“Yashamaru!”

The man’s eyes widened in shock at Kankuro’s shout, only just realizing that it hadn’t been just him and Gaara in the house. “Get out of here!” he yelled back, blocking a kunai and stabbing a poisoned senbon into one of the assassin’s neck. “Find somewhere safe! Go!”

“But-!”

“Go, Gaara-sama!”

Flickering through hand-signs, Yashamaru used a Fuuton: Daitoppa to clear a path to the back of the house, pushing the children in that direction.

Temari tugged on Gaara’s hands, pulling the boy behind her as the trio dashed out the back door and into the streets, dodging kunai all the while. There weren’t any civilians around the area, making it hard for them to find help or to hide themselves.

Taking temporary refuge in a shadowed alley, Gaara wrapped his arms around himself and murmured, “I will go alone. They want only me.”

He had experienced this too many times to not know what the assassins’ goal was and he had no intention of dragging down his siblings with him. ‘I don’t want them to get hurt.’

“Are you stupid?! No way!”

Kankuro’s whispered shout brought him out of his trance and Gaara startled when the other boy grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him. “We’re not going to let them hurt you, Gaara!”

“He’s right,” Temari agreed, pulling her battle fan from her back. It was a little too large for her and heavy, but she was used to the weight, having trained with it for months. “We will fight together.”

“But they’ll kill you.”

“Let them try!”

Kankuro also readied his puppet; he wasn’t very good at manipulating it yet but he could do enough to work as a distraction. Temari and Gaara could be the heavy-hitters. All they needed to do was survive until help reached them or Yashamaru found them.

Temari glanced around cautiously, looking for signs of their pursuers. True, it might be easier for them if they left Gaara to his own devices but she had promised to herself, that she would be there for him. Her grip on her fan tightened subconsciously as she thought about how all of them could get out of the mess in one piece.

“We should find some cover.”

“…I know a place.”

The ’place’ Gaara had mentioned was an isolated section of empty ground near the village walls. The bricks were crumbling and the entire area exuded an air of deterioration. It was likely that it had been damaged or worn down due to Shukaku’s rampages; some places had remained in a state of disrepair after being trampled on too many times.

The siblings huddled under a slab of broken stone, big enough to cover them all and hide them from sight. Additionally, it gave them an excellent view of the area; no one would be able to approach them without giving themselves away.

“I don’t like this.”

Kankuro turned away from surveying their surroundings at Gaara’s words. His brow furrowed in confusion and he asked, “What do you mean?”

The youngest child curled up tighter, “It’s always like this. They always try to hurt me. To kill me. I want it to stop.”

Temari stared in shock at the redhead, not having realized that it wasn’t the first time Gaara had been attacked. Now that she thought about it, not many people would have reason to do so. Out of the siblings, Gaara was the only one who bore a striking resemblance to their father. But all three of them were well-known as the Kazekage’s children.

If the assassins had been sent by their enemies, it would have made sense if all three of them had been attacked. Yet, it was the first time she and Kankuro had even heard about or witnessed it.

There were more things that didn’t add up:

Where were the ANBU who were supposed to be protecting them?

Why were no shinobi alerted about the situation yet?

Why was Gaara left with only Yashamaru when he got attacked so frequently?

She might be only a child but Temari was smart and observant. She knew that her questions were valid and she also had a possible answer to them.

The answer made her sick.

“Father’s responsible,” she choked out, tears welling up in her eyes as she pulled Gaara into a tight hug. She couldn’t understand, for all of her brilliance, just why their father would want to kill Gaara, his youngest son. “I know it.”

Kankuro swallowed, wanting to refute his sister’s declaration but finding nothing that he could use. Every reason he could come up with to defend their father felt weak and false, further cementing Temari’s conclusion. “But…why?”

“Because I am a monster…right?”

Gaara didn’t return Temari’s hug, instead withdrawing into himself. He had suspected that their father didn’t like him and didn’t care about him. A tiny part of his mind had also told him Rasa wanted him dead, but he had ignored it. Now that someone had said it out loud, he couldn’t bring himself to pretend anymore.

“No! You’re not a monster! You’re my little brother!”

Kankuro covered his mouth with his hands as soon as the words left his mouth, realizing that he had been too loud. He would not take them back though, for he meant every word. There was no way he was going back to those days where he blamed Gaara for the adults’ mistakes.

That meant there was only one thing left to do.

“Let’s leave,” he said, expression determined as he stared at his siblings. “Let’s leave Suna.”

Temari appeared taken aback by Kankuro’s sudden change of mood, but she took it in stride. “How?” she asked, considering the idea seriously. If Rasa could hurt Gaara so badly, he could hurt them too. None of them were safe. “We’re just kids and the desert is harsh.”

“But Hikari-nee, Naruto and Karin are kids too,” Kankuro argued back. “They left only last night and we know which way they went. If we leave now, we could catch up!”

Gaara glanced between his siblings in confusion, a spark of hope lighting up his heart. He didn’t understand everything they were saying or what he was feeling, but they were including him. That was enough for him.

“My sand can help,” he suggested hesitantly, fingers twisting in the material of his pants. “It can protect us and carry us.”

“Then we’re going,” Temari decided, getting to her feet and helping Gaara up. “The wall might be broken somewhere; let’s use it to get out.”

“Okay.”

The siblings looked at each with grim expressions that were out of place on mere children but they had no choice, if they wanted to survive together. Just as they were about to leave their hiding spot, a voice was heard, making them startle and freeze in fear.

“There you are!”

Radiating a dark aura that scared away anyone trying to approach him, Yashamaru threw open the door to the Kazekage’s office. He didn’t care when the occupants turned their heads to look at him, one with fear and the other with annoyance.

“Is that all you’re going to do?” Yashamaru demanded, all traces of his gentle nature gone and replaced with a harshness he hadn’t thought he could feel. “They’re your children!”

Rasa dismissed the Jounin he had been conversing with, the intimidated man tripping over his own feet as he fled from the room. “So? If they are so weak as to succumb to the desert, they are useless.”

Temari, Kankuro and Gaara had gone missing two days ago, when the ANBU had attacked the Jinchuuriki under the guise of a test. Yashamaru had been the one to see them last and he was worried that the children had gotten out of the village and into the desert.

It was the most probable event, since they were nowhere to be found in the village.

However, no search parties had been sent, apart from the one on the first night when Yashamaru had stormed into Rasa’s office, bloody and battered, and demanded an explanation.

While he had suspected that someone else would have been ordered to attack Gaara since he had refused to, he had not expected Rasa to be so callous about Temari and Kankuro as well.

Had he not been injured while fending off the ANBU Rasa had sent, Yashamaru would have departed  on his own search long ago.

“Children are not tools,” Yashamaru said quietly, taking a step back from the desk. He had hated the man in front of him from a long time ago, but had put his duty to Suna over his personal feelings. That was about to change, depending on Rasa’s next words. “Even if you are the Kazekage before being a father, it is not right to treat children as young as them like that.”

Rasa sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated with his brother-in-law’s continued insistence to focus on his family. “Regardless, those who are not useful to the village are not needed.”

The last thread of Yashamaru’s tolerance snapped.

Expression smoothening out into one of cool politeness, he pulled out his hitai-ate and placed it gently on the table and bowed, saying, “Very well then, Kazekage-sama. Consider this me officially tendering my resignation.”

Dark eyes narrowed and Rasa glared at the other man, “What are you saying, Yashamaru?”

“I do not wish to remain in the village when my niece and nephews are lost out in the desert. It doesn’t matter if no one else will look for them; they will always have me,” Yashamaru replied, the steel in his voice saying that he had made his decision and would not change his mind.

“If you leave now, you will not be welcomed back, even if you find them,” Rasa warned, carefully hiding his disbelief. He had never thought Yashamaru would go against him, not so seriously.

“What makes you think I would want to come back?” the sandy-blond man retorted, spinning on his heel to head out the door. Just before he left though, he looked back at the glowering Kazekage, mouth pursed in distaste.

Yashamaru no longer recognized the other man, unable to see the person who Karura had married. That man had been awkward and clumsy, but had loved his wife and children. Rasa, as he was now, had either discarded or buried those emotions so deep that he was unable to even empathize or sympathize.

“My sister would be disappointed in you.”

With that parting spot, he closed the door with a soft click in contrast to the harsh blow that his words were, leaving behind a stunned man.

Three days had passed since Yashamaru had left Suna and he had found no traces of the children.

‘I had not expected it to be easy,’ he thought to himself wryly, tugging his scarf higher over his nose. He had taken refuge in a small cavern when the signs of an incoming sandstorm had become evident. ‘The desert would have already erased any tracks and if the children had left on their own volition, then Gaara-sama’s ability would have hidden any obvious marks as well.’

Sighing, Yashamaru stared out the small opening at the sandstorm, the chaotic winds and swirling sands mirroring his turbulent emotions.

He had not been joking when he had told Rasa that he would not be returning to Suna even if he found the children. Yashamaru had every intention of disappearing with them, just so that Rasa wouldn’t be able to use or harm them anymore.

‘I hope they’re safe…’

Faint footsteps, barely audible over the noise generated by the sandstorm, reached his ears and Yashamaru tensed, hand reaching for a kunai. No one, not even Suna nin, would be so foolish as to walk around in a sandstorm. Only the arrogant and the powerful would dare to do so.

A shadow fell over the mouth of the cavern and Yashamaru shifted backwards silently, hiding himself deeper in the darkness. ‘Judging by the height and build, it’s a man,’ he thought, eyeing the bulky cloak that did nothing to hide the stranger’s broad shoulders. ‘Not a bandit; his steps were purposely loud. Does he know I’m here? Was he trying to warn me?’

“What the hell are you doing so far from Suna?”

Yashamaru blinked, recognizing the voice even though it was muffled. ‘Why…?’

The newcomer stepped into the cavern fully, pulling back his hood once he was out of the sandstorm. Sure enough, it was the scarred teenager that had been part of the group of travelers that had befriended Gaara.

“I could ask the same of you,” Yashamaru shot back, wary. He had not lowered his kunai; the fact that the teenager had casually walked through a sandstorm meant that he wasn’t a normal traveler.

“Watching for tails,” the dark-haired teen replied curtly, crossing his arms over his chest. His expression was unimpressed, showing that he wasn’t affected by the other’s attitude. “Your turn.”

After a moment of debating whether to tell the truth or not, the former Suna nin finally answered, “I’m looking for my niece and nephews, Obito-san.”

Obito tilted his head to the side, studying the man in front of him. He had been doing a sweep of the desert -they were still monitoring Suna’s reaction- when he had detected Yashamaru’s chakra signature. Curiosity overpowering other thoughts, he had used Kamui to teleport himself closer to the other man’s location.

“You’ve lost them?”

“As ashamed as I am to admit it, yes.”

“Hmm…what do you plan to do if you find them?”

Yashamaru’s eyes narrowed and he said in a defiant tone, “When, not if. I will find them and when I do, I will take them to a safe place.”

“Oh? Not to Suna?”

“Like that village is safe for them,” the sandy-blond scoffed, relaxing a little. He knew that Obito was on Gaara’s side and though Yashamaru had likely been deceived regarding the other’s abilities, he also knew that Obito wouldn’t hurt the children.

Obito hummed and strode forward, grabbing Yashmaru’s shoulder. “Good enough for me.”

Yashamaru startled when red bled into the black of the teenager’s eyes but before he could move or voice anything, the world twisted around them, like the very space was warping. The next second, the duo were in a forested area.

Wrenching himself away from Obito’s hold, Yashamaru raised his kunai again and hissed, “Uchiha! Are you a spy from Konoha?”

The Uchiha rolled his eyes and spun around. “If you want to find the brats, follow me.”

Without waiting for a response, Obito walked off, cloak billowing behind him. Yashamaru eyed him suspiciously but followed him after a moment of thought, wary but desperate for answers.

They had walked for about ten minutes when Obito stopped, making the former Suna nin do the same. Ignoring the gaze drilling into his back, he called out, “I’m back, with an extra!”

“We know,” came the amused reply, a tall man stepping out of the gloom. “Sensors, remember?”

Yashamaru froze when the clouds parted and moonlight spilled through the trees, illuminating the other person. Blond hair that shone almost like silver in the moonlight and sharp blue eyes that had a piercing gaze; he knew exactly who that was.

“The Yondaime Hokage,” he whispered, his kunai almost slipping out of his slack fingers. Yashamaru cursed himself; it was obvious that this man was the one who had introduced himself as the leader of the group of travelers. Apart from changing the style and color of his hair, Namikaze Minato hadn’t even bothered to disguise himself.

Minato smiled at the rapidly paling man. “That’s me,” he said amiably, leaning against a nearby tree. “Why are you here, Yashamaru?”

The other blond swallowed harshly. “I have no obligation to answer you.”

“No, but if you want answers, you have no choice.”

Yashamaru knew that was the truth.

If Minato had wanted to, he could have easily killed him on the spot, before Yashamaru even realized what was happening. The way he had infiltrated Suna was proof of that. He couldn’t die yet, not until he was sure that the children were safe and sound. There was also a niggling feeling in the back of his mind that told him that the Yondaime Hokage didn’t really want to kill him.

So Yashamaru talked.

He talked about his sister, his brother-in-law and his young charges. He talked about Gaara and his suffering in Suna, the way Rasa had all but abandoned his children.

“I want to give them a better life. Until now, I did nothing when they were hurt,” Yashamaru admitted. “But I don’t want to ignore their pain anymore. Gaara-sama, Temari-sama and Kankuro-sama deserve better.”

Silence stretched between the two blonds for what felt like hours, Obito having disappeared when Minato had arrived. Yashamaru was nervous, unable to make out anything from the other’s stony expression. He was thinking about making a break for it when the Namikaze smiled slightly.

“Good answer,” Minato said, a tinge of approval in his voice. Even if Yashamaru had taken too long to act, he at least had the integrity to own up to his mistakes. As the saying went, better late than never. “Don’t hurt anyone or else I’ll have to kill you and that would be a pity.”

“What?”

Yashamaru’s answer came in the form of a campsite suddenly materializing behind Minato, showing a group of people of various ages sitting around a cheerfully crackling fire. ‘Oh. A barrier.’

A woman with short red hair was the first one to notice the new arrival and she smiled, saying, “It seems that we have a guest.”

That made the children in the group perk up and they turned around, three of them breaking away from the huddle.

“Yashamaru!”

Yashamaru nearly broke down in tears when a brightly smiling Gaara ran towards him, Temari and Kankuro at his heels. He fell to his knees, almost getting bowled over when the children tackled him. “Gaara-sama, Temari-sama, Kankuro-sama…you’re safe. Thank goodness.”

“What are you doing here, Yashamaru?” Temari asked, wondering why their uncle was so far out of Suna. A thought came to her and she tensed, “Are you going to take us back?”

Gaara and Kankuro flinched at that and stared up at the man with wide eyes, looking ready to bolt.

It was evident that they didn’t want to return to Suna.

Hurriedly, Yashamaru tried to assure them, “No, I’m not. I only wanted to ensure your safety, since you disappeared without a trace. How did you do that?”

The answer came from the long-haired redhead. “That was me.”

“There you are!”

The three siblings looked at the opening of their little hide-out with fear, only to be met with a familiar face.

“Hikari-nee!”

Hikari chuckled as the younger kids scrambled out from under the slab of stone, kneeling to gather them up in a hug. The trio were trembling, their young bodies feeling the effects of fading adrenaline and terror.

Although she and her family had officially left Suna, it was meant to observe how the Kazekage and the villagers would react to Gaara’s new stability. As promised, Minato had fixed the boy’s seal, so there was no longer a risk of Shukaku breaking out or influencing Gaara’s psyche.

In all honesty, none of them had expected things to change much but they had held out a tiny smidge of hope.

Pulling back a little once the trembling had reduced somewhat, Hikari ran a critical eye over the children. She frowned upon noticing a cut on Temari’s upper arm, beckoning her closer. “It’s minor,” she murmured, holding a glowing hand to the wound. “What happened?”

“Masked guys attacked us!” Kankuro replied, his wavering voice giving away the fact that the experience of the past hour was beginning to get to him. It was amazing that the children had held out as long as they had. “Gaara says that they were after him, but they attacked us too!”

“They were ANBU,” Temari said quietly, a wealth of hurt in her voice. “Father must have sent them.”

That did it.

If Hikari hadn’t been determined to kidnap all three kids before, she sure as hell was now.

“I see.”

Before she could say anything else, Gaara tugged on her sleeve, teal eyes pleading. “Can we come with you? I…don’t like it here. It hurts…”

Kankuro added, just as desperate as his brother, “Me too. Father’s always making us train and stuff. And he treats Gaara very badly!”

“We were actually thinking of looking for you,” Temari said, expression downcast but determined. “You were the only ones who treated us like normal children. I don’t understand why Father would do this, but I want to protect my brothers.”

Faced with three pleading gazes, Hikari could only smile fondly.

“Honestly, I was going to ask you if you wanted to come with me,” she admitted, her smile growing wider when the siblings perked up with shining faces.

“And…your family?”

Hikari chuckled, as if that was even a question, “Manami-san was all for kidnapping you the day we first met! Everyone will welcome you. When do you want to leave?”

“Now,” Temari replied instantly, looking around nervously. “If they find us, they won’t let us go.”

“Alright. Grab onto me.”

The confused siblings did as told, holding onto her hands. Kankuro asked, bewildered, “How are we going to get past the guards?”

“Like this.”

A second later, the area was empty, devoid of any traces of people.

“And that’s how they got here,” Hikari concluded, looking around the camp.

The other children were huddled together, Temari reading a book to them, with Manami and Kakashi helping whenever she tripped over a word. Obito was up in a tree, appearing to be taking a nap but she knew that he was on high alert. She could feel Minato’s presence at her back, her father ready to jump into action should Yashamaru do anything untoward.

“We have no intention of letting them go, even for you.”

With an air of finality, Hikari got to her feet and jumped up, joining Obito on his branch. She wasn’t in the mood to give explanations and she didn’t want to disturb the kids, while wanting to keep an eye on Yashamaru.

“She’s right,” Minato said, taking his daughter’s vacated spot, sitting next to the former Suna nin. “They deserve better than to be treated as tools. They should have the chance to enjoy their childhood and choose what they want to do in the future by themselves.”

He looked at the other man out of the corner of his eye, expression icy. “I brought you here because I believed your words from earlier. Don’t prove me wrong.”

Yashamaru tore his gaze away from where Gaara was laughing openly, violet eyes clashing with blue as he glared at Minato. “I could say the same for you,” he retorted, highly suspicious. “How do I know that you don’t plan on making him a weapon for Konoha?”

“If I wanted to do that, you wouldn’t be here and neither would I, nor the rest of us.”

Yashamaru wasn’t convinced, voice filled with skepticism as he asked, “And you will treat Gaara-sama with the respect he deserves?”

Minato gave that statement the look it deserved, voice flat as he replied, “My late wife and my children are Jinchuuriki.”

That threw Yashamaru for a loop.

“What?!”

“Kushina was the second Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi,” the Namikaze said, eyes shifting towards Naruto, the blond child feeling his father’s gaze and waving at him with a grin. Minato waved back, smiling as he continued, “She died on the day Naruto was born and I was forced to seal the halves of the Kyuubi within my children.”

That was the story they were going with in order to explain both Hikari and Naruto’s Jinchuuriki status, since no one could call them out on it anyway, apart from the Bijuu themselves.

“I would be a hypocrite to view Gaara differently just because he isn’t mine.”

Yashamaru subsided after that, having nothing more to say.

Truth be told, Minato and the rest were doing more than they needed to. Gaara was of no concern to them, belonging to an entirely different village. Yet, they had taken him in, welcoming even Temari and Kankuro.

Yashamaru couldn’t understand why they would do so.

He didn’t realize that he had spoken out loud until a new voice spoke up, “Because that’s the kind of people Sensei and Hikari are.”

“Hatake Kakashi.”

The silver-haired teen and Minato had swapped places while Yashamaru had been lost in thought, making it clear that the ex-Suna nin was under watch.

Kakashi looked bored, not bothered by the suspicious stare, “I know that people outside Konoha believe him to be a cold-blooded killer, but that was war. Minato-sensei loves deeply and is inherently kind to innocents, which applies to children. Having a family full of JInchuuriki also made him sympathetic to suffering Jinchuuriki.”

The Hatake raised his voice just a tiny bit, looking up at the redhead in the tree with a pointed gaze, “Besides, Hikari would eviscerate anyone who mistreats children and Jinchuuriki.”

The last part was strange and Yashamaru blinked. “You make it sound like Hikari-san knows what she is.”

“Of course she does.”

That was said so matter-of-factly that it made the sandy-blond sweat-drop. He chose not to pursue that line of thought and instead asked, “What if the Jinchuuriki abuses their power?”

“Then Sensei would free the Bijuu,” Kakashi shrugged, amused by Yashamaru’s gobsmacked expression. “The Bijuu were never meant to be trapped and if the extraction process wouldn’t almost certainly kill the Jinchuuriki, Sensei would try to spare Hikari and Naruto that fate. Gaara too now, I suppose.”

“But…what does he gain from that? What does Konoha gain? And how he is alive, anyway?”

“An experimental jutsu gone wrong resurrected him instead of making him a zombie-puppet,” Kakashi snickered internally at Yashamaru’s dubious look, but he was sticking with the cover story. The truth was something no one would believe anyway. “Sensei’s barely holding himself back from declaring war on Konoha, so cut that out of the picture.”

Yashamaru frowned, “He’s the Yondaime Hokage. Why would he declare war on his own village?”

Kakashi cast a meaningful look at Gaara, then at Hikari and Naruto.

“Because Konoha did to Hikari and Naruto what Suna did to Gaara.”

“I would like to join you on your travels.”

Minato squinted at the sandy-blond, Manami giggling somewhere off to the side. He had just crawled out from under his blanket, hair a mess and clothes rumpled from sleep. He wasn’t awake enough to deal with anything.

“…come again?”

“I would like to join you, Minato-sama,” Yashamaru repeated patiently, expression placid but his bright eyes gave away his amusement. Seeing the powerful Kiiroi Senko so disheveled was strange, but it drove in the fact that Minato was human, like any of them. “If it is not a problem.”

“That…should be fine,” Minato replied after a short while, brain still sluggish but gradually waking up. “As long as you know that we will likely return to Konoha one day.”

“I am alright with that. I trust you to not use Gaara-sama as a weapon.”

“What made you decide to join us anyway?”

Yashamaru briefly glanced at the six children clinging like monkeys to the Namikaze and smiled, “Let’s just say that I believe that you will be able to give the children a better life than I could.”

“Huh…”

Muttering to himself about odd people and lousy explanations, Minato walked off to wash up, prying the children off of him one by one. He might as well make them clean up while he was at it.

“Does he realize what he’s doing?” Yashamaru asked Manami, watching as Minato herded the children around gently, assisted by Obito and Kakashi who had just arrived from collecting firewood. It was something Rasa would never do, too focused on his duties as Kazekage instead of caring for his children.

“No,” Manami replied, laughing softly when Karin whined and clung tighter to the Namikaze’s leg. Although most of them were morning people, they had stayed up late the previous night and the shinobi felt safe enough to not be on alert all the time. “Minato-san is naturally caring and patient. He actually likes looking after them a lot.”

“I can see that.”

“In any case, he would protect them with his life. That is why I joined them, for Karin’s safety. And…well. Everyone needs family.”

“Even if they’re not blood-related?”

“Does that matter? I believe in bonds based on trust rather than simple blood ties.”

Yashamaru conceded to that with a nod, looking back at the oddly soothing scene in the distance. He supposed that Manami was right, seeing Naruto, Karin and Hikari treat his niece and nephews like how they would treat each other. The teenagers, for all that the dark-haired Uchiha was grumpy and broody, handled them gently as well.

That was a family.

‘I don’t think I’ll regret my choice,’ Yashamaru thought, opening his arms for Gaara when the child ran up to him. ‘If Gaara-sama can keep smiling like this, then it’s all worth it.’