Returning Home
“That one is my house.”
Gaara nodded at the small boy beside him, “Would you like me to go talk to your parents first?”
Shinki frowned, “No, I don’t care what they have to say, I just want my little brother.”
Teal eyes narrowed in thought, he wasn’t sure this was the best idea, “How about we go talk to them together then? I’d like to know how you ended up so far into the desert without your parents.”
Shinki nodded walking beside the man before finally asking, “Why do you care?”
The simple question was enough to halt Gaara’s steps, “Because, family is important, I’d like to know what kind of parents don’t bother to look for their missing son. Besides, what kind of Kazekage would I be if I didn’t investigate on the behalf of a lost child of my village?”
His shoulders straightened as he glanced up at the red haired man, “Kazekage? You’re the Lord Kazekage?!”
Gaara nodded amused at the baffled look the child gave him, “Yes, and I was returning from a meeting with the other Kages when I came across your sand storm.”
Shinki looked the man up and down again, “You don't look old enough to be the Kazekage. You look younger than my parents!”
Gaara blinked, he hadn't ever had an interaction where a kid questioned if he was old enough to be a kage, “Well, Shinki, I've been the Kazekage for a few years now. I agree I'm probably younger than your parents though, I'm sixteen.”
Shinki tilted his head as he decided the man was strange, but ok enough, “I'm turning six soon.”
Gaara hesitantly placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder before knocking on the door before him. He gently squeezed his should in an attempt to give the boy strength as he heard footsteps from beyond the door.
His eyes widened when he was met with a ninja he was familiar with, “Etsuko?’
Shinki watched his mother’s green eyes widen before she quickly bowed, “Lord Kazekage? To what do I owe your visit? If you needed to summon me, we have anbu for that.”
Gaara stiffened when he noticed the fear in her eyes, she had always been hesitant when she was in a room with him, he had begun to suspect that she still held the fear of him that some of the older villagers held.
“I believe I’ve found your son, he says his name is Shinki, he is six years old, and this is his home. He was lost in the desert, I assumed you would be looking for your son.”
His teal eyes met her green ones, he wanted her to know he wanted the truth and was already suspicious.
“Shinki was my son, yes. Thank you for finding him Lord Kazekage.”
Shinki began to feel angry again, he knew they didn’t look for him, he was sure they got rid of him on purpose, “I want to see Norio.”
Shinki watched his mother flinch before reaching her hand toward him, “Of course Shinki, come inside and let mother clean you up. Then we will join your father and brother for dinner.”
Gaara quickly put his hand in between the two, “Etsuko, what was he doing in the middle of the desert? A child his size would not be able to get that far from the village on his own.”
He didn’t like the look in her eyes, it was the same look he had seen in his father’s eyes when he was around Shinki’s age, before the assassination attempts began.
Etsuko sighed, she knew Gaara would be able to see through any lie she gave by the cold look on his face, “We do not want two sons. We only have the capacity for one. My parents practiced the old tradition of abandoning the unwanted in the desert, if they find their way back they live, if not they don’t. We only have space for one child. Shinki had a better chance of finding his way to a place to live than Norio would have.”
Gaara’s teal eyes glanced at Shinki quickly, he was aware of the practice, his father had tried to kill off that tradition.
“If the issue is money, you or Noriyuki could have come to me.”
Etsuko shook her head, “We only want one child, Lord Kazekage.”
Gaara’s eyes narrowed, they wanted to rid themselves of the boy, they left him to die.
“Well I don’t want you anyways, I came back for my brother, not you!”
Gaara could feel the boy’s chakra flare as he stepped towards his mother, he quickly placed his hand on Shinki’s shoulder, “Shinki, calm yourself.”
Etsuke glared down at the boy, “You are no longer a Shoji, we relinquish you from this family. Norio is not your brother, I am not your mother, and Noriyuki is not your father. You are in no form able to make demands. Now, Lord Kazekage, I have a family to feed.”
Gaara blinked as she slammed the door on him and the boy. He could feel the boy’s shoulders start to shake. Without thinking, he quickly pulled the boy into his arms.
He cradled him, “Come, I’ll take you with me. We’ll figure out how to get you and your brother together.”
Shinki’s shaky arms gripped him tightly as he began to cry, “I want my brother! You said you’d help me!”
Gaara frowned, carrying the boy with him to his home, “I will help you. I’ll train you, and I will take Norio in as well, but we must follow the law. I can’t storm into their home and kidnap their child, even if he is your brother. I’ll have my brother start skimming through law scrolls to plan a way to get your brother.”