[Open] I have too many Gaara mused OTL

[a_touch_of_rose]

In the blink of an eye, from one moment to the next, she was somewhere else. The redhead blinked in mild surprise and stared around at her surroundings. This...didn't look like Kumo. She'd been there a moment ago, speaking with the Raikage about possibly reworking some of their treaties, and now...

She appeared to be standing on the outskirts of a village that she didn't recognize; from the numerous pinpricks of strong, trained chakras, she suspected it was a shinobi village of some sort. That was...not a bad thing, she decided. And so Sabaku no Gaara began walking toward the village, long red curls lifting briefly away from her neck in the stray breeze.

If this is genjutsu, it is unlike anything I have seen before, she mused as she walked, easily weaving between others visiting the markets and wandering. The gourd strapped to her back earned her a few surprised looks, but she ignored them in favor of searching for someone who was likely to be a shinobi; civilians rarely had the answers she required.

Comments

[1000tinycuts]

"The village is standing because the Narutos are distracted by girlfriends and their parents, thank kami for that!"

Leave it to Gaara, any Gaara, to pick up on the fact that Temari wasn't as happy as she wished she was. "I didn't mean it like, imouto-chan. My family will always be important to me. However, I've heard from somewhere that only family can hurt you enough to really matter. And it's true. I can only assume that Otou-sama was an actual parent to you." She gave the redhead a small, sad smile that vanished into an impassive mask. "Not so much for my reality."

[a_touch_of_rose]

Ah, girlfriends and parents - made sense.

After a moment of processing the familiarity in which Temari had just addressed her - neither Kankurou nor Tamaki had ever called her 'chan' before - she considered the implications of what her sister was not telling her.

Clearly, something had happened in her sister's reality that was extremely different from her own. "...Otou-san died protecting me from Akatsuki," she said at last. The memories still hurt, as did the guilt.

[1000tinycuts]

"If only...In my reality, Otou-sama was murdered by Orochimaru from Konoha on the way to the Leaf's village for the chunin exam during the joint venture with the Sound village to take it over...That was over three years ago. Although, he wasn't much of a father to myself or my two brothers. Count yourself lucky."

[a_touch_of_rose]

This was rather a lot to take in, actually. Gaara stared at her sister in mild shock. "...we never collaborated with Oto," she said at last, shaking her head. "And the chuunin exams... Nothing of note happened, aside from the fact that we were promoted."

Temari's reality had been extremely different indeed. Her gaze narrowed slightly at the blonde. "I am sorry that your father was not like mine... However, I am not certain I appreciate the way you are pushing your bitterness off on me, onee-sama."

[1000tinycuts]

She was glad that this Gaara hadn't suffered at the hands of their father. She was sure that their mother hadn't wanted that for any of them, ever. "I'm...relieved that you had a good parent, Gaara. And I'm not pushing anything off to you. It's still a touchy subject for myself and my brothers. I don't think we've even talked about Otou-sama's death outside of the political ramifications." She waved a hand and covers her eyes to gather her thoughts.

"Just...forget about it, okay?"

[a_touch_of_rose]

Her feathers were still a little ruffled, which was obvious from her expression but, slowly, she relaxed. "It isn't something I can...forget. But I accept that I misjudged your intentions with that statement." Slowly, carefully, she reached out to settle a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Whatever else may have happened, we are family, and I would do anything to ensure you are safe and happy." That was her job as Kazekage, but also her prerogative as Temari's sister.

[1000tinycuts]

The feeling of Gaara—any Gaara—touching her like that was so out of character that Temari had to take a step back. "Yes, we are family, and I will protect you as I would my own Gaara at home. I hope that you know that."