𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

The Babysitter's Club

"What happened to her?"

Gaara grimaced as he stood at Kannon's bedside in the early hours of the morning, holding the now fully awoken Ayumi on his hip as he looked over the unconscious Kurotsuki's body. Half of her face and a majority of her chest had been bandaged up, but for now, she was in a stable condition. Her room was silent, save for the steady beat of her cardiac monitor, and the sounds of Gaara and Ayato's voices.

The shinobi who had brought her in last night, Ayato, bowed deeply to the Kazekage.

"Amaterasu-sama lashed out at her," explained the Suna ninja. "It was a surprise to all of us."

"Amaterasu did this?" murmured Gaara thoughtfully, skeptical of the damage that had been done. "I find it hard to believe she'd have the strength to inflict this much devastation mere hours after giving birth."

"The nurses mentioned that Kannon-sama said that she needed to speak to you before she passed out," said Ayato curtly, piquing Gaara's interest even more. "Maybe she has more insight on the situation and what we're dealing with."

Gaara frowned as he looked down at Kannon. Ayumi promptly reached up and hit him on the chin with her rattle, making Ayato gasp and look at her incredulously. Gaara remained unperturbed; instead, he nodded at Ayato, who seemed fascinated by the sight of the Kazekage holding a child as if it were his very own.

"Thank you. Have there been any updates on the situation at the gate?" he asked, bouncing Ayumi on his side so as to keep her preoccupied and quiet.

"The last time I checked, Temari-sama and a squadron went out into the desert to retrieve Amaterasu-sama after she fled the scene," said Ayato, his eyes drifting to the child in Gaara's arms out of curiosity. "I don't know if they've returned yet."

"That's fine. Please tell Temari to come to me as soon as she returns. You may leave."

"Yes, my Lord."

As Ayato exited the room, Gaara sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to assess their current situation. All that he could deduct at this time was that Tera had gone rogue, flipped out and nearly killed Kannon. Why she had done all that, he had no idea, but he hoped that when Kannon awoke, she would be able to fill in the blanks for him.

"Do you think we should give your dad a call? Hmm?" Gaara asked, holding Ayumi in front of him as he spoke to her. He placed her over his shoulder as he turned and left the room, making his way as quickly as he could to where Naruto was staying the night. Taking the elevator a couple of floors up and heading out into the corridor, Gaara passed by the receptionists and went straight towards Tera's ward, where he was greeted by the sight of Naruto hovering over a nurse as she administered Shisui's feed.

"I'm really sorry for all of this," said Gaara apologetically, knowing that the nurses had had to take it upon themselves to feed Shisui in Tera's absence. "We're trying to sort things out as soon as possible."

"It's fine, it's fine," said the nurse, huddled over Shisui's cot as she held the bottle to his lips. "Naruto here is learning how to take care of him. Isn't that right?"

"You bet," grinned Naruto, scratching the back of his head as the nurse straightened up and replaced the lid on the bottle.

"Go ahead and burp him now," she instructed, to which the Uzumaki sweatdropped. Gaara chuckled, amused by Naruto's sudden change in confidence, and waited for him to pick up the child.

"Come on, Naruto, show us what you learned," said Gaara, making Naruto smile nervously.

"So like... one hand behind his head... and the other one here, right?"