Secret Memories (Naruto Fanfic)

Council's Meddlings

The two women walked forward, one patting him on the arm as they passed. The auburn haired man's fingers reached into his clothes to touch the letter he'd received from Karura, his throat and mouth feeling as if they were on fire, the urge to yell out loud that the women were wrong being pushed back by the mere fact Rasa was the Kazekage. A sigh escaped his lips, and his calloused finger felt the crease in the paper, knowing full well a meeting with the elders was in just a few days.

Hearing the rumors still didn't prepare him for what the council had to say, possibly due to the small hope fluttering around Rasa's head that they wouldn't put forth such a recommendation, but the suggestion they kept bringing up regarding Gaara before the delicate infant was born honestly should have told him they would make such a suggestion.

"Lord Kazekage. Are you aware of the rumors, that Lady Karura is dead?"

"She most certainly is not. Yashamaru brings me a status report of how she is doing everyday, and while her memories are not in tact, she is actually doing fine." His head tilted towards Lady Chiyo and her brother. "Lady Chiyo could very well fill you in as well, as Karura is staying with her."

Lady Chiyo's eyes closed, her wrinkled face looking more tired then she usually did. "Lord Rasa, I'll get to the point that the rest of the council is getting to. Please understand that I, and Ebizo don't agree with this, and if Yashamaru were here he would have put his word in as well."

Rasa felt the corners of his mouth sink, knowing full well what she had to say wouldn't be to his liking.

"The majority of the council believes that it is best to declare Karura dead to the village."

The sinking feeling in the auburn haired man's chest grew deeper, and he looked around at all of the council members there. "What is the logic behind this?"

"This is in part your fault Lord Kazekage." One of the elders outside of Lady Chio and Ebizo spoke up, and Rasa let his nose wrinkle up, the corners of his mouth deepening as he listened to the man speak, and the auburn haired man remembered he'd never liked this particular elder. "Instead of acting like a man and claiming what is rightfully yours, you decided to play a pansy."

The Lord Kazekage's eyelids lifted up, and the auburn man's lips twisted up in amusement, his throat tightening at the insults thrown his way. "Are you saying I should force myself on her? You must be..."

The man gave him the look Rasa remembered getting from his father when the man wasn't pleased with something he said or did. "Lord Kazekage, are you that childish that you would actually think that is what we are talking about? We're talking about the fact you didn't tell Karura who you were, nor did you choose to bring her home. You didn't even consult us on what would be best.

"These are the people who insisted it was a good idea to put Shukaku into my unborn child, putting both my wife and son at high risk." Rasa took a deep breath. "That's still forcing myself on her, forcing her to do something against her will. I am a stranger to her."

"That be it as it may, it is your job as the Kazekage to put the interests of the village first, and they need their Lord to have his wife at his side regardless of her condition. She also would have gotten better faster had you insisted she be taken to a familiar environment, rather then Lady Chiyo's place. You've also put us into a bind, keeping what happened to Karura secret like you are. You've forbidden us to speak of the matter."

"I said not to parry words when we don't have enough information to give."

"And because of this the village thinks she is dead, and you Lord Kazekage are in denial. Dead, Lord Kazekage. We've no choice to declare her dead. It's not as if we can easily explain away why you kept her condition secret. You say that's not what you did, but in reality it is what you did." The man folded his arms. "We're not going to back down on this."

"And what pray tell if she gets her memories back? What then?"

"What then?" The man took a deep breath. "We'll deal with that when the time comes. It would be a lot easier to explain later on, rather then now."

"I disagree. We could say..."

"Your wife is not even living in the same house as you, and is being kept at Lady Chiyo's as if she were some mistress. This needs to be done."

Rasa took a deep breath, no words coming to his head. The auburn haired man's mind drifted back to the words the man said, about how as Lord Kazekage he should have put the villages needs first over his own. Rasa folded his fingers together. "You say that it is my job as the Kage to put the villages needs first, which I will not deny is true. However, not saying anything about Karura has not put the village in harms way."

"Not yet, but if people continue to think you're in denial about your wife's death, the village will be in danger. If you come out and say she lost her memories, you'll have people demanding to see her, so they can verify it is true."

The auburn haired man ground his teeth together, Rasa's hand's gripping the edge of the table. His dark brown eyes drifted over to Chiyo, only to see that look on her face indicating not to argue. The Lord Kazekage looked at the table. "Fine. Do you have any idea where this rumor started, that Karura is dead?"

"You don't know?" Another one of the elders seemed surprised, indicating Rasa wouldn't like the answer.