Ghost in the Sand (Naruto Fanfic)

Accusations

"Who am I kidding. I turned our son into a psychopath." Rasa found himself sitting at his desk while the accusations against Gaara plagued the back of his mind. Gaara did have certain tendencies, yet the accusations didn't add up in Rasa's head. He leaned into his arms while his fingers twisted into his auburn locks. Taking a deep breath, the Kazekage mentally told himself he couldn't sit around doing nothing, particularly since he'd already spent to much time doing that in the cave.

His calloused fingers reached for the incident report, pulling the piece of paper closer as he started feeling out his own recollections regarding the incident. The Kazekage wrote down how Orichimaru left him and his men trapped in the cavern using a special kido, how he attempted getting them out and they were running out of supplies, but also how the only reason they didn't get out came down to the Konoha shinobi who came to their rescue.

He found himself staring at the report, but also his inadequacies written down for the entire council to see. Rasa pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing he had more control over the situation. Setting his own report aside, and noting he should give some kind of deadline for receiving the reports, Rasa moved onto the next item on the agenda. Picking up the incident report sheet, he flipped into the folder only to find himself staring at a picture of the girl who was supposedly attacked by Gaara.

Rasa gleaned no new information. Spelled out in detail was the report that, no, the girl had not been defiled. The report also noted she was found at the shrine, but that she possibly had a previous injury caused by Gaara using his powers. Rasa stared at the picture for quite a few minutes, before deciding he needed a more proactive approach to the problem.

The Kazekage stood, teetering on his feet for a few minutes. His head spun and his calloused hands gripped the edge of the desk as his eyes closed. Rasa took a deep breath not liking the empty feeling in his stomach. Opening his eyes, Rasa mentally cursed his current frailty caused by the limitations of the supplies he and his men carried with them when locked into the cavern. Taking a deep breath, the Kazekage found himself glad nobody saw him in such a state.

With his balance settled, Rasa stepped out of the room with his paperwork under his arms. The Kazekage paused upon seeing Gaara in front of him, as if the young Shinoby was waiting for him. "Why are you still here?"

"I forgot to mention that Temari is making dinner for everyone, yourself included." What Gaara said startled him, yet Rasa found himself pleased at the idea of Gaara eating with them even if it might end in disaster. The Kazekage saw Gaara flinch, indicating Rasa may have reacted in some manner. Gaara started turning to leave. "I guess that means I should be going now."

Rasa's hand reached out, not wishing to dissuade Gaara from his planed course of action. "Wait, Gaara. Does this mean you'll be joining us for dinner?"

"Only if you wish it, Lord Kazekage."

Rasa found himself looking away, thinking carefully. He did want Gaara to join them at the dinner table, yet tonight wasn't the best night for finally sitting down to have a meal as a family. After all, he needed to investigate the accusations against Gaara. "Please tell Temari to put dinner aside for me. I've got things I need to finish."

Gaara looked away, his disappointment quite evident. Rasa shuffled his papers to position them better in his arms, drawing Gaara's attention. He wasn't expecting the question which came next.

"What is a rapist?" Gaara's expression when he heard this question was hard to read, yet the young shinobi obviously felt he'd done something wrong. "Apologies. I asked something inappropriate again."

"Gaara..." Rasa tried keeping his voice soft, his mind wandering to what the two shinobi from their ally village said to him. Before the Kazekage could correct his son, Gara became distracted.