They were waiting outside the operation room and the only way they could tell time was passing was the drying of Suzume's blood on their skin.

It's been hours.

Kankuro was hunched over, twiddling with his thumbs as he squeezed his eyes shut tight. Temari had her head thrown back resting on the wall behind her and her eyes were fixed on the ceiling.

Gaara was staring at his blood stained hands.

He did this.

All of the lives he's taken flashed dizzyingly, chaotically through his mind  and the screams, the screams that haunt him moaned into his ears. He could almost feel the heavy weight of Death curling his fingers onto his shoulder, promising his namesake.

He buried his face in his hands.

"She didn't want you to get into trouble," Temari's voice ripped through his grief. "She was dying on that slab and yet she didn't want to go to the hospital because she thought you'd get in trouble."

Gaara's shoulders began to twitch. Temari's eyes abandoned its examination of him and returned to the ceiling. "How we got into this situation is the real question. More than half a year ago we wouldn't've been caught dead in the same room together, forget waiting in this goddamn hallway worrying about a family member we never dreamed we'd have."

Temari closed her eyes. "Can you imagine it now? 'It would've been an honor to be killed by Gaara-sama! It would be rude to complain!'"

A chuckle escaped Kankuro's mouth and Temari saw Gaara's body relax.

"That kid is stronger than she looks, Gaara. She's as stubborn as everyone else in this family. The resemblance is uncanny."

The operation in progress sign turned off and all three of them were on their feet when the surgeon stepped out. He sighed and smiled reassuringly. "She's stable."

A wave of relief washed over them and just when Kankuro was about to ask if they could see her Temari rounded on them.

"I don't know what drama you two have going on right now but you need to find some sort of resolution before Suzume wakes up! Or else neither of you are allowed to see her!"

"But—" Kankuro didn't get to finish his complaint because Temari took the surgeon captive, dragging him back into the operating room and the door slammed shut on them.

Kankuro's immediate action was to run a hand through his hair, do a weird squat, stand up straight again, then spin around to face Gaara.

"Listen to me for a second, just for a second."

"That's enough! How about you listen to what your big brother has to say for once?!"

Kankuro jabbed a finger toward the doors that separated them from their sisters. "Suzume cares," his voice cracked but he plowed forward, "and you care about her too."

Gaara hung his head.

"I know you've gone through some god awful shit ever since you were born, but if your blindness is going to put our little sister in danger you either need to open your eyes right fucking now or I need to beat that idiotic logic out of you before you do something we'll all regret."

There was a long stretch of silence after Kankuro's words and the puppeteer didn't dare breathe as he waited for Gaara's answer. 

Gaara met his brother's eyes and he let out a whisper.

"I'm sorry."

Kankuro's expression sunk. Though, it froze first. Then it melted and sunk. Temari often told him when he was younger that he needed to control his emotions. She's always reminded him he was the most emotional of the three of them. She told him they were going to kill him.

His father reared him into being as expressionless as his puppets.

Caring is weakness.

It was still very much dangerous. The world they lived in was still cruel and merciless. But if he was going to be killed for this show of emotion, it was worth it.

He grasped Gaara's front, pulled him roughly toward him and engulfed his little brother in a hug.

"Thank you."

. . .

They were sitting next to each other against the wall. They were drained. That day was a record in their family's books. And now, the brothers were trying to collect their thoughts with the clock ticking away at their heads.

"So," Kankuro broke the silence, "Suzume has some pretty interesting friends."

"It appears so," Gaara replied.

Kankuro groaned and slid lower onto the floor. "We should've realized something was up sooner, jan."

"It's not something that's normally thought of."

"What do you think it is? Demon possession? Gene experiment gone wrong?"

"I don't know," Gaara got to his feet and looked down at his brother. "Hopefully it'll be that simple."

Kankuro stood up and dusted himself off. "You're telling Temari, right?"

"Yes. If you managed to aggravate me to the point Shukaku almost took control I can't imagine what'd happen if she figured it out by herself."

Kankuro rubbed his neck, embarrassed. "My bad."

"And Suzume?" Kankuro snapped to attention at the mention of their youngest. Gaara's eyes pierced through him. "Are we going to tell her?"

"I guess in this situation, we'll have to exercise your practices," Kankuro said finally.

"In other words, you're being a self-serving hypocrite."

A tick mark spun onto Kankuro's head and he pointed aggressively at him. "Well, do you want to tell her?!"

"Not so much."

Suzume was moved into a ward and the brothers had to ask the front desk where she was being kept before they went upstairs to find Temari talking outside Suzume's door with the doctor.

The doctor left just as the boys joined Temari's side.

"She's going to be staying here for a few weeks," Temari informed them. "He said it was a miracle she's still alive."

"I bet," Kankuro rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm guessing you guys made up," Temari reached for the door handle. "Let's go talk inside."

Once inside, Kankuro pulled out the photo he'd stashed in his pocket and handed it over to his sister. Temari's eyes went steely and she carefully analyzed the picture. "Is this what you two were arguing over?"

"That and because Suzume has shinobi of unsure origins following her every move," Kankuro hung his arms over the head of his chair. "Also the frustration that is Gaara's habit of working alone."

"We really invited a lot of trouble into our lives when we adopted her," Temari placed the photo to the side to place her blazing eyes on Gaara. "And what got you so worked up?"

Gaara glanced at Kankuro but the puppeteer obstinately avoided his gaze. All forms of rescue or assistance were denied. "I believed Suzume might, in a way, be working with the higher ups or with enemy shinobi to take my life."

"The possibility Suzume is a spy or assassin, however marginal, is still a possibility," Temari mused. Then a small smile lifted her face. "But don't you think it's a little farfetched."

"I concede that I was irrational," Gaara replied. "I shouldn't have went to the orphanage to gather intel when it was the night of the full moon. Shukaku was able to more easily influence my thoughts."

"No, what you should've done is talk to us first," Kankuro grinded out.

A strange, humorless laugh drew their attention onto Temari. She kept laughing dryly before she leaned back in her chair and her laughter died down as her eyes landed on Gaara.

"This really bums me out," Temari smiled ruefully. "It really bums me out."

Gaara stared in confusion. This wasn't what he expected from her. He thought she'd be furious and running on rage for fuel. Seeing age and exhaustion sink into Temari's face in the span of a millisecond wasn't what he expected at all.

"It's not like that time with Yashamaru." Temari stood up from her seat like she had the world on her shoulders. "Suzume isn't the only one you have, Gaara. So doesn't that mean you can afford to trust her before she's proven guilty?"

Gaara's eyes became wide as Temari left the room.

Outside in the hallway, Temari had her back to the door and she slipped down to the floor.

If Suzume betrays you, you'll still have us. You'll always have us. Can't you see that?

_ _ _

Suzume woke up in a bed with gauze wrapped snugly around every inch of her body. Her mouth felt so parched and gravelly. She pulled herself up and let out a hiss of pain.

While trying to sort out this new trauma, snoring reached her ears and she pealed back her eyelids to see Kankuro and Temari in the room with her. Temari was sprawled on a chair with her mouth opened wide to suck in all the oxygen in the room and Kankuro was spread eagle on the floor, his limbs taking up most of the tile. A pile of bloody bandages were stacked in the corner and the stench of alcohol hung in the air.

That was when the door opened and Suzume met Gaara's wide eyes. He lowered his gaze shamefacedly and closed the door behind him. He walked over and stood wordlessly next to Suzume's bed.

"Gaara-sama, what time is it?"

"Around one in the morning. You've been asleep for four days."

Suzume's eyes landed on the tray he'd been holding and they lit up at the sight of the water. "Is that for me?"

Gaara nodded.

"Thank you so much," Suzume picked the cup up and chugged it down when a sudden fit of coughs wracked her body.

"Drink it slowly." Gaara took the cup from her hands and didn't know what to do but wait for her fit to subside. When it did, Gaara lifted the cup to her lips and helped her take little sip after little sip.

"Ugh..." Suzume cradled her throbbing stomach.

The rustle of a brown paper bag led her eyes to land back on her brother and Gaara stood there with the bag of medicine in his hands.

He looked small and frightened, his shoulders were tense. "Sorry about earlier..." The words he whispered weren't ones that suited the situation.

"It must've hurt." Simple, respectful. Like he was a child talking to a stranger.

He held out the bag with twitching hands. "This is medicine..." Gaara bit his bottom lip.

But they were words he needed to say.

"If you want it..."

Suzume didn't say anything as he let his sentence trail off. She considered his unsteady hands and bowed head.

Gaara sucked in a breath as the bag left his hands. Then, cold, blistered, weathered hands slipped into his. They pulled him down onto his knees so Suzume's arms could wrap around him in a tight embrace.

"Thank you, Gaara nii-san."

Tears slid down Gaara's face and he reciprocated the gesture, being careful not to hurt his little sister further.

"Suzume... I'm sorry...!"

_ _ _

Suzume was fidgeting and she had to wipe the sweat off her hands multiple times. She was in front of two renowned shinobi, the Honored Siblings. Once advisors for the previous Kazekage and war heroes from the Second Shinobi War. Especially the old woman, Chiyo. Kankuro told Suzume a lot about her, particularly how she kept refusing to teach him in the art of the Puppet Jutsu. The old woman wasn't bothering to look at her, finding the water in the pool more interesting than the nervous little girl.

"We are concerned, Suzume-chan," Ebizo began. "Do you know what danger you're living in?"

Suzume couldn't help glancing down at her bandaged torso. "Isn't every shinobi living in danger?"

"Hmm," Ebizo frowned. "Yes, but this is a danger you can avoid."

"Ebizo-dono," she took in a deep breath and met the man's eyes. "I am not ignorant, nor am I naïve. I..." she gulped, "I know Gaara-sama is a jinchuuriki. He houses the Ichibi."

"Oooh." Ebizo sent a meaningful glance his sister's way. "How long have you known?"

"Since the beginning. I matched the rumors up to a name," she replied in a small voice. "Back then, I thought I had no right to judge. I was actually happy because I found someone else who knew how I felt."

"You're not scared? You almost died by Gaara-kun's hand, do you realize that? And it can happen again."

Suzume ran a hand down the reassuring pressure wrapped around her stomach which held together the contorted wound underneath. She lifted her eyes again and Chiyo felt chills run up her spine. Then her wide eyes narrowed into a discerning squint.

The look in those eyes was to be feared.

"Gaara-sama is my brother." She stood stiffly, still intimidated. "That's what's important."

After Suzume was escorted back to the village by a Jonin, the Honored Siblings were left alone again.

"I thought you didn't care what happened to the village, Chiyo." Konata smiled, stepping out to join them by the pool side.

"I don't. But ever since that girl's name became prominent in the village, I've had suspicions," Chiyo frowned. "Then you show up. A face from an era I'd rather let rot."

"Nice to know we're still friends."

"If she's what I think she is, I want her out," Chiyo said.

"I don't think there's any trouble letting her stay," Ebizo replied. "It even looks like her presence might fend off any further attacks made by the Tailed Beast."

"To what cost," his sister snapped. "I want a peaceful retirement, Ebizo, and it's not going to happen with that girl around."

"The world needs her, Chi-chan," Konata said. "The world needs her people to repair it and she might just be the last of her—"

"The world is beyond repairing," Chiyo snarled, snapping the fishing rod in Konata's direction, "and I have no obligation to it."

Konata moved the pole aside and the women's glares were sizing each other up.

Konata saw the scars her friend was carrying with her. The ones she could just as easily cast aside to lighten the load but was adamantly hoarding them as a way to amend for the things she's done. As a result, she turned bitter and turned her back on the village and the world that took everything away from her. Chiyo wasn't going to be convinced any time soon and Konata knew she wouldn't be the one to pull the woman out of herself.

Konata tightened her grip on the fishing pole and Chiyo saw the same storm that had long since been subdued inside her turbulent in her friend's eyes.

"Then don't interfere."