Hello, all! Welcome. So, in the time that I have been working on Responsible Adults—coming up on the three-year anniversary!—I've actually had ideas for a few other OC stories. And I was content to hold onto them and just put out one-shots while the big story is still in progress, but I found myself riding that high that comes from having an abundance of free time between semesters and figured I could at least write out one of the shorter ones while keeping up with the big project. RA still has quite a ways to go and, while I'm still loving every second, I worry that that passion will start to fade if I force myself to put too many ideas on hold in order to complete it in a timely manner. So let's knock this one out at least, shall we?

This is one of those fics that's very blatantly influenced by/sort of based on a song. On the off-chance that nobody gets it from the story/chapter titles, I'll hold onto that reveal until the end, but… anyone know?

Chapter One: A Broken Heart

It was exactly six degrees outside the day that I died. This memory was not one of the simple ones. Six degrees. For some reason, this was not a detail I seemed capable of remembering on its own. It was always, always accompanied by a flash of long blonde hair as its owner spontaneously changed her path and darted in front of me, the clanking of machinery just out of sight, and then a seemingly endless sensation of numbness.

For the longest time, these four things were the only memories I had of my first life. Six degrees. Blonde hair. Construction in the distance. Nothingness. These bits and pieces would come back to me unexpectedly, with such frustrating clarity. Frustrating because, though the individual pieces would be so clear, I could never seem to fit them together to make the whole picture. Four things that remained stubbornly disconnected. And then they would float away from me completely—no matter how desperately I tried to hold on—just as suddenly as they'd appeared.

…

Lord Kankuro gave her an odd look as he stepped back into the Kazekage's quarters to announce her desire for a visit. Her hands were tingling with nerves. She must look awful, she knew. Kankuro had not even asked why she had shown up—at this hour—at their personal residence rather than wait to make her visit to his office, at a more reasonable time. She had been nothing but the consummate professional, after all, since receiving her headband as a child. (Well, or so most people thought, anyway.) It was not unfair to say this was strange behavior on her part, indeed.

But Kankuro did not ask, and for that she was grateful. He reappeared at the door and gestured her inside, saying, "Yeah, go ahead, he'll see you."

"Thank you." She bowed her head respectfully and followed him in to where his brother sat behind the desk in the study. It should not have surprised her that the Kazekage apparently took his work home with him. He was the busiest person in the village. And in all these years, there had never been a case for her respect to falter. Of course, in her case, the bar seemed to be set awfully low if respect was all that was asked of her.

"Matsuri," he greeted pleasantly in his usual mild way. She was sure he was curious, but nothing in his tone suggested that he was bothered by her intrusion. She took a small measure of solace in this. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," she managed, putting as much confidence behind the blatant lie as she could muster. "Thank you for agreeing to see me, Lord Kazekage. I realize the hour is less than… professional. But I need to speak with you regarding my… status as a shinobi."

His expression remained open, encouraging her to continue. And she would have, if she weren't so suddenly aware of Kankuro standing in the corner, monitoring the conversation with unabashed curiosity. Her eyes flickered to him for just a fraction of a second. She was determined to power through any self-consciousness, but the Kazekage's perception was as sharp as could be expected.

"Kankuro, thank you for another long day. Why don't you retire for the night?"

It did not take long for the effects of that long day to win out over his curiosity, and he shrugged and headed for the door. It was technically official business they were discussing. He would find out sooner or later. Everyone would… "If you're sure."

A small smile graced Gaara's features. "I don't think I have to worry about an attack from Matsuri. Get some rest."

"You too," his brother said seriously before leaving them alone.

Gaara waited a few seconds before turning back to her. He nodded for her to continue, signaling that they now had the privacy she desired.

"Right so…" Her throat was suddenly very dry. "I've come to ask… to be put on leave for… a while."

His expression remained carefully nonjudgmental as he surveyed his first student—the only one he'd ever ended up taking on—wondering what exactly was going through her head. "You wish to put your career as a shinobi on hold? I must say this is unexpected. Is there any particular reason why?"

And here came the hard part. "As you know, I was recently sent on a mission to the Land of Waves. While there, I didn't… behave myself in a manner befitting of a shinobi."

His brows—at least the place where they would be—furrowed. "I have not received any reports of misconduct."

"It wasn't… while I was on duty," she tried to explain haltingly.

The Kazekage—bless his ability to see the best in everyone—didn't seem to be catching on. When he simply waited for her to go on, Matsuri felt her face pale. No turning back now.

"I'm pregnant."

There was the moment of silence she'd been dreading, but she stoutly maintained eye contact. To his credit, Gaara quickly got a handle on his surprise. "I see. Have you made any plans about… after?"

It was the first time she could remember him sounding even a little flustered since the day he'd taken her on as a student. And even then he'd only been astounded that anyone would want to be his student. She nodded slowly. "Yes. The daycare system the village is setting up should be complete by that time. I would avoid taking long missions if possible, at least until… the child is old enough to stay alone for a while. But I would like to return to active duty after… the birth."

She groaned internally at her stilted answers. As if it could be any more obvious that she had just barely come to terms with this new development herself. But he didn't comment on her hesitation. "Of course. That won't be a problem."

She bowed her head. "Thank you, Lord Gaara. I really appreciate this."

"Matsuri?" he called softly when she turned to go. She looked back and saw that same small smile he'd given Kankuro. "Congratulations."

She felt the first genuine smile she'd had all day cross her face. "Thank you."

…

It had been the last day of school before the winter break and, in spite of the excitement that accompanied this knowledge, it had been utterly ordinary. As ordinary as the walk home should have been.

But Jenna had been in a mood—considerably more affected by that excitement than I was—and wanted to take the long way home. Despite her main complaint.

"It's so cold!" she exclaimed, forcing me to pull back abruptly as she jumped over to my side of the railroad tracks without warning, her long blonde hair coming this close to whipping me across the face as she did. But I had to smile. Jenna's energy was something I'd grown fond of as a toddler. One of those constants in my life that I would be lost without. The same way she'd grown used to the presence of a more levelheaded friend to reign her in.

"Six degrees," I confirmed, glancing down at the weather app on my phone. "First snow of the year should start tonight."

Jenna groaned theatrically at this news, even though it was awfully late in the season for this part of the country to still be awaiting the first snow of the year in mid-December. "Ugh! When I get older, I'm going to live somewhere it never snows!"

What came next was a big blank for a long time, even after my memories started coming back. One second I was walking home as usual with a childhood friend, the air bitterly cold, our conversation punctuated by the sounds of a nearby construction site. The next, nothing.

…

After all these months of resigning herself to her fate, Matsuri finally let the tears fall. She had done it. September first would no longer be just another blank day on the calendar.

She made no effort to get up from the hospital bed. It had been a long morning. So she stared patiently at the ceiling, letting the nurses do their job. She made no effort to wipe away her tears either. The baby had been reluctant to cry. Perfectly healthy, she'd been assured, but reluctant to cry. Not unlike herself. The comparison brought a certain warmth to her heart.

But nothing like the wave that washed over her when the nurse returned to reunite her with her child. Her daughter. Hisako.

Review please!

I don't own Naruto.

Fair warning, there are going to be a lot of POV skips in this story. I see—and am writing—so many OC stories where the reincarnated OC remembers everything about their past life and tries to move on with that knowledge… I wanted to try writing one where the OC doesn't recall everything right away, and can't quite make sense of what they do remember. And so, each chapter will be told, more or less, in four parts. One following Matsuri's story, one following Hisako, one part flashbacks of Hisako's first life, and a sort of omniscient view, meant to be told by Hisako looking back on her lives after she's figured everything out. Hopefully that should clear things up a bit. If you've made it this far, thank you for reading!