Kunoichi are given seduction missions.

Men are too, but it's less frequent. A kunoichi, at least once in her ninja career, will be given a certain sort of mission. To seduce and sleep with a certain man, either to get information from him or to kill him. Sometimes both.

Different kunoichi reacted to it differently. Tsunade of the Sannin never talked about it, denied it ever happened. Yuuhi Kurenai withdrew into herself, never trusting men not be be after her for her body. For years, the nickname of 'Ice Queen' was well deserved. Mitarashi Anko slept with everyone who interested her, because the more people she slept with the less those missions mattered, and because she'd rather think of herself as a slut than as a whore.

Yamanaka Ino was proud of it. Not the act itself of course, but her skill. She was, quite simply, the best. She'd been noticed at the academy, with her long blonde hair and her figure, developing early. She'd been taken note of by certain people in certain circles, and they all said the same thing. 'Yamanaka Ino will be great.' By the age of fifteen, she had been given, and had succeeded in her first seduction mission. By the time she was seventeen she had exceeded their wildest expectations. Long legged, slender and devastatingly pretty, she instantly drew the eye of every straight man who saw her, and she knew how to act to keep the attention. Her skills as a Yamanaka served her well in that regard. Even the most proficient human psychologist would be hard pressed to beat her when it came to knowing how to move, how to act, to entrance exactly the man she wanted. To know which mask to slip on, whether it be the haughty princess or the shy little peasant girl.

Yes, Yamanaka Ino was proud of her skill, which lead to bragging, which lead to challenges. Seduce people from among the village, people others had thought impossible to manipulate. She'd gotten them all. It had cooled off after a while, with people deciding she was unbeatable after she wrapped Morino Ibiki around her pinky finger in less than a month. But then someone had thought of something new. 'Seduce the Kazekage. Seduce Sabaku no Gaara.' She'd stared the challenger in the eye and accepted. She was the best, and she knew it. She wouldn't be beaten. She hadn't been beaten. She'd done it, and had never been challenged again. Nothing could beat that. As she always did, she put it in the back of her mind and forgot about it, her personal method of coping.

Soon, though, it had to be remembered again. No-one knew why it had happened. Whether she had forgotten to take the special 'kunoichi only' medication, or if it was a faulty batch, or if it just plain didn't work against a jinchuuriki. Regardless of what had happened to cause it, six weeks after the event she had to accept the fact that she was pregnant. She'd cried at first. She had wanted children, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for a child yet. Especially a child whose father lived in another village, who wouldn't even know the baby existed. She thought long and hard about it, but in the end she kept the pregnancy.

Within a few months it was obvious she was pregnant. Her father was furious. She wasn't married, didn't even have a boyfriend, and was pregnant. He wasn't angry at her of course, the daughter who was, in his eyes, still his little baby girl could do no wrong. But whoever the father was...well, safe to say that Yamanaka Inoichi was furious, and he decided to do something about her. He'd talked to Akamichi Chouza and Nara Shikaku, his teammates and drinking buddies, and told them of his concerns, that whoever the father was wouldn't support his baby girl and his future grandchild. They had to do something about it. His teammates had nodded gravely, collected their sons and gone with him to confront Ino about the identity of the father, intent on making him do the right thing by force if necessary. When confronted by the five righteous men, Ino simply blinked once and gave an answer that stopped them in their tracks. "Gaara is the father." It took a genius of Shikamaru's by now famous I.Q to sum it up. "Troublesome".

It was a little over four years before she saw him again. Everyone who knew the identity of the father had been sworn to secrecy. It was simply protection for Setsuai (her father had bemoaned the name when she chose it, saying she was breaking the tradition of Ino-Shika-Cho, but Naruto, who understood Gaara like no other had given her a huge smile and had nearly cried, he was so grateful). Despite the fact that they were at peace, if the village council, and Danzou specifically knew that the Kazekage had an illegitimate child with a leaf kunoichi they would not hesitate to use him as leverage against Gaara. Gaara himself didn't know. He would never have found out, or at least wouldn't have found out that early if Ino had been able to do anything about it, but she couldn't find someone to look after Setsuai that day, and she wouldn't leave him at home alone, so she took him to the Hokage tower with her. She could keep an eye on her as she worked, and he would more than likely be doted on by Tsunade and Shizune, who both adored the boy.

It would have been fine, she reflected later, if Setsuai had only waited a little longer to go to the bathroom. But he had to go, and he lifted his head to tell his mother this right as the Kazekage strolled into the tower for his meeting with the Tsunade. And he had stared at the man, shocked, and had exclaimed in the clear, carrying manner that children's voices have, "Mummy, that man looks like me!" Gaara had paused, and looked over at the child. Despite his careful control over his expressions, the Kazekage couldn't stop his eyes from widening. If not for the lack of rings around the eyes, the boy could have been mistaken for him as a child. His eyes flicked back and forth between Ino and the boy as she went to pick him up and shush him, telling him not to be rude.

"He is a beautiful boy," Gaara said in a slightly strangled voice. "Yours?"

Ino nodded wordlessly, knowing what was going to happen."

"How old is he?"

"Three years," Ino said, looking into Gaara's eyes meaningfully, "and four months."

Gaara closed his eyes and exhaled softly at the confirmation.

"Who is the father?" he asked, watching her carefully. This was the deciding point.

Ino paused her fussing over her son's clothes, hesitation clear on her face. Suddenly her face firmed, and she looked Gaara in the eye. "No-one knows."

He nodded. He understood, and somehow, was grateful for what she had done for his son, despite not knowing of his existance until two minutes ago. He turned and walked towards Tsunade's office once more, stopping at the door. He asked the question without even looking at her. "What is his name?" He was a fool, he knew. Knowing would just make it that much harder to walk away, but he had to know.

"Setsuai," Ino said to his back. Despite the presence of the heavy gourd still strapped to him, the Kazekage looked as if a great weight had been lifted from his frame. "Thank you," he whispered. And then he was gone, disappearing into the Hokage's office for a meeting that lasted past the end of Ino's shift.

She saw him again, from time to time, but they exchanged only pleasantries and never let on that Gaara even knew she had a child. Setsuai never saw him again other than from a distance, but he always treasured the battered, beaten but carefully patched old teddy bear that had one day arrived in an unsigned package.

Okay, I've had a couple of reviews asking this, so it's time for an answer.

Setsuai! According to my online translator, it means deep love. My idea of it is this. Firstly, the kid was growing up without a father. Now I believe that single parents can raise a kid just fine, the name was mainly just chosen by Ino so he'd have a constant reminder that he is loved. Also it was kinda for Gaara. She didn't plan on him finding out so early, but he did, and just by telling him the name she decided on for their son, she is telling him that she's making sure that Gaara's son gets exactly what Gaara wanted, needed, but never received as a child, hence Naruto's reaction to it. And also Gaara's relief, when he knows he hasn't brought a child into the same sort of loveless existance that he had.