The wind pushed the sand in every direction, stinging at the flesh of the traveler. A pregnant woman, young and quite beautiful, was running from the father of her child. Her dress followed around her, the long sleeves did not help keep the sand out. The V neck line flattered her chest but was tight around them, causing some discomfort. The dress matched the night sky above her, maybe a few shades lighter. Her black ninja shoes were worn down and she was in need of a new pair. But shopping was the last thought on her mind; no, the very reason why she was running away was on her mind, running from him. The man had attempted to stab her and worse, stab the baby. Minoru, the mother, gasped for air as she ran. She had not realized that the weather would be in such terrible conditions. A few more steps and she had to stop. Grasping her knees, she placed a hand on her swollen stomach.

"It's alright, my child. Soon we'll be in the Sand village and you'll be safe from him. My dear child…" She had yet to pick a name for her child but she did now the gender of the baby. In a few months, maybe shorter, she expected that a baby girl would be born to her. Hopefully she could escape the father just long enough to have her. Minoru exhaled but had to continue on. The night had fallen rather quickly and the temperature was dropping as well. She pushed her long brown hair behind her ears as she began to straighten herself. She kept moving through the gust and sand but her feet were growing tired. The Sand village can't be too far away now, she thought, I've been traveling for days now. She thought back to her old village. It was small and had nothing too special about it, except for the blossoming trees every spring. Purples, reds, pinks and other colors would flood the vision of the people. Minoru missed the plum trees the most, with their beautiful purple blossoms.

"I wish I could have raised you there but your father…He isn't a good man. He didn't want you sadly. I'll never understand why." She took a few steps before stopping. "I hope that I didn't make a horrible decision. If anything bad happens out here, no one would find us. I…I could die out here and no one would know or care!" Tears clouded her vision; she whimpered and continued to walk on. Even if it was a horrible decision, her child was away from that man.

"Halt!" A loud call startled Minoru. She glanced up to see a large set of gates, with two guards approaching her. She smiled and slowly put her hands up.

"I mean no harm. I have no village I work under and do not wish bad upon this one. Which village am I in front of?"

"The Sand. If you are not from any village, why are you here?" A guard wearing a mask that only revealed his eyes stepped forward. In his hand was sword from what Minoru could tell. She took a deep breath before continuing.

"I am running for my life. My life and my child's life is endangered by her father and I would like to take refuge in the Sand village." She took a knee in front of the guards. "I will pledge my life to this village and will have unexplainable grateful to this village if you let us in. So please…let us live." Her eyes focused on the men. They seemed to be battling with their inner selves but the masked guard signed and took another step towards her.

"I have no authority to make this kind of decision so you will have to come with us to see the Kazekage. Stand up miss…?"

"My name is Minoru." She stood and followed the men through the gates. Minoru glanced back as the gates slowly began to close; once they had, a sigh of relief left her. We're safe now, she thought, safe from him.

"Why the Sand village, Minoru?" She turned her gaze upon the mask man. Her eyes travelled up and down his figure. He was a tall man, maybe six foot or so with plenty of muscles but not too big. His mask hid his hair and face but his eyes, which were a golden color. He wore a black vest and a grey long sleeved shirt; blue cargo pants and a pair of black boots completed his outfit. Minoru hadn't realized she was staring till the man stopped right in front of her.
"Oh, I just kept walking till I found a village. I also heard about how strong the village was and decided my daughter could learn a lot from here." She smiled gently up and the man scoffed.

"Well this village is strong but you came at a bad time. The Kazekage's wife is pregnant." Minoru's eyebrows raised, how could that be a bad thing? "The child is doomed to have a demon within it. The other two children will probably live in fear of the beast." She clenched her fist.

"Why is he letting this happen?" Minoru felt the other man push past her and quickly turned down a different alleyway. She turned her attention to the masked man who was standing close to her.

"It's just the way it has to be." He whispered. She bit her lip and ponder on his statement. She looked back up at him. Gold eyes meet navy eyes. Her eyes, he thought, are like the color of deepest part of the ocean. Kou had only seen the ocean once but he would not forget that rich blue color it held. Minoru's eyes, as he stared a bit longer, had hints of silvery, gray in them.

"I don't believe that 'it's the way it has to be' but whatever you say...What is your name?" The man titled his head back and signed again.

"My name's Kou. Now let's go Minoru, I don't have all night to be your tour guide." Minoru glared at Kou but followed him as quickly as she could. They approached a tall, round building that was almost the same color as the sand around it. Kou lead her to the door and took the stairs. Minoru groaned internally; stairs, really? I can't catch a break can I, she thought.

"Um, Kou? Where is the Kazekage's office exactly?" She took her time going up the stairs, causing Kou to slow down. From what she could tell he smirked from underneath his mask.

"The very top floor. What? Can't walk that long? Does the poor pregnant woman need to be carried?" Minoru could tell the tone was joking but she didn't like it the very least. She frowned, her body wasn't in anyway able to climb the stairs but she didn't want to be humiliated by the man. She grunted but quickly walked past the man.

"I don't want your stupid help Kou, just tell me where to go." Kou chuckled under his breath. This woman…remind him of his deceased wife. She had that same spunk and attitude about her. His wife had died a few months ago on a mission. It wasn't anything difficult or dangerous since they had a young child at home to watch after but she had been ambushed and killed for being associated with the Sand village. He frowned and followed closely behind Minoru. She even has the same shade of hair, he thought. That brown hair with hints of golden highlights. She must have worked outside like her, he concluded.

"Minoru, do you have any ninja training?" She looked over her shoulder with a smirk.

"Yes, I have a little bit. I prefer using my hands but I have a couple of jutsus up my sleeves. They probably are not very powerful in your book but they've managed to keep me alive for the time being." Minoru kept her steady pace up the stairs but her breath became labored. Pregnancy sucked, she realized, more than she expected. Sure, she did love the man she was with even though they were not married yet. It was sad that at the age of twenty two she was alone with a baby on the way, in a village she had never been in, and with people who probably wanted her out.

"What style of jutsus do you use?"

"My style is lighting and water. Weird combo if you ask me but I think it has its advantages. The father of my child had mainly water jutsus too, so I believe she'll be good in that area but who knows? For instance, my mother was good at wind jutsus, but no one had been able to do that for fifty years. My family has a lot of different backgrounds going on so what she'll get will be just the luck of the draw. What about you, Kou?" He was more interested about knowing her actual family background but he decided to amuse her.

"I work with the wind. My family is all about the wind." He scratched his head, wondering if he should continue…to talk about his wife and his twin boys.

"I've always been fascinated with wind jutsus. They seem so powerful…" Her eyes glazed over as if she was in a deep trance. The stairs seemed never ending as they continued to climb.

"You said your mother did wind jutsus? Can I know-"

"I rather not talk about the deceased. She was just the woman who bore me and had me, nothing more. She left me alone with my father…just abandoned us. She died just recently, or so I was informed. She drowned… no one was there to help her either." Minoru stopped and leaned her shoulder against the wall. "I could never leave my child. I would never… I can't even imagine it." Kou stopped mid step, just behind her. He wanted to comfort her for some reason. It's because she looks like her, he thought, that's it.

"Look…I'm sorry. How about we just hurry up and get to the top already, hm?" She nodded numbly and took the steps a bit slower. I would have never imagine someone like her would suffer so much, Kou thought, the Kazekage will definitely go easy on her; if he doesn't, his wife will be sympathetic.

"Well…here were are, the very top." Minoru stopped at the last step and waited for Kou to lead the way.

"It's not too much further, just a few more steps, Minoru." Kou took her wrist in his hand, leading her to the very first door on the left. She took a deep breath; no need to worry, she thought, he'll accept you. Kou knocked gently on the door. "Kazekage-sama? I know it is in the evening hours but I have a matter to settle with you. May we enter?" There was a grunt from the other side of the door and they entered.

"What is this matter, Kou?" The man in front of her had a harsh looking face. His hair was scruffy and a unique auburn color. His dark eye bore into Minoru and frighten her. He wore a hat that she assume was for only the Kazekage to wear. His white and blue rob flowed around him. But the woman to his left was beautiful. Her kind purple eyes and her smile seem welcoming. Her hair was a sandy color, lighter that Minoru's, which was cut to form a bob. She wore a simple brown outfit with a yellow scarf but Minoru saw the baby bump that Kou had been talking about. She could not be that far along, maybe a few months. Minoru counted back in her head, realizing she was six months along. This woman had to be less than that, maybe four or five.

"Hello Kou! What do we have here?" The woman's voice rang out gently. Kou bowed deeply and went to his knee. Minoru, still under the gaze of the man, quickly fell to her knee as well.

"My lady, this is Minoru. She says she has ran away from her previous village and has come here seeking refuge. As you can see, she is with child but the father of the child threated the life of said child. I personally do not see her as a threat to the village since she is with child nor do I see her ever being a threat to this village." Kou glanced up at the Kazekage to see his reaction.

"I do not care about this woman or the child she bares. Why should I allow a runaway in my village?" His voice was rough like the sandstorm around them. Minoru gritted her teeth together. She went to speak when a smack was hear. The woman to the Kazekage's left had hit his shoulder. He frowned but rubbed the place he had been smacked.

"Now, I will not turn a pregnant woman away from this village. As your wife, I would ever so appreciate it if you allow her to stay here. I think that our children would like to have a playmate, especially the youngest." The woman turned and walked over to Minoru. "What is your name?" She asked as she stood in front of her.

"My name is Minoru. It is a pleasure to meet the Kazekage's wife." Minoru stayed where she was but the woman bent down to her level.

"Please stand Minoru. Oh and my name is Karura!" She smiled and Minoru countered with a smile as well. She's sweet, Karura thought, and those eyes!

"If you don't mind me asking, what is the gender of the child?" Minoru rubbed her own stomach gently. The baby had started to kick suddenly when Karura came closer, almost felt like she was reaching out.

"Oh, I'm having a boy. I can't wait to meet him and my other children are excited too."

"Others?"

"Yes! I have a boy and a girl, Kankuro and Temari. Kankuro is two and Temari is three. They are precious little ones."

"Three kids? Wow that must be fun especially how close they are in age." Minoru smiled and placed her hand on Karura's stomach. Her baby was calm, asleep maybe but when Minoru leaned forward to get up the baby rolled towards her hand. It kicked once, twice and a final third time before rolling over again. Minoru removed her hand from Karura's stomach.

"He doesn't move a lot or if he does, he's very gentle." Karura placed her hand on Minoru's stomach. Her baby reached out and touch Karura's hand then seemed to fade back into a farther part of the womb. She smiled and removed her hand.

"That must be nice. My little girl has been kicking none stop since we got here."

"A girl? What are you going to name her?" Karura made Minoru feel welcomed. Almost like they were best friends that just haven't seen each other in a long time.

"Well…I'm not sure but a certain name keeps popping in my head lately." Karura smiled and pushed herself off into a standing position. Minoru joined her as well as Kou. He had been watching very carefully on how she was acting around Karura. He wanted to talk to her, know more about her but it was too soon he thought. I can't throw myself to someone when she's just died, he thought.

"What name?" Kou snapped back to the conversation at hand. Minoru smiled again and placed her hands on her stomach.

"Well, I like this one name…Aiko." Karura tilted her head to the side.

"Why that name? Doesn't it mean 'love child' or 'beloved child'?"

"Yes it does mean that. But she is my beloved child. I will cherish her and adore her even though her father did not love her. I will make her know that she is loved. I can only hope she will show other love as well."

"Well Minoru, I can imagine my children getting along fine with yours. Isn't that right, Gaara?" Minoru glanced up to see Karura gently patting her stomach. The Kazekage glared but kept his mouth shut. Minoru didn't let it go unnoticed. So he really doesn't want to have the child but will be willing to seal a demon in him, she thought. I won't speak out of turn just for the sake of our safety. Aiko…Minoru smiled, that's a perfect name for her.