Note: I would just like to thank DreamingBlackFire from Quizilla for being the first to message me about this story and support me. :) It gives me motivation to keep writing it. So, thank you very much! Onto the story!

The next day, I distracted myself by cleaning pretty much everything twice and serving all the Shinobi that came in. It was a shock, because we'd never gotten so many in one day. From walking past the tables, it was obvious that the teams were having a "victory meal" for passing the first part of the Chuunin exams.

For the most part, it kept me from thinking about Kankuro. Until he walked in.

"This place is packed," Temari commented, gazing around at all the people. She was dressed in something more casual: a pair of black shorts and a black tank top with her hair pulled back into only one ponytail.

Even Kankuro looked different. If it hadn't been for the almost unnoticeable purple paint smudges near his ears, I wouldn't have been able to tell it was him. He had the messiest brown hair I'd ever seen, like he'd just woken up and ran his hands through it a few times. Like Temari, he wore a black tank top, but he didn't quite have the breasts to fill it out, and black pants.

Where was Gaara?

"Their food is awesome, though," Kankuro complimented. I rolled my eyes.

I hurried to them, dodging people on my way. "Welcome! Follow me and I'll get you seated."

As we moved around the customers, I could feel Kankuro's gaze on the back of my head. I found a table and slapped two menus on the table as they sat down.

"Could I get you started with anything to drink?" I asked, pressing the pencil onto the paper.

"Water," Temari answered, looking at me curiously. "Hey, haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

"No, ma'am," I answered quickly, turning to look at Kankuro. "And for you, sir?"

"Sake."

"No," Temari contradicted. "No, you won't. He'll have water, too."

I started to wonder what the two were to each other. It was almost like Temari was his controlling girlfriend. Maybe she was? "Uh, okay," I mumbled. "Two waters. I'll be back in a few minutes to get your order."

"Thank you," Temari said, flashing me a smile, then turning to glare daggers at Kankuro.

I strolled into the back, yelling for my sister to fill two glasses with water, then left again to clean a table and collect my tip. I almost wished there were fifty Kankuros eating here, so I would get larger tips, but then I decided I couldn't handle that many.

The bell at the counter rang and Kyan placed the two glasses on the top. I delivered them to the couple and grabbed my writing tablet. "Anything to ea-"

"Soba noodles," Kankuro automatically said. "Two orders, actually."

I tried my hardest to keep my smile hidden. "All right, then. For you, ma'am?"

"Uh…An order of domburi for me."

"Will that be all?"

Temari handed me her menu and I reached for Kankuro's, but he didn't give it to me quite yet. "I just have a question."

I sighed furtively. "Yes?"

"What time is your shift over?"

"Kankuro," Temari hissed, attempting to kick his leg under the table. She obviously missed, though, when his face didn't change.

"Six," I whispered and yanked the menu from his hand, telling Kyan she could take the order to their table when I passed her. She gave me a confused look, but didn't pry.

()()()

By the time six o'clock came around, I prayed Kankuro forgot or didn't hear me when I told him. He and Temari had left the restaurant hours ago and I considered taking over the rest of Kyan's shift.

"I'm going home!" I called to my family, my sweaty palm resting on the door.

"Be careful!" Mother replied to me. I took a large breath before exiting the shop.

The streetlights were beginning to turn on and younger kids were running home. Konohamaru and his two other friends ran past me, pushing each other immaturely. Sometimes I wished Kyan would make friends her own age.

I bolted to the lamp a few feet away from the building and flipped the small switch inside, watching it flicker to life within seconds. Glancing around nervously, I stalked toward the direction of my house.

This was stupid. Why was I so scared of the guy? Maybe he just wanted his money back? Yeah, that had to be it. The amount he left for a tip had to have been a mistake and he wanted to fix it. Then I wondered how much they gave Kyan for her tip. She did seem pretty happy after they left.

"Hey."

I nearly jumped out of my skin when the deep voice addressed me. I turned toward an alley to see a figure immerge from it.

"How did you know I was going to come this way?" I asked, trying to put on a brave face.

Kankuro gave me a look like I was stupid. "This is the way you came yesterday. Remember? I pretty much saved your life by distracting Temari."

"Saved my life?" I repeated, placing my hands on my hips. Hopefully I looked intimidating. "I don't think your girlfriend would have killed me if she saw me."

His mouth fell open and he wore the most horrified expression I think I'd ever seen. "Girlfriend? Temari…my girlfriend?" he choked out. Did I say the wrong thing?

"Aren't you two together?" I mumbled, suddenly feeling incredibly dense.

He pushed his body off the fence he'd been leaning on and took a step toward me. I instantly backed away, causing him to stop moving altogether. "Temari is not my girlfriend. She's my older sister. And I wasn't talking about her that would have killed you. Gaara would've snatched you up right there and squeezed you until your body exploded."

Honestly, I didn't know what to say to that. Part of me was embarrassed beyond all reason and the other part was terrified of Gaara. What if he saw Kankuro and me talking like this? Would that be reason enough to kill me?

"I, uh…I have that tip at my house," I informed him, looking down the alley. "If you want, I can go get it and bring it back to you."

"Why would you do that?"

"Isn't that why you wanted to meet me after my shift?"

A grin spread widely on his face. "You know, you're kind of stupid."

"Excuse me?" I yelled, marching over to him until I was only a few inches away. Man, he smelled good. "You listen here, make-up brat." I lifted a finger, which he didn't flinch away from, and ran it down one of the purple smears on his face. "I am not stupid. Just because I assumed the wrong thing doesn't mean I'm stupid. I personally think you're the stupid one, insulting me like that."

"Oh, yeah?" he retorted, mock anger obvious on his face. "What're you going to do about it?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but then I realized I didn't have anything to say. I didn't think this far ahead. "Well…I'll…I'll tell your sister!"

Kankuro stared at me for a moment, trying to force a frightened expression, but eventually failed in a fit of laughter. "Tell Temari?" he mocked between gasping breaths. "Oh no! Not my scary sister! Whatever shall I do?"

I crossed my arms over my chest, my face burning with humiliation and rage. "Why did you want to meet me anyway?" I asked, trying my absolute hardest to ignore his enjoyment at my expense. "If you came for the soba noodle recipe, I don't have it. My mother and grandfather make the food."

After recovering himself, he shook his head at me. "That's not why I came either. Will you please stop assuming things?"

"Only if you answer my question."

"Take a walk with me."

"What?" I asked, suddenly very confused. Kankuro was very scatterbrained.

"Take a walk with me," he repeated, jerking his head toward the alley. He started walking without me, and I had no choice but to rush to his side.

I'm not sure how long we walked in silence, but it started to annoy me. I wished he would say something, anything. I didn't care if he insulted me again. At least it would have given us something to talk about. I was just about to ask him about his village when he asked about mine.

"Do you like it here?" he asked softly, as if trying not to wake someone up.

"Yeah," I told him. "I mean, I've never been anywhere else, so I guess I don't know what other places are like. The people here are nice, for the most part, and the weather is usually pleasant. Do you like your village?"

If we hadn't been under a streetlamp, I wouldn't have seen his smirk. "Oh, sure. The constant sandstorms, the mud brick abodes, heat that never seems to go away, even during winter. Its wonderful."

I truthfully couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. I decided to chance it anyway. "Oh, um…That sounds terrible."

"No, I like it, actually. Don't care much for the Kazekage, though."

"Is he mean?"

We passed a packed pub. Drunken men came stumbling out, holding onto each other for balance and whistling at a group of women who were only lightly drinking. They scoffed and turned their backs to the men, talking amongst themselves.

Kankuro thought about my question for a few moments. "He's just…cruel. He's the kind of man who doesn't care who he has to push down. As long as he gets his way, he's happy."

"What about his family?"

He looked down at me curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Well," I said, clasping my hands behind my back, "does he have a wife? Any kids?"

"He's a widower with three kids."

"That's weird," I told him, receiving an odd look. "I mean, don't you think he should be a nicer person, considering he has children?" I sighed, thinking of my own father. "I bet his kids take after him. Poor things."

Kankuro chuckled bitterly. "You would think, huh?"

We found ourselves at an abandoned park. When Kyan and I were younger, our parents would push us on the swings. I swear I could hear our laughter as Kankuro and I sat on the grass.

I thought it strange how easy it was to talk to Kankuro. He told me about the written part of the Chuunin exams and how nobody knew the answers, except for a select few who weren't even truly taking the test. In return, I told him how I dropped out of the academy.

"Why doesn't your sister talk?" Kankuro finally asked in a very blunt way.

I picked a blade of grass from the ground and began ripping it into pieces. "Shock. She wasn't born that way."

"What happened?"

Pulling myself together to explain it to him was very difficult. I wanted to break down and cry, but I refused to do that. I didn't want to seem weak. It gave a bad impression of the people of Konoha.

"Is it too personal?" Kankuro questioned, trying to look at my face. I intentionally hid behind my hair. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay," I whispered, inhaling deeply. "About two years ago, my father was summoned for a mission. It was just a simple D-ranked mission. He was taking a crate of poisoned kunai knives to a weaponry in your village. They even let him go alone. My sister was getting ready to enroll at the academy, so as practice, my father took her with him."

I leaned back, using my hands to prop up the rest of my body. Their voices of the night before rang through my mind clearly.

"Kyan, how would you like to go on a mission with me?"

"Really? I get to go? Oh, thank you, Father! Thank you so much!"

"I was already taking classes at the academy, so he didn't offer for me. They left the next day. Kyan was so excited to see Sunagakure."

I stopped talking, failing at holding back my tears. They slid down my cheeks and my chin, falling onto my shirt. I was already in the process of ripping my fourth blade of grass into shreds.

"It wasn't even six hours later that Kyan came back, a bloody mess, without my father. She was shaking so badly that we turned her over to the Medical Shinobi. Mother stayed at the hospital for two days with her while my grandfather tried to find out what happened to my father. I was told to look after the restaurant, so I missed my classes. Without telling me, Mother told the Hokage I'd dropped out to help in my father's place."

"What happened to your Father?"

"They had been attacked on the way. The enemies killed him right in front of Kyan, and then raped her. It took her five months to be able to tell us what happened. Ever since then, she hasn't been able to talk."

"Can she use sign language?"

"No. She can't focus well enough to learn, so she writes everything down."

"HAKETA!" Mother's voice echoed throughout the village. I gasped and jumped up, my heartbeat speeding up.

"Oh, crap," I whispered. "I'm in so much trouble!"

Kankuro stood and grinned at me. "How far away is your house?"

"About a mile that way," I told him, pointing east. Without warning, he grabbed me and positioned me bridal-style in his arms.

"Tell me where to go."

His speed was incredible. There was no way in a million years I could have ever moved that fast. Within a minute, we were behind my house. It would have taken me half an hour to get there on my own.

"Thank you," I told him as he placed me on the ground. "Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it."

"HAKETA!"

"Bye, Haketa," he whispered before jumping off as quickly as he came.

I rounded my house to greet Mother at the door. "I'm sorry. I went for a walk and fell asleep at the park."

She sighed in relief, her worried and worn hazel eyes watching me walk into the warm house. "I'm just glad you're safe. Please don't do that again."

"I won't. I'm sorry," I repeated, making my way to my room. I fell back on my bed, rather happy with the way the night went. Maybe I had been wrong about Kankuro? He seemed very nice. He just didn't like younger kids.

Wait. He never told me why he wanted to meet me.