Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto…..

Miniko- Wow, that's it? Someone's getting lazy with the disclaimers.

Gummibearninja-Oh, be quiet you!

Chapter 13

Promise

It's late in the evening as Gaara is sits at the same desk in his inn room and has just finished eating the take-out that Temari picked up. He glances at the clock next to him and sees that it was already nearly nine.

I'll be waiting and all night if I have to! Miniko words run across his mind.

Gaara lets out a huff. She's just wasting her time… He's already decided that he wasn't going to go meet her. After all what was the point talking to her? What is there even to talk about? It's not like it will change anything.

That's what Gaara tells himself, but he finds himself glancing at the clock again. Only a couple minutes went by. He lets out a sigh. With each tick of the clock, Gaara could feel his mind becoming restless. Knowing Miniko, she more likely will wait there all night…Gaara becomes annoyed from that thought and he tightly grits his teeth together. What does it matter to me what she does? It's not my problem.

Sick of staring of all this this sitting and watching the time, Gaara grabs his empty take out container, gets up and heads to door so he could throw it away in the kitchen. If I don't show up, she'll get the message…he tells himself. Gaara just has his hand on the door, when he hears his siblings talking just outside.

"What was with that crazy chick earlier? I have to admit she had guts to call Gaara out like that." Kankuro says.

Gaara stops and listens in to the conversation. "What do you think she wants anyway? Was she trying to pick a fight?" He hears his brother ask.

There's a sudden pause and then Temari speaks. "Actually, I think Gaara knew that girl when they were little." Her voice is quiet and Gaara could tell she was doing that so he wouldn't hear.

"Wait, what?" Kankuro says.

Temari continues, "I remember back when Yashamaru was still alive, Gaara would often be talking about this friend he met at the park. I grew curious and so one day I followed him to the park and saw him playing with a girl there. At first, I didn't think anything would last much longer, especially after the incident with Yashamaru. But even after his death, I would still sometimes come across them playing together. So they must have been pretty close…"

"And you still never told dad this?" Kankuro asks. "I mean, what if hurt her or something?"

"I did debate on telling dad or not because of that." Temari pauses again. "But Gaara, he, he looked so happy whenever he was with her. I couldn't do it…" Temari lets out a sigh, "Anyway, at one point I stopped seeing that girl all together. So I thought she just started avoiding Gaara like everyone else. But the girl from earlier kind of looked like her, so maybe she just ended up moving here. Ha, she's going to be really surprised to see how much Gaara changed now."

"That is if he even bothers to meet up with her, which I seriously doubt it. It's going to be a long night for her if she actually waits for him." Kankuro adds, chuckling at his own joke.

"No kidding." Temari adds. Gaara suddenly hears a chair shift, "We have to get up early tomorrow, so I'm going to bed now." Gaara hears her walking away, "Night."

Gaara backs away from the door and his body goes stiff. He had no idea that Temari knew about Miniko. What's more was that she hid it from their father for his sake, because he looked happy?! Why would she even bother to do that?! Gaara couldn't even remember the last time he even was happy and it felt alien to imagine that he ever was. However, now thanks to Temari, Gaara could feel more unwanted memories of Miniko returning to him.

Memories of how they spent hours together at the park playing in the sandbox or playing on the swings and soccer. When the weather was bad, they would spend the day in Miniko's house playing shoji, checkers and reading books. If he stayed late enough, Miniko's mother, Chahiro would ask him to stay for dinner and Miniko would get excited then look at Gaara with anticipation for his answer. If he said yes, Miniko would smile happily before taking him by the hand before she rushed him to the kitchen. No matter what they did together, Miniko was always happy to see him and though it was faint, Gaara remembers there being a small smile on his face as well.

For half a second, Gaara could almost feel a welcoming warmth as he recalls these memories, but his reality intervenes and his warmth turns into poison. He decided a long time ago to get rid of these worthless emotions and he feels a sudden burst of anger from almost allowing them into his thoughts. After all, if Gaara is able remembers how Miniko made him happy, he would also remember how much she can betray him and turn his joy into pain. I'm not weak like back then…

Suddenly the door opens and Kankuro walks in, inhaling a sharp breath when he sees Gaara standing right in front of him. His brother looks down where he notices the empty container in Gaara's hand and quickly steps to the side so he could get by. Without looking at each other, Gaara walks past them and head to the kitchen to throw away his container like he originally intended.

He turns to head back the room but he barely makes if halfway before he stops and realizes he doesn't want to spend his night staring at the clock again. In fact he doesn't want to stay in the inn at all. Maybe I'll go for a walk…. He decides as he turns to the door and heads out the inn.

Outside he walks down the streets, still busy as if it was still the middle of the day. Does this village ever rest? He thinks as he continues to walk.

He doesn't have a destination planned, he originally thought of just wandering around till he got bored. However, the scenery around him starts to become familiar and he sees that he's walking the same direction towards the convenience store from last night and his heart starts beating quickly.

What am I doing? I don't want to see her. He thinks but his body is on auto-piolet and he keeps going to meet Miniko.

He soon comes to the same corner from before and he turns it and his body shivers when he sees Miniko sitting on a bench in the distance. He finally stops himself from getting closer. Miniko still hasn't notice him and takes the opportunity to examine her his own. She has changed into casual clothes, now wearing a skirt and t-shirt. He looks at her face and surprised to see her wearing a pair of glasses. When did she need to start wearing those? He shakes the thought out and glares at her. It doesn't matter now. She needs to know that she's wasting her time and this time I'll make sure she gets the message. With that promise he steps closer to Miniko.

She notices him and as usual a huge smile appears on her face. Gaara chest heats up. How he wishes he could get rid of her smile right now.

She stands up from the bench and turns to face him, "Gaara, you actually came! I was starting to get worried that you weren't." She glances at her watch, "Though I have to say, I never thought you'd ever be the one running late. Normally it was me keeping you waiting before." She giggles. She looks into Gaara's eyes and waits for a response. He can tell by how she was fidgeting with her necklace she is nervous like before, but this time she refused to look away from him. He sees he has no choice now and he take in a silent breath.

"Miniko, I only came to tell you-" He starts but stops when he sees Miniko looking at him in shock. He becomes confused.

Miniko cheeks go beet red, "S-Sorry! I guess, I'm just a bit surprised to hear your voice now."

"What's wrong with my voice?" He asks before he can stop himself.

Miniko is fiddling with her fingers now, "N-Nothing's wrong! It's just-ah…Well, it's so much…deeper than It was before…I wasn't expecting it to sound so different…"

Gaara is stunned and it takes all his willpower to keep his straight face from blushing at her comment. What is this? She makes a big deal about wanting to talk to me and she says that?! He tries to think of a response but frustration crinkles his eyes.

Miniko's face shows instant regret and embarrassment and she reaches for him, making sure she doesn't get close enough to touch him. "I-I'm sorry Gaara! I was completely out of line there! I really do want to talk to you, so please, just don't go." She apologizes.

Gaara could see in her eyes she was begging him to stay. He lets a sigh, "Fine, say what you want to say."

Miniko's looks relieved and she nods, "Thank you Gaara and I really am glad that you came though." A smile appears on her face, "So, how have things been in Suna?"

"How has it been?" Gaara repeats her question.

"Yeah! It's been four years since I've been there but honestly it feels so much longer! So I was curious if anything changed at all?"

Did the village change? Honestly even if it did, it's not like Gaara was the type to notice. "No, it hasn't." Is all he says as an answer.

Miniko nods, "I see. I didn't notice till moving here, but Suna is so much quieter compared to here." She laughs, "For a long time, I always wished Suna would be a bit livelier. But now I kinda really miss the quiet." She looks at Gaara again, "What about you? What do you think of Konoha?"

"Busy and crowded, I suppose?"

"Yeah, I was shocked at first when I saw how busy it always is. Even at night!" She agrees, "So you're here for the Chunin, right? When did you become a Shinobi?"

Gaara sighs, "Back in spring." What was this, 20 questions? Was Miniko just going to keep asking him pointless questions?

"Really!? I did as well! So what about-"

She's about to ask her another question but this time he stops her, "If your goal was to waste my time with pointless chatter, then you succeeded." He says, finally shutting up the blonde. He crosses his arms as he glares at her. "Now what is it you want to say to me?"

Miniko is trying hide the hurt in her eyes and she looks to the ground, "I'm sorry…" she apologizes again. She pauses before taking a deep breath, "I'm also sorry about everything that happened before. I'm sorry for getting you involved with that agency and for leaving Suna without a word. Especially when I said I wouldn't…" She looks at him straight in the eye, "Gaara, I'm am so, so, so sorry I did that to you."

She stops and now she is staring at him, waiting nervously to respond. He frowns at her and crosses his arms. "Is that all?" Gaara says, his voice cold and Miniko takes a step back. "You really are good at wasting my time."

Miniko stares at him completely speechless, hers hand from into nervous fists that shake as she presses them against her chest. He lets out a huff and is about to turn to leave when Miniko shouts to him.

"Wait! I didn't just ask you to come so I could apologize to you!"

What now…? Gaara sighs as he stops himself from leaving.

"I-I really missed you these past 4 years, Gaara! I missed talking to you like we did before. That's why I was hoping by asking you to meet with me tonight, we could do that again, just like we did before. After all, I still consider you my friend and no words can describe how happy and nervous I was to finally see you again!" Miniko's voice cracks and he can tell she's fighting back tears. "Even though I have people I care about here, I still thought of you nearly every day! I would think of you until it hurt! Like my chest was going to explode! I-I just want you back in my life, Gaara! I want everything to be okay like before!"

He looks away from Miniko's eyes. Just looking at her was making him feel sick to his stomach. He needed to get her out of his life once and for all. "You're just as naïve as you always been." He says, "It doesn't matter to me if you still consider me your friend or not. I've made up my mind to shut you and everyone else out of my life a long time ago. Any 'friendship' we had before is long gone and I suggest you grow up and accept that." With each word Gaara spits out, Miniko's face shatters. The knot in his stomach starts to tighten even more. He need to get out of there now. He turns away from her. "Now for the last time, stay away from me. I will not meet with you again after this." He once again tries to leaves.

"Wait! One more thing Gaara!" Miniko calls to him, "What about the letters I sent you? Did you receive any of them?"

Gaara stops and his heart is suddenly beating fast. Why did she suddenly bring up those? "Why does it matter to you?" he asks.

"Please, just tell me if you got them or not!" she asks again, impatiently. "I just-I just want to know okay!"

Gaara shuts his eyes and exhales a silent breath before answering. "I did receive your letters but I should have burned them a long time ago." He eventually says.

Silence fills the air. Gaara waits for Miniko's reaction, but even she seems to be at a loss for words. Why isn't she saying anything? He thinks. He turns his head around towards her and inhales a sharp breath when he sees the expression on her face. He thought telling Miniko about the letters would just make her go run off, crying as he recalled she was always quick to cry.

But there wasn't a single tear in her eyes at all. Instead, Miniko's eyes lock on to him in an icy, cold stare, her nostrils flaring. Her cheeks are crimson red and he sees every muscle on her face and body tighten. With her arms at her side, Miniko hands clutch into fist, so tight that her nails looks like they could almost cut their way through her skin. She is furious at him and Gaara only continues to stare at her as if it was the first time he saw her mad at him. It's true Gaara has seen what Miniko is like when angry many times when they were kids, but this time her anger was different. It was as if she became a whole different person.

"So let me get this straight…" Miniko finally says, her voice low. "Not only did you receive my letters, but you kept them and went out of your way to make sure you never respond to me? Am I right?" She stops and waits for a response but Gaara says nothing. She lets out a huff and darts her eyes away from him, "Deep down I always had a feeling that you were doing that and hearing it from you directly, now I know it as a fact." She grits her teeth.

Gaara glares at her, "Well, do you get it now? This is how little you mean to me-"

"You know, I never asked for any of this..." Miniko interrupts, silencing him. "It's not like I asked to leave Suna. It's not like I wanted my parents to die. I had to start a new life here whether I wanted to or not! But you, you had a choice and you chose to completely ignore me!"

Gaara freezes. I chose…to ignore her? He repeats.

Miniko continues without giving Gaara a chance to respond. "When I first arrived to Konoha, it hurt so much. It felt like my heart was trying to split completely open over and over again! I was full of guilt, fear and I felt completely helpless that I couldn't do anything about it! I sent letters because all I wanted was to hear from you, I wanted to at least one thing in my life back to normal but you never responded! I needed you, you cut me out of your life as if I never existed to begin with!" She spits her words out to him, not stopping to think any of them through. "I always tried to be there you, Gaara and I'm still trying to be! But what about me?!" Her outburst ends and Miniko is gasping for air now, taking deep breath to let herself calm down.

Gaara continues to stare at Miniko as he tries to process everything she said. The knot in his stomach was tighter than ever now. All her wants to do is get away from Miniko but his body wouldn't move.

When Miniko calms down and looks at him again, waiting for his response but it never comes. She sighs sadly, "I guess some things really didn't change at all. Even though we've known each other since we were little, you still have a hard time telling me what's on your mind."

Gaara is stumped by her comment. What's on his mind? Even he doesn't seem to know that answer. What is she expecting him to say? So instead Gaara says, "If you're so curious what is on my mind, then why don't you just take a look inside and find out for yourself?" He asks rhetorically, "It seemed to work well for you before."

Miniko's lips purse against each other and she put crosses her arms, "You're referring to my telepathy right?" a wry chuckle escapes her lips. "I hate to break it to you, but I'm not letting you get away that easy."

Miniko puts her arms at her side again and steps closer to him. Gaara turns in her direction and the two of them look at each other dead in the eye. She speaks again, "If you think that I'm just going to read your thoughts and just piece everything that going on in your life by myself, then you couldn't be anymore wrong. Don't you remember what I said before? About how that if there is something on your mind, I'd rather hear it directly from you instead of my telepathy." She leans closer towards him, "That is why I refuse to read your mind. I want to hear what you have to say to me, in your own words." She stands up straight, "So when you are ready to tell me, I'll be ready to listen whenever that may be. I don't care if that day is tomorrow or another four years, no matter how long it takes I'll be waiting to listen whatever it is you want to say to me."

"Do what you want, but you're wasting your time. I have nothing to say to you." He says.

Miniko shakes your head, "Gaara, waiting to hear from my friend is never a waste of time." She says before exhaling a breath, "Anyway, unless you have anything to say to me now, I should probably start heading back home. It's getting late now and I still need to prepare for the Chunin exams tomorrow. So long for now and good luck in the Chunin Exams, Gaara."

Miniko takes a moment to see if Gaara will say good-bye as well, but he doesn't. He see her bite her lip before walking pass him. He hears her footsteps as she begins to walk away. That girl…she is stubborn as she always been…

The footsteps suddenly stop and his curiosity makes him turn towards her. "Thank you for coming to see me tonight, Gaara." Miniko says, "I really am happy to finally see you again after so long." She turns around and faces him again as she says that and give Gaara another small smile before she turns away and heads home.

Gaara watches Miniko leave, studying her as if she was an enigma. His arms were still crossed, tightly clutching them with his hands. Why? Why does she still feel the need to smile at me every time? It's not like things are the same as before?! The knot in his stomach returns again. I need to erase everything that just happened. I need to erase her! When he is sure Miniko is gone for good, Gaara heads back to the inn.

As he walk, Miniko's words jumble in his head. Everything from her mindless small talk, to her apology. From her angry outburst and her promise to him. Every word she said to him tonight replays in his mind as if it was on repeat. He tries to ignore them, but they keep coming back, each time making the knot grow as it becomes tighter and tighter until it hurt. He stops in a quiet area and waits for the feeling to subside but it doesn't. This pain, why can't I get rid of it? Why can't I get rid of her!?

He grits his teeth as he tries to piece together what's happening and it only takes him a moment longer to realize what was causing this pain. Guilt. It's been so long since he experienced that feeling. Now thanks to Miniko, he remembered precisely what it was like. Why is this happening?!

His head suddenly feels like it's about to split and with a shaking hand, he clutches the left side of his temple.

You can't trust anyone." Shukaku's words echo inside. "These emotions and feelings brought onto you by others only make you weak. If you want to survive, DON'T give in… Fight only for yourself….Love only yourself."

With Shukaku's help, the guilt and pain begin to finally subside. His hand is still lightly pressed against is temple and Gaara feels sweat runs down his forehead. "You're right…that girl will make me weak."Gaara mumbles aloud to Shukaku. "And I will prove to you that I am not weak."