"Okay you guys, Minka had a long day," Konohamaru whispered. He was with the trio of kids, just outside of Minka's bedroom door. It had been about two hours since she'd gone to sleep and they had arrived home from daycare, immediately asking about her. "So your job is to go in and cheer her up. She's been sleeping long enough, so wake her up, but nicely."

"But big bro, how do we wake her up?" Amuri whispered, looking skeptical.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "That's up to you three."

"Lin, you do it," Amuri smirked, an evil glint in her eye.

"Okay!" he grinned.

"One… two… three!" Kya counted down, before opening the door and barrelling in with her brother and sister.

Wow, they don't need much encouragement, Konohamaru laughed inwardly. He watched as Lin ran in and jumped onto Minka while Kya ran around and Amuri stood patiently, waiting for Minka's potential wrath.

Minka woke up with a brief start but started laughing once she saw Lin's surprise attack. Konohomaru had the feeling she was used to stuff like this, since he was sure most people would hate being woken up so rudely. The kids swarmed her with hugs and chatter about their day when she had sat up.

He turned to leave but Lin called out to him. "Big bro, we haven't told you about our days!" he said. "Come here!"

"If you insist," Konohamaru shrugged.

"Did you tell them to ambush me like this?" Minka chastised him.

Amuri came to his rescue. "No! He asked us to wake you up. He didn't say how."

Minka made a face at him but then kept smiling. They sat and listened attentively while the kids went over their days. Amuri loved class - history was her favorite. "I want to be a shinobi!" she declared - and Kya played with her friends, then did crafts in the afternoon. Lin was less coherent but mentioned making new friends and playing with toys.

"I'm glad you all had a good time," Minka said. "We're going to be here for a little while, so enjoy it, okay?"

"What is going on lately? Amuri asked. "Konohamaru said you had a long day. Was it about our status?"

Konohamaru was almost taken aback by Amuri's awareness of the situation. It seemed the other two were in the loop, too. I guess it makes sense. They've been through rough things already so a trial and custody dispute is nothing comparatively.

"Yeah, it was," Minka sighed. "There will be another trial, involving both nations, about your custody."

"But what about you?" Kya asked. "What did they say about you and your status?"

Minka shrugged. "I'm disowned from the Land of Snow, which we expected, but I'm not sure what the Land of Fire thinks of me yet," she admitted. "But, because of my 'kidnapping' you three, you are refugees here," she finished with a smile.

"Yay!" Lin cheered.

Konohamaru was happy for them, but also felt unsettled. Kids shouldn't be worrying about these things, much less being happy to be a refugee.

"But… you're a shinobi. Does this mean you're not?" Amuri asked.

"A shinobi is always a shinobi. That's what's in your heart," Minka said gently. "I just don't have a formal rank anymore. It's no problem - I can still do what I do!"

Konohamaru was touched by her words. For being from the Land of Snow, I think she has a heart with the Will of Fire, he mused.

They went to dinner when Aunty and Uncle Sarutobi summoned them and went to bed, once again, with full stomachs. Minka said goodnight to each of the kids and was walked back to her room by Konohamaru. "I'm going to support your staying here, you know," Konohamaru let her know. "If it's needed at least. I bet they'll be fine with it."

She smiled. "I appreciate it."

"And you could even be a shinobi here… If you want?" he offered.

"Of course, you heard how good of a ninja I am - you can't keep me away from work," she joked confidently.

"About that…" he inquired, leaning against the door. "Why did you, I don't know, mention it?"

"Because it didn't matter," she responded. "Who cares how skilled I am, so long as I was doing the right thing?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess that I'm just nosy," he chuckled.

"It's okay. If you ever have questions… I'm happy to answer them… for you at least," she offered.

"I appreciate it," he whispered. "Well, goodnight!"

She grabbed him in a hug before he could walk off. "Goodnight!" She turned and scampered into her room, closing the door.

Konohamaru smiled, walking to his room with a slight blush on his face. I guess hugs are a regular thing now, he thought. Between Minka's hugs and the kids tackling him on sight, he was feeling the love lately and slept deeply.

The next few days involved Konohamaru working when needed, since Team 7 was becoming more and more self-reliant, and Minka insisting on helping around the Sarutobi complex and with Team 7's training. "I can't stand not working, and I can't go on missions, and the kids are in school!" she'd complain when Konohamaru chastised her.

He dragged her to the training grounds when possible to help her get some excess energy out. It's like walking a dog, he thought. Wait. Is that mean?

One day he was out in town and got a text from Lord Seventh, summoning him to the office for a meeting. Upon arriving, he saw Minka was already there. She was sitting, her leg bouncing up and down. She had taken to wearing what seemed to be a hybrid outfit between what was common in the Land of Snow and in the Land of Fire - thick, gray pants covered in pockets that halted mid-calf, leather weapons belts, and wrappings on her arms and hands similar to the Land of Snow's trends, and a dark blue top and black sandals from the Land of Fire. Her hair remained only partially pulled up in a bun with the rest of it resting just below her shoulders.

He walked in and was encouraged to sit by Lord Seventh, so he took the chair next to Minka. "I have a small update for you," Naruto began. "I wanted Konohamaru here too as a representative of the Sarutobi Clan, who are housing the children, and as the volunteer guard of Minka." He paused. "Minka has had her rank and status stripped from the Land of Snow, but we want to declare that you have been charged with community service for your crime. Seeing as you've already been assisting the Sarutobi Clan with tasks and Team 7 with training, I believe that's not a problem."

Minka raised an eyebrow. "You're right, I'm happy to do what I can. But why are you sentencing me to anything?" she asked.

Naruto grinned. "Because, we'd like you to become a Hidden Leaf shinobi!" He presented a forehead guard to Minka, who sat with her mouth open.

She stared at it for a moment, eyes looking watery. She nodded her head, bowing and taking the band. "Lord Seventh, I'd be honored. Thank you so much!"

"Don't worry about it. You clearly have a Will of Fire, and that is always welcome here," he said. "Now, about the kids. The Land of Snow is investigating their parents as we speak. I made sure my connections there are involved to try and help move things along properly," he assured. "The kids are still accepted here as refugees and are seen as wards of the state, so they can continue doing what they're doing. But we need to discuss potential outcomes."

Minka finished tying the forehead guard on her forehead, leaning back and nodding. "Yes. What are the options looking like right now?" she asked.

Naruto held up a fist, pointing his index finger out to begin counting. "Number 1. We win the court case and the parents are jailed. Usually the kids would return to their next of kin, or just the Land of Snow as wards of the state, should one not be alive."

Minka nodded. "They don't know it, but I'm their only living next of kin, so it should be me."

"The kids don't know?" Konohamaru asked.

She shrugged. "It hasn't come up yet."

Konohamaru groaned, face in his hands.

"What? I'm sure they'll just be thrilled that big sis Minka is actually their big sis!" she insisted.

"Anyways… The next option is the parents will be jailed but the Land of Snow will try to take them in as wards of their state. This shouldn't happen due to you being very much alive," Naruto said, holding up a second finger. "Third, parents aren't jailed but don't gain back custody… in which case, see options 1 and 2 for where the kids could go…" he said, thinking through his words. "Fourth and finally, the parents don't get jailed, and get the kids back."

"And how likely is it looking that the parents will be jailed?" Konohamaru asked.

Naruto sighed. "I'm not sure. Lady Koyuki is very good at her poker face and we haven't had initial discussions with all legal representatives. The kids will be assigned representatives from the Land of Fire, and the parents are being assigned representatives from the Land of Snow, since they can't afford a private representative."

"There is a lot of evidence from past trials so I'm really hoping the representation of the kids from here will be what makes the case," Minka said. "I've also never been allowed to testify. I think if I testified as a previous victim, it might help."

Naruto nodded. Konohamaru looked at her. "Do you think you can make it through that?" he asked bluntly.

Minka looked at him. "I would do anything to make sure they're safe. I promise."

"We'll do our best, too!" Naruto stated, standing and slapping his fist on the desk. "Bet on it!"

Konohamaru and Minka left the offices. Minka was overall feeling the most optimistic about this trial than the past ones, and she hoped that wouldn't lead to a future disappointment. If the kids are forced back there, I don't know what I'd do. Probably go on the run with them again. Her thoughts were interrupted by Konohamaru.

"Want to grab a bite to eat? My drink!" he asked.

"I can't turn that down," she chuckled. "Sushi?"

He nodded. "Sushi."

They found a large restaurant and took their seats. Konohamaru ordered enough food to feed a small army for him to consume, while Minka ordered a much more conservative amount. She was adventurous and ordered a spicy roll as well, which she was disappointed to find was far too hot for her tastes. "Ah! My mouth!" she started gasping, reaching for her water. She downed all of it as Konohamaru busted out laughing.

Seeing she was still in pain, Konohamaru thrust his water to her, which she took and chugged, spilling some on herself. "A little too spicy?" he continued laughing, waving down a server for more water. "Here, suck on this a bit." He held up a big chunk of ginger to her mouth, which she bit down on and began chewing and sucking.

"That's a bit better… I think I'll survive…" she whined, disappointed that her roll wouldn't be edible.

"It's okay, let's trade." Konohamaru took the spicy roll and pushed one of his towards her, which she tried and found quite yummy.

"Thank you, Konohamaru!" she sang once she was able to eat it. "That was really yummy."

On their way back to the Sarutobi complex, Ino had set out some flower booths outside her shop. Konohamaru said hi to Ino, then paused. Something caught his eye and he eventually returned to Minka with a small bundle of flowers. They were blue, almost the same shade as his scarf. "Here, some blue hyacinths. Smell them!" he smiled.

Minka couldn't tell for sure but she thought he looked a little pink in the face. She gladly took the bouquet and sniffed them. "Oh my goodness, they smell amazing!" she smiled. "Thank you, Konohamaru! You've done so much for me. Remind me to bake you something."

As they walked away, Ino smiled. Konohamaru had planned to get those flowers for Minka, saying the blue reminded him of her, but Ino also let him know their meaning. "It means you charm me," she winked at him.

He had blushed heavily, glancing at Minka. "Well, then it's accurate."