Hellooo!

This is the story about how dear little Mino met his little love, something that has been asked for (or questioned about) by my dear xFallingxCastlexWallsx and then was asked for by my new little darling Shard of Midnight.

This has also been cursed and hexed by my friend Missy who believes that Mino and Momo are soul mates and that I am the only thing keeping them apart.

Well, anywho, enjoy!

Mino didn't mind school. He didn't enjoy it like his sisters, but he didn't hate it. The things he learned were pretty interesting and he got to spend time with Momo and the few friends that gathered around the girl that didn't mind his "strangeness", as he had heard it called, so it really wasn't that bad.

But that was only when his regular teacher was there.

Said regular teacher had had to leave before the first class had started because his wife had gone into labor and a substitute had quickly slid in to replace him, and Mino found himself instantly on guard. The man's hair was too slick, he had a smile that was far too smooth, and his forehead protector was too shiny and unscratched, and as a person who grew up understanding such symbolism Mino had an instant distrust of the man that he easily hid behind his usual blank face.

The man was constantly cracking jokes in an obvious effort to be placed in the good graces of the students, and though most of the jokes were about a number of the students themselves and were on the edge of being cruel he got a few laughs, which was obviously what he was going for. They all gathered outside to play for a little while since ignoring the curriculum was the tradition of a teacher free day, and the sub had decided that they would play rounders.

Momo was bouncing on her toes in her excitement and was constantly tugging on his arm, chattering on about how much fun this was going to be for all of them to play together. He merely nodded his head and listened to her, wondering at which team they would be put on since he and Momo had never been placed on a separate team. At least not since she threw a fit and kicked a majority of the people who spoke out against her and then refused to play until things were set to rights.

No one had dared to evoke her wrath ever since.

The class that day was uneven and usually such a thing would be simply ignored but the substitute seemed to be particularly against such a thing, going on about how uneven teams went against the true spirit of the game. Mino decided to simply ignore the man's ramblings until he was finished and they could start the game.

The man was walking around trying to decide what to do when his eyes touched upon the still bouncing form of Momo who was now telling Mino that he'd have to take her to the cake shop so that they could try out the newest addition.

"Ah! I know!" He declared, pointing upwards as if to give the idea emphasis as he drew the class's attention to him. "We'll just sit someone out."

"Who? We all want to play." A small voice peeped up from the crowd, and the man smiled that greasy smile of his that made Mino's insides curl up in distrust and dislike.

"Well, how about the person who would hold back the team the most?" The children blinked at him in confusion and the man lowered his hand so that it was pointing to one of the children. A little girl with red markings on her face like large dimples and curling pigtails.

"We'll just sit out the fat one."

Mino, who had been staring at the swing in disinterest, felt his whole world grind to an aching halt at those damning words. Momo's ever present chatter died and he felt her exuberance fade from the very air around them, sinking within her as a wave of perceivable shame rose up in its stead. He turned his head slowly and watched as the very life seemed to seep out of her eyes as they drifted down to stare at her feet, her shaking hands clasped in front of her as she fought bravely against the tears that Mino could already see in her eyes.

His head turned slowly back to the substitute and with a mild shock he realized that the man had been yammering on the entire time, laughing as his words ate through Momo like an acid covered kunai.

"... And really, what is someone like that doing as a ninja anyway? It's pathetic. I mean, all of that fat is just serving to make her a bigger and slower target for the enemy!" He laughed sickeningly loudly and Mino heard it, a sound almost smothered by the disgusting sound of the man in front of them.

A tiny and broken sob, something that could have easily been passed off as a hiccup.

He didn't know when his byakugan had become activated but suddenly he could see every aching detail of the man in front of him who was still laughing that laugh that was scratching down his nerves like barbed razors, and he didn't know when he had started walking forward, the crowd parting around him as if sensing the danger of the boy who was usually seen as nothing more than a shadow.

And as he stepped forward, moving his hand like a viper in attack, hitting the man and severing one of his chakra paths with a coldly violent efficiency and accuracy he hadn't been fully aware of being capable of, all he knew was that no one made his best friend cry.

No one.

He did not use the gentle hits he had been trained to use by his mother's clan because he did not want to draw back his blows at the last moment, not even wanting to give the man that. Instead he hit him viciously, allowing his chakra to tear through the man's body and destroy it cell by detested cell. The man did not fall to the ground, unable to do so since the sheer force of the hits managed to keep him upright, and he did not fight back. Mino never gave him the chance to.

….Mino…

… Mino …

"Mino!" The shock of his name called out in a frightened and warbling tone caused the boy to stop, finally allowing the now unconscious man to fall to the ground as he slowly turned to find Momo's tear filled eyes on him, the entire class hiding behind her as if she were some kind of shield. "Mino..." She choked out again, and Mino realized a lot of things in that moment.

The man behind him was lying in a puddle of blood that he had forced him to shed.

Momo was still crying, though Mino had a gut wrenching feeling that it was no longer over the teacher.

Everyone in class was looking at him like he was some sort of monster.

Including Momo.

Mino stepped backwards, tripping over the husk of a man that he had left on the ground before he turned to quickly run away, not wanting to see them or those looks in their eyes as they touched upon him, and the last thing he heard before he lost himself to the darkness that was surrounding himself was one of his classmates exclaiming, "Oh my God, I don't think he's breathing."

The rain poured down furiously liked a drummer beating a furious tempo, mercilessly cutting into any who dared to step within its reach, immediately drenching those that were foolish enough to step out into the downpour and the scattered people that walked the streets were few and far between. And since none of them thought to look anywhere but forward at the blessed sanctuary they were heading toward they did not notice the huddled form that sat at the mouth of the alley, shivering from a cold that filled his entire soul and had nothing to do with the chilled rain that caused his clothes to stick to him like a second skin.

Mino sat in the downpour, his legs held close to his chest by his trembling arms and his face resting on his up-drawn knees, his breath shuddering as hot tears rolled from his eyes to war with the cold rain that covered his face. He didn't know where he was or how he had gotten to where he was, and he didn't know when the icy rain had started to pound into his skin like needles, but such useless information didn't matter to him at the moment. All that mattered was what he had done.

He shouldn't have done it, no matter what that man had said. He shouldn't have let such fearsome emotions grab ahold of him so easily, guiding his body and hands as he went about systematically and viciously destroying another person. He should have kept his calm and should have pretended that he was just as emotionless as everyone believed him to be. He should have handled it like his mother would have, or even his father, because he knew that neither of them would have lost control like that.

He didn't realize it when the rain stopped cutting into him and he didn't notice that someone had walked up to him until the gentle rustle of cloth forced him to jerk his head up and stare at her with wide and wild eyes.

She had to be the tiniest thing that he had ever seen, a round sweet face like a doll's with burgundy eyes that shined with innocence and compassion. Orange hair that battled the energy of his father's outfits from childhood was pulled back into a twist at the back of her head, a clump falling forward to frame her delicate face. She wore a simple kimono the color of the summer sky, and bamboo sandals adorned her tiny feet as her pink papered umbrella blocked the rain from the both of them, creating a tiny cocoon of isolation in which only they existed.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" She asked, her quiet voice calming him like the wind chime that hung on the porch at his house always did. He shook his head, staring up into her eyes and being captured by the gentle look in them.

"I-I did something bad." He found himself whispering, her eyes and concern calling forth the words.

"Oh?"

"I hurt someone." He managed, his gaze skittering away from hers in shame.

"Why?" She gently asked, crouching down in front of him so that they could see eye to eye, and Mino found himself inexplicably wanting to tell her everything.

"He was hurting someone. He was hurting my best friend." The girl cocked her head thoughtfully.

"Did he deserve to be hurt?"

Mino thought back to the incident, shuddering as the tears welled up to start anew. "Not in the way I hurt him." He choked out, his arms tightening around his legs and his fingers digging into his flesh until it hurt, surely leaving bruises on his pale skin.

The girl reached into her sleeve and pulled out an embroidered handkerchief, wiping his face with it soothingly, soaking the cloth with the mixture of rainwater and tears that dampened his face. "Hey now, it'll be alright. You feel bad about it, right?" Mino nodded his head and she smiled proudly. "Well, my mom always says that if you regret something that means you learned something. So now you know what not to do, right?"

Mino blinked at the simple wisdom that filled her statement before eagerly accepting it, hoping that with it he could begin to fix whatever he had broken.

The girl gently reached out and brushed his heavy rain soaked strands of blue hair out of his eyes, smiling into them with a purity Mino hadn't realized anyone could possess. "My name is Kaya, what's yours?"

"Mino… How old are you?" She acted so gentle and calm and mature that Mino was almost certain that she was a middle-aged midget. She giggled sweetly and Mino was filled with the compulsion to say something, anything, that could allow him to hear that sound again.

"I'm six." Mino blinked, unsure if it was even possible for her to be three years younger than him.

"My parents own a tea shop down the street. We can go there to get you dry if you want." A tea shop. She was only a little civilian girl. He should say no and go find his father and accept whatever punishment was bestowed on him for probably killing that man. He should just decline and leave.

But when she stood up and offered her tiny hand to him he found himself taking it and holding onto it tightly as she guided him into a quaint little shop that smelled of warmth and sweetly bitter tea. There were a few people waiting out the rain at some of the small tables, and the place was lowly lit with lanterns that danced flickers of light over the darkly wooded floors and walls.

"Mother, I've brought a friend!" Kaya called out, and Mino watched as a woman with hair that was browner in color than her daughter's come out, looking him over with a kind gaze that was similar to her daughter's.

"Hello, Kaya's friend." Her lips twitched up and he could hear the chuckle she tried to hide, "Ah… You're soaked, aren't you? Come into the back and we'll get you something to change into."

As he changed Mino wondered at how peaceful and quiet the little shop was, and when he stepped out from behind the curtain to enter the main shop again he saw Kaya focusing intently as she made some tea, her forehead furrowed in her concentration.

Sitting down to watch better Mino noticed that she had tiny, almost unnoticeable freckles on her nose. Four on one side and three on the other. Fascinated by this fact Mino leaned forward to study her better and nearly slid out of his seat.

Saving himself from the embarrassment Mino contented himself to just stare at his hands on the table until a steaming cup was placed in front of him. Glancing up into the hopeful eyes of Kaya he picked up the cup and blew the steam away, taking a tentative sip.

As he sipped he knew that it was in no way the best tea that he had ever had from his few experiences with the beverage, but looking up into her shining and hopeful eyes Mino forgot all of that and decided that he had never tasted anything in his life that was better.

"It's good." He managed, and her smile made the bitter cotton taste in his mouth worth it.

Kaya's mother joined them later, carefully critiquing the girl when she tasted it, and they sat there making small talk and passing the time until he inevitably had to leave.

There was a nearly silent rustle of cloth and a masked figure filled the doorway, causing the two girls to jump in fear and surprise as Mino sat his cup down.

"Uzumaki Mino, your father wishes to speak to you." Two sets of wide eyes stared at him in hock for a moment until he pushed his chair back, the feet scraping against the wood noisily.

"Uzumaki… as in the Hokage?" Kaya's mother asked breathlessly, watching as the quiet little blue haired boy nodded his head and calmly walked over to the ANBU, turning back to them before he left.

"Thank you for your hospitality." He said quietly, bowing formally and politely before turning away again. Just before Mino managed to leave and before her mother could stop her Kaya ran forward and grabbed onto the sleeve of the borrowed kimono Mino wore, smiling up into his face.

"Make sure you come back, okay?" And Mino managed a nod before dislodging her hand and racing away, hoping that he'd be able to keep that little promise.

Mino had never been afraid of his father. The man might have been powerful and deadly but he was also the man that told him and his siblings bedtime stories and was easily subdued by his mother. He couldn't be afraid of him.

He could, however, be afraid of the Hokage.

Standing in the office as the rain poured down outside, darkening the room and filling it with the near thunderous beat, Mino looked to his Hokage and for the first time felt fear towards the blonde haired man before him.

"I have already heard what happened from all of your classmates." He said quietly, his blue eyes glowing in the dim room and making Mino's stomach turn in unease. He desperately wanted to ask for his father back at that moment so that he get rid of any memory of the stern faced and serious man before him with eyes that seemed to spear him in place, but he stayed silent. He knew that he deserved a punishment, one that fit the crime he had done, and there was no way that his kind and laughing father could do that.

Only the Hokage could.

"From what they said it seems that the substitute said a few things about Momo's weight and you attacked him." Naruto watched his son for a silent moment, studying him and the way his normal nearly emotionless eyes held so many rioting emotions. "Mino, tell me why you did this."

Mino studied the weave of the carpet for a moment before flicking his eyes back up to his father, hoping that the emotions that filled the familiar blue eyes that stared at him, veiled by the darkness, were anything but disappointment.

"He laughed." He said quietly, "He made her cry and then he laughed." There was a moment of silence tempered by the beat of the rain hitting the glass of the windows and the roof, and Mino fisted his hands at his side, the first visible sign of his nervousness.

"How much trouble am I in?" He asked quietly, hating the taste of the words in his mouth. He wondered if this was how his siblings felt when they had to ask those dreaded words, though he supposed his case was worse than sneaking into the library or hitting each other in the heat of an argument.

Naruto leaned back in his chair and sighed, roughly running his hand over his face. "A lot. The guy didn't die though, and you can think Sakura's genius for that." He chuckled roughly and shook his head at the boy, "But of course the one thing you had to get from me was my temper." Mino let his lips weakly twitch into something that resembled a slight smile, glad to see his father now.

"You're going to get into some trouble at school since this happened on school grounds, and you're going to have to be grounded for a week or something. I don't really know the going rate of that sort of thing for beating a man within an inch of his life." Mino winced slightly at the blunt statement and Naruto sighed again, running his hand through his hair as he was once again able to see why Tsunade had drank so much.

"Your grandfather and uncle are going to be training you more, and your mother and Aunt have promised to help. You're also going to go with me to the frog summons and learn a few things about meditation so we can get a choke hold on your anger, but other than that I can't really think of much. Your mother might make you apologize, but it'll only be for nearly killing him, and since most of us would have done the same thing you're not going to hear much from us about the beating part."

Mino nodded and then looked up again. "Dad I'm… sorry." Naruto smiled a bit at the boy and stood up, stretching and trying to figure out a way to make the whole thing a lesser weight on the small boy's thin shoulders.

"Yeah, I know. But I also know that you're going to be really sorry after you go through the psych evaluation that the council has ordered." Mino's face turned into a perfect and frozen mask at the comment and Naruto was about to say something else but they were interrupted by the door swinging open and hitting the wall with a loud bang, a brown headed blur of vividly colored clothes dashing in and throwing herself at the slim boy, tackling him to the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" Momo sobbed, burying her tear-stained face into Mino's shirt as the boy patted her back from his awkward position beneath her, "It's all my fault that you're getting in trouble!"

"Momo," Mino said quietly, glad that the look in her eyes from earlier was gone since he never ever wanted her to be afraid of him.

"If I... If I wasn't so stupid you wouldn't be going through this and maybe I could have said something or maybe-"

"Momo, why are you apologizing?" The girl leaned back and blinked down at him for a moment, her tears quickly drying up in her confusion.

"Because it's my fault."

"No it wasn't."

They stayed like that for another moment before Momo got off of him and wiped her face, staring down at him determinedly. She still believed that this was all completely her fault but she was willing to push the guilt away for a moment since she knew that Mino wouldn't accept it.

"Stuff like that isn't going to happen again." She determined, telling herself to get stronger, to get better so that none of this would have to happen again and so she'd be able to protect Mino in whatever little ways she could.

Mino nodded and stood up, not knowing the protective and possessive thoughts that were flowing through his best-friend's head. All he could do was wonder at when he'd be able to go back to the quaint little tea shop and the sweet faced little girl that made his heart race with a single smile.

And thus, Kaya has been introduced (or the Freckle Faced Whore, as Missy calls her (this is not a lie. Missy saw a doodle of her before I decided on a name and dubbed her the Freckle Faced Whore))

Mino is watched constantly after this and the other students (who are already uneasy about him) don't hang around him too much.

And now to my newest little dear, a guest who called himself (or herself, I'm a bad judge on these things) Anony-mouse (such an adorable little name). He said that he was making an OC for Lee and liked the name Misaki, but he was worried about copying me and asked "Would you think I'm plagiarizing or would you be honored?"

Well, truthfully, I think you should just go for it. I do not own the name (I own nothing. I am poor) and I just found it when I googled "Japanese girl names", saw that and thought, "Ooh, that's pretty." So I went with it. But I am kind of happy that you thought to ask me, and I have the same fears whenever I like the names of other OCs.

So, my sweet little plantain, I say go for it! (But you can always mention me as your most wonderful inspiration and beautiful goddess of wonder and happiness) And, if you were wondering, Misaki means beautiful blossom.

Oh! I almost forgot! I mentioned the game rounders that I mentioned above, this is just what my school calls a game we played in gym class constantly. It's a deviation of kickball where you just continue to run around the bases after you kick the ball until three people get out or you get out, and you can pile as many people as you want to on the bases. I don't know if anyone had ever played it before or knew of it (When I googled it to see it only came up with a gambling movie and an old English game that is like base ball.)

I hated this game with every fiber of my being (I am not a physical person) and am sooo happy to not have to play it anymore.

Hasta la vista, baby.