"What were your parents doing?"

"Searching."

"Can you tell me what for?"

"Myself."

"Did you runaway?"

"No."

"But your parents were looking for you?"

"They lost me."

"Your parents lost you?"

"Yes, I left them."

"But you didn't run away."

"I left them."

A faint smile, dead eyes.

It was two days after Kinko's arrival at the Village Hidden in the Leaves with the group of ANBU. Both of those days had been filled with drawn-out questioning just like this, and each session ended with a stumped questioner and a smiling Kinko. No one could quite figure out what the girl was talking about, despite the constant conversations professionals had with her, The Hokage might have left the matter be if the girl's parents hadn't been top notch Jounin. Two Jounin didn't just up and die like this. It just did not happen. Not on accident. The majority if those involved in this particular case thought that murder was the cause of their untimely end, but the their bodies had never been recovered; so the only proof their could be of this was their daughter, Kinko. But it was starting to look like getting information from her was next to impossible. The questioner might as well have been talking to his shoe for all the straight answers he received.

After this last session of questioning, the questioner himself approached Tsunade, shaking his head at the Hokage.

"No progress I assume," she asked, sighing irritably. When he responded "no", she placed the tips of her index fingers on each temple and rubbed. "I have half a mind to go and force it out of her. Tsunade smiled grimly while the questioner blinked in surprise. "Eh, better not. There are always more sophisticated ways, aren't there?" She asked, giving a wry smile.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered, nodding once. "Still… It is rather annoying trying to get information from a kid who's half insane, if not completely." She laughed at her own little joke, sparing a glance in Kinko's direction.

"Ma'am?"

"Forget about it. We're done for today. Tell her," Tsunade nodded in Kinko's direction, "to go home."

"Home", was really just a small apartment attached to the Hokage's main building, but it served its purpose as residence well.

The questioner nodded once more and walked back to Kinko, leaving Tsunade to her own thoughts.

This girl is beginning to be a problem. She thought, one hand on her chin and eyes darkening as she was thinking about it. I'm going to have to do something about this. She's already cost me about a month's worth of paperwork no doubt. Tsunade held back a groan at this thought. Shizune would probably force her to do it too. Great…She thought miserably, walking out of the room and back to her office, hoping not to meet Shizune on the way there.

"Kinko." The question spoke gently, tapping the girl's shoulder lightly. She turned and gazed at him with her dead gray eyes. This girl is unnerving. He thought, shivers sliding through his arms as he retracted his hand away from her. Since she said nothing in reply, he continued. "Lady Tsunade says you can go home now. Okay?"

Still no reply.

"Well…" He stated awkwardly, "lets go then."

She stood and followed him out in silence. When they reached the place where she was staying, the questioner opened the door and she walked in a few steps. Kinko turned and looked at him. They stared at each other for several moments through the doorway, until the questioner could no longer take the pressure of her gaze.

He closed the door in her face and retreated quickly, not looking back once.

Kinko remained standing where she was, looking steadily at the door. A smile began to flicker in her lips and then it grew, and grew, and grew, until finally she stood there, grinning from ear to ear. As she stood smiling at nothing, a creamy substance began to slide towards the door, and slither up it. After only a few moments the entire door was covered in it. The substance was hard, and almost pure white. It looked like the door had turned into some sort of flat shell. Actually, that is exactly what had happened, and Kinko acted as if it were nothing. In fact, she remained standing in the exact same place, with the same smile and dead eyes.

That is, until she opened her lips.

"The air chimes."

She is smiling.