Kiku ran through the streets of Suna, sun beating down on her from high up in the sky. It was always so hot and bright in the afternoon, and she wore an airy cream colored poncho dress with matching shoes and a hat to sheild herself from the sun's rays. It was one of her favorite outfits, handmade by her aunt in Konoha. She'd sent it as a late birthday present and Kiku wore it whenever she got the chance. The skirt flowed around her knees with every step she took and she made her way towards the playground to meet Gaara.

As she got closer to the playground she noticed how loud it was becoming. Yelling and screaming filled the air and she wondered what was going on. She rounded the corner to the playground and was nearly knocked over by a group of screaming children. A boy a few years older than her pushed her to the side as he ran past. It startled her and she cautiously continued on her way to the playground, unsure of what she would see. She peeked her head around the corner and saw the playground was completely empty, aside from a single figure that she could see on the swing. She moved forward to get a closer look and let out a sigh of relief. There was nothing to worry about.

"Gaara-kun!" She yelled, waving as she ran towards him. He turned to look at her and rased his hand a bit, giving her a small wave in return.

"I...didn't think you'd really come here." His voice was really quiet and he hugged a teddy bear against his chest. It looked really cute and if he hadn't looked so sad, Kiku knew she would have giggled at the adorable sight.

"Sorry if I was late." Kiku twirled a purple curl around her finger and bit her lip as she sat down on the other swing. "I was in trouble for yesterday and I almost wasn't allowed out."

She thought back to earlier and sighed. She really hated her sister at times like these. She was such a snitch and sometimes Kiku wondered if she looked for ways to ruin your day. She was just going to leave for a little while. Her mother and sister never talked to her much when she was home with them anyway so she didn't see the big deal about leaving for a few hours.

Kiku was almost to the back door when she was found by Kimi. Kiku was hopeful, for a brief moment, that maybe Kimi would just keep going about her business and ignore her. She weren't so lucky.

"Mom! Kiku's trying to run away again!" Kimi's high pitched scream sounded out through the house and Kiku glared in her direction.

Their mother's hurried steps could be heard swiftly approaching the room.

"Kiku!" The small girl jumped at the sound of her mother's voice and her gaze drifted to the doorway to see her. She was visibly angry and it frightened her.

"Y-y-yes…mother?"

Their mother was in her red heels, towering even higher above her youngest child than usual and she stepped closer. Her hands were on her hips and she tapped her right foot.

"Where exactly do you think you're going?"

Kiku bit her lip and looked back towards the door.

"I was going to meet one of my friends for a…"

"You're not going anywhere, Kiku. After what you pulled yesterday…after how bad you made me look in front of your father's old colleagues, why should I let you go? You're just lucky your sister is so well behaved or we would be the talk of the town in the worst way possible. To think…I raised a heathen."

Kiku's mother pinched the bridge of her nose and let out an aggravated sigh. Kimi flashed an arrogant smirk in her younger sister's direction.

Kiku's eyes slowly filled with tears. She could normally handle her mother's yelling, but she didn't want to leave Gaara waiting for her. She told him that she'd be there and she was going to see it through. Kiku thought of something to tell her mother that would get her to allow her to leave.

"C-can I just go for a little bit? I told Sana-chan that I'd go see her today." Kiku quickly named one of the few friends her mother approved of. Sana's family had even more money and power than theirs, and Kiku's mother hoped the friendship would prove useful in the future. Kiku knew she'd let her go if it was Sana waiting for her, so she didn't mention Gaara. "It's rude for me not to show up after promising I'd go…and…and you don't want people to think you raised me to break promises, do you?" She said the last part with her eyes closed so she could avoid her gaze.

"Fine."

Kiku cracked open an eye and looked towards her mother. The woman glared and pointed a perfectly manicured finger towards the clock.

"You have 3 hours. That is it! Then tell Sana-chan you're going to be busy until next week."

Kiku nodded, accepting her punishment. When she was "busy" it meant she was to be locked in her room for the entire day. She would get 2 meals and a piece of fruit taken to her room, but she couldn't leave for any reason and she was forbidden to make any noise, in case her mother was entertaining a guest. Kiku had asked once why herr mother didn't just say she was grounded, but the woman had simply said that she didn't punish her children. She said she'd be mad if Kiku ever said that she did because people would look down on her parenting skills. Being only 5, Kiku didn't understand her thought process, but she didn't want to make her mother mad, so she never asked her what she meant.

At least her mother allowed her out at all this time, and she slowly left the house and closed the door behind her. As soon as Kiku heard it click shut she ran as fast as she could towards the playground, glad to get away from her family for a while and excited to see her new friend.

…and now the two of them sat on the swings, side by side. Neither of them said a word and it was completely silent, aside from the slight squeak coming from the swing whenever Kiku would move in her seat. Gaara was looking at the ground again, hugging his bear. Kiku pointed at the bear and smiled.

"That's really cute! Did you name it?"

He shook his head.

'Why would I name a stuffed toy?' he thought, a little confused.

"Can I name it then? Please?" Kiku pulled herself up to stand on the swing, still looking down at Gaara and the bear. He looked at her curiously before nodding.

"Sure."

Kiku looked the brown bear over before a wide smile graced her face.

"I think it looks like a KumaKuma-san to me!" She said with a nod. Gaara looked at the bear then back at her.

"KumaKuma-san…?"

"Do you like it?" She smiled and leaned forward a little.

"No…It sounds funny…" He mumbled. She was a little offended and opened her mouth to tell him that it was a great name and not funny at all. She let go of the swing, pointing a finger at him to accentuate her point, and lost her balance, falling forward to the ground.

Kiku let out a small yelp, but before she hit the ground face first, a soft wall of sand came up, pushing her back into a seated position on the swing before it fell to the ground once again. Pale blue eyes opened wide and she turned to look at Gaara.

"Did you do that?"

He nodded and she smiled wide. She thought her new friend really was the coolest.

"Thanks!" She giggled and got up off the swing to sit on the ground in front of him. It got quiet again when he didn't respond and she drew little pictures in the sand around herself.

"Kuma."

The small girl looked up to see Gaara holding his bear out.

"I'm just going to call it Kuma."

It was a sort of boring name to Kiku, but she knew it was his toy and not hers so she just nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

"Good job! Now it has a name." She smiled wide and Gaara's lips turned up slightly into a shy smile as well. He looked prettier than normal, and she wished he'd smile more. Kiku took his hand, a slight blush forming on her cheeks as she pulled him towards the slide, determined to make the most out of the 2 hours she had left to play with her friend.

With that, the two of them played together with Kuma. Kiku didn't think about the funeral or her mother…or her sister. None of those problems crossed the girl's mind, and for a while she was just a child, having fun with another child, without a care in the world.