Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Chapter 16

It had been two days since she left Miyu-obaa-san's inn. The old woman had been very kind to her and had tried to get her to stay or change her mind about going to find her papa, but Minoko simply acted like a stubborn, petulant child that wouldn't be swayed from her decision. The woman had sighed each time in resignation and gave her a sad smile. Before she left, Miyu made sure to give her some food for the road and gave her a letter to deliver to an inn inside of Kiri. Apparently, a cousin of hers worked as an innkeeper as well in the shinobi village. Minoko gladly accepted the food and promised to find the inn as soon as she arrived to her destination.

Which she was currently standing in front of.

Minoko looked up at the looming gate of Kirigakure with a slight hint of trepidation. The stone archway had wisps of mist curling gently around it and two sentries that, from a distance, looked anything but gentle guarded the opening. Gulping slightly, Minoko took a hesitant step toward the gate.

The shinobi guards had been watching her growing nerves with a hint of amusement. One was built with lean muscles and a willowy frame, his silvery-blue hair tied in a bun at the back of his head. His sharp-toothed smirk seemed to be good natured and his indigo colored eyes were kinder than she had initially expected.

His partner was at least a full head taller than him with more pronounced muscles and a light tan. He was built more like a brawler where the first man seemed to be built more for speed and flexibility. The taller man had short, light auburn hair that formed an almost natural mohawk at the top of his head. His dark grey eyes flicked over to his partner and he lightly jabbed an elbow into his side.

"Ow! Fuck, Suji, that hurt," said the silver haired man in a slightly raised whisper as he rubbed his abused ribs.

"Then maybe you should take your duty more seriously if you don't want me to hit you, Yanagi," came the gruff reply.

"It's just a kid, not like we couldn't take her. Besides, she kinda cute. Reminds me of my baby sister."

"Need I remind you of what your 'cute baby sister' did to me with that squirrel that one time?"

A shiver visibly shook Yanagi's body, "Good point. Cute baby sister equals evil when given access to equally cute little mammals. You did deserve it from what I can recall, though."

Suji gave a deadpanned stare at his partner, "No one deserves that. All I did was call her tiny."

"And she proved to you that that wouldn't stop her from exacting sweet revenge," Yanagi stated in a pleasant tone, nodding proudly.

"Ano…" Minoko stated after looking back and forth between the two seemingly good friends. They stopped their mild argument and glanced down at the raven-haired girl. It looked like they had forgotten why they initially started the conversation because they seemed surprised to see her still standing in front of them, gently wringing her hands together. "Can I go in?" she asked in a small voice, sneaking a shy peek at them through her lashes as she shifted from foot to foot nervously.

"That depends," said Yanagi with an all-too mischievous smirk, "You got any tiny animals stashed in your pack that would possibly terrorize the general population and scar a chunin for life?" His quip earned him another sharp jab from his partner and a giggle from the child.

"No, I got some onigiri though!" she chirped. She gave a tiny smile to the slim man, "Do you want one?"

Suji rolled his eyes, "We're not taking your food, but we do need to search you and your bag before you can enter."

Minoko nodded rapidly and shucked off her backpack, handing it to the large man. She was internally pleased that she decided to travel without any weapons.

As he started to rifle through it, Yanagi ruffled her hair, causing her to give an indignant squeak and try to smooth out her pigtails again. He chuckled and squatted down to her level, "I gotta pat you down, ok?"

He waited for her to give him a slightly suspicious look and nod her head. He searched her quickly, yet thoroughly. When he was satisfied, he gave her tummy a quick tickle, earning him another annoyed squeal. She batted her hands at him clumsily in an effort to get him to back off, which he did with a non-repentant grin.

Suji huffed lightly in amusement and handed her her bag. He waved her over to a small desk on the other side of the gate and opened a log book, "What's your name and reason for coming into Kiri?"

"I'm Tanaka Kimi! I'm looking for Papa. Mama said Papa lived here."

"Uh-huh, and did you leave your ma without telling her you were coming here?" he asked with a conspiratory grin.

Minoko forced her face to turn grim, tears filling her eyes. "Mama's dead," she said in a low whisper, refusing to let the tears fall.

Suji heard her clearly though and nodded, his expression turning solemn. He understood well what it was like losing those close to you, "Sorry kid."

After she sniffled a bit and took a deep breath, she bobbed her head, "S'okay."

Yanagi walked over behind her, "So, who's your pa?"

She wrinkled her brow in confusion and looked over her shoulder, "Papa is Papa," she said with a firm nod.

Suji covered his grin as he looked away and coughed lightly while Yanagi winced slightly at the childish logic, "Uh-huh, but does he have a name? How're you going to find him?"

Realization seemed to dawn on the young girl's face, "Oh! Papa's name is Kosuke. And…and I'll just find him," she said with a huff, folding her arms.

The two men shared a look over her head and shrugged, "Ok, good luck kid."

She gave them a small smile before turning to walk away. She made it about five steps before she froze and looked around. There were several cylindrical buildings that towered above her head connected with stone walkways and staircases that seemed to go on for ages. She glanced down several paths and suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed. She bashfully looked back at the two chunin that were still watching her with poorly concealed amusement.

"Um…do you know where the Boiling River Inn is? Obaa-san said I should go there first."

Yanagi laughed boisterously and walked over, ruffling her hair again, much to her annoyance, "Go down that path," he said, pointing to the left, "It'll split in a few minutes. Go right, take the first set of stairs you see on the left. It'll be at the top on the right."

"Thanks," she said with a light blush. She impulsively hugged his leg and darted off, not looking back as she hurried down the indicated path. Blushing a bit himself, Yanagi went back to his post, having to endure the rest of his shift with his smug best friend teasing him about cradle robbing.

...

Gaara sighed in boredom as he laid down on his mostly unused bed. It had been about a week since he came home to find Minoko missing. He didn't really know what to do without her there. She usually chose the activity for the day if they didn't have a mission or training. Sure, he could train by himself or work with his cacti, but he had already done that. Several times. He didn't feel like training anymore and his cacti didn't need a lot of tending to. If he overdid it, he would do more harm than good.

Gaara turned onto his side and stared at the light brown bear sitting next to his pillow. He poked it gently a few times. It flopped onto its side.

Gaara sighed again. He was supposed to talk to Cinnamon if Minoko wasn't there, but that just made him feel silly. He had compromised by holding the bear and carrying it everywhere with him when he wasn't on duty...which lately was all the time. Yashamaru-sensei said that Gaara had a break until his mission partner came back. He didn't really question it.

Gaara had briefly contemplated going to see his siblings. He had met them a few times and they seemed like fun people, but he knew that he wasn't supposed to be around them. Or rather, they were told to stay away from him.

Gaara sat against his headboard and picked the bear up, tracing it's features. He wondered what it would be like to have a family that wasn't afraid of him...other than Yashamaru-oji-san. Though, he did sometimes look cautious and wary around him. Oji-san probably thought he hid it well, but Gaara could tell these things.

Maybe it would be like when he was with Minoko? He always felt warm inside when she was around. And his cheeks got red sometimes when she hugged him or kissed him on the cheek. And it wasn't a bad red like a sunburn either. That's like a real family, right?

Then again, family didn't dance. That's what Minoko said. And they promised to dance with each other when they got older.

So, she couldn't be family.

She was better.

Gaara smiled for the first time in a week at that thought and hugged Cinnamon before putting him back on the bed and heading out the door.

He didn't want Cinnamon to see his surprise, no matter how illogical he knew that sounded. He wanted to go look for a present for Minoko when she got back by himself though.

Maybe she would kiss his cheek again.

A/N: Ah, Minoko, already endearing herself to the locals :) And Gaara is an adorable little chibi!

Please review to tell me what you think! See you next week!