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

Chapter 42

Kankuro felt like banging his head against a wall. Gaara just had to start with the lowest floor of the Sector E first. Well, he guessed it made sense. He'd have more energy against the more violent offenders before going to the lesser crime sectors. He was just impatient to get to Kai's cell and get his best friend released. Yes, he was his best friend. Somehow irritating the kid became a fun pastime, which turned into spars, then a real connection. He couldn't wait to get him out of here. Even though the process was mind-numbingly boring.

Pretty boy owed him big time.

It was about 3:30 when they got to Kai's floor. Gaara was with an assistant that carried all the files in scrolls, along with Kankuro and another guard that was frequently stationed on this floor in order to get better info on trouble prisoners and so on. And, of course, Gaara went down to the end of the hall first…this was going to take a while.

Gaara asked for the files on each cell as he went and his assistant handed them over in order. He had the prisoners line up and state their names and crimes. They were finally able to elaborate and explain their reasons behind their supposed crimes. Many of which were fabricated or over-embellished in the official files that the former Kazekage drew up.

Kankuro zoned out after the first prisoner started talking. Being the Kazekage's brother and right-hand man, he had to attend the initial hearings of not just the floor he was stationed on, but every cell of every floor that Gaara went to. There were five sectors with ten floors and about ten cells each. Every cell held about ten inmates, give or take. That meant he's listened to about five thousand testimonials.

Huh, what do you know…his math class was good for something…calculating the reason for his every growing boredom and irritation.

It was lucky for the prisoners that Gaara was more patient and had a longer attention span than him.

Finally, Gaara came to the last two prison cells, the ones next to the staircase. Gaara had his assistant make two stacks with the prisoner files as they went along. 'To be released' and 'To remain confined.'

Of course, Kai's cell was last. Kankuro opened the cell and all of the familiar faces lined up. Kankuro already knew most of their stories by heart. The four women went first, followed by the three men. After Muni spoke about having to leave behind his girlfriend and newborn, Gaara placed the last file in his hands into a stack and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Kankuro said when he registered a lack of irritation in human form, "Where's Kai? You haven't done him yet!"

"Kai? There wasn't a file on anyone named Kai."

"No, he's here. Hey Pretty-boy! Where are you hiding?" Kankuro yelled, looking around the cell in frustration.

Gaara glanced over Muni's shoulder and looked at a lump of old, dirty rags. Gaara made a gesture with his hand and the dirt and sand built up on the cloth over the years moved to show a figure curled up on the ground under the pile. Kankuro heard a light 'Shit' come from the now slightly cleaner pile and his eyebrow twitched in irritation. He went over, stomping slightly and dragged the boy out by his arm.

Seriously, this is the thanks he gets for trying to free this idiot?

…

The first thing that Gaara noted about the slender boy was that he seemed to be around his age. He was rather small, but with muscles that were indicative of harsh training. He had short black hair that hung in his eyes, pale skin that'd seen the sun fewer times then it's seen a bath.

The boy jerked his arm out of Kankuro's grip. Impressive. Kankuro was no slouch in strength, even if he preferred to stay long distance in fights. It was even more impressive because the boy was so much smaller and had chakra bracers on.

"Name?" Gaara said in a simple monotone.

"Kai," came the soft response. He still refused to establish eye contact.

"Crime?"

"Insubordination."

Gaara waited a moment for him to continue, but when it seemed like he wouldn't say anything more, he pressed a bit, "Explain."

The boy shifted a bit and placed his hands behind his back, "I refused a direct order from the Kazekage."

When it doesn't seem like he was going to speak further again, Gaara inquired further, "What was the order?"

"To kill someone," Kai finally glanced up and Gaara finally saw his eyes. They looked so familiar. They were so much like Minoko's red eyes that stared at him from pictures that he kept close to his heart.

"Do you have any family? A sister or a female cousin perhaps."

The boy shifted uncomfortably and looked away again, "I'm an only child, Kazekage-sama. And as for my family, only my father was alive when I was put in here. He may be dead as well."

Gaara nodded and pushed thoughts of crimson eyes and a gentle smile from his mind. He needed to focus on what was in front of him, not the past. Not now. "Very well," he said. "And who was it you were supposed to kill? Do you remember?"

He could see Kai's body freeze before he set his shoulders and looked straight into Gaara's eyes, "You."

Gaara immediately heard Kankuro sputtering. He heard the words 'gay' and 'liar' from Kankuro but couldn't make sense of the nonsense coming from his brother's mouth. He saw Kai send a glare in his brother's direction, before focusing on him again.

Gaara mostly ignored all of that as he was in mild shock. He probably should have known that it would be him, but he was mainly shocked that someone had actually refused the order.

"Me?"

The boy in front of him nodded before he went eerily still. Gaara saw the boy's eyes dim in a strangely familiar manner, then harden a moment later. He moved with blinding speed between and around Kankuro and himself before Gaara's sand had the opportunity to move. He felt the wind from the action, but his eyes couldn't follow the movement. Before he realized what was happening, he heard the sound of metal hitting flesh behind him.

Gaara turned to see Kai with a kunai lodged in the junction where his neck and right shoulder met. The second guard had tried to attack him from behind. Kankuro had the guy pinned up against the wall in a second with murder in his eyes and barely restrained fury lining his body.

The boy that just saved him stumbled back into Gaara. He caught Kai before he could crumble to the ground. He was losing a lot of blood.

"I've got this guy Gaara. Take care of Kai. You can get to the hospital faster than I can," Kankuro said through clenched teeth.

Gaara nodded and lifted exceedingly light boy and had his sand transport them to the hospital.

A/N: How does Minoko always get into these situations? As always, please review!