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

Chapter 39

The new guards that took over during the chunin exams were nothing spectacular. Honestly, Kankuro as a genin was more impressive than these cardboard cutout people. They were just so...generic. It was hard to tell one from the other and the days blurred even more because of it.

The only thing interesting about them were the conversations they had during shift changes about the outside world. She was able to learn that the Kazekage had something big planned and that, for some reason, only a handful of chunin and all the genin not participating in the exams were stuck in the village. Most of the jonin and chunin had left for one reason or another that these lower ranking officers had no knowledge of.

Another conversation that peaked her interest was one that never failed to do so. Information about her oldest friend.

"Thank kami that monster is out of the village. We can all rest easier now that he's gone for two months. Hopefully he'll lose some of his bloodlust during the exams were he has free reign to kill contestants."

"Seriously. My sister's friend's boyfriend's brother was killed by him a month ago. People said it was just because he glared the demon and was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The first guard shuddered, "Really, why can't anything be done about that thing? The Kazekage's tried for years to send random people after it, but I don't see why he doesn't just do it himself. He's subdued the rampages when the beast loses control. Surely he could just end it instead of sacrificing assassins. We're already running low on shinobi as it is."

"True. But it's not our place to question the Kazekage. Better not let others hear you talking like that."

"Yeah, you're right. Hey, did you hear about Hitomi-san? She said she's transferring to the medic corps!"

Minoko blocked out the rest of the inane conversation and leaned back against the cool stone wall, knocking her head lightly against the hard surface. So, he wasn't doing well. She had really hoped that he could maintain control without her there, but it was really a fool's hope. Especially when that poor excuse of a leader kept antagonizing him.

She sighed and scratched at her chakra cuffs. She could only hope things would change for him. Somehow.

…

A few days later, Minoko felt strange. Like she had more energy and the fog that covered her mind cleared slightly. She could train longer and had a bit more power to her hits. She even got Ganjou to grunt when she hit him! Normally he just took the hit with no reaction!

She had no idea what was happening, but she wasn't complaining at all.

…

It had been a month and a half since Kankuro left and Minoko was getting bored. She never realized how much entertainment he brought with just his presence. He was fun to tease and he took it all in stride and attempted to tease her back. They had a comradery of sorts that slowly developed into a solid friendship.

Over the last few years, things in the cells had improved. At least on this floor. And it was all thanks to the purple kitty. He brought books for each of the cells, sure. But he also brought sanitary objects for them to use now and again. They could clean the cells a bit and get rid of some of the dirt that had built up over the years. It was also nice to have an extra day with the bucket of water and rag to wash the grim off and have enough toilet paper to last the week.

The women were especially thankful to the bright red boy when he brought pads for their time of the month. The rashes that the women experienced during that time significantly dropped thanks to him. He made sure to bring an extra pack for each cell with him each week he worked, just so they could stock up if needed. They hid the pads in the partially blocked off bathroom area. The other guards never went there, so it was perfect.

Minoko turned over on the hard ground and tried to quiet her thoughts. She just couldn't get to sleep and she had no idea why. Her chakra cuffs itched, her brain was wandering to random nonsense, and she just…could…not…sleep.

…

Kankuro was jumping through the trees in a forest when he stopped abruptly. He ushered a girl about his age with blonde hair and…Gaara?…to go on ahead.

A boy with a long jacket that covered his features came out from behind a tree. The two started to fight. The other boy was using bugs. Kankuro managed to poison the other boy, but he was also gravely injured…

…

Gaara didn't look like himself. He was covered in sand that formed a grotesque arm. It covered half his face. There was drool falling from his mouth and one of his eyes was a sickly yellow. He had a crazed look as he attacked leaf shinobi. They looked young. Maybe the same age as Gaara.

The pink haired girl was quickly taken out and was stuck to a tree. The blonde was more persistent. Any time he seemed like he started to lose ground, he bounced back with a new strategy or technique. Gaara fully transformed into the monster inside him, towering over the trees. But the blonde summoned a toad that stood on equal ground.

The blonde managed to get in front of Gaara and gave him a headbutt. They fell into the trees and hit each other one last time before they fell to the ground. Gaara was prone and didn't seem like he could move. The blonde looked equally exhausted, but he used his chin to move toward Gaara.

…

Minoko sat up with a gasp and held her head in her hands. No way. No way!

She hadn't had a dream bubble in years! Why now? What changed?

And what was that horrible future? Kankuro was injured, maybe dead. Gaara was weakened and vulnerable and the blonde was still moving towards him. Were they ok? Were her two friends on the outside alive?

She felt her heart starting to race and her breath coming in short gasps. Somehow none of the other awoke to her panic. She tried to breathe evenly and match those that were sleeping nearby.

Two more weeks. She had to wait two more weeks before Kankuro was supposed to return. Two weeks to see if he actually returned. She felt a tear drip down her cheek and she hastily wiped it away.

He was fine. He had to be. He and Gaara were strong. They would be fine.

Minoko shifted slightly and felt something weird. She lifted the blanket and noticed a dark spot growing in between her legs. Blood. She was bleeding. It took her longer than it should have to react. And longer still to register what it most likely was. She was twelve, so she shouldn't be too surprised it happened now. She heard enough about periods from the women to know what to do…in theory.

Minoko looked around and stood to shake Saki awake. The older woman blinked sleep out of her eyes and almost immediately registered why she was awoken. She gave a kindly smile and led Minoko over to the bathroom partition. She patiently explained how to apply the pads and helped her change into one of the few extra sets of clothing in the cell that might fit her loosely. After she cleaned up and was situated, she quietly thanked Saki and the woman simply patted her cheek fondly before going back to sleep.

It was a good thing this happened at night and the guard was half asleep. No one outside of her group would notice she was a girl. And with Kankuro bringing extra supplies for the women, she wouldn't have to worry about them running low and making the rashes worse.

Kankuro.

He was fine.

He had to be.

A/N: Any theories why the dream bubbles are back? Let me know with a review!