The next day, Yuri decided to go grab something to eat at Ichiraku ramen. Once she reached the shop, Yuri was surprised as she saw Kankuro standing around outside. He appeared to be lost in his thoughts and didn't even notice her when she came over.

"Hello? Anyone in there? Yoo Hoo!" Yuri waved her hand in front of the shinobi's face, startling Kankuro.

"Where'd you come from!?"

"I was going to grab a bit to eat when I saw you standing out here." Yuri told him. Then she heard Kankuro sigh.

"Hey, is there anything wrong? What's with the sigh?"

Kankuro narrowed his eyes at her. "It's none of your business."

"So, why are you still here in the Leaf? The festival's over." Yuri wondered.

"Temari thought it would be a good idea to stay a few days in the Leaf." Kankuro told her. Yuri's eyes widen a little. So, Gaara's here as well.

"Hmm...How about a bite?" Yuri offered. "My treat. But the next one is on you." Kankuro blinked at her, confused.

"Huh?"

"Let's go to Ichiraku's. You can tell me what's wrong." She told him and pulled Kankuro by his arm.

"H-Hey! Wait!" Kankuro protested as he was dragged inside. The two sat down and ordered some ramen.

"Are you this overly friendly with other people, too?" Kankuro asked her.

"I guess so. I mean we're friends, aren't we?" Yuri told him. "It's common sense to help someone in trouble, right?"

"Actually, I wish I could be as outgoing as you." Kankuro murmured. (If only I could talk to him like this...) Yuri blinked and looked at him, surprised, thinking to herself. Why is he being so nice?

"Uh, thank you?" she smiled. "Well, I usually just try to think of what to say before I say it."

"Think about what to say?" Kankuro questioned. Yuri nodded.

"Yeah, you know. Ask them how their day went, maybe certain hobbies they're interested in, or something they like to talk about or places they like to go to." She told him.

"So those are the main steps when talking to someone?" Kankuro asked. Yuri stared at him. Steps? Oh boy...This might be a little hard.

"It can be like that. Just look at them straight in the eye and say what you have to say. Just be honest. Otherwise, the conversation doesn't go anywhere." She told him.

"Heh. I get it." Kankuro smiled. (Next time I see him, I gotta look him straight in the eye.)

"Gaara..."

Yuri's eyes widened and she looked at Kankuro. Did she hear that right?

"Did you say something?"

"Nah, it's nothing." Kankuro shook his head. "But there is another thing I'd like to ask you."

"Okay, what is it?" Yuri asked.

"Let's say a guy likes this person but they can't exactly talk together-"

"Are you trying to say that you like Yukina?" she smirked. Kankuro sputtered, looking at her in shock.

"How did you know that I was talking about her!?" he stammered.

"I've seen the way you look at her. And I know that she seems to like you as well." Yuri told him. Kankuro's eyes widen a little.

"Really? Who would've guessed."

"Just do exactly what I've told you about talking to people. If you want to ask her out, I'm fine with that. But I only have one thing to ask of you when you do." Yuri told him.

"What's that?" Kankuro questioned.

"Don't make her cry. If you do, I'm going to make you pay." Yuri threatened. Kankuro stared at her, slightly scared, and nodded slowly.

"Good!" Yuri smiled and went back to eating her ramen, finishing it off. "Well, I'm full." she sighed, happily. Just as she was about to pay for the ramen, Kankuro stopped her.

"I'll pay for them." He told her.

"Are you sure? I mean, I can-" She stammered then Kankuro cut her off.

"I insist. And I like you to have this too." He told her and handed Yuri a small wooden practice puppet. Yuri blinked, staring at it.

"Uh, thanks." She smiled. "But why are you being so nice all of a sudden?"

"No special reason. I-I just happened to have this with me." Kankuro stammered. "Anyway, thanks for the chat." And Kankuro vanished, disappearing in a cloud of smoke, leaving Yuri still confused.

"Weird." Yuri murmured to herself. "But he does seem a lot happier now."

Yuri left the shop, deciding to roam around the village a little. Then she saw Temari standing in front of a shop. "Hey! Temari!" Yuri shouted, waving, and walked over to her. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I heard the dumplings are to die for here, so..."

"Do you want to try them? Let's go in!" Yuri smiled.

"Hey! I didn't say I was ready to eat, did I?"

"Come on!" Yuri pulled her along, dragging Temari into the shop. They ordered some food and went back outside and sat down on some benches, waiting for their order. A waitress came out carrying a tray of steamed dumplings. Temari and Yuri both sat, eating their dumplings together, quietly. Yuri glanced over to Temari to see her eating another one. Then another. And another. "Pretty good, am I right?"

Temari continued to eat her dumplings quietly.

"You're being a lot quieter than usual. Are they not good?" Yuri asked her.

"No. I was just enjoying the flavor." Temari told her.

"Leaf Village dumplings are the best of the best!" Yuri smiled.

"I'm not sure why you're so personally proud, but Heehee...I really like this place." Temari smiled.

"That's great. It's nice being able to talk to you like this. Maybe you'll come by more! Gaara and Kankuro, too!" Yuri told her.

"The Amaguriama is great. I'll definitely be back." Temari told her.

"And I did run into Kankuro on my way here." Yuri told her.

"Was he nice to you?" Temari asked.

"Yeah, he was acting a little strange. But it's all good. He admitted that he liked Yukina, well, more like I figured it out from him." She told Temari. Temari spit out her drink and looked at Yuri in shock.

"You're kidding!"

Yuri smiled. "It's true."

"Aw, that's nice. My little brother likes someone. That's definitely going to be fun to tease him about." Temari smiled. Then Yuri saw Temari ordering another plate of dumplings.

"You're ordering some more?" Yuri asked, surprised.

"I'm getting some for Gaara and Kankuro." Temari spoke.

"Huh...I never thought those two have a sweet tooth." Yuri replied.

"Congratulations!" A woman shouted.

Both Yuri and Temari blinked, a little surprised and looked at the shopkeeper, wondering what she meant.

"You are the 10,000th customer to set foot in our shop! Allow me to present you with this wonderful prize!" The woman smiled and handed Temari a teakettle with a Shukaku design on it. Temari stared at it.

"Uh-"

"And as a bonus, feel free to eat as many dumplings as you like!" And the woman walked away. Temari stared in shock.

"I can take the teakettle if you don't want it. My mom's a big collector." Yuri told her. Temari handed her the teakettle.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"Want to order some more dumplings?" Yuri asked her.

"Of course!" Temari nodded. Temari and Yuri both ordered many dumplings.

"I don't think I can eat any more. I'll explode." Yuri sighed. Temari laughed.

"Ha, is that all you can handle?" She spoke and continued to happily eat her dumplings until she was finished. She packed up the remaining ones. "I guess I better take them their dumplings now. Anyway, I'm off. See ya later."

"Bye!" Yuri nodded.

It was evening as the sun was starting to go down. Yuri was heading back to her house as she jumped from roof to roof on the other buildings. As she leaped to into the air, Yuri's eye widened when she saw Gaara standing by himself, with his arms crossed, on a tall platform. He seemed to be lost in thought, taking in the scenery around him.

"Hey, Gaara!" Yuri called out to him. Gaara looked up and saw Yuri coming down and landed beside him. "What are you doing up here?"

"I don't get out to this village too often, so I'm having a look around." Gaara told her.

"I can give you a tour if you want. I know the best spot in the village! Naruto showed me when I first came here." Yuri smiled. Gaara nodded. Yuri took him up to the Hokage stone faces and the two sat down, seeing the entire village in front of them. Yuri turned to look at him, seeing Gaara, silently looking.

"What do you think? You can see the whole village from up here!" she told him. Gaara stayed silent, taking it all in. More minutes went by and neither of them said a word. Yuri glanced over at Gaara in worry. Why was he so quiet? Does he not like it?

"The Hidden Leaf Village is a nice place. There's so much to take in." Gaara spoke, softly. Yuri blinked in surprise.

"Yes, it is, isn't it." She smiled, laughing a little.

"Hey!" Gaara and Yuri both saw Naruto jumping up towards them and he landed down a few feet from them.

"Hey, Gaara! Yuri! What are you two doing up here?" Naruto asked, walking over to them.

"Naruto." Gaara greeted him.

"I was showing Gaara the-" Yuri spoke before Naruto interrupted her.

"Are you two on a date?" He smirked. Both Yuri and Gaara's eyes widened.

"No! I was just showing Gaara the village!" Yuri told Naruto.

"Oh! Heheh, how about I take you both for some good food?" Naruto asked them.

"Good food?" Gaara asked.

"I'm a little full but I'll come." Yuri replied. Naruto took Gaara and Yuri to Ichiraku's. He ordered some ramen for himself and Gaara.

"Well, pretty good, huh?" Naruto smiled.

"It's...tasty." Gaara spoke, softly. Naruto giggled.

"Hehehe! See, I told you so!" Then he looked at Teuchi, the ramen shopkeeper. "Hey! You're a genius as always! Great ramen!"

"Glad to hear that. How about another bowl on the house?" He asked them.

"Wahoo! You're the man!" Naruto grinned.

"I guess, I can order one." Yuri spoke, ordering some. "Then I'll take some home for my parents and Yukina." The three ate their ramen together. Gaara sighed.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Naruto asked him. Gaara shook his head.

"No." He spoke and thought to himself. Someday I'll be more like you. They finished their ramen and stepped outside the shop. Yuri carried a small take out bag of ramen, for her parents and Yukina.

"Well, we had our ramen, now what?" Naruto asked them.

"I'm a little tired. I'm going to head back. It's starting to get late." Yuri told them.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow!" Naruto smiled. Yuri waved Naruto and Gaara goodbye and went back home. She walked inside to find her father passed out on the couch and her mom and Yukina in the kitchen, starting to make some dinner.

"I brought some take out. If you want any." Yuri told them and set the food down on the table. Her father immediately got up when he smelled the ramen and started rummaging in the bag, pulling out a box.

"Oh, but I made a nice healthier dinner to eat." Yuri's mom sighed. Yukina began to dig in, taking out a box, eating as as well.

"Why not have both?" Yuri asked, walking upstairs to her room.

"You're not going to have any?" Her mom asked.

"I've eaten enough for today. If I eat any more, I'm going to burst." Yuri told her.

As Yuri walked into her room, she noticed something different. She walked over to the window and opened it to see a plant sitting outside. It was a small cactus with a small red flower blooming on it. Yuri picked up, admiring it.

Who could have left it here?