Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto

Chapter one

March 18th

The Day Miniko's Life Changed

It was early morning in the village of Suna, the sun just beginning to rise. 4 year old Miniko was still fast asleep in her bed, when suddenly she was woken up to something landing on her face. She jolted up quickly and looked around, still dazed before noticing her stuffed rabbit on the side of her bed. "Oh it was just Sagi that fell on me…" Miniko said to herself between a yawn, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She reached down to the side of her bed and picked up her toy. "I'm sorry Sagi, I've must have made you fly again last night." She apologized. Miniko looked around her room and saw many of her other toys scattered across her room. "Not again…" She sighed, as she got out of bed and began tidying her room.

As Miniko cleaned her room, she could hear the rest of her family around the house as they began their days.

Her older brother was shuffling around his room across the hall, "Where did that form go?"

She could hear her baby sister's soft breathing, still sound asleep in her crib. Her mother was downstairs preparing the family breakfast and from the ingredients her mother was grabbing, it sounded like she was cooking omelettes. The only sound absent was her father's.

"I guess it's about time I go wake up Miniko…" Miniko heard her mother say, as she put the last of her toys away in her toy box.

"Mom's calling…" Miniko said to herself, as she hurried out of her room, across the hall and down the stairs. "Morning mom!" Miniko greeted, cheerfully.

Her mother Chahiro, turned and smiled at her daughter. "Good morning Miniko, I was just coming to get you."

Miniko nodded. "I know I heard you calling me!" She explained as she sat down at the kitchen table. "Are we having omelettes for breakfast?"

"You got it!" She said in a playful triumph. "As a reward, you can have the first one!" she said, placing the first finished omelette on a plate.

"I knew it!" Miniko beamed, as her mother placed the plate in front of her. "I didn't hear dad when I woke up. Where did he go?" Miniko asked, as she began to eat her food.

"He had to go to the Kazekage's office." Her mother said, as she started another omelette at the stove. "He's probably being held up in a meeting." Chahiro thought, aloud.

"Is dad going to go on a mission?" Miniko asked.

"He was called rather suddenly, so I would think so." Her mother concluded.

Miniko perked up, knowing that her father was going on a mission would mean she has the day to herself to do what she wanted to do.

"Mom, can I go to the park after breakfast?" Miniko asked.

"I don't see why not." Her mother answered.

Miniko grinned and quickly finished her breakfast, jumped off her chair and made a dash to her room. She ripped open her drawers, quickly changing out of her pajamas and into clothes. After that, Miniko brushed her blonde hair before tying it into a half pony-tail. If dad does have a mission, that means no training from him today!

Miniko came from a family of shinobi. Her Mother a medical ninja, who usually works at the hospital, but has stayed home for the past year after having Mayu, Miniko's baby sister. Yuuri, her 14 year old brother was recently promoted to Chunin and began doing more missions out of the village. Finally her Father Auron was a Jounin, who was either on missions or training Miniko to also learn the ways of a shinobi.

Miniko, though also aimed to be a shinobi someday as well and she by no means hated her father, training with him was always a challenging chore to her. Her Father worked on a tight schedule and always wanted her to aim for perfection and there were days where she would be doing the same task for hours, until she got it, but this was just the tip of the iceberg of her father's attitude with training.

After Miniko fixed her hair, she grabbed her small backpack and her stuffed rabbit, putting it into her backpack, still making sure it's head was sticking out. "Let's go, Sagi!" she threw her backpack over her shoulders and headed out her bedroom door.

When she got back downstairs, she saw Yuuri at the kitchen table and she stopped to greet him. "Morning Yuuri!" Miniko greeted, running over to him.

"Morning kiddo." Yuuri smiled.

"Did you find those forms you were looking for?" Miniko asked, remembering her brother was looking for those earlier.

Yuuri gave a puzzled look, before shaking his head. "Huh-Oh yeah, I did! Sorry did I wake you while I was looking?"

Miniko shook her head. "Nope, Sagi did when she fell on me." She said pointing to her rabbit. "What are the forms for Yuuri?" Miniko asked, changing the topic.

"It's for a mission I have in Konoha and I need the forms as permission so I can get into the village." Yuuri explained.

Miniko's smile disappeared. "How long are you going to be gone?"

"Hopefully only a few weeks." Yuuri said. He saw Miniko's face drop. "I'm not leaving till the afternoon Miniko and I'll be back before you know it." Yuuri assured her, placing his hand on her head. "And guess what, I'll also be seeing Uncle Taro and he said he might even come back with me, to see you."

Miniko's face lit up again. "Really?!" Miniko and her sibling's uncle Taro is their father's younger brother, who lived in Konoha, where their father was originally from before moving to Suna to marry their mother. Miniko always loves when her Uncle Taro came to visit he was kind and always a lot of fun. Whenever he came he would play with Miniko for hours and let her pick all the games. In fact, it was her uncle who gave Miniko her stuffed rabbit for her last birthday.

Chahiro then came into the room, now carrying Mayu, now awake in her arms. "Are you going to the park now Miniko?" She asked

Miniko looked at her mother. "I was but Yuuri's leaving soon…"

Yuuri chuckled "Go to the park Miniko. I still have preparations anyway, so I'm not going to be much fun. Don't worry I'll come and get you before I leave so I can say good-bye."

Miniko gave a small smile. "Okay, but you better remember!" Miniko warned, her brother nodded and Miniko turned and headed toward the door. She just got her shoes on when suddenly the door opened and in walked her Father, Auron, looking cross.

He looked towards his daughter. "Where are you going Miniko?"

"To the park…Mom said I could go…" Miniko answered quietly, looking to the ground. Her father gave a huff, before, making his way to the kitchen table.

Chahiro placed Mayu into her high chair, before looking at her husband. "What did the Kazekage want? Did he assign a mission to you?"

"Yeah he did and I was going to ask you to take over Miniko's training today, since I have to leave within the hour, but apparently that's not happening." He said, slightly crossed

"Well I'm busy today anyway and besides Miniko deserves a little break now and then." Chahiro said, maintaining a calm tone.

"You're too soft on her Chahiro! How do you expect Miniko to control those abilities of hers if she doesn't train?" Auron argued.

"Auron, she's doing just fine!" Chahiro said, trying to keep her voice low.

As they discussed Miniko's training, Yuuri looked at his little sister, petrified at the door. He walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's get out of here." He said, putting his shoes on, before opening the door. Miniko didn't say anything, but nodded as she followed her brother out of the house.

Once the two were outside Miniko looked up at her brother. "Aren't you busy?" Miniko asked.

"Yeah, but I can at least walk you to the park if that's alright with you" Yuuri smiled.

Miniko smiled, as she walked with Yuuri to the park. Miniko loved her big brother and it was him always protecting her from everything, especially from their father.

Miniko knew she was different and it was the reason she knew her father, was always so set on training her quickly. As long as Miniko could remember, she was able to read minds and even move small objects around. If she tried hard enough, Miniko could control her powers, but she still had a long way to go. Miniko would wake up and find her room a mess from moving her toys in her sleep. Other times she would be sitting in a room by herself, occupied with something and suddenly she would hear someone talking, sounding as if they were right next to her, but no one would be there. Though Miniko has found some advantages to this, it seemed like it had no off switch and this has gotten her in trouble on multiple occasions, mainly with her father and some of the kids in the village.

"We're here Miniko." Her brother said suddenly. "Are you sure you're going to be alright now?"

Miniko looked and saw a few other kids at the park and she nodded. "I will and thanks Yuuri!" Miniko said with a smile.

Yuuri ruffled her hair "I'll be back to get you later." He said, before hurrying back to the house, to finish preparing his mission.

After Yuuri left, Miniko remained at the entrance of the park as she examined the other kids playing. There was a group of kids playing some kind of game at a picnic table and a small group of boys at the jungle gym. "I wonder if I can play with any of them…" Miniko wondered aloud. Then turning toward the sandbox, she saw a girl playing by herself. Miniko smiled. "Perfect! Maybe I can play with her!" Miniko adjusted her backpack, then headed toward the girl. As she approached the sandbox, Miniko could feel her heart begin to race and her stomach tightened. You can do this…Just smile and introduce yourself…. Miniko encouraged herself. Before she knew it Miniko was at the sandbox and behind the girl. Miniko took a deep breath, before putting on her best smile. "Hello!" Miniko greeted, making the girl turn to her.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"My name's Miniko and I wanted ask if I could play with you?" Miniko asked "It's probably not fun by yourself."

The girl hesitated before answering. "Well, I have other friends coming, but I guess you can play with us..."

Miniko's face lit up. "Thanks!" She said sitting across from the girl in the sandbox. "Wanna make a sandcastle?" Miniko asked.

"Sure." The girl agreed. Miniko smiled and the two girl's started a sand pile for their castle. Miniko was preoccupied with the castle, when the girl began to introduce herself "My name is-" she began, before Miniko suddenly spoke.

"Renge? Nice to meet you!" Miniko smiled, looking up at her, only to see Renge giving her an odd look.

"I didn't say my name yet…" She said in an uncomfortable tone.

Miniko blushed "Oh…sorry I thought I heard you say that aloud…" Not again! She thought.

"What do you mean not again?" Renge questioned her, shifting her body further from Miniko.

Miniko could feel her body begin to sweat. "I-It's nothing…Sorry!" Miniko quickly apologized. "L-Let's get back to the castle!" Miniko said with a nervous smile, but Renge's uneasy stare toward her remained. Miniko's confidence began to drop, as she her heart began beating faster. What do I do now…? Miniko thought to herself.

Renge suddenly stood up. "You just did it again!? How are you talking without your mouth?!" She demanded.

Miniko stuttered as she tried to think of the right words to explain. "W-Well you S-See-" She was then interrupted by Renge's thoughts.

This girl is weird….Seiko and Mei better get here soon so I'm not alone with her….

Miniko stopped. She faced the ground as her body began to shake and tears began to fill her eyes. I'm not weird….I'm not….. Miniko thought.She could feel her head beginning to heat up, as if on fire. Renge looked down and noticed the sand castle beginning to look like it was moving, before taking a cautious step back closer to the edge of the sandbox.

"I'm not weird!" She shouted, that final cry setting off her abilities. The sandcastle then burst, the sand hitting Renge in the face. She screamed pain.

"My eyes! She got sand in my eyes!" Renge sobbed, rubbing her eyes.

The guilt came and Miniko jolted up, rushing over to Renge. "Renge! I'm so sorry I-" Miniko apologized as she reached for her, but Renge wacked her hand away.

"Stay away from me!" she screeched.

Miniko's face paled. "I…I didn't mean to…" She said, as her voice cracked.

"Renge!" Said two sudden voices. Miniko look up and saw two girls, most likely the friends Renge mentioned earlier. When they saw Renge crying they ran over and kneeled next to her, each on one side.

"What's wrong?" The one sitting on her left asked putting her on her back.

"That stupid girl threw sand at me! Right into my eyes!" Renge pointed at Miniko, one hand still rubbing eyes and sobbing in pain.

"What!" The other girl sitting at the opposite side said, before shot a glare toward Miniko. "Why did you hurt my friend!?"

Miniko shook her head. "I-It was an accident!" Miniko tried to explain. She took a step closer to Renge. "Renge, I'm sorry…" She tried to apologize again.

The same girl who asked her sprang up and stood in front of Renge. "Go away! We don't play with bullies like you, so don't come near us!"

Her harsh words made Miniko jump back. "I'm sorry…"

The other girl still with Renge, now stood up and helped Renge to her feet. "Come on Seiko, let's just forget about this girl and get Renge back home."

Seiko gave a huff. "Fine…Let's go Mei." She gave one more daunting glare toward Miniko, before them walking away with Mei and Renge.

When the girls left Miniko looked to the ground, her chest tightened and she clenched the ends of her skirt "I'm sorry….I didn't mean to…." She said in a whisper.

Suddenly Miniko could hear others and she then noticed everyone was looking at her, all talking amongst themselves. But despite the whispers, Miniko was able to make out every word they were saying.

"Did you see that girl just throw sand at her!?" An older sounding girl said.

"Yeah! She screamed at her too! What a brat and that other girl didn't even do anything!" Another girl responded back.

"I didn't see her actually pick up any sand…." A young boy said

"Maybe she's a witch!" another one joked.

Each word she heard towards her made her body shake, as large tears streamed down her face. "I'm sorry….I'm sorry….I'm sorry…" She kept apologizing.

XXXX

Miniko leaned against the wall that was near the sandbox with her legs crossed as she doodled pictures in the sand with a stick she found. She has taken Sagi out of her bag and hugged her toy tightly, still guilty from the events earlier with Renge. "I didn't mean to get sand in her eyes…" Miniko whimpered aloud.

Miniko wasn't sure how long she was sitting there by herself, but she assumed it must have been around noon by now, since she began to suddenly hear people were heading back home for lunch almost in unison. Like she predicted, she looked up and noticed the park was now deserted.

Yuuri's probably going to be coming to get me soon now….Miniko thought, before getting back to her doodle of a butterfly. She suddenly heard footsteps. That must be Yuuri now. Miniko assumed. She looked up, but, it wasn't Yuuri. Instead it was a boy standing about five feet away next to the sand box. She glanced up at his face and saw a nervous expression on it. What's up with him? Curious, Miniko stood up to get a better look. He looked rather small, possibly a couple inches shorter than Miniko. His hair was red with a bit of brown blended in and he had mint green eyes that had black rings surrounding them. Her eyes met with his, but he darted them away quickly.

"I finally was able to come near her, but why can't I say anything?" she heard him think to himself, when she unintentionally entered his thoughts.

Is he shy? Miniko wondered. Deciding to break the silence, she spoke. "Hello," Miniko greeted him, making him jolt his head to her again. "I'm drawing sand pictures, do you want to play?" Miniko asked, offering him the stick she was using. The boy stood there, almost surprised before he finally nodded. He slowly approached Miniko and reach over for the stick.

"Miniko!" Said a sudden voice, coming from the left, making them both jumped. Miniko looked over and saw Yuuri running towards her, almost in a hurry. When he got over to Miniko, he quickly took her wrist and shot a glare at the boy in front of her.

"Y-Yuuri?" Miniko asked, confused of her brother's actions.

"Come on Miniko, mom says lunch is ready." He said to her, without looking away from the boy.

"Oh…Okay, but just let me say good bye to-" Miniko started.

Yuuri didn't let her finish before he quickly started walking, dragging Miniko behind by the wrist. "I need to leave soon, so we have to hurry."

"But," Miniko started, but Yuuri ignored her and kept a quick pace toward the park exit. Miniko looked back to the boy and saw a sad expression on his face, before he walked the other direction with his head down.

"Why do they always run away? I don't do anything wrong, but they always run away!" Miniko could hear him think to himself, clearly fighting back tears.

Miniko was still holding her rabbit as Yuuri hurried them back to the house still holding her wrist in a tight grasp. Miniko winced "Yuuri!" Miniko finally said. "You're holding my wrist too tight!" Miniko yelled, so he would listen.

Hearing this, Yuuri finally stopped and quickly loosened his grip. He took Miniko's hand as he bent in front of his little sister. "I'm sorry Miniko," He apologized, guilty of his actions. "I didn't realize I was squeezing that tight."

Miniko gave a nod. "It's okay…" Miniko forgave him and Yuuri gave a relieving sigh. "Yuuri, why did we have to leave in such a hurry?" Miniko tried asking again, now that things were calm again.

Yuuri looked away, not sure how to answer her question. "I just..." He started, still looking for the right words. "I didn't want him to hurt you." He finally said.

Miniko was confused. "But he wasn't making fun of me or calling me names like the others." Miniko told him, assuming that's what he meant.

Yuuri shook his head. "It was still a risk I didn't want to take."

"But how will I make friends?" She argued.

Yuuri grew frustrated. "Look, there is some people you just shouldn't trust!" He said, his voice rising slightly. He stood up again, still holding her hand. "Come on, the lunch is going to get cold if we don't hurry."

That was the end of the questions and the two walked back in silence.

Their lunch was already on the table when the two of them got back to the house. Her mother was absent from the room, but Miniko could hear her singing softly in another room, most likely putting Mayu down for a nap. She and Yuuri sat down across from each other to eat their lunch. She noticed her father's spot was empty. "Dad left on his mission?" Miniko asked her brother.

"Yeah, he says he might be gone for about a week." Yuuri informed her.

Miniko nodded and two of them ate their lunch together. Their mother came into the kitchen shortly and greeted Miniko with a smile before joining her children at the table.

Once lunch was finished, Yuuri left for his room to make last minute preparations for his mission to Konoha. Miniko saw her mother was starting to do the dishes and she offered to help. Her mother nodded and Miniko smiled, as she pushed her chair to the counter so she could reach. She dried as her mother washed and had light conversations with each other.

"How was the park?" Chahiro asked, drying hands now that the dishes were clean and Miniko was putting the chair back behind her.

Miniko's smile dropped as she looked to the ground. "I got sand in another girls eyes and made her mad." Miniko confessed in a tiny voice. Her Mother turned her head towards her, as tears formed in Miniko's eyes.

"Was it an accident?" Chahiro asked.

Miniko nodded

"Did you apologize?"

Miniko nodded again. "She was still mad and said I was a bully…Mom," Miniko looked at her mother. "Am I a bully?" She asked her as tears rolled down her face.

Chahiro looked at Miniko, surprised of her question. She walked over to her, bent down and hugged Miniko close as she cried into her shoulder. "No Miniko, you're not a bully…" She assured her. "They just didn't understand…"

"I-I just w-want a friend!" Miniko said between sobs.

Chahiro bit her lip. She hated seeing her daughter like this, like any mother would. "I know Miniko…." She wasn't sure what else she could say that would comfort her, so she held her daughter close and stroked her hair until the crying stopped. Just like she always does.

It was finally time for Yuuri to go and Chahiro and Miniko waved him off at the door.

"Come back safe," Chahiro said to him, hugging her son. "And say hello to Uncle Taro for us!"

"Yeah, I will." Yuuri nodded, before letting go of his mother. He looked down at Miniko. She was biting her lip to keep herself from crying. He kneeled down to her height and put his hand on her head. "I'll be back before you know it, Miniko." He said with a smile.

"You promise?" Miniko said in a small voice.

"Promise!" He grinned, giving her a thumbs up. Miniko quickly wrapped her arms around her brother,

"I believe you…" Miniko said, as her brother returned her hug. They let go and Miniko gave her a brother a small smile. "Bring me back a souvenir, okay?"

He chuckled. "We'll see." He said ruffling her hair once more. He said a final good-bye to his family before finally leaving. Miniko hurried out the door and waved her brother off till he was out of sight.

XXXXXX

A few hours went by and Miniko was sitting in the living room reading a book, with her stuffed rabbit on her lap. Once she finished her book she sighed as she slumped back on the couch, bored. "What can I do now?" She asked herself. Miniko looked at the clock and saw that it was only three in the afternoon. Miniko had an idea and she jumped off the couch, her rabbit still in her hands. She made her way to the kitchen, where her mother was.

"Can I go to the park?" Miniko asked.

"As long as you're back before it gets dark." Chahiro nodded.

Miniko smiled and she ran over to the door, quickly putting her shoes on. She saw her backpack was still by the door from earlier and she gently put her rabbit inside. "See you later, mom!" Miniko shouted behind before running out the door.

There was a small group of kids at the park when Miniko arrived at the park. She contemplated asking to join them, but in the end she decided against it.

They're playing a game already….I shouldn't bug them… Miniko thought. She walked over to the wall past the sand box and sat down at the same spot she sat at this morning. She removed her backpack and took out her stuff rabbit. "I guess it's just me and you, Sagi." Miniko smiled. "Wanna play tic-tac-toe?" Miniko made Sagi nod. She began to look around for something to draw the grid with, noticing the same stick she was drawing with before. She picked it up and suddenly she remembered the boy she saw earlier. Why was Yuuri so mad at him? He wasn't being mean or anything and he looked really sad when we left. Miniko wondered to herself. Also, maybe he could have been my friend… Miniko sighed, before using the stick to start her game.

XXXX

"Well Sagi it looks like I won again!" Miniko boasted after 'winning' another game of tic-tac-toe against her stuffed toy.

Miniko made her toy move with her mind as she made it speak. Oh Miniko, you are just too good at this game! Miniko imitated.

"I know I am!" Miniko bragged with a grin. "Shall we play again?" Miniko began to reset the game and she started again. Her mind was focused on the game she didn't hear the footsteps approaching her.

"Hey kid," said a voice. Miniko turned and saw an older boy looking down at her with an intimidating frown on his face. "My little sister said you threw sand at her this morning, well did ya?" He questioned.

"Are you talking about Renge?" Miniko asked. The guilt from this morning returned and she looked to the ground. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to hurt her." She looked back up at the boy. "Is she doing okay now?"

The boy ignored her question and began to yell. "Shut up! I don't want to hear your stupid apology." He walked over and leaned close to her. His threating look made Miniko cringe. The boy looked down and saw Miniko's stuff rabbit, still hovering in the air. "I thought Renge was kidding when she said that you threw the sand at her without even lifting a finger, but it looks like you really are a little witch." He picked up Miniko's toy and quickly threw it so it landed on top of the wall.

"Sagi!" Miniko jumped up.

The boy snorted. "Why don't you use you witchy powers to get it down!"

Miniko tried, but the wall was just too high for her to reach. "Sagi…" Her eyes filled with tears.

"Pathetic! Is that all you can do?" The boy laughed, as he watched Miniko continued to try and get her toy down. He picked up a handful of sand and grabbed Miniko by the shirt, forcing her to turn in his direction. "I'm going to show you what happens when you mess around with my sister."

"Th-That hurts!" Miniko whimpered.

"Let's see how you like getting sand shoved in your face!" he threw the sand and Miniko shut her eyes tight to shield them from the sand.

But nothing happened. Miniko opened her eyes and saw the sand that was thrown has…stopped? Did she do that? No… the distance it was thrown was way too close for her to stop it in time. She then looked up at the boy, who had his head turned to the right with a terrified expression on his face.

"I-It's you!" He said. Suddenly he released Miniko, making her fall to the ground and ran out of the park, screaming in terror.

Miniko looked over in the same direction. She saw that it was the same boy from earlier. It's him…the one that made Yuuri mad. Suddenly he was walking up to her. She looked up and saw a small, nervous smile on his face.

"A-Are you alright?" He asked shyly.

Miniko nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."

He offered his hand to help her up, which Miniko noticed was shaking. But as she accepted the help and grabbed his hand, he almost looked relieved that she did. "Thank you." Miniko said, with a small smile.

He nodded before looking up at the wall. "I saw him throw your stuffed animal too." He backed up, so he could get a better view of the top. "I can try and get it down for you."

"But it's so high how are you going to?" Miniko asked. But suddenly she saw him form a small pile of sand, in mid-air! Is that how he stopped the sand that boy was throwing in my eyes? She watched with curiosity as the boy then moved the sand high into the air and retrieved her stuffed rabbit, making sure it gently landed into his arms.

He turned to Miniko to pass it back to her "Here."

Her face lit up as she hugged her rabbit tightly. "Thank you! I thought she was going to be stuck up there forever!" Miniko smiled brightly at him. "You're really nice!"

His nervous smile returned. "I'm just glad I was able to help."

Miniko took a good look at the boy and she recalled her brother warnings from earlier.

"There is just some people you can't trust!" Is what he said.

But if he is a mean person, why did he help me? Miniko thought Yuuri's words were confusing then, but now they didn't even seem to make sense. Why would someone who just helped her, want to hurt her? She took another look at the boy's face and as she gazed upon his shy smile, all of her doubts went away as she returned a smile to him. "Hey, do you want to stay here and play with me?" She asked him

"Is that alright?" He asked to make sure.

"Of course!" she sat down and indicated him to sit down next to her till he finally did. "My name is Miniko! What about yours?" She asked.

"I'm Gaara." He introduced.

Miniko nodded. "Okay then Gaara, do you want to play tic-tac-toe? I normally play with Sagi-oh that's my rabbit's name," she explained mid-sentence "But you look like you would make a better opponent!"

"I never played before…" Gaara confessed, nervously.

"That's okay, it's easy! I can show you!" Miniko assured him.

After Miniko explained the game to Gaara, the two of them played together and made small talk. Miniko told him how her birthday was coming up in April and she found out Gaara turned five back in January, they both liked to read and they both liked being outside.

At one point Miniko asked him why he didn't have any eyebrows, but Gaara just shrugged and said. "Your guess is as good as mine." Making Miniko giggle and Gaara blush slightly.

They kept up the conversation for a while as they played countless rounds of tic-tac-toe in the sand. Miniko was preoccupied when suddenly she heard Gaara say.

"I'm glad she's not running away, like the others."

She looked up at with a smile. "Why would I run away? I'm having fun!" Miniko then froze and she saw a confusing look on Gaara's face and she realized what happened.

"How did you know I was thinking that?" Gaara asked

It was over. The first time things were actually working out and she ruined it. She felt a lump form in her throat as she tried to explain. She looked up at him "Well…you see..." Gaara must have noticed her sad look, because he suddenly shook his head.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's okay." He assured.

Miniko looked at him surprised. But she shook her head. "It's not that I don't want to, it's more I don't know HOW to." Miniko confessed. "As long as I could remember I was able to read minds and use tele-teleka…I could move stuff without touching them." She explained. "Sometimes I know how to control it, but…not always." Miniko looked to the ground. "Some people think it's weird…"

Gaara was quiet for a moment but he finally spoke. "I kind of…know how you feel…It's the same for me with the sand…" He confessed. "A lot of people thinks it's scary and I can't always control it either."

Miniko shook her head. "I don't think it's scary, Gaara! I think it's cool! If you couldn't use sand, I never would have gotten Sagi back!" Miniko reminded him with a smile as she looked at Gaara.

This time it was Gaara's turn to be shocked, never having someone called his sand manipulation 'cool'. He returned a small smile to Miniko. "I'm sure your abilities come in handy too Miniko."

Miniko nodded. "Yeah I guess it does! Like this one time, I asked my brother to play hide and seek and I was able to find him easily every round!" Miniko said with sneaky twinkle in her eyes. "We don't play that game anymore…" Miniko said with a nervous smile, making Gaara give a friendly smirk.

Before long Miniko realized the sun was going down. She sighed "Aw, it's already starting to get dark…"

"You have to go home now?" Gaara asked.

Miniko got up and gathered her things. "Yeah, mom wants me back home in time for supper."

Gaara nodded. "Oh, okay…" He quickly stood up and in a nervous stutter he asked. "D-Do you want to play again, maybe tomorrow?" He asked

Miniko turned to him and smiled. "Sure! I have shinobi training in the morning, but then I'm free all afternoon, I can meet you here!"

This time Gaara's face lit up. "R-Really?!"

"Of course! After all we're friends now!" Miniko giggled and her heart skipped happily at the thought of her having a friend. She looked at Gaara's smile and she knew he felt the same way.