Disclaimer: Holy flying Gummibears! I didn't think I could make it…. But here we are! THE FINAL CHAPTER FOR BOOK 1! Thank all who have been reading this and enjoying my story and now on my count of three everyone YOU KNOW WHAT TO SAY! 1...2...3

Gummibearninja, Miniko, Gaara, Yuuri, Auron, Chahiro, Mayu-WE DON'T OWN NARUTO!

Gummibearninja-Great now let's do a group picture!

Everyone- Forget it!

Gummibearninja-Fine….

Chapter 24

We'll always be together

It was nearly dawn when Yuuri finally passed the border to the land of fire. With Miniko still asleep in his arms, Yuuri ran all through the night as fast as he could, not once risking to take a break.

Once he crossed the border, Yuuri finally allowed himself to stop for a minute. His heart was beating fast and his legs wobbled. He leaned against a tree and slumped to the ground as he tried to catch his breath. If Uncle Taro left early yesterday, he might still be here. Yuuri thought, as he caught his breath.

He heard Miniko suddenly grunt slightly. He looked at her and his chest went tight. Miniko I'm sorry…You're right I should have just stayed…His eyes suddenly started to feel heavy and before he knew it, he was soon asleep.

XXXXXX

Yuuri woke up hours later. What…Damn did I fall asleep!? He shot himself up and saw that he was in a new location and was tucked in on a bed. Miniko! Where's Miniko?! He lifted the blankets up and saw she was nowhere to be seen. He began to panic when suddenly the door opened and a voice spoke.

"Geez Yuuri, I know it's been a while since you were here, but surely you wouldn't forget what my apartment looks like."

Yuuri turned. "Uncle Taro! When did I get here?" Yuuri asked.

"I had a feeling someone was following me so I turned back and found you with Miniko not far from the border." Uncle Taro explained.

Yuuri's worry towards his sister came shooting back. "Miniko! Where is Miniko?"

Uncle Taro walked closer and gestured him to calm down, "She's fine. I noticed on our way back she was under your mother's sleeping jutsu. She uses it for surgeries and it normally requires medics to undo, so I took her to the hospital. She's still asleep."

Mom! Yuuri suddenly remembered the note from her and the peril she and Mayu were in. "Mom! Mayu! I need to go to them!" Yuuri jumped out of bed and franticly looked for his weapons.

Uncle Taro tried to stop him, "Yuuri, I need you to listen to me-"

"Here they are!" Yuuri said when he found his tools. Once he fastened them he headed toward the door. "If I leave now I can still-" He said as he passed his Uncle.

"Yuuri!" Uncle Taro snapped, finally making him stop. "About your mother and Mayu…I need to talk you about that…" He said to him, with sadness in his voice.

Yuuri turned and looked at him, "W-What?" he asked, unsure if he even wanted to know.

Uncle Taro sighed, "When I found you two, it was clear to me that something was wrong; so I sent a shadow clone back to your house to investigate. When no one was at the house, it inspected around the outside of the village…" Uncle Taro paused, trying to find the right words. "I-I just heard back from the clone….Your mother she's…She's gone…"

Yuuri paled, "W-What…? N-No…" His body shook. So many of his friends growing up have told him about losing their parents during battle. After all, death is part of job as a Shinobi. As a kid he remembered always feeling lucky that his were still alive. Now he knows what his friends feel like…and he hated it.

"What about Mayu?" Yuuri asked, hoping for good news.

Unfortunately that isn't what he got. "Mayu…she was taken by the agency. After the clone found out about Chahiro, it went back to the house and found a note. It said that until the agency receives Miniko, Mayu is going to be held hostage." Uncle Taro put his hand on Yuuri's shoulder. "Yuuri, words are not enough to tell you how sorry I am."

"W-Why Mayu and Miniko…They're only children…Why those two?!" Yuuri clenched his fists.

"I don't know and it's disgusting what those sick bastards are doing." Uncle Taro sighed.

Yuuri bit his lip and his body began to shake. Tears streamed down his face. "I'm pathetic…This is all my fault…I completely failed to protect any of them!" Yuuri was sobbing now. "Father…I'm sorry I'm so useless! I couldn't protect anyone! You died…For nothing!"

"Yuuri!" Uncle Taro snapped again. Yuuri looked up. "Don't say that when you know for a fact it's not true!"

"But-" Yuuri argued, tears still rolling down his face.

His uncle shook his head. "You talk as if everything is lost, when you still have people to protect." He gripped both his hands on his shoulder. "Miniko is alive and we can still find Mayu and with the two of us working together, we can finally bring down those monsters."

Yuuri looked to the ground, "But we don't even know where to start looking…"

Uncle Taro smiled at him, "As long as you have the determination to protect your sisters', finding that place will be a piece of cake."

Yuuri wiped away his tears. "I get what you're saying uncle," Yuuri clenched his fists. "And I swear, I'm not going to let the agency take away anyone else I care for."

"I know you can do it!" Uncle Taro said with a grin.

A thought occurred to Yuuri. "What about Miniko? Where can she stay now?"

Uncle Taro gave him a funny look, "Well that's obvious, she can stay here with me. I can protect her and train her properly."

"But aren't you one of the Jounin, here in Konoha?" Yuuri remembered his uncle telling him. "What if you end up going on a long mission?"

Uncle Taro thought for a minute, "We can ask Kakashi Hatake to help up with her training."

Kakashi Hatake was a leaf Shinobi and a long-time friend to Yuuri. They knew each other since they were kids because his Father was a good friend with Kakashi's Father before he passed away. "Kakashi? Does he know about this?"

Uncle Taro nodded, "Actually when Miniko was first kidnapped, Kakashi was one of the first people your Father requested aid from aside from me."

Yuuri nodded. "I didn't know that"

Uncle Taro smiled at him, "Together, you and I are going to take down those monsters who put our family through this hell."

Yuuri nodded in agreement, "That's for sure and I'm going to start by getting Mayu back!" Yuuri turned and headed to the door. "If I leave now I can probably still track them down." Yuuri stopped and looked at his Uncle again. "Do me a favor and apologize to Miniko for me."

Uncle Taro nodded, "If I can make a suggestion, maybe you can start by checking up north, near the land of earth. That's the direction I found Chahiro."

Yuuri looked puzzled, "Wouldn't it make more sense to head back home and follow the tracks? Why would I go directly there?"

Uncle Taro just shakes his head and sighs, "Even if you head back to the sand village, any evidence is most likely covered in sand from the wind."

"Yeah I can see what you mean. I'd just be wasting time then." Yuuri agreed. "Alright I'm heading to the land of earth then. Thanks Uncle and I swear those bastards aren't going to hurt anyone else in this family." With that promise, Yuuri headed out to find his sister.

XXXXXXXX

When Miniko opened her eyes all she could see was white. W-Where am I? She thought, looking around. She saw there was an I.V drip taped on her hand. She focused in on the surrounding area to figure out where she was.

"The patient in room 225 is ready for anaesthesia."

"I need those lab tests back now!"

"No! I don't want another needle!"

Miniko blinked. The hospital? What am I doing here again? Why can't I hear mom? Her vision finally began to return and the she caught a glimpse of light from the corner of her eye. She turned and saw…green? Trees? Funny it's almost like I'm in… Miniko gasped and sat up in her bed. "Wait am I seriously in Konoha?!"

"Easy Miniko, your body is still a bit stiff from the sleeping jutsu."

Miniko turned and her eyes went wide. "Uncle Taro? What are you doing here?"

"Now I understand your probably confused right now-"

Miniko didn't even wait for him to finish. "What's going on?! Why am I in Konoha?! Is Mom here too?" Miniko asked shooting question after question to Uncle Taro. Her memories from last night suddenly returned and she gasped, "Mom, Mayu! I saw Yuna take her and then mom-" She couldn't finish. Cool sweat ran down her back and her heart palpitated, "Mom! Where's my Mom?"

"Miniko!" Her uncle finally snapped, but making sure he didn't sound angry. "You need to calm down, alright?"

Miniko bit her lip and her body shook as she tried to fight back tears. "What happened?" Miniko asked. "Mom, Mayu and Yuuri, I can't hear any of their thoughts." Her body shook. She could no longer hold back her tears as she looking pleadingly up at her uncle. "Uncle, where are they? Why am I here alone?"

Taro shut his eyes and looked away from her for several moments. He looked back at her. "Miniko, I need you to listen very carefully…" He started and through his facial expression alone, Miniko could tell it wasn't going to be good news.

Her Uncle chose his words carefully as he broke all the horrible news about Mayu's kidnapping, Yuuri leaving to find her and her Mother's death. Mayu and Yuuri are gone and mom she's…dead… She repeated what her uncle said to her. Miniko stomach turned, her throat dried, her skin paled and her head spun as she tried to process everything her uncle told her. It spun faster and faster till it hurt. "Mom…Dead?" She whispered before large tears started down her face. "First dad…and now my mom!" Her voice shook and she break down into uncontrollable sobs.

Uncle Taro tried to reach for her as an attempt to comfort her but she turned over onto her side, avoiding his touch.

Uncle Taro sighed sadly before turning to the door. "I'll be outside if you need anything, Miniko." He said before leaving.

Once her Uncle left, Miniko continued to sob into her pillow as images of her family flashed through her mind. Just a couple weeks ago she had her siblings, her parents and Gaara all by her side, bringing her happiness everyday of her life. But just like that, it was all gone. Every one she cared about in life was gone and now she was alone. She cried harder. It's my fault…It's my fault….it's my fault.

XXXXXXX

Miniko cried until her she couldn't cry anymore. Everything hurt and her body was exhausted. She wanted to fall asleep, but she couldn't even do that. Instead she just laid motionless on her bed. She heard the door open and knew it was her Uncle, but she didn't look at him.

"I brought you something to eat." He said to her gently, heading over and sitting on a chair next to her.

"I'm not very hungry…" Miniko declined.

"Miniko I understand this must be hard, but you really should try eating something." Uncle Taro told her, showing concern.

"How could you understand!?" Miniko yelled, hysterically. "Mom, Dad, Yuuri, Mayu and even my only friend, they're all gone now!" Miniko turned to her uncle, shaking as fresh tears of anger rolled down her cheeks. "Everyone I love is gone!"

"You're not the only one who's lost everything!" Uncle Taro snapped suddenly, his body shaking.

Miniko flinched, rarely had her uncle yelled like that. She look at up at him and saw he was shaking. Her thoughts entered his.

Reika…Reika…Reika. The name ran through her uncles thoughts over and over again.

"Who's Reika?" Miniko questioned.

Uncle Taro shook his head and looked back at Miniko. "I'm sorry Miniko, I didn't mean to yell."

"But who's-" Miniko repeated.

"Someone special to me from long ago." Taro grimaced. "Look it's been a long day for all of us Miniko, I'm sorry for snapping."

Miniko, though not satisfied with her uncle's vague answer, nodded, "It's okay."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning Miniko was discharged and her uncle took her back to his apartment. Normally Miniko loved going to her uncle's apartment but this time she felt her stomach go into a knot. When they got to the door she stopped and looked the ground, clutching her hands tightly.

Uncle Taro stopped and looked at her. "Miniko?"

"It just doesn't feel the same…" Miniko answered timidly. "Coming here alone without them…" Her eyes tearing up.

Uncle Taro let out a gentle sigh, "I know Miniko, I know. It's going to take getting used to." He gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's go in now."

Once inside Uncle Taro took her to one of his guest room, which would now be her own. "Anything you need Miniko?" Her uncle asked.

'No thank you, I kinda just want to be alone." Miniko answered. "I think I'll just go through my bag and unpack."

Uncle Taro nodded, "I understand…" he said before leaving the room.

Miniko looked around the room. In the past, whenever she and her family stayed at uncle Taro's, she would share this room with Yuuri. She would talk to him late into the night as Yuuri groaned, just wanting to go to sleep. When she did finally fall asleep, Yuuri was forced awake by flying objects hitting him the head. She had stayed in this room dozen of time and it almost felt like a second home. However, now that she actually living in it, it just didn't feel right. She bit her lip and felt a lump form in her throat.

She wiped away the tears forming in her eyes and shook her head. She noticed her bag on top of her bed and decided to unpack. She headed over to it, when her eyes caught a glimpse of something on her nightstand. It was a framed photo of her family, which was taken sometime last year. She picked it up and admired it closely.

Miniko had a huge grin on her face and was standing in front of her mother and Yuuri, who was holding an obvious impatient Mayu. Her father and uncle were on the other side of mom and Uncle Taro had a hand on her father's shoulder as they both smiled.

As she looked at the photo, she felt a piece of paper sticking out from the back. She pulled it out and read it.

If you remember someone's smile, you'll always remember them.

A small smile crept on Miniko's face. Her uncle must have put the photo in her room to make her feel better. She hugged the photo close, don't worry everyone, I'll never forget. She promised. She put the photo and the note gently on her nightstand, laying the note in front of it.

She smiled at the photo again before turning to her backpack. I better unpack… Miniko thought, sitting on her bed. As mom would say, it's not going to unpack itself. Miniko giggled as she opened the top of her bag. Upon looking inside, her smile suddenly dropped. She saw the corners of a photograph and reached in to pick it up, "Is that…?" Miniko wondered. She gasped as she saw that it was the photo of her and Gaara, the time he wore her blue dress. The one she's been hiding from him all this time.

Miniko's chest suddenly felt tight, just realizing she hasn't even thought of her best friend since arriving to the leaf village. Gaara! What about Gaara!? Does he even know what happened? She then remembered that they were supposed to meet yesterday and be together all day. Yesterday she would have spent her day with Gaara doing whatever they wanted: running outside, reading a book, playing shoji. It didn't matter what, as long as they were together. She was still clutching and eyeing the photo as tears instantly began to roll down her cheeks and heart ached as she thought of him. It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair! This wasn't supposed to happen! Miniko thought, sobbing harder. They were supposed to stay together, but instead, Miniko was all the way in Konoha, he was still in Suna and they were both alone.

XXXXXXX

It was late in the evening and Miniko was laying on her bed, still staring at the photo of her and Gaara. From behind, she heard her uncle knock on the bedroom door.

"Miniko?" He called and when she didn't answer he spoke again. "I'm coming in, okay?" He said before opening the door. He walked over to her and sat down behind her. He let out a gentle sigh, "It's been rough, hasn't it Miniko?" he sympathized.

Still looking at the picture, Miniko bit her lip and gave a small nod as a response.

"Is that your little red headed friend from back home?" Uncle Taro asked when he saw the picture.

Miniko nodded, "I miss Gaara so much…" she said quietly.

Her uncle gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "I know, Miniko. Being away from a close friend is always hard. I'm sure Gaara misses you too."

Guilt punched Miniko's stomach as tears filled her eyes again. "He hates me now…" her voice choked.

"Now why would you think that?" Taro asked. "You've always been a good fiend to him and he knows that."

His words made Miniko cry harder. Her face crumpled as she shook her head, "I'm not a good friend! I always told him I would never leave him! That we will always be together! But I couldn't even do that!" She sobbed

"You two may be far apart from each other, but that doesn't mean you left him. If you keep contacts with him he'll know that too." He chuckled, "And hey, with your telepathy it will like you have a built in wireless communicator."

Miniko sat up and looked at him. "But there's no way its strong enough to reach Suna!" Miniko told him.

Uncle Taro shrugged, "You never know, train hard enough and maybe someday you will be able to."

Miniko perked up, "You think I can get stronger?"

He nodded, "Your already stronger then you were before, keep working and hard who knows how strong you can get." He smiled at her. "Until then, there's always letter writing."

Miniko finally smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him, "Thanks Uncle, I'm glad I have you." She let go and looked up at him. "And I'll make sure to tell Gaara that he'll always have me!"

He ruffled her hair, "I'm sure he already knows."

XXXXXXX

Thanks to the talk she had with her uncle last night, Miniko woke up finally feeling like herself again. After breakfast, she spent her morning unpacking and writing her letter to Gaara on the small desk in her room.

"Finished!" Miniko triumphed to herself as she wrote the last few words of the letter. She picked it up and looked over it a couple times to make sure she didn't leave anything important out. When it got her okay, she sealed it up in an envelope and wrote Gaara's address on the back. "Now to send it!" She said. She stood up from her desk and gently put the letter in her bag, before heading out of the room.

When she opened the door she saw her uncle across the living room, near the door talking to a man wearing a mask that covered most of his face. Curious, she walked over.

"Ah Miniko I was just about to come get you!" Her uncle said when he noticed. "There is someone I want you to meet. This is a Konoha Jounin named Kakashi Hatake. He knew your father and also is a friend of Yuuri's."

Miniko nodded and smiled politely at Kakashi. "Hello, nice to meet you. Mom told me that dad asked for your help when I was little, so did you know him well?

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Well really my father knew Auron a lot more personally than I did. Most of what I know of him is from Yuuri." He confessed.

"I often have work and missions outside of the village and Kakashi has agreed to help you with training whenever I'm not around. He's quite skilled so I think you'll be able to learn a lot from him."

Miniko smiled, "Really! Thank you!"

Kakashi chuckled, "Well let's just hope you're willing to work hard."

Miniko nodded. "I am! I've decided I want to work as hard as I can so someday I can be the one to protect those I care for!"

"Then I'll look forward to showing you what I know." He looked up at her uncle. "And I'll make sure to keep you updated on her progress whenever you are gone."

Her uncle smiled, "I trust that you will."

After saying good-bye to Kakashi, Miniko looked at her uncle. "Uncle is it alright I go outside for a while?" She asked. "I want to go mail a letter."

Taro nodded, "That's fine. Try not to get lost out there though. Konoha is quite a bit bigger than Suna after all."

Miniko snorted a laugh, "Ha! Trust me I can handle it!"

XXXXX

"Okay, so I am officially lost." Miniko announced when she noticed she just passed the same flower shop for a third time. She let out a frustrated sigh, "Who's idea was it to make a VILLAGE, so big anyway!?"

"Uh…Are you okay? Do you need any help?" Said a quiet voice from behind. Miniko turned and saw pale girl, around her age with black short hair and silver-white eyes. "Y-You look like you lost." The timid girl added.

"Well I like to look at it more like a…misadventure." Miniko joked. "But I guess wandering aimlessly looking for a post office can also be considered lost."

The girl giggled, "Well if you want, I can show you where it is. It's just up the hill."

"Sure and thanks!" Miniko smiled. "My Name is Miniko, what about you?"

"Hinata Hyuga, nice to meet you too!"

The two girls started walking, making small talk until they reached the post office. "Thanks again for your help!" Miniko said as she took the letter out of her bag.

"No problem!" Hinata smiled. "Is that for a friend of yours?"

Miniko nodded, "Yeah, a friend who is really important to me." She smiled at the letter as she said those words.

"I see, well I hope he gets it then." She said

Miniko looked up at her, "Yeah, me too!" She looked at the letter one more time, before putting it in the mailbox slot. She smiled at Hinata again. "Thanks to you I was able to deliver it."

Hinata shook her head, "Oh no, I had fun talking with you! Hopefully we can meet each other again."

Miniko nodded, "That would be great as long as I don't get lost again trying to find you."

"Hey, if you're not busy, maybe I can show you around the village right now?" Hinata offered.

Miniko smiled cheerfully, "Sure, sounds great!"

XXXXXXX

For hours Miniko walked around the village with Hinata. The two talked and giggled the entire time. Before the two said good bye, they made plans to hang out again.

"I made a new friend today guys," Miniko was laying on her bed that night looking at the photo of her family as she talked to them. "Her name is Hinata, she's kinda shy but she's really nice! "When I see Gaara again, I'll have to introduce him to her." Her eyes glanced over to the picture or her and Gaara that was also resting on the night stand. She smiled at the photo, "I can't wait to see you again Gaara. Just you wait, I'm going to train harder than I ever did before so I can come back to Suna! That, my friend, is a promise!"

Book 1 end

Gummibearninja- I really hoped you enjoyed this and thanks putting up with my lateness all this time and Note THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY! That's right i will soon be working on Book 2 XD

Gaara- what…book 2! PEASE DON'T TELL ME I'LL BE WEARING WEIRD COSTUMES AGAIN I BEG OF YOU!

Gummibearninja-Oh we'll see Gaara….we'll see….