Chapter 1 – Friends at First Sight

The three day trip to Sunagakure was exhausting. Niiane was tired, sleepy, and bored. She didn't know why she had to come along on one of her grandfather's uninteresting errands. She was excited when they were getting prepared back in Konoha, but once the first day was over, she had had enough of the desert.
The carriage bumped and swayed as it rolled through the sand. Niiane rested her head on her hand and her elbow on the window of the carriage. She stared up at the blazing sun and squinted. It was too hot out here in the desert for her.

"Are we there yet?" Niiane grumbled.

"Almost, Niiane," the Third Hokage told her for what seemed like the tenth time. He wasn't angry, just a little annoyed with her constant questioning and whining. Nevertheless, the Hokage couldn't blame her for complaining. She was only six years old and this torrid wasteland just wasn't the place for a child. He really didn't want to bring her on this trip, but—

"Why did I have to go, Grandfather?" Niiane whined. She moved away from the window and sat down in the seat facing her grandfather.

"I'm not sure," the Hokage told her. "But the Kazekage did ask for you to come. He and I have a meeting about this treaty we're going to form, don't you remember? Konoha and Suna will soon be allies. Wouldn't that be—"

The Hokage paused when he saw Niiane almost nodding off to sleep. Her eye lips kept sliding over her eyes and her head bobbled up and down to the bouncing of the carriage.

"Ahem..." the Third Hokage purposely cleared his throat to try and get her attention.

The young girl snapped awake again and gave him an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Grandfather," Niiane blushed. "I'm just really bored..."

The Hokage sighed. "I know, I know."

"And I'm tired, but I can't wait to get to Suna! I want to see the village. Is it like Konoha? Are there ninjas here too?"

"You'll see."

"Lord Hokage sir," Kakashi's voice came from the front of the carriage. "We're nearing the village. We'll be there, let's say around 10 minutes?"

"Alright then. Thank you, Kakashi."

"Yay! We're almost there!" Niiane jumped out of her seat and smiled.

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They were finally at the village. The Hokage and Kakashi held onto Niiane's hands and walked together to the Kazekage's office. To her surprise, Niiane found that the Hidden Sand Village was so much different from her own village. The houses were made of sand and they were mostly all shaped like domes. There were many people out in the streets and markets but not as many as there were in Konoha.

Niiane didn't really get a chance to enjoy the new place because she was practically being dragged along by the Hokage and Kakashi. It didn't take them very long to reach their destination. The Kazekage's office was huge through Niiane's eyes. Was it because it really was large, or was it because she was small? There wasn't much time to think. They were now in a big office with two guards, who looked like s, standing at the door. The man in a white robe like the Hokage stood up from his desk.

"Welcome, Hokage-sama," he said. Niiane couldn't see his face because he covered it with a white cloth. Only his eyes were exposed. 'Must be the sand...' she thought.

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama," the Hokage said.

"Come on in," the Kazekage gestured them all into his office. "You must all be tired from that long trip. Well, you're here now and— oh this must be..." He looked down at Niiane with those eyes. She let go of Kakashi's hand and hung onto her grandfather's robes. She gave him a half-glare. She wasn't afraid of the him; she just didn't seem to trust him.

"Yes," the Hokage said and gave her a little push away from his robes. He kept his hands on her tiny shoulders. "This is my eldest grandchild, Niiane."

"She's quite adorable," the Kazekage said and patted her on the head. "How old are you?" he asked her.
"I'm six, sir," Niiane said politely.

"Really? My youngest son is the same age as you are." he moved his hand away from her head and looked back at the Hokage.

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask Niiane?" the Hokage asked. "You did request that she came along."

"Ah, yes. I did. Well Niiane," the Kazekage turned to her. "I asked your grandfather to take you here because I wanted to ask you something."

Niiane nodded. "Okay..."

"Do you have any... special abilities or gifts, child?"

Everyone gave him confused stares. When Niiane was about to open her mouth to answer him, the Hokage stepped in.

"Um, Kazekage-sama, we really should be getting on with the—"

"Ah...yes, let's get on with the treaty, Hokage-sama. I think my little question can wait." The Kazekage and Hokage walked over to the long table and sat down. The Kazekage gave him a little glare when he had stopped little Niiane from answering. She noticed but she didn't understand what it was about. All she knew was that she wanted to go explore this new village.

Kakashi walked after him and stood behind the Hokage's seat. Niiane walked up to Kakashi and tugged lightly on his jounin uniform pants.

"Hm?" he looked down to see her.

"Can I go outside and play?" Niiane asked. "I'm really bored."

"Oh...Well... alright but just stay out of trouble," Kakashi rubbed his head.

"Thank you!" Niiane hugged his legs and ran quietly out of the office. Kakashi looked thoughtful for a moment. Who am I kidding, I'm going with her. He decided. He knew better than to trust Niiane by herself.

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Niiane walked and admired the village at the same time. She hated the crowed streets and markets; they were just too nosy for her liking. So she found her way to a playground of some sort. There, she saw a bunch of kids playing ball. They all seemed a few years older than her so she decided against playing with them. She scanned the grounds with her gray eyes until she spotted a little boy.

He appeared to be around her age with blood red hair and dark rings around his eyes... his sad eyes. Niiane's heart sank. He was sitting all by himself on that lonely swing with a teddy bear on his lap. He looked so sad that she pitied him. Niiane then smiled and made her way to him.

Kakashi had finally caught up with her. He stayed up on a nearby cliff and watched over Niiane, but let her do as she wanted. She walked up to that boy on the swing.

"Hello," Niiane said shyly. The boy slowly looked up at her. His eyes are pretty, Niiane thought.
"Hi," he said quietly, almost like a whisper.

"How come you're sitting all by yourself? Why don't you go join their game?" Niiane asked and nodded at the older kids. The little boy looked down again.

The boy didn't answer her right away. He glanced back down at the sand below his feet. "No one wants to play with me..." he said sadly.

"That's weird. How come?" Niiane sat down Indian style on the sand next to him.
"I don't know... No one wants to be near me."

"Humph," she said and looked from the boy to the kids and back again. I guess they're just big meanies, not letting you play with them. It's alright. I'll play with you, then." Niiane smiled brightly. He looked at her in shook.

"You...you will?"

"Uh-huh," Niiane said brightly. "I'm really bored and I don't have anyone to play with anyways." She smiled at him. "So... umm... let's make some sand castles!" Niiane started to get on her knees and started digging in the sand.

Without answering her, the boy also got down on his hands and knees beside her. He focused on his hands in the sand and the grains began to form and swirl around him.

Kakashi caught interest in this and gave a close watch.

Once the swirls of sand vanished, what took place of Gaara's hands when he pulled away was a perfectly made sand castle. Niiane stared wide eyed at the beautiful creation.

"Whoa..." she said with wide eyes. "You did that? How did you do that?"

The little boy shrugged and faced her. "I've always knew how, I guess."

"Really? You're... you're just like me." Niiane whispered.

"What...?" the redhead stared at her.

"Yeah," she said and nodded. "You're just like me. Well, similar to me. I've always known how to do this though."

Niiane moved her hands over the sand castle and concentrated. Vines began to grow up from the ground and twist around the sand castle making elegant swirls as decorations. Upon the vines, tiny pale blue flowers blossomed and gave the castle even more beauty.

Kakashi shook his head. That's not good...

Niiane pulled her hands back and smiled at her creation. "Like it?" she asked the little boy.

"How did you..."

"Like you said, I've always known how. Isn't it weird?"

"Yeah..."

They were silent for a while. Niiane looked at the boy and blushed. She was only six years old but something inside of her told her that this boy was very, cute. She was attracted to him somehow. Niiane tried to figure out what to say next as she got butterflies in her stomach.

"Hey, you never told me your name. What is it?"

"Gaara..." the boy said, almost shyly. "What's... yours?"

"My name's Niiane," she said happily. "It's nice to meet you, Gaara."

He nodded. "Same here." Then a faint smile started to appear on his lips.

Just then, the older children who were playing ball began to complain about something. Niiane and Gaara looked over at them. Somehow they had kicked their toy too high and ended it up on the cliff.

"What do we do now...?" one of them asked.

"We don't know how to use the cliff climbing jutsu yet..." another said.

"I guess we'll just go home..." another one of them suggested.

They all began to walk away with their heads downs, disappointed that they couldn't finish their game.
Gaara got up and left Niiane's side. He walked over to the group of kids. Then, the ball began to slowly float down toward them ridding on a small pile of sand. It landed into Gaara's tiny hands. He still looked sad, perhaps because they had not let him play, but he kindly held it out to them.

"Here," he said.

The kids turned back, some where relief and happy to hear that someone had gotten their ball back for them. But Niiane say that the looks on their faces where more of panic than anything.

"It's...it's Gaara!" one of the kids stuttered. Everyone began to back away in fear of his name for some reason. Niiane looked at the older kids then back at her new friend Gaara with confused eyes. What's going –

"Wait, don't go!" Gaara reached out a hand to them, but everyone started to run away, screaming. They ran away in some sort of fearfulness. Gaara somehow become reckless. "I don't want to be alone anymore...!"

His sand flew towards some of them and grabbed their ankles. It dragged them back towards him as its victim screamed for his or her life. They dug their hands into the sand below them to stop themselves from getting dragged any closer to Gaara. Those who weren't caught by the sand were already far from the scene. They didn't look back at the unfortunate ones. A girl screamed her lungs out, seeing waves of sand coming at her.

"Wait!" Niiane called to him. She got up on her feet and ran over to him, waving her arms in the air. "Stop! Don't hurt her!"

Suddenly a man came out in front of the girl and received the hit. He had his arms crossed in front to shield his face, but he still bled from the hit on his arms and forehead. Then he lowered his arms.

"Gaara-sama, please calm down," he said.

"Yashamaru..." Gaara whispered with wide eyes. He relaxed and hung his head.

The kids who were hit had finally been released. They sand that held them, returned to normal. They all ran away as fast as they could before something else happened.

The only child who didn't run away was Niiane. She stayed where she was and watched Gaara. He can't control his gift either...? She wondered. She had only gotten half way from the swings when that man came. She slowly continued the rest of the way towards Gaara. She placed a hand on his shoulder and asked him, "You ok?"

Gaara didn't answer.

"Hm?" Yashamaru looked at Niiane. "Who are you?"

"Oh, my name's Niiane," Niiane told him without even looking at him. She was only looked at Gaara with worried eyes.

Yashamaru gave her a strange look, but she ignored him and continued to worry over her little friend. He nodded to answer her question. He looked as if he wanted to cry and looked down at his small hands. They were shaking, but stopped when smaller hands gripped them.

"It's ok," Niiane said softly. "You can't control your gift right?"

"Gift?" Gaara faced her.

"Uh-huh. You didn't mean to hurt those older kids. You just can't control your gift very well yet, but it's alright. I can't with mine either."

Gaara looked up at her. He stared into her face and blushed. She's cute... And she didn't leave me alone... like everyone else... "You stayed... You're not... you're not afraid of me?"

"Hm?" Niiane tilted her head slightly. "Afraid of you? Why would I be afraid of my new friend?"

"Friend...?" The two looked at each other for a short time and Niiane nodded. She let go of his hands and stood in front of him. She held out a hand and said, "We're friends now right?"

He hesitated for a while, and then slowly took her hand.

Chapter 2 – We'll meet Again

Yashamaru had gone back to his place and left Gaara to play with his new friend. Niiane and Gaara continued their sand castle building. She explained to him what she meant by not being able to control his powers.

"My grandfather told me I was born with this gift," Niiane told him as she patted the sand. "But for some reason, I don't really know how to control it yet. I know how to use it, but sometimes..." she let her words flow while she twirled a thin vine with her finger.

"Why do you call it a gift?" Gaara asked her.

"Hm? Oh, well... I call it a gift because that's what my grandfather always calls it. Why? Doesn't your family call it that?"

Gaara's green eyes grew with the same sadness she saw before.

"Did I say something wrong...?" Niiane asked, feeling guilty.

"No..." Gaara shook his head. "It's just... No one told me what it was called. I don't know why I know how to do all this, but I just do."

"Well, trust me. Call it a gift." Niiane smiled at him. Gaara nodded again and they went back to their game. The two youngsters were beginning to bore Kakashi. He pulled out his copy of Make-Out Paradise to read, but still he was bored. He had been sitting up there for so long. Kakashi had seen and heard everything in the event. Now he pondered weather he should report to the Hokage what had happen. Should he tell him about this Gaara and his powers? He decided against it. The Hokage already has a lot on his mind. Kakashi was settled. Besides, Niiane couldn't have been the only one to be 'blessed with a gift' so perhaps this little boy was just another one like her.

The sun was beginning to set as well. He was about ready to poof down there and drag Niiane back to the Hokage when he noticed two figures coming. Kakashi sighed when he made out who they were.

The Hokage and Kazekage made their way slowly to the two children playing in the sand. The Hokage rushed up to them when he saw Niiane.

"Niiane!" he called to her. She looked up and smiled at her grandfather. She got up, took Gaara's hand, and ran over to the two men.

"Hi Grandfather," Niiane said sweetly.

The Hokage sighed and said, "Where have you been? Where is Kakashi? Why isn't he with you?"

"Nothing happened, Grandfather. I'm fine." Niiane smiled up at him. He gave her a look but then he noticed Gaara standing next to her.

"Oh? Who's your new friend?"

"Gaara," The Kazekage said and both Niiane and her grandfather looked his way. Gaara looked down at his feet as if not daring to look into the Kazekage's eyes.

"Hi Father," he finally said.

"Father?" Niiane question and turn to Gaara. Their hands were still touching and the Hokage's eyes seemed to have noticed this.

"So this is you're son, Kazekage?" the Hokage asked him.

The Kazekage chuckled softly. "Yes. He's the one I mentioned when I asked Niiane about her age. So what have you been doing, Gaara?"

"Nothing..." Gaara said sadly and looked up this time.

"Well, we'd better get going, Niiane," the Hokage took Niiane's free hand but she didn't move.

"Can we stay here a few more days, Grandfather?" she pleaded. "I wanna play with Gaara a little more."

"Niiane we have to—"

"Oh, I'm sure that the Hidden Leaf village will understand, Hokage," the Kazekage cut him off.

"No, we really should get going."

"Grandfather..." Niiane whined.

"It's alright Hokage. I think little Niiane has grown fond of my Gaara. Why not stay one more day? We still didn't finish that treaty completely either, but I think I know a way we can make this work."

"Hm? What are you thinking?" the Hokage said. Niiane's heart jumped. She knew that he sounded convinced. She had only known Gaara a few hours, but she was quite fond of him now. She turned to Gaara and smiled. He still looked a little sad, but he smiled back, slightly.

"Well, we'll just discuss this back at my office." The Kazekage told the Hokage.

"So can we stay, Grandfather?" Niiane asked again.

He had no choice but to shake his head and sigh. "Alright, but only for one day. We'll be leaving tomorrow understand?"

"Aw... ok..." Niiane frowned, but was glad she still had time to spend with her new friend. Even Gaara, who looked sad, smiled back at her.

"Good...good..." the Kazekage said, more to himself than anyone else.

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"So what are you planning on doing with the treaty?" the Hokage asked. He and the Kazekage were once again back in the large office room. They sat facing each other at the desk.

"Well," the Kazekage began. "I was thinking. What kind of life do you want for your little Niiane?"

"Why are you interested?" the Hokage challenged.

"I was just wondering. We all want our children—or grandchildren, to have happy future don't we? I just want to know if you have any future plans for little Niiane." he nodded at the door. On the other side of the door, Niiane and Gaara were happily talking and playing with each other with Yashamaru watching over them two. Kakashi was in the room with them, no doubt finishing his book. The Hokage looked over, but couldn't see them playing because of his angel.

"Well..." the Hokage said slowly. "The kind of life I want for Niiane is a normal one; a life where she can be happy of course with whoever she chooses to be her husband if she's willing to get married. I really just want her to live a simple life."

"Wonderful," the Kazekage said. "I do think we can make this treaty work then."

"What are you saying?"

"If you are willing to have Niiane engaged with my youngest son Gaara, then Sunagakura and Konohagakure will be allies forevermore."

"What!" the Hokage practically jumped out of his seat, but succeed to stay where he was. "How can you think of marriage? At their age?"

"I did say 'engaged' did I not? We'll let them grow up and when the time comes, we'll have their wedding. It's as simple as that."

"But whats does a wedding have to do with the treaty between out villages?"

"Think about it Hokage, the granddaughter of the Third Hokage and the son of the Fourth Kazekage. That would unite both our villages for sure."

"I don't know..." the Hokage said sadly. "What if they're not a good match for each other?"

"Did you not see them this afternoon? They were getting along so well and Niiane seems attached to Gaara already."

"Shouldn't we tell them before we make any decisions? I mean, it is their lives we're dealing with here."

"Don't worry so much," the Kazekage shook his head. "We can keep this a secret until they're a little older. You sound like you're considering this, Hokage. What do you say?"

"I'm still not sure about giving up my granddaughter."

"You said you wanted a simple life for her. I'm sure Gaara will live a simple life as well."

The Hokage thought for a moment. Somehow, this idea sounded as if it had something to do with what had happened this morning at their previous meeting. The Kazekage had once again asked about Niiane, but this time, he had asked the Hokage himself. The Hokage simply answered that she had the power to control plants at will. If he wanted Niiane for her gift, he thought, why does he want her to marry his son?

But then again, the Hokage remember the look on Niiane's face when he told her they were leaving. He also remembered the way she didn't let go of that boy's hand. Maybe she would be happy with this boy... but she had only known him for what, a few hours? But then again, the treaty was an important issue... Niiane is the Hokage's eldest grandchild and giving her up for a treaty would have broken her parent's hearts if they were only alive to see it happen. Niiane... the treaty...

The Hokage sighed. "Alright. Niiane will wed your son when they both come of age. I may not be able to control her life while she grows up though..."

"Oh that's quite alright. They're still children after all." The Kazekage pulled out a scroll. "Here we are. The Suna Konoha Treaty. Just sign right here with your name and it is complete. Oh, and we must buy those two engagement charms as well."

When the Hokage finished signing his name on the treaty scroll, he slowly got up out of his chair and nodded. 'I hope I'm doing the right thing.'

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The next day, Gaara and Niiane were allowed to play with each other. Gaara didn't really seem as excited about it as Niiane was, but he followed her around wherever she wanted to go. Kakashi had no choice but to follow them as well. He really didn't like the fact that Niiane was going to run around with the Kazekage's son. He just didn't seem... normal to him, but neither was Niiane.

Gaara had seemed so sad the whole time they were together. Niiane didn't ask why, because she knew it must have something to do with the incident with the ball the other day. Another thing she didn't understand was why the villagers of Suna would rush away from them when the two of them came near anyone. Some would even give them alarmed glances. Gaara had almost lost his control again and was about to attack a man for cursing at him and Niiane. She was able to stop him in time and no one got hurt.

It was now late afternoon and Niiane was about to leave soon. She and Gaara were heading back to the Kazekage's office when she told him to wait for her and ran off to someplace private. Niiane chose a small alley nearby. She clasped her palms together and concentrated on her chakra. A beautiful necklace appeared in her hands. It was made from the same vine that she had used before. Tiny green leaves spurted around the vine necklace. At the center, a single pale-blue flower bloomed. Once satisfied with her creation she rushed back to Gaara.

He really did wait for her. He had an emotionless face, but changed that to a happy one when he saw Niiane running toward him. She held the necklace out to him.

"Here," she panted and blushed.

"What's this?" Gaara asked and gave her a confused look.

"It's a present. I have to leave soon, but if you wear this, I'm sure we'll meet each other again one day. Don't worry; the flower will never wilt as long as I still remember about it. I tried this before." She giggled.

"Uh... Thank you." He reached out and took the gift.

"Try it on." Niiane said when she saw him just staring at it. Gaara did as he was told and pulled the necklace down his head. It was a little big on him now, but it might not be later.

"Prefect," Niiane smiled at him. Gaara looked at it first and smiled back.

"Wait here," he said and ran off.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Niiane reached out to him and called.

"I'll be back!" Gaara called be to her.

She lowered her hand and waited there in silent. 'Where is he going..?' She sighed and waited patiently like she was taught to do. Niiane gazed up toward the late afternoon sky and saw two birds flying by. A smile grew on her face and she thought about herself being with Gaara. She was still young; only six-years-old. Still, this was one of her childhood fantasies. What seemed like an hour had gone by when Gaara finally came back. Niiane waved to him and greeted him when he got up to her.

"Where did you go, Gaara?"

He panted first then said, "Here." He held out something to her. It was his teddy bear, the same one he was hugging when they first met.

"What?" Niiane startled when she saw the teddy bear.

"For you. Since you're leaving..." he blushed as he nudged the gift at her.

"But this is yours. I can't take it." Niiane shook her head.

"No, just take it! You can have it."

"Umm... well... ok. Thank you, Gaara." Niiane took the teddy bear and hugged it in her arms. "I don't really want to leave, but I'm sure we'll meet each other again, right?"

"Uh... yeah."

"Yeah," Niiane said. Then she flung her arms around Gaara's shoulders and held him tightly. "I can't wait till we see each other again."

Gaara stared straight ahead wide eyed. Never in his life had someone held him like this. He was startled and shocked, but other than that, he liked it. He just didn't react to her embrace.

3 As the Years Go By

The late night sky was beginning to darken. The clouds were dark purple and the sky a deep shade of black and blue. Small stars were starting to appear and twinkle as the moon glowed. Niiane sat on her bed and brushed her navy-blue hair. Once done, she flipped her long her hair back. She placed her brush into her desk cupboard and walked to the window. The breeze blew pass her face. ‘What a nice night...’ she thought. ‘Too bad he’s not here to share it with me...’ Her face remained emotionless...

Six years have pass since she was in Sunakage. Leaving her young friend Gaara was the hardest thing to do at that time. She was only a little girl after all. Niiane had been in a deep state of depression when she finally came home. The Hokage had tried his best to cheer her up, but it seemed that all she wanted was to be her little playmate again.

Before meeting Gaara, she had already lost both her parents. They were both killed in action during one of their missions. She could still remember crying for hours with her younger brother, Konohamaru in her arms crying along with her. Now the only people who she can really call her family were her grandfather, Konohamaru, and Iruka who lived with them. Niiane and Konohamaru were both very fond of Iruka. He was like them, without parents... but he was always cheerful and happy. It was as if he gave them enough happiness to move on.

After a few days in sadness and memories, Niiane had made up her mind: she wanted to become a ninja and live the shinobi life. Maybe if she became a ninja, she can help others just like her parents did. Her grandfather was already the Hokage, the greatest ninja in the Hidden Leaf Village. Niiane wanted to live up to his levels and become a great ninja herself. Memories of Gaara gave her the strength to believe in the gift that she had; for her gift was quite similar to his. She felt it was the key to unlocking her true potential. ‘Yes’. She believed that with the help of her precious ‘gift’, she could do it; she could become the most powerful ninja in Konoha, just like her grandfather.

After two years, Niiane turn eight and begged the Hokage to let her attend the Ninja Academy. He had already disagreed with her idea many times. "You're too young to enter the academy Niiane!" He would tell her many times over and over. But Niiane would not give in. The Hokage was not pleased with this, but he finally permitted her nevertheless. He wanted her to live a simple life, but it was her life after all; it should be her choice. From that point on, he began to worry about the treaty between Konoha and Suna.

While in the Ninja Academy, Niiane pushed herself demandingly. Whenever school was over, she would be found in her room studying. She would work twice as hard as all of her older classmates. During battle trainings, Niiane would easily pass any test taken in the forest. This might have been because of her gift. All she had to do was ask her nature friends for their assistance and she would have it. She learned to control her powers a little more with the help of her sensei. Niiane was now able to mold her chakra and direct her plants at the right target. In some ways, she still could not fully control her plants and sometimes they would come out of hand. But even when this happened, her sensei would quickly help her get a hold of herself again.

Niiane graduated the academy at age ten. But when she was sent on her first real mission with her team, the incident proved that Niiane was far too young to know what it was like to be a true ninja yet. She could still remember that day.

Their mission was to capture the hidden scroll and carry it back to the village in one piece. The three new Gennins hid in the bushes, waiting for their sensei to give them that signal to move in. They had already waited 10 minutes when their sensei said it would only take 5.

“We should go help him,” Niiane suggested to her team.

“No, Niiane!” One of her teammates said. “He said don’t move from this spot unless we hear the signal.”

“But it’s already been 10 minutes! What if something happened to Sensei? I’m going. Come on you guys!”

“No!” the same teammate said to her. “This is a mission. You have to know what you’re doing.”

“I do know what I’m doing. I may be younger than you guys but I’ve gotten higher marks than you did in class so I say we go!”

“That was in class this is a mission!”

“Hmph... Fine. You guys stay here. I’m going to help Sensei!” Niiane jumped up from her hiding place but right when she moved from her spot, the enemies caught her.

“No! Let me go!”

“Niiane!” both her teammates yelled and come out into view as well.

“Get them!” the enemy boss commanded and several ninjas began to attack her team.

“No stop!” Niiane cried, literally, but the enemy only crushed her harder for her not to escape. “Don’t!”

“Shut up!” her capturer said. “You’re next to die.”

“Let me go! I don’t want to die!” She cried even harder.

“Kaaah!” a man joined the scene.

“Sensei!” all three Gennins said in relief. “Don’t worry. I’ve brought help with me.” And with that, many other Jounins and Chuunins from the village came out to help.

Once everyone was back in the safety of their village, Niiane confused her faults. Her grandfather had no choice but to suspend her from mission duties and the team.

“Niiane you put your whole team in danger because you couldn’t wait for a signal?” Her sensei shouted at the top of his lungs. “I thought you knew better than that! The whole team could have killed and the mission would have been—“

“May I have a say in this?” the Hokage stepped in.

“Yes, Lord Hokage.”

“Mm.” He nodded then turned to Niiane. She was crying again. Partly from being yelled at and partly from fear of what just happened. “Niiane, from now on, you are suspended from missions and the team. I will allow you to stay an active ninja.”

Niiane nodded and cried even harder.

I knew that she was far to young... The Hokage thought. But you were just far to stubborn. Niiane... you're going to get in trouble one day...

After that incident, she decided to be a teacher’s aid for Iruka. She went to her grandfather for help and he quickly agreed to the idea. For two years she helped Iruka teach his classes. In the classroom, she was always very quiet. Sometimes she would talk to the students if they needed help on some of the assignments but other than that, Niiane always sat in the front desk scribbling in her log book. She didn’t really have any friends. She was afraid that she might make the same mistake again, mission or not.

The person who seemed to be a friend to her was Naruto. They weren’t close, but she just liked talking to him every now and then. He was different, she new that. He was always by himself for some reason. One day, Niiane decided to make a change in her regular routine and walked up to him on her own will. What she found out was that Naruto was an orphan like her, only he didn’t have someone else in his family like she did. He was a little loud and annoying but there was something about him that she liked, a lot. He reminded her of Gaara... she just didn’t know what that something was.

Niiane sighed and decided to go to sleep. She crawled into bed and saw the teddy bear. She smiled and hugged it in her arms. Her dreams were all about him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Six years have passed. Gaara sat on top of the tallest roof of his village and stared down at the village. The breeze blew through his hair. He was pretty much bored with nothing to do but sit up there. It’s a shame he couldn’t be like everyone else, but then again, why would he want to be? They’re all worthless after all and sleep just might be the same. Gaara closed his eyes for a moment but then he reopened them in a flash when a vision of her flashed through his mind. Her smile was the same, the same little girl he knew when he was young. He shivered and clenched his forehead in pain.

He wasn’t going to forgive anyone anymore. He would only love and fight for himself. Gaara had become a ninja as well. He was lead by Baki and his teammates were his own siblings: Kankuro and Temari. Ever since that day Yashamaru had betrayed him, Gaara’s heart was filled with nothing but pure hate for everyone else. He didn’t want to believe that there was one person out there who loved him. But Niiane... No. She’s no one anymore. She had left him as well, she meant nothing to him.

The pain in his head slowly began to fade as he lowered his hand and relaxed. Why did this keep happening to him? He didn’t know the answer.

Gaara reached into his shirt and pulled out a beautiful necklace with a pretty pale blue flower. Attached to the necklace was a charm; an engagement charm. He clenched it softly and memories began to flow through him. Memories about her. Why did he still remember her after all those years of being apart?