Kisame held Kruno through out the night, not once daring to fall asleep. He wouldn't tell anybody, but when they let Kruno go back to Konoha, it had been one of the hardest times of his life. He wasn't using to not have the smiling little girl who ran around the base calling him "sushi." around twenty four seven. He wasn't using to not being woken up at 8:30 on the dot every day so that they go could train on her water techniques. He wasn't used to coming home from missions and seeing her smiling face, and being attacked by huge hugs.

He would glance down at Kruno every once in a while, twirling his blue fingers through her chocolate colored hair. Kisame was known for being a smart ass, someone not to mess with, a high rank criminal, with a stone cold personality who was incredibly cocky, but around Kruno, his walls just sorta fell. Hell, he practically raised her from the time that she arrived at the base, and no one seemed to have a problem with that. She of course, was very open with every member of the Akastuki, but with Kisame, she literally told him everything. She told him ever nightmare she ever had, every dream for the future, every funny moment that her and someone would have. She told him about every time she went outside of the base, and just how much fun she had when she would leave. And Kisame listened.

He could remember so many of the days that he spent with Kruno when she was younger, so clearly. There was this one time that he took the girl into the town with him while he was on a run, and she was literally bouncing up and down from excitement at the idea of being able to leave the base. Her bangs covered her eyes, and that's when Kisame decided that he would get her haircut for her while they were in the town. The girl grabbed his hand and literally started pulling him towards the door.

"Come on Sushi! If we don't leave now, we're going to have to fight through people!" Eight-Year old Kruno screamed, pulling the man with her.

Kisame laughed softly, but followed the small girl who was pulling him with all her might. They walked in silence until they got to the town, and Kruno began to giggle loudly.

"Look, Kisame! It's the town oh my god it's so big, and so pretty!" She said, loudly, and the over grown shark looked down at her, a sad look in his eyes. Sometimes, he felt bad that she was cooped up inside all the time, since she was just a child. And most children her age were starting the ninja academy and making friends, when all of Kruno's friends were S-Ranked Criminals. He sighed slightly as he reach down, and picked up the girl, placing her on his shoulders. This caused her to be up above everyone, and get a perfect view of everything the town had to offer.

"Oh my god, look!" She shouted, pointing at a flower shop. "Look at those pretty flowers!" She said, giggling loudly as she leaned her arms against Kisame's head, placing her head in her hands. Kisame glanced up at Kruno, before chuckling slightly.

"If we have enough after I get everything everyone asked for, I'll get you some flowers okay?" He said, and Kruno nodded quickly.

They went around grabbing everything that they had been asked to get, and finally Kisame walked Kruno towards a hairdresser. Her eyes widened in awe as she looked at him.

"What are we doing here?" She asked, glanced around the room curiously.

"We're getting your hair cut, your bangs are way too long." He said, and Kruno began to dance a dance that the members of the Akastuki had come to call 'Kruno's Happy Dance.'

"Hello, sir!" A cheery woman said. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to get her haircut, please." He said polite, and the girl looked down at the adorable little girl who was blowing her bangs out of her eyes with puffed out cheeks.

"Of course!" She said, coming around and smiling at Kruno. "Come with me, darling, and we'll get those bangs fixed. Your dad can stay over here." She said, and Kruno tilted her head slightly at the word 'dad.' but she didn't say anything. She just smiled and nodded, bouncing over to the seats.

After about twenty minutes, Kruno had a brand new haircut. Her once waist length hair was now handing merely over her shoulders, and she had blunt bangs across her forehead. She giggled slightly as she ran her fingers through her short hair in awe, before turning to Kisame.

"Do you like it?" She asked, and Kisame looked at her for a moment, before nodding his head.

"I love it." Was all he said before Kruno came bouncing over to him, and wrapped her arms around him tightly. This caused the woman who gave Kruno the haircut to give a slight awe. Kisame chuckled slightly as he patted the girls head, and went to pay the woman.

Kruno and Kisame went to leave, but the woman behind the counter stopped them, smiling as she called out.

"Your daughter is adorable!" Was all she said, and Kisame looked down at Kruno, before back at the girl.

"I know." He said, and they walked out.

That was seven years ago, and Kisame still remembered it like it happened yesterday. He sighed softly as he played with her hair. She wasn't the same as before she left. She was colder now, much more unforgiving, she wasn't the smiling little girl he used to love. Well, still did love, but not the little girl who had him around her pinky finger.

'It has something to do with that boy...' He though to himself. 'It has to. She cries about him all the time, and I just... I can't stand seeing her like this.' He sighed again out loud, before looking down at Kruno, his blue fingers running through her bangs.

"I promise, Kruno. I will get the smiling little girl that I knew and loved back." He spoke out loud, knowing she was asleep, but he didn't care. He made a promise.

And he intended to keep it.

///

Back at the Akastuki base, Hidan was sitting in his room, with a crumbled up picture in his hand. It was a fairly old picture, that had rips and tares around the edges, but it still meant a lot to him.

It was a drawing that Kruno had drawn him when she was eight. It was a picture of her and Hidan standing together, and Hidans hair was sticking out randomly, and Kruno had a thing of hair gel in her hands. In a speech bubble coming from Kruno's mouth it said. 'Here you cock sucker, fix that fucking mane.'

Hidan ran his hands along the paper slightly, not being someone who cared about a lot of people, he just chuckled slightly. Somewhere along the line, Kruno got under his skin and he did care about her. He started to think about it, and began to laugh manically when he remembered the first time the Kruno cussed, and how much trouble she got in.

She was seven at the time, and Kisame and Itachi had gone out on a mission together, which meant that she would be spending most of her time with Hidan. She was sitting on her bed, kicking her legs slightly back and forth as she read a book she had stolen from Itachi's room when he was gone. Today was the day that he was due to be back, so Kruno was flying through the book so that she wouldn't get caught with something of his. As she flipped the last page, she ran like hell to his room and placed the book back to where she had found it.

She snuck out of the room and into the living room, sitting down beside of Hidan who had his feet on the coffee table, no shirt on, and his arms extended on the back of the couch.

"Hello, slut." He said, and Kruno rolled her eyes.

"Hello, Hidan." She said, placing her feet on the table like Hidan, but have to sit much closer to the edge since she was pretty short for her age. She gave a huff as she looked up at the ceiling, and Hidan glanced down at her before he began to poke her head.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Slllluutttt. Whoooreee. Stupid mother fuckerrrrr." Hidan said as he continued to poke her head. "Fuck faaaccceee." He said, and Kruno's face began to get slightly red with aggravation.

As soon as the door opened, and Kisame and Itachi walked in, Kruno stood up, shaking slightly and began to scream at the top of her lungs.

"YOU STUPID ASS MOTHER FUCKING COCK SUCKING ASS WIPING DICK HITTING DOUCHE BAG STOP POKING MY FUCKING HEAD AND CALLING ME MOTHER FUCKING NAMES!" She screamed, and everyone in the rooms eyes were glued on her, and some mouths hung agape.

Hidan, on the other hand, busted out laughing so hard he had to hold his stomach because it began to hurt. That's when Kruno looked over at the door to see Kisame and Itachi. She giggled nervously, and gave them a closed eyes grin, waving at them.

"U-Uh, welcome home." She said happily.

Hidan remembered that day so perfectly, and every time he thought about it, he would crack up and have to lay in his bed, thinking about everything that ever happened with Kruno.

He sighed slightly, even he noticed that she had changed, and he didn't like it. But he knew that he would get the smiling girl back.

Even if it "killed." him.

//

In Suna, Kankuro was sitting up his hospital bed, his hands placed gently in his lap as he looked out the window. He sighed heavily, he couldn't help but feel guilty for the 'death.' of his childhood best friend Kruno. She was someone who listened to all of the problems that he ever had, someone who made him smile no matter what she did, and someone that he found himself feeling feelings that he had never felt before. Not that it would matter, because he knew that she would leave so he just forgot about those feelings, and that was the end of that.

He stared up at the window, gazing at the stars. Oh how Kruno loved the stars. Especially the view of them from the Suna. She told him that it was her favorite of all of the places that she had ever lived. Kankuro gave a sad smile as he looked at the stars.

"You know, someone once told me that the stars are people we loved who moved on." A nurse said, and Kankuro looked over at her with a tilted head.

"What?" He asked.

"My nan actually. She told me that people that we love who move on, well they become the stars. And they watch over us as we sleep to keep the bad from happening. Sorta like a guardian angel, if you will." The nurse explained, sitting down in the chair beside the hospital bed. "Maybe your friend, Kruno was it?" She asked, and Kankuro nodded in response. "Maybe Kruno is a star watching over you, Temari, and Gaara. Maybe she's watch over Gaara and trying to lead you guys to him."

Kankuro looked at the nurse, before placing his hand gently on hers, and gave her a weak smile.

"Thank you." He said, and she nodded quickly.

"Of course!" She said, before getting up and walking towards the door. She walked out of the room, and Kankuro looked back over at the window. He sighed heavily, and placed his head in his hand. He felt so guilty for her dying. Maybe if he had grabbed her when he left to go get Gaara, and taken her with him, she wouldn't have died.

'No.' He sighed slightly. 'It wouldn't have made a difference. Something would have happened.' He thought, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. 'That's two people I wasn't strong enough to save. I am so sorry Gaara, and Kruno.'

He kept looking up at the stars, the brightest star in the sky to be exact, and he smiled weakly. "Don't worry, kid. I'll get you food, when we meet again."

///

SORRY, NOT A LOT HAPPENED THIS CHAPTER BUT I FELT LIKE I WRITING IT SO HERE IT IS. THERE WILL PROBABLY BE A LOT OF CHAPTERS LIKE THIS BECAUSE I NEVER WENT INTO DETAIL AS TO WHAT HAPPENED WHILE SHE WAS GONE SO HERE IS MY CHANCE TO DO THAT RIGHT????

next chapter will have more in it, I promise.

I love you guys.<3

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