Mayuri Hatake knocks on the door to Iruka's house and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. It was dark in the village and, since Mayuri didn't have any plans for the night, she'd jumped on the opportunity to help Iruka-sensei when he asked.

Iruka opens the door and smiles at the young kunoichi standing outside his home. "Thank you again for doing this for me Mayuri. I knew I could count on you."

"No problem," she replies with a smile as he welcomes her inside. "I just wish you'd tell me what I was doing here."

"I'm sure your father mentioned the big party that's going on later tonight?" Iruka leads her into the living room. "Well I need someone to watch him for me while I'm gone."

Mayuri enters the living room to see a small blonde child with bright blue eyes playing with some kind of toy in the center of the floor. He doesn't notice the two older ninja standing just outside the room.

Iruka clears his throat to catch the young child's attention, nervous about how Mayuri will react to the outcast child. The blonde looks over at the two and smiles before standing up.

~ view change ~

Naruto didn't know who the girl was that Iruka-sensei had brought over, but she sure was pretty. Naruto runs up to Iruka, who swings him up into a hug. "Iruka-sensei, who's the pretty girl?"

"This is Mayuri," Iruka replies with a smile. "She's gonna stay with you tonight while I go out. Say hello Naruto."

Naruto looks warily at the starlight haired girl. She appeared nice enough, but he was all too aware that even the nicest people could be cruel. How could he know if she was really nice or not?

"Hi Naruto." Mayuri smiles at him and he just kind of looks at her. "I'm Mayuri. Do you like to play hide-and-seek?"

Naruto looks up at Iruka questioningly, but the shinobi just smiles at the child. Naruto turns back to the girl with sunshine colored eyes and nods slowly. "I like to play hide-and-seek."

Mayuri gently takes Naruto from Iruka's arms and rubs her nose against his. "Well why don't we walk Iruka-sensei to the door and then we can play hide-and-seek."

"Okay!" Naruto smiles happily and soon he and the kunoichi are alone. Naruto wiggles in her arms, excited for their game. "You count first okay?"

"Okay." Mayuri sets him down and covers her eyes. "One… Two… Three…"

The whiskered child scrambles away from his babysitter and searches for a hiding place, finally ducking under the bed in Iruka-sensei's room just as she calls out that she's coming. He puts a hand over his mouth to prevent his giggles from spilling out as Mayuri comes into the room.

"Now, where oh where could Naruto have hidden?" Mayuri's feet walk back and forth in front of Naruto's hiding place and a few giggles escape through his fingers. Suddenly, Mayuri drops to her knees and peeks under the bed. "Found you!"

Laughing, Naruto comes out of his hiding place and hugs his new friend. "Now you hide!"

~ view change ~

Mayuri yawns as the movie comes to an end and clicks off the TV. She smiles down at the young child sleeping in her lap. They'd played hide-and-seek, board games; she'd made him mac-and-cheese for dinner and then he'd asked to watch a movie before bed. Kid passed out almost before the movie really started.

He wasn't anything like the others in the village said. Naruto is a sweet kid thrown into an unfortunate way of life. She lifts him into her arms and carries him to his room, smiling as he burrows into her neck half-asleep.

Already in his pajamas, Mayuri puts him in bed and gives him a little stuffed frog to cuddle with. She kisses his head gently, wraps the covers around his little body, and leaves the room.

Back out on the couch, Mayuri wraps up in a blanket and flips the TV on low, putting on some random cooking show and wondering what kind of breakfast Naruto would like in the morning and what time he would be awake. She rather liked him. She'd have to make sure to tell Iruka that he could call her to babysit anytime he needed her.

…

A scream has Mayuri jolting up from her spot on the couch and rushing towards Naruto's room. She didn't remember falling asleep but as she entered the room she noticed the clock reading four am. Naruto appears to be still asleep, flailing and crying as he fights off some monster in his dream.

"Naruto, sweetie wake up." Mayuri bends down and tries to shake him awake. He resists for a while, scratching her face before he finally wakes up and throws himself into her arms.

"Mayu! I had a scary dream!" Naruto cries into her neck as Mayu cradles him gently. She soothes the boy until his crying has mostly stopped before taking him into the kitchen for a glass of water.

Naruto sips his water slowly as Mayuri uses the darkened window to clean the scratch marks on her cheek, unwilling to leave the child. He finishes his water and Mayuri picks him back up, taking him with her into the bathroom so she can bandage up her cheek. Naruto's watery blue eyes watch as Mayu bandages the scratch marks. "…Did I do that?"

"It's okay sweetie. You were scared." Mayu smiles at the boy and picks him back up, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Ready to go back to bed?"

He nods his head and, smiling at him, Mayu carries him back to his room. She tucks him back into bed, kisses him, and is ready to leave again when Naruto catches her shirt hem. "Mayu?"

"Hm?"

"…" Naruto sits up in bed but doesn't let go of her shirt. "…Can I sleep with you?"

Mayuri smiles and Naruto eagerly makes room for her in his bed. Luckily his bed is against the wall so Mayu can lay against it while Naruto sleeps next to her. She tucks him in again and he cuddles right up to her, froggy plush in hand.

Mayu strokes the child's hair, hoping the soothing motion would help the child fall asleep. Naruto smiles and nuzzles against his babysitter. "I love you onee-san…"

Mayuri blinks and looks down but Naruto is fast asleep. Smiling, she cuddles the child and closes her eyes, soon falling asleep herself.

~ Early the Next Day…

Iruka unlocks the door and nearly stumbles into his home, exhausted from the night before. That is the last time he lets Kakashi convince him to drink that much. He drops his keys on the counter in the kitchen and moves into the living room to check in on Mayuri to find the couch abandoned.

Instantly worried, Iruka quickly moves to Naruto's room unable to believe that Mayuri would just leave the child alone after they hit it off so well. But he needn't have worried.

There, curled up together on Naruto's bed, are Mayuri and the little blonde troublemaker himself. Mayuri seems to still be asleep but Naruto is wide awake, shushing his sensei as he wraps his fingers through Mayuri's silver hair. Iruka leans against the door and chuckles quietly. To be honest, he always had faith that Mayuri would be one to accept Naruto, after all she was highly recommended by her father, but he hadn't expected Naruto to take to her so well.

Naruto smiles at the sleeping girl next to him as his sensei's footsteps leave the room. Glancing towards the door, he quickly leans forward and gives the girl a kiss. She stirs, but doesn't awaken, just brings him closer to her. Naruto smiles again and rubs his nose against hers.

"I love you Mayu-nee-san."