Wow! Three chapters in one day! I think that's my new record!

This one is much longer than the previous chapters. Sorry the others were so short.

I hope I'm doing well with characterization. It's a little difficult writing from the perspective of a five year old. If you have any advice or questions, or anything feel free to comment or pm me.

Any ideas on pairings for Hiroko?

Chapter 2

Hiroko glanced around the room. Surprisingly, it was only a two person room, rather than quad room or something like that. There wasn't even a sign of another person in it.

She looked back at Mika, who smiled gently at her. "You'll have room all to yourself, at least for a while. Go ahead and unpack. I'll wait outside."

Hiroko stepped farther into the room. There were two twin beds, one in each corner of the far wall. She put her bag down on the left bed before pulling out her clothes for tomorrow. She shoved the bag under the bed and left the clothes beneath the thin pillow.

Hiroko didn't want to unpack everything, in the minor hope that someone would come to take her away. She knew it would be unlikely, but still held on.

The girl left the room, and saw Mika standing across the hall like she said. The woman smiled once more as she spotted Hiroko.

"Ready?" Hiroko nodded. A sudden growl reminded her that she hadn't since the night before. Mika gave a quiet giggle as Hiroko blushed. "Oh, it appears you haven't eaten in a while. I'll take you to get some food before you meet some of the other kids."

Mika showed Hiroko the way to the kitchen. They looked at the options before Hiroko picked out some rice balls and milk. Mika kindly handed the food to the girl. Hiroko thanked the woman before taking a bite.

She had barely swallowed the last of her food when a sharp, demanding voice cut the air. "Kikuchi! What are you doing here?"

Mika whirled around and immediately bowed to the older woman. "Ikeda-sama, I was just helping this hungry girl!"

"You know the rules! No food between the allotted times!" The older woman was ruthless. It was almost disrupted by the fact that she held a baby. Almost.

"I know, I'm sorry, but she hasn't eaten all day!"

"Don't give me excuses." The woman growled. "But never mind that. Kikuchi, take this demon away from me." She held the baby in a rough manner, away from her body.

"Hai, Ikeda-sama," Mika bowed before tenderly taking the infant from the older woman. She pushed the blanket away from its face, and fear overcame her features. Mika's eyes flicked to Hiroko and she swallowed before steeling herself.

"Get it out of my sight." The woman waved them away flippantly.

"Come on, Hiroko. We should go." Mika told the young girl. Hiroko had been watching, trying to understand what was going on. Why was the woman so mean? Why did Mika become scared when she saw the baby? She couldn't answer her questions. Instead, she settled for listening to Mika's request and walked away from the kitchen with her.

They walked back to Hiroko's room. Mika placed the baby on the right bed, allowing Hiroko to finally see him. It was a baby the Hokage had announced. What was his name again? Nato? Noru? Naru-Naruto! That was it! It was the baby Naruto.

His blonde hair contrasted her own red, and he looked at her with curious blue eyes that reflected her own green ones. She reached out and brushed his cheeks, fascinated by the lines on his face. She could feel just a slight difference between the skin and the marks. At her touch, the boy gave a happy gurgle.

So occupied with Naruto, Hiroko hadn't noticed Mika pull the crib into her room and push it against the bed. She didn't know what it was called, of course, but she did know it was meant to hold babies. Mika picked the blonde up and moved to place him in the crib. Somehow, he managed to snag an end of her brown, shoulder length hair. He tugged on it playfully, unaware of the mild panic Mika was experiencing. She hastily, but still gently put the infant in the crib and pulled her out of his grasp. It didn't seem to phase Naruto one bit, as he continued to smile at the young caretaker.

Hiroko had noticed Mika's fear, which confused her even more. Why was she scared of a baby? Was it because of that Night-Tail Fog or whatever it was called? She intended to find out.

"Mika-san?" Hiroko tugged on Mika's yukata, getting the woman's attention. "Why are you scared of him?"

Mika looked surprised. "How did you know I-?" She cut herself off. Over her time at the orphanage, she had noticed many of the kids were much more in tune with emotions than one would think.

"What could he do? He's just a baby." Hiroko could see that her words had an effect on Mika. The woman thought over it for a few seconds before smiling.

"You're right, he is just a baby. He didn't do anything wrong. Thank you for showing me that."

Hiroko didn't know how to reply, but she did have one more question. "Was it because of the Night-Tail Fog?"

Mika chuckled. "It's called the Nine-Tailed Fox," She said the words slowly, enunciating to allow Hiroko a better chance to hear the name correctly. "And yes, it's why I was scared. It scares a lot of people because of what it did yesterday."

Hiroko shivered as she remembered the previous night. "But it was that thing. Naruto had no choice."

"That's true, and you showed me that. Thank you, Hiroko." The girl mumbled something quietly. "What was that?"

"You can call me Hiro. My parents did." She said loud enough for Mika to hear.

"Alright, then. Hiro it is."


Naruto had fallen asleep, so Mika took Hiro to meet the other kids. They entered a large room to see dozens of kids, ranging from the ages of two all the way to seventeen. It was loud, as many of the younger kids were shouting and squealing as they played. The older kids were more quiet overall, but there were still a few loud ones. There were toys of all sorts, from building blocks, to stuffed animals. A few meager art supplies were scattered about. In the far right corner we're several shelves, full of books. There were also only a few kids there, all of them older than her by a few years.

Hiro walked to the book section right away. She looked over some of the titles before realizing they were much too advanced for her. Shuffling to the other side, Hiro saw that the books there were much easier. She pulled out a thin one with a gold spine, then a similar one next to it, then the next.

In all, she collected about eight books to read. She tilted her head, looking at Mika upside down. "Can you help me read these?" She asked. Mika nodded and moved to sit down next to the little girl.

For the next half hour, the two worked on Hiro's reading, while Mika helped her sound out words and explain what certain things meant. They in the middle of the third book when Hiro let out a large yawn.

Despite having slept for most of the day, she was still tired from all the excitement. Mika gave a little laugh. "Looks like you're tired. How about we start again tomorrow?" Hiro nodded.

"Can I bring the books to my room? I want to practice reading more."

"I don't see why not. Since you've already eaten, let's get you to bed."

Mika picked up the sleepy girl and the eight books before leaving the playroom. She carried Hiro into the bedroom and carefully, quietly put her under the sheets. Almost inaudible breaths escaped the girl as she slept. The books were left at the foot of the bed.

Mika checked on Naruto, and found him still asleep. Satisfied, she turned off the lights and left the room.

Later that night, Hiroko woke to the sound of crying. Naruto's shrill wails echoed in her ears, and forced her to alertness. She rubbed her eyes and crawled out of bed. Hiro made her way to the crib and climbed onto the bed, allowing herself to see him in the moonlight. She tried to shush him, but it didn't make a difference.

Hiroko checked Naruto's diaper, but there were no odd smells, and he had had a lot of sleep already, so it was that he was tired. That only left one option. He must be hungry.

She stuck a finger in his mouth in an attempt at quieting him. He clamped on and began to suck on it. Then she carefully pulled him out of the crib, struggling to maintain her balance and not disturb the baby even more. Hiro successfully got him out and slid off the bed. She silently slipped out of the room and down the hall, not even causing a single creak on the wooden floor. Hiroko only took one wrong turn on her way to the kitchen.

Hiro shivered as her bare feet padded on the cold tile. She stopped to stare up at the refrigerator door. A determined look settled on Hiroko's face. She shuffled Naruto into one arm, grabbed the bottom of the door handle, and tugged with all her might. Her efforts proved to be useful as the door swung open. Hiro stumbled back, barely catching herself before she tumbled to the ground.

Hiroko smiles with triumph when she spotted the baby bottle on the bottom shelf. It was well within her reach and she soon held it in her grasp. Hiro pushed the door closed with her back while gently removing her finger from Naruto's mouth. She placed the bottle cap against his lips and watched as he grabbed ahold. With that, she took off for their room once again.

She continued to hold Naruto, even in the room. The silver moonlight washed the two and calmed the girl. When the bottle was about halfway full, she pulled it away from him. There was no protest like she expected. Hiro found her body moving on its own to hold Naruto against her shoulder and pat his back. He let out a burp and she nodded to herself in satisfaction.

She crawled onto the bed before putting Naruto in the crib. She hovered her finger over him. He happily batted at it, then grabbed it with his stubby fingers.

"I'll take care of you. Even if no one else is, I'll always be here for you. I promise." Hiro told the boy, fierce determination burning in her eyes and her heart. A large yawn passed through Naruto's lips and was mirrored by her own. She let her eyes close, finger still held by the younger child.

And if Mika came by a few hours later to see the two still sleeping peacefully, she left with a smile and not a sound.

Tomorrow I'm leaving to go on a trip to Iceland for ten days, than I'll be going to an important horse show for a another week, so I probably won't be posting chapters for a while. I will, however continue writing whenever I can. I can't wait to see how it turns out!