A/N: You start to learn a bit more about Mika's fire technique in this one, I'm interested to see what you think! Reviews are the love.

Answer: 13 seconds! Got to give that chicken some credit for trying though right? Bet it was bloody knackered after that :P

Riddle: A stamp :)

Disclaimer.

The Closet

If there was one thing Mikazuki Naya had learnt while growing up, it was that kids could be very cruel. Far more so than any grown man or woman, their childish innocence shielding them from any prosecutions they may have faced, and effectively failing to teach them right from wrong.

She wasn't particularly fond of children, but she didn't hate them either. In fact, she rarely batted an eyelid at them anymore. So that night, she was surprised when she saw their faces again, the faces that had once haunted her so often and so deeply in her sleep.

'Oh Mikazuki. Not another failed family.'

Mika stared up at the woman in charge of the orphanage. She was a tall, slender woman, with pale blonde hair that curled around her defined cheek bones, blue eyes narrowing in exasperation as she stared back.

'You'll never get anywhere in life like this. You know that, don't you?'

Mika only dipped her head in response. She may only have been ten, but she did not appreciate being spoken down to like this. The woman wrapped her cool fingers around Mika's wrist, pulling her into the play room where the other children were sat.

'Wait here. I have to sort out your paperwork.'

She glared after her retreating figure with hatred, hatred for all the stupid adults in the world that thought they could pass her around like a rag doll, while she was left just sitting pretty for her new owners.

'Hey, look who's back!'

'Does it surprise you?'

'Not really. She's more trouble than she's worth. That's what the grown-ups say.'

Mika spun around, eyes seeming to glow furiously as she bared her teeth at the intruders who had dared invade her moment of fury. Two boys who she recognised as Aki and Jiro, and a girl she'd never seen before stood in a semi-circle around her small frame.

'Why do you wear those stupid pigtails?' Aki snorted.

'Yeah, they make you look like a baby, don't you think Natsumi?' The girl beside them giggled and nodded, but made no comment. Jiro reached out to give a sharp tug on one of Mika's pigtails, making her wince and snatch it back.

'Don't touch me!' She hissed, grating her teeth to avoid an all-out brawl.

'No one will ever adopt you if you look like that, stupid.' Jiro folded his arms across his chest and frowned as Aki flicked her on the forehead and agreed.

Natsumi looked about to speak, but Mika turned her back on them and started to move away, her fists clenching and unclenching as she tried to leave.

'Hey, we aren't done with you!' Aki grabbed her arms and pulled them both back with a painful, sharp tug. She cried out slightly and tried to wriggle free, but Jiro moved secure her legs as they pinned her down.

'I say we give her a new look, don't you?' The latter grinned, nodding his head at Natsumi, who Mika now realised was holding a pair of scissors. Her eyes widened impossibly, thrashing harder against their hold as they pinned her to the floor. She hated this. She felt so useless. So helpless. She hated it!

The girl moved to kneel beside Mika's head, holding up one fistful of hair while the other moved with her scissors to the top of the pigtail.

'S-stop! Get off me!' Squeezing her eyes shut to contain the tears that were threatening to spill, the ordeal was over in seconds, and all too soon the weight on her arms and legs were released as sniggering and joking rang in her ears. Lifting one shaking hand to her hair, she let out a sob when she found nothing to grip.

Her flaming golden irises shot to the trio, and before she knew what she was doing, she had thrown herself at the nearest target and was clawing recklessly at their face. Natsumi, her chosen target, froze momentarily in shock. But it wasn't long before the boys joined in and a small crowd of children had gathered to egg them on.

'WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? AKI. JIRO.'

The orphanage owner's voice parted the crowd as she separated the boys from the fray by their ears, flinging them off into different directions. Then she turned her sharp gaze to where Mika had backed off to, glowering at the floor in a mixture of frustration and hurt.

'Mikazuki. Go to my office immediately.'

Her head snapped up, her eyes wide and pleading. 'No miss, please, I'm sorry! I won't fight anymore, I swear I–'

'MY OFFICE. NOW.'

Stepping back slightly, she threw one last desperate glance at the woman, before sniffing and slinking away to await her punishment. She knew what was coming. It was the closet. It was always the closet.

Bolting upright in her bed, Mika gently lifted one hand to run her fingers through her now long red tresses tenderly. She had always hated short hair, which is why she'd grown it out again, despite that. Then her fingers rested on her glistening cheek. Wet. She was crying.

Pathetic.

Fisting her free hand in the duvet, she lifted it to dry her face hurriedly, as though the small saltwater trails would burn through her skin and scar her for life if she allowed them to remain on her cheeks. It wasn't the bullies that had scared her, it never had been. Sure they had hurt her and made her feel like shit a hell of a lot of times, but none of that could ever compare to the closet. It was small and dark and dingy and cold. And lonely. So very lonely. Always alone…

Shaking her head vigorously, she padded silently into the living room, eyes landing on the overturned armchair that still lay across the carpet. She let out a long, steady breath.

It wasn't that she hated Hidan. It was just that, more often than not, he left a whole lot of trouble in his wake and then when he was done wreaking havoc, he left. It was the way it had always been.

She supposed she would call him her first friend. The first person to ever really acknowledge her in a way that wasn't entirely condescending, he actually gave her a chance to prove herself. He paid attention to her when it was necessary and – usually – ignored her when she needed him to. He knew how to push her buttons perfectly, but he also knew her limits, to which she was thankful he never attempted to reach.

A quiet, almost timid knock drew her attention to the door across the room. She frowned. That was in no way, shape or form a Jashinist knock.

'Himika? It's Nagisa, open up!'

Crossing the floor in a matter of seconds, she complied. 'Nagisa? What's wrong?'

'Erm, well…' She paused, glancing down at her hands as she wrung them together nervously. 'I just wanted to check everything was alright? I heard erm… noises? In the night…'

'Oh… OH! No, no everything's fine, I was just–' her eyes flicked to the chair over her shoulder. 'Rearranging some furniture…' Then as an afterthought, she quickly added, 'I couldn't sleep.'

'Ah I see! I was kind of worried about you for a while there! I thought you had a burglar or something!'

She had to really restrain herself from politely informing the woman that if she had actually had a burglar, checking on her the following morning would not have helped. At all.

Instead, Mika forced a smile and thanked her neighbour for her concern. She was just about to try and subtly get rid of Nagisa when an obnoxiously loud voice sounded from down the corridor.

'Well, shit. You really are up at this time!'

Nagisa jumped violently in surprise, spinning around to come face to face with a bare male chest.

'W-w-what erm, I-I was j-just… Erm, who…?' She stuttered, face heating up shyly.

Rolling her eyes and stepping around the poor flustered woman, Mika glared at the visitor. 'Would it kill you to put some clothes on?'

'Why? What's wrong with this?' He blinked, seeming genuinely confused.

She ignored him in favour of comforting Nagisa, who was watching the exchange with a bright red complexion. 'Don't worry. He's… an old friend. He's a bit on the stupid side though, so I'd run now if I were you.'

'Hey!'

Taking this cue to leave, Nagisa managed a half laugh as though debating on whether or not Mika was actually joking, before scuttling away down the corridor.

Sighing, Mika stepped back, holding the door open just enough for Hidan to step inside. When he didn't move, she raised an eyebrow. 'What now?'

'You fucking called me stupid!'

'You are stupid, stupid. Now either come in or go bother someone else.' Folding her arms over her chest, they stared each other down momentarily before Hidan finally broke the silence, chuckling at her expression.

'Let's go for a walk.'

She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. 'A walk?'

'Yeah you know, you put one foot in front of the other and move like th–'

'HAR HAR, very funny.' She huffed in irritation before turning around and muttering to herself, 'I'll give you a walk. How does a long walk off a short pier sound, hm? Damn fool got nothing better to do than pester me…'

Several minutes later, Mika found herself strolling along unceremoniously beside the unruly zealot, who was humming an unknown melody merrily with his arms folded behind his head. The sun glinted brightly in the sky as they walked, and she had to wonder what his real agenda for being here really was.

He seemed to take the lead in the walking, so she curiously allowed him to direct them to wherever the hell their destination was. She shouldn't have been surprised when they arrived at an unoccupied training ground.

He stopped in the centre and threw her a mischievous grin. 'Let's see what you got then!'

She blinked at him. 'You're kidding right?'

'Come on~, it'll be fun. Besides I've been holed up in a cave the past four days, I need to stretch my muscles!'

She rolled her eyes, deciding that she really didn't want to know what he meant by that and, placing one hand on her hip, she shifted her weight. 'It's so nice to know I'm the guinea-pig.'

'Well, if you won't come willingly, I'll just have to force you…' He grinned manically and disappeared from sight, leaving Mika had only a split second for her eyes to widen before he reappeared behind her, his breath hot on her neck.

'Damn it!' She gasped, leaping out of range and spinning around mid-air to cast a darkened glare on her target. The instant her feet hit the ground, he charged again, smirking when she dropped her posture into a defensive state.

'Not gonna be enough I'm afraid!' He yelled, landing a full-force kick to her now crossed arms in her futile attempt to block. She flew backwards, back colliding heavily with a stone wall that she swore crumbled away a bit on the impact.

'Ow! That hurt, you bastard!'

He responded by sticking his tongue out while simultaneously pulling the lower lid of one of his eyes down, mocking her. He knew exactly how to rile her, and she knew exactly what he was doing. They both knew he was winning.

She sprang to her feet with a growl, this time taking a different stance, one poised to attack. 'Fine. Have it your way.'

She darted forward, forcing chakra to her feet to enhance her speed as she raced toward him, pulling her fist back as she went. He stood still, almost calmly as she ran, waiting patiently for her to arrive, but when the time finally came for her to deliver her attack, she mimicked his earlier action and vanished before his eyes.

'What the–'

A smug chuckle sounded from behind, and he just barely managed to throw himself sideways to avoid the otherwise inevitably nasty blow to his face.

'My own damn move used against me… Conniving bitch…' He grumbled, more to himself as he paced slightly, his violet eyes never leaving her haughty golden ones.

'Well? I thought you were gonna force me!' Her eyes glinted mischievously as he lowered into a crouch, one foot sliding back in preparation to push himself forward. She had the upper hand in terms of her small size and speed, but if it came down to a physical battle of strength, she had no doubt she'd be on the floor in no time.

He charged, but this time she was ready. Her hands flew together in a flurry of hand signs that the Jashinist recognised all too well.

'Shit!' He hissed, skidding to a halt just seconds too late as he collided head on with a raging whirlwind of flames that erupted around Mika's body. An impenetrable shield, and a damn good one at that. She was quicker than the last time they'd fought, and apparently more scheming. Reaching behind him to grip the giant, three-pronged scythe on his back, he smirked. This was going to be harder than he thought.

But then, he always liked a challenge.

A/N: Sorry this chapter sucks, the next one will be better I promise. And if anyone is wondering, Nagisa does have a role to play, I'm just getting her personality across first :)

Question time: How many noses do slugs have?

Riddle me this: What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it?

Till next time :)