Snow fell gently from thick gray clouds to dance softly to the ground, thrilling Misaki as she made her way home from the market. It would be a white winter if this weather indicated anything, and she dearly hoped it would be. She loved watching the children from the neighboring apartments run around with the freedom that came from snow days, fat with all of their winter wear, worried mothers watching on with amusement as snowball wars were declared and armies of snowmen and snow-angles were sloppily created.

She worried a bit for Lee who was currently on a mission, wishing she had given him a sweater to wear for the chill, even knowing the man's amazing ability to thrive in any climate. When he pointed such things out to her she just smiled and said it was her right as a wife to worry about him.

Brushing her hair from her face and shifting the paper bag of vegetables to her other arm she smiled, hoping he would get home before the majority of the snow melted so they could go for a walk together at night like they usually did when it snowed. It was just so romantic to walk with a clear sky filled with stars, the white snow and the solitude of being the only ones out at the time.

Her smile had gone soft and her eyes distant so that she didn't notice the two figures barreling towards her until they had ran into her, making her fall back onto her butt, her groceries spilling out and over the concrete side walk.

"Hey!" She shouted, watching as the two teen boys ran, grinning broadly at something they had left behind. She turned at the sound of something coming out of the alley the boys had left, expecting another delinquent and preparing herself for the tongue lashing she was about to give but was stopped by what stepped out.

It was a boy just barely approaching his teens, gangly and boney, awkward with angles and elbows that he hadn't quite grown into yet. Black hair curled around his face in a tangled and unmanageable mess, haunted silver eyes overpowering his thin face. His thin clothes were torn and bloodied, angry bruises already forming on his chilled skin.

He looked up at Misaki for a moment, his eyes dazed and blank as they almost seemed to stare through her. His body suddenly jerked as if pulled by an invisible string and his eyes rolled to the back of his head as blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth, his body crumpling down towards the ground.

Misaki's eyes widened as she moved quickly and instinctively, reaching out and catching the boy in her arms before he hit the frozen ground. She brushed his hair back from his face, looking around fearfully.

Wasn't there anyone to help him? Where was the boy's mother? His body twitched in her hold and she held on tighter, becoming determined when she looked down and saw just how weak the boy looked. Leaving her groceries forgotten in the growing snow she slung the boy's arm around her shoulder and proceeded to half drag and half carry the boy the final two blocks to her apartment, laying him down in the guest bed.

She called Sakura, hoping the busy woman would be willing to lend some of her time, thankful when the woman seemed to materialize almost immediately outside her door when she had spoken the word "Emergency".

"Will he be alright?" She asked, anxiously wringing her hands as the medic leaned over the child and healed him.

"Yeah, he was just beaten up a little and from what I can tell from his body he's used to it."

"Used to it?"

"This kid has apparently been in a lot of fights and had a lot of broken bones and bruises." Sakura stood up and brushed her hands off, finished. "Well, I got to go. Don't let him overwork himself too much and make sure he eats something. He's way too skinny for his own good." Misaki nodded and walked her to the door, expressing her thanks once again before closing the door and turning to the kitchen.

When Kado woke up he didn't hurt as badly as he always did after getting the crap beat out of him. Sure, he was sore, but the two big bastards hadn't exactly been ones for delicacy so he didn't really understand why he wasn't praying to the Gods for mercy at the moment. He stretched out, testing each muscle slowly to look for anything that would make some sense when his hands hit a hard wood above his head. A headboard.

He jerked up instantly, looking around the strange room he was in with apprehension.

He'd heard about this stuff before, perverts finding kids too weak to fight them off and then stealing them away to lock them up and never let them see daylight again. Well, this bastard had another thing coming if he thought that Kado was just going to do nothing and just let him have his way without a fight.

He slipped of the warm and comfortable bed, looking around when he couldn't spot any of his clothes, leaving him in just his ratty boxers. Well, if whoever had done this expected being practically naked to stop him he was wrong since a little cold wouldn't keep him from getting the hell out of here. He heard a sudden and loud clatter from outside the room, pulling open the door to sneak out and see if he could somehow take advantage of the situation.

He peeked around the corner and into the kitchen and stared, mouth agape.

The woman was beautiful, even covered in flour like she was. Her deep navy blue eyes, her red and brown hair, the sharp features of her face and even the little beauty mark below her left eye, it was all beautiful.

Standing in a stranger's living room in just an old faded pair of boxers that had a hole in them, Kado fell in love with a perfect stranger.

Hearing his sharp intake of breath Misaki turned, smiling brilliantly at the boy and making his heart quicken. "Oh good, you're up! I was just making some waffles when..." She led off and looked down at the flour that covered the floor and her legs before gesturing around her almost helplessly.

"Waffles?" He asked, still stunned. She nodded and went to get a broom, not noticing that the flour that fell off of her pants and onto the floor, marking her trail. "Yes. Whenever I was hurt or ill the cook would always make me waffles and I thought I'd do it for you. But when I picked up the bag of flour I guess I had it turned upside down because it all just poured out and all over me and the floor." She started to clumsily sweep up the mess, leaving small streaks of the powder that she couldn't seem to see.

"Um..." She blinked at him wondering why he was looking at her embarrassed and questioningly, but then it suddenly hit her. "Oh! Your clothes! I put them in the was to get some of the blood off, but they really should be thrown out. Until they're done you can wear some of my husband's clothes, though they'll be big on you." At the mention of a husband Kado felt his stomach dip.

"Husband?"

"Mhmm. He's away right now on a mission." She propped the broom against the wall and walked towards her bedroom, leaving behind an untidy pile of swept up flour on the floor, completely forgetting it as she opened her closet and tried to find something for the boy.

"A ninja?" Kado asked, surprised. She didn't seem the type to marry a ninja. A banker or a businessman maybe, but not a ninja. He looked around the living room for pictures of the man to see what kind of man the woman in the other room could have settled for, but he couldn't find any.

"Yep, and one of the strongest!" She came out and handed the boy a plain black t-shirt. "Here, all of his pants will be way too big so the only thing I can give you for right now is this." He nodded his thanks and pulled it over his head. He'd always been tall for his age so that helped the shirt not look like a loose dress, but he was also thin as a rail so the shirt fell down and hid most of his boxers from view.

"What? No pictures?" He asked, wondering if maybe he was just too ugly to photograph. Thinking that made him feel slightly better about him being an apparent kick-ass ninja and caused him to smirk. She blinked and looked around the room in confusion and then her face cleared in a sudden moment of clarity.

"Oh! No, we have a lot of pictures. But I was cleaning one day and bumped into the shelf we had most of them on, which knocked it over and broke the frames. When I turned to try and catch it the broom in my hand knocked the photos that were on the wall off and broke their frames, so I decided that I'd just send them all in and get all the frames replaced!" She grinned at him as if such an explanation was a simple thing and he blinked, trying to figure out if it was even possible.

"Listen, Lady," He began, trying to keep an even head so he could work out the situation. "Misaki." She interrupted, sitting down on the couch and smiling at the boy.

"Huh?"

"Misaki. It's my name." She waited for a beat before tilting her head a bit. "Now you answer with yours."

"Ah, Kado." He blinked at how brilliant her smile was. "Um, well anyways I was saying that I guess I should thank you for all of this, but I'd like to know what this is first." She blinked at him a bit.

"This?"

"Yeah. Why'd you help me?" Her forehead wrinkle in confusion.

"Why? Because you were hurt."

"So?"

She jerked back as if he had slapped her and stared at the boy with a cold and unfeeling mask on her face, furious at his attitude. "So? What do you mean 'so', saying that like it didn't matter that you were hurt. Well guess what, I did help you and you're going to have to live with it." She stood up and glided into the kitchen.

"Um, hey-" She turned at the sound of his voice and looked down her nose at him haughtily.

"Come in here and sit down quietly."

"Why?" She turned and gracefully moved into the kitchen, not even making as if to notice when she stepped on the pile of flour on the floor.

"I'm making waffles."

Misaki dejectedly cut into her waffles. They were sort of gooey in the middle and the vanilla taste was almost sickening after the first few bites and the syrup was really... syrupy. She peeked up at Kado from through her bangs and watched as he continued to diligently eat his food, his fork never faltering. The kid would have been a great actor because his face never flickered into anything even close to distaste.

He looked up and caught her eyes on his, blushing slightly at the direct and unwavering stare. "What?" He grumbled, wiping his face on his arm self-consciously, wondering if he had been doing anything wrong.

"You're eating the food." She pointed out, making the boy roll his eyes.

"Yeah, so? It tastes good, alright?" He demanded, stabbing his fork into his somewhat soggy waffle. Misaki blinked at him.

No one had told her that before other than Lee. Maybe she was just naturally pulled towards the only people that could ever stomach her cooking.

Hiding her smile she shook her head and focused on the god awful food, "Alright."

Kado kicked a can idly as he made his way to the town's market, making sure to assure himself every couple of steps that he wasn't going there to try and see Misaki again. Sure she had been nice to him and everything, but she had accidentally poured bleach all over his clothes and had ruined them. Why would he want to go back to that? She was a complete ditz.

Though she did have a really nice smile.

If he saw her -which he was sure he wasn't going to- he would thank her. That's it, just thank her. And after an hour of walking around and finally figuring out that she wasn't there he slumped against the wall of one of the buildings, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his baggy and torn shorts and staring down at his scuffed work boots.

"Hey! Hey you!" His head jerked up as he watched a portly man stomp his way over to him, his ruddy face red with his fury. He came up and gripped the front of Kado's shirt, gripping hard and yanking him up so that he was up on his tip-toes. "Give it back!"

Kado's long fingered hands came up and gripped the man's wrists. "What the hell? Give what back?" The man shook him.

"What you stole! Give it back!"

"I didn't steal anything you old bastard! Put me down!" He shouted, struggling against his hold. There was a crowd already forming around them but Kado already knew that it would be pointless to look to any of them for help. A scrawny kid in boots too big for him and ratty faded clothes with a bad look in his eyes against this well-to-do man? It was no question of who they would support.

"Didn't steal anything? Just look at yourself! You-"

"Excuse me, but could you please release that child that you have so callously accused of something he hasn't done?" The man turned and made sure not to release his hold on Kado, though it did slacken when he saw who had gotten enough guts to protest. Kado blinked at the frigid face of Misaki and though a shaft of fear pierced him at just how cold her gaze was he couldn't help but want to smile at her. Not only was she standing up for him but she was doing it while looking positively beautiful.

"But he-"

"Did you see him or are you just judging him by the way he looks?" The man was no longer flushed in anger but now in embarrassment and as he sat Kado back on his feet he didn't meet anyone's eyes, sulking as he walked away. Kado brushed off his shirt where the man had been gripping it, trying to look as dignified as possible so he wouldn't embarrass Misaki.

"Thanks."

"Any time. Now come on and follow me." He did as she bid, hesitating when she stepped inside of a clothing store. Did she bring him here so he wouldn't get in trouble anymore? Because if she had he felt that she should know that he had felt a lot more comfortable pinned against the building by the fat man.

"Kado-kun, how does this look?" He flushed at the addition of the suffix and turned, expecting to see some frilly girl clothes and preparing himself to suffer for just a few minutes before he took his leave, but instead he turned and found her in the boys' clothing section holding up an absurdly pink button-up shirt.

"Um... what are you doing?"

"Finding you some clothes. They're all worn and have holes and you shouldn't be wearing shorts in winter. What if you get sick?" She looked at the shirt again and put it back on the rack, deciding that pick really wasn't the right color for him. Maybe purple.

"Um... Misaki, why are you buying me clothes?"

"Because that's the first thing those people looked at and judged you for. I know for a fact that if you take care of your appearance you can get away with more and people will suspect you less. That man wouldn't have done all of that to you if you had been wearing a suit."

"You're buying me a suit?!" He asked aghast, dreading the very thought and looking around frantically for an escape. Misaki laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, goodness no! What on earth would you do with a suit? I was thinking something more like," She pulled a shirt off of a rack and held it up proudly, her eyes sparkling with joy and pride at the find.

"This."

It was a short sleeved polo shirt, lavender with a little pink detail, its collar stiff and the fabric soft. Kado had to stop himself from throwing up all over the place at just how horrid the thing was. Did she understand how violent and demeaning his death would be if he even thought about wearing it?

"No." He said, turning to leave.

"Oh, fine. If you don't like the shirt you don't have to get it, but I want you to get some clothes. We can say that it's to make up for me ruining your other outfit." She clasped her hands together and looked at him, pleading with him to let her have her way. He sighed and gave in to her begging eyes, feeling the need to give the woman whatever would make her happiest.

"Fine, but just one shirt." She nodded happily and dragged him through the racks.

They walked out a few hours later, arms heavy with the bags of Kado's five new outfits and a few things Misaki had found for herself and her husband, Lee. She then dragged him around through all of the stores that caught her interest, forcing more and more bags into his arms so that they ached with the weight of all of them and leaving her free to skip through the shops and buy whatever caught her fancy.

It was growing dark when they finally got to Misaki's apartment and though she apologized for keeping him out so late she couldn't quite hide how happy she was. It hadn't been as fun as shopping with Lee since Kado had fought her every step of the way instead of replying with the exuberance that she was used to from her husband, but it had been fun, even if he had talked her out of a lot of stuff.

"If you want I can call your parents and apologize for keeping you out so long. I don't want to get you in trouble."

"You don't have to do that."

"Oh, I don't have a problem with doing it."

"It isn't that. I just don't have any parents for you to call." Misaki blinked at him as he sat down the bags, her heart instantly breaking for the boy and the easy way he said such a thing.

"Then who do you stay with?" He shrugged.

"I stay at The Home."

"The Home?"

"The orphanage, we call it The Home since it has this really long and annoying name." He said, staring down at his boots so he wouldn't have to look up and see that sickening sympathy in her eyes or even the disgust that he sometimes saw at the mention of "Orphan".

"Will they be alright with you being out so late?" He shrugged again.

"Yeah, I stay out at night all the time, a lot of the kids do. When you have a building filled with them you don't notice or care that a few of them are missing for a few hours." Misaki's lips tightened.

"Well, that's stupid. There should be someone to care for you and wait up for you." He peeked at her.

"Yeah, well…" He led off, not really knowing what to say.

"Well, you know what? If you need a place to sleep or something to eat or even something to do you can just come over here. I always need some company, especially when Lee is gone." She smiled brilliantly at him and he blushed, embarrassed and pleased at how wonderful it sounded, though he made sure not to act like it mattered all that much. Because it didn't.

"Yeah, well, maybe if I feel like it." She smiled and clasped her hands together, looking as thrilled as if he had told her he enjoyed her company so much that he couldn't ever even think of staying away. Not that he did, of course.

"Brilliant! Now, help me throw those clothes in the wash and then I'll fix us something to eat. I've been wanting to try this little Mexican recipe, but no one would taste test it for me." She grinned at him and he knew he was going to have to watch her carefully to make sure she didn't accidentally pour in an entire bottle of the hottest hot sauce she could get ahold of and nearly kill the both of them painfully. Really, he should just tell her to order out and save everyone the trouble.

"I love Mexican food." Was his answer instead.

Kado shoved his hands into his pockets and lowered his head against the icy lash of the wind, thankful for the leather coat Misaki had gotten him to shield him from the harsh weather. At the thought of the woman his lips curled and his feet automatically began the trek to her apartment.

He'd be going and visiting her for the greater part of two months now and each and every time he grew more and more at ease with her, though he made sure he never showed such feelings to her.

But he was happy. He had someone who cared about him, clumsily though it was, and somebody who was willing to take the time needed for him. Though he supposed she had a lot of time since her husband was away on another mission, leaving as soon as he had gotten back into Konoha and causing the woman to go on a mad cleaning spree, which had led to her dropping her newly framed photos as she had carried them up the steps to the apartment.

So Kado still hadn't gotten a good look at the guy, which made him uneasy.

Someone as sweet and beautiful and kind -not to mention a great deal ditsy- as Misaki was sure to attract the wrong kind of men. Her husband was probably a huge douche that abused and overlooked just how wonderful she was, and the only one who would be able to get her out of such an awful relationship would be Kado.

Smirking slightly to himself at the thought of playing hero he started up the stairs to the apartment, knocking on the door and listening to her fumble with something inside of the apartment that elicited a stream of "Darn it"s and "Shoot"s from her. Kado quickly hid all evidence of his amusement as she opened the door.

"Ah, Kado-kun! Come in, I was just figuring out dinner." He followed her into the kitchen and saw the box she must have tripped over on her way to the door, smirking as he pushed it out of her way with his foot, sure that she'd probably end up tripping over it again before he left.

"You see, I was thinking about spaghetti for dinner and then when I was watering my orange tree," He wondered if the scraggly and over-loved shriveled up stick in a pot could even be considered a plant, though he kept such thoughts to himself.

"And then it hit me: I didn't want spaghetti! No, I wanted something different. I wanted meatloaf." He nodded and didn't even bother to asked her how she had gotten from spaghetti to oranges and then to meatloaf.

He sat down and waited for her to serve him, watching with interest as she tried to cut the loaf only to have it crumble on her and fall apart into clumps covered in ketchup and with soggy vegetables sticking out like a sore thumb every now and then.

He was lifting the first forkful to his mouth when they heard the door open and he saw Misaki's entire being begin to glow with untainted joy. She dropped her fork and jumped out of her seat, racing to the doorway and leaving her chair to wobble as it tried to keep its balance.

"Lee-kun!"

Kado pushed his seat back and followed her into living room, gaping at the sight before him. When he had tried to imagine Misaki's husband by putting together what she had told him he hadn't imagined... this.

She had said that he was the strongest man she had ever met, that he was tall and handsome with dark hair and that he was energetic with a wonderful smile.

He had to wonder if she had ever looked at the man and the absurd amount of green he had on.

"Oh, Lee!" She cried out again, smiling as she kissed him and then pulling back to grin fully at him. "I want you to meet someone!" She turned to Kado and gestured for him to come closer. "This is the boy I was telling you about before you left, Kado. He's been keeping me company for the past few months. Kado, this is my husband, Lee." Kado approached hesitantly, letting his hair fall forward a bit so that he hid his eyes from the stranger.

"Hey."

The man grinned brilliantly at the boy, his white teeth seeming to create their own light as they shined, blinding Kado momentarily. "Hello! Misaki has told me much about you, and I am pleased to meet you! Looking at you, I can see the fires of youth burning within you!" Kado wondered if he was staring. The guy was a complete freak, and it was hard to decide whether his personality or his eyebrows were bigger.

"Uh, sure." He said, trying to remember that this guy was married to Misaki and that meant he was important to her so he'd have to play nice until he saw him doing anything that could hurt hurt her in even the tiniest way.

But as he sat through dinner and saw the looks that they gave him and the way they sort of gravitated towards each other, he found it was hard to keep thinking of the man like that. Sure, he was weird looking and probably a good deal crazy if his outfit was anything to go by, but they just both seemed to fit together. Though he wouldn't let the man completely off the hook yet.

In the middle of the meal Misaki excused herself to go to the bathroom, smiling at the thought off her two best men getting along. Kado kept on silently eating, looking up from his plate when he felt Lee's eyes on him.

"Are you taking advantage of Misaki?" Lee asked, his face completely serious as he tried to figure out just what this kid wanted with his precious wife.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you here just so you can make use of a lonely woman's kindness? Or are you here for some other reason?" Kado stared down at his meatloaf, poking at a piece of carrot in it, trying to figure it out. Was the guy trying to get rid of him or was he just feeling him out to make sure Misaki would be all right with him? Well, whatever reason he was doing it, Kado wouldn't be all that easy to get rid of.

"Why are you asking for?"

"I don't want you to hurt her if you're just here to take her generosity and then leave." Kado snorted, knowing he shouldn't be insulted by that, but he was anyways. It seemed that Misaki was the only one who didn't judge him by the way he looked.

"No. I'm not." Lee nodded and sat back.

"Good, because she's becoming attached to you and I don't want to see her hurt."

"She wouldn't be so attached if you would be here with her. She gets lonely." He said, letting some of his anger out at the man who had left Kado's favorite person be by herself for so long. Lee nodded again and looked over at Kado, his eyes holding no apologies.

"I know, but she knows that it is my job and that it doesn't make me love her any less." Kado tried not to pout as he stabbed a chunk of the meat, not really able to find an argument for that.

"But you need to be careful." Lee warned him, listening for Misaki so that she wouldn't walk in on the conversation.

"Why?" Kado snorted, no longer trying to hold back his glare. The man was kind of pissing him off. Why should he be careful? He could do what he wanted, he wasn't going to hurt Misaki and it wasn't like it affected Lee in any way.

"Because Misaki can't have children." Kado's eyes widened, not really able to understand that. Sure, Misaki was a ditz and sucked at pretty much everything she tried to do as a housewife, but he could see that she would be a great mother in the way she just seemed to hold herself or the way she looked at the kids she passed on the street.

Maybe that was why she always looked so wistful when they had passed the daycare center on the way to the market those few times he had gone with her.

"She has a hole in her heart that she is filling with you." Lee warned, watching as the child processed the information. "And if you ever do anything to hurt her or make her cry by you ripping out that piece of her again, I will find you, and I will hurt you." Kado blinked at the man, watching as his suddenly fierce face relaxed into a smile as he turned to Misaki as she entered once again.

"I'm glad you two seem to be getting along so well." She said, smiling beautifully at the two of them. Lee grinned at her. "Why of course!" He exclaimed, starting on some long winded story about his mission that made Misaki smile and laugh.

Kado watched him and figured that maybe the guy wasn't all that bad. He was just protecting what was his, and Kado figured that since that was what he was doing with Misaki before he met Lee, that left them as equals.

Though he wished he could have said the same thing about finding and hurting him before Misaki had gotten back into the room. That had made him sound pretty bad ass.