Well, I wrote some more. I feel quite good for doing so. For simplicity's sake, I'm going to try and minimize the legal bits of adopting a child, partly 'cause I don't know all of it and because it doesn't really matter. Also, some of the names I use in here have Japanese meanings I think are relevant. If that matters at all. Anyway, enjoy the story!

(Starting in 3rd person POV)

As Hana pulled into the parking lot at the orphanage, Yuki had already unbuckled the seatbelt and had her hand on the doorhandle, her face smiling brightly and pressed up against the window.

"Letsgoletsgoletsgo!" She cried. Hana laughed and parked the old Toyota in an open slot. Yuki swung open the door and jumped out, the door's edge narrowly missing the car beside it. Dashing for the door, she almost dragged her mother with her, and Hana couldn't help but feel some of her happiness. Opening the door, they walked into a reception room. A faint noise came from somewhere, it sounded like children playing – a lot. The man at the desk smiled at them.

"Hi! My name is Mr. Arata. How can I help you?" He sounded sincere, not like a cheesy salesman. Hana immediately liked him.

"We would like to adopt a child."

The man grinned. "What else?" Stepping out from behind the desk, he continued, "That's a pretty big undertaking. Are you sure you are up to it? A kid needs a lot."

Hana's mind took one last run-through of their resources. She was sure they had enough to support another child. Turning to Yuki, she said, "I know I'm willing. Are you sure?" Yuki paused, then gave an earnest nod in response.

"Yes, Mr. Arata, we can and we want to."

The man seemed uplifted to hear this, and turned toward a double door at the back of the room. "I'm glad to hear it! I love seeing someone willing to give a little guy or girl a home."

They walked through the door. Inside was the source of the noise heard earlier. A big open room hosted at least 30 kids, from 3 to 13, all playing or entertaining themselves in one way or another. Some were playing with toy cars, a few youngsters used dolls to mimic a Godzilla attack, some bunched themselves with friends or on their own, their noses in books. A few adults and teens scattered around the room kept the peace and even played with the kids.

"Welcome to the playroom!" Mr. Arata said over the noise. "This is pretty much the living room of the place, the grand meeting room. It looks like almost everyone is here right now, take a look around, and join in with the kids if you want! It's a great way to get to know them; they're used to this."

Yuki looked up at her mom. "Can I mom? Pleeaase?" She pleaded. Hana smiled, it was like she was becoming like the little energetic furball she used to be all over again – But in this case, minus the fur.

"Sure Yuki. Go ahead!" Yuki smiled in delight and went over to a group of girls playing Mafia. (Well why not?)

Hana turned back to Mr. Arata. "Would you mind showing me around a little bit, maybe show me some interesting things about the children?"

The man nodded. "Sure! Just follow me." He led Hana around the room pointing out some of the fascinating characteristics of some of the kids.

(SPOILER ALERT, READ AT OWN DISCRETION: Here's the fun part. One of these kids is going to be the New Child – but can you guess which one?)

He pointed to one young girl, replacing the outfit on a Barbie Doll. "That's Anya. She's 8 years old; she came here when she was 4. She really likes dolls, and has managed to store up a good-sized collection over the years of miniature girls, boys and pets. She even trades hairpieces or accessories with other girls. I remember once when Anya even struck a deal with a boy for his action figure's racing helmet!

A table or two over, a somewhat older boy was putting together Duplo blocks to make what looked like a landing pad for the Lego spaceship sitting next to him. "That's Jeremiah, 11 Years old. He's obsessed with Lego and building, and likes to call himself Construct Master. Now, the name has stuck, everyone calls him that." As Hana watched, one of the other children dashed past, his foot clipping the spaceship's tailfin. Jeremiah gave a short glare in the culprit's direction before quickly piecing the broken Lego together.

On the other side of the room an assemblage of kids – and adults - of varied ages gathered around a table, where they all drew on large sheets of paper with all manner of coloring and penciling. One of them, a smaller girl, had managed to scavenge a mechanical pencil from the pile and was sitting a few feet away, carefully drawing. "There's Leia. I believe she's 6 Years old. She came to us about a year ago, just knocked on the door. For the most part she keeps to herselfand plays alone. The girl is a great drawer, though.

On the floor between tables, a mat was spread out, portraying a road layout. Kids rolled cars across it, making fake engine noises or wrecking them. One of them, a 10 year old boy, was digging through the bucket of reserve vehicles, occasionally taking one out and looking it over. "That kid is Satoshi. He knows more about cars than I'll ever know. He knows precisely what everyone who works here drives and what year the cars were made, and can name one out of every two sports, super, or everyday cars out there."

I'm just going to cut it off here. It's about 12:00 AM as I'm posting this. Feel free to stew over which one you think is my new child. Or just read the next chapter. R&R!