Benjiro smiled under her mask and snuck up behind the blond. He was sitting alone on a swing, and all the kids were gone. The entire time he was playing by himself he would burst out in smiles to some of the children around him. Even when they ran away he was smiling. Because he knew that when they were all gone he would have his own, personal friend.
But now he had a sad look on his face, because it had been ten minutes since the last child had left. The reasons were quite simple. One, because Benji had a tougher time getting rid of her partner. She finally just told them straight out that she would complain if they didn't leave on request from a superior, and that she would have their status stripped. They left quickly after that. Stupid snake mask.
The other reason was that she wanted to test his trust. She wanted to see if he believed in her to always be there for him. And he looked really sad, so she decided to end their little game of hide and seek. She was surprised he didn't call out for her yet, though.
And then it happened.
"Fox?"
It was whispered, but since she was directly behind the whiskered boy, she heard it.
"You rang?" She asked, tilting her head and speaking in the deeper voice. She smiled when he literally jumped a few feet into the air. Which was quite impressive since he was sitting.
He jumped at her, arms outstretched. She wound up catching him and pulling him into an awkward hug. He must have picked up that you hug a person you care for…she pondered. She grinned. "Hey kid. I told you to call me if you needed me. Why didn't you?"
Naruto let go and sat on the swing facing Benji. "I didn't think you'd hear me…"
He looked so ashamed that Benji couldn't help but laugh out loud. She stopped when he looked even worse than he did before. She knelt down and took his face into her hand, forcing him to look at her. "I'm sorry for laughing. I'm your friend, and I promised you I would be here for you. I meant that. I never promise anything I can't keep."
Naruto nodded and she stood up and walked around behind him. She placed his hands on the rope. Then she started pushing him on the swing.
--
The seven year old boy laughed and jumped off the swing faster than before. He landed awkwardly and stood up holding a hand to his leg. He pulled it away and Benji saw blood. She ran over at a very fast speed. She knelt down but he just shrugged. "I'm fine!" he protested. She looked up at him and shook her head. "It looks pretty deep…"
"I really am fine, Fox. I heal fast." Oh yeah, I forgot the Kyuubi did that…I wonder what else he does to help the boy… "That's cool! Does anyone else heal like that?"
Naruto shook his head. "No…"
"Then you're special, Naruto. Always remember that." You're a hero, too. I know you are one now, and someday they will see you as a hero, too! Benji smiled at him and handed him a white strip of bandage. He took it, confused, until she motioned at the blood on his hands. He laughed and wiped his hands clean, gently patting the blood on his leg.
"There. All better." He judged, jumping up and down a few times. She smiled and stood back up. "Good. I would hate to have you get hurt too bad." He nodded and looked around the park. "What else should we do?"
"I don't know, Naruto-kun. What do you think we should do?" Said boy looked around, a thoughtful look on his face. "Ummmm….how about we go on the see-saw, then tag!" He looked excited and before Benji could say sure he was running for the see-saw. She humored him and let him win, walking just slowly enough for him to look impatient. She smiled and ran the rest of the way, laughing to let him know that she was smiling.