Chapter 2 - Moving House

Walking into the office Kaida instantly knew that the man behind the desk was very important. He had short blonde hair and startling blue eyes. He was speaking to a man with spiked white hair and a face mask. The guard whispered to her;

"That's the Hokage behind the desk, also known as the Yellow Flash, and the other man is Konoha's White Fang."

To have such impressive names they must both be very well known, so why hadn't she heard of them? Her mother mustn't have wanted her to get involved in such things...But then her mother had just abandoned her... why should she have cared about that?

The White Fang left the room, having just received another mission from the Hokage. The young man then waved them forwards, and she watched as the guard bowed to him, then looked with wide eyes at him. Embarrassed and a little overwhelmed, she hid behind the legs of the guard, peering out from there. The blonde just smiled and stood up. He walked round the desk and crouched down beside her. He tilted his head and asked what her name was.

"K..Kai.. Kaida Suzaku. I'm five!"

She stuttered and announced. The man smiled wider, seeming very friendly and caring, even more so.

"So Kaida, how did you come to be here, in the Hidden Leaf Village?"

"A man took me from mother, I hit him and ran away. He had 'dat sword, an' was gonna stab me, so I threw a rock at him, I got him right there!"

She poked the Hokage between the eyes and smiled widely. He looked a little concerned by her story, but not bothered by her touching him. He reached for her hand and took her to his seat. There she sat and played with the puzzle she was given. The man wandered over to speak with the guard, who handed him the letter. After reading it he looked at the girl, frowning, then read it once more. Thinking for a moment, the Hokage paused, then made his choice.

"How would you like to stay here? If I can find you a nice family to stay with, you could even go to the Academy and learn to be a ninja? Would you like that?"

Kaida looked up at him, deliberating the choice herself.

"Well... can't I go home? No wait, that nasty man might come back, so I can't go home... I'll have to stay here. But I don't want to mess up some other family... I can look after myself, can I live by myself?"

The Hokage gazed at her, thinking again. He paced for a moment, then crouched down in front of her.

"As you are so young, I'm afraid I can't let you live by yourself, but I understand your concern at getting involved with another family. So how about I put you in a one parent family? Just a mother or father to look after you, that way you won't be treading on anyone's toes."

"Can I have a father? I've never had one before... I'd like a daddy..."

He nodded and sent the guard out to find the man he wanted. Ten or so minutes passed and then the man in question appeared. His name was Toshi Yaminami. He was a Chunin and had always wanted a family, but never found the time to raise one. The Hokage gave him the mission of raising Kaida to be a good citizen of Konoha, and to send her to the Academy as soon as possible. The new term had only just begun, so she wouldn't have missed took the now sleepy child home, where he put her to bed right away, and slept on the sofa.

The next day he bought a new bed and put it in the spare room, which was just being used for storage until then. Kaida stayed at the apartment for three days until she felt comfortable enough with her surroundings. Toshi coaxed the whole tale out of the girl, and felt for her. He asked the Hokage if he could find the girl's mother, but as she didn't even know which village she was from, it proved to be an impossible task. Late one night when Toshi came home he told the child about the Academy. She would start the next day, and he had bought her some clothes suited to the ninja life. She tried them on and Toshi started to feel like they were becoming more of a family when she smiled at him for the first time.